Influence of oxide scales on the corrosion behaviors of B510L hot-rolled steel strips

The influence of oxide scales on the corrosion behaviors of B510 L hot-rolled steel strips was investigated in this study. Focused ion beams and scanning electron microscopy were used to observe the morphologies of oxide scales on the surface and cross sections of the hot-rolled steel. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used for the phase analysis of the oxide scales and corrosion products. The corrosion potential and impedance were measured by anodic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. According to the results, oxide scales on the hot-rolled strips mainly comprise iron and iron oxides. The correlation between mass gain and test time follows a power exponential rule in the damp-heat test. The corrosion products are found to be mainly composed of γ-Fe OOH, Fe3O4, ？-Fe OOH, and γ-Fe2O3. The contents of the corrosion products are different on the surfaces of the steels with and without oxide scales. The steel with oxide scales is found to show a higher corrosion resistance and lower corrosion rate.

Hot-rolled strips of up to 19 mm in thickness and their processing to helically welded large diameter pipes of grade X80

Hot-rolled wide strip for production of large diameter,heavy gauged(up to 19 mm) helical line pipe grade X80 was a priority development over the last three years.Microstructure,texture and mechanical properties of strips have been characterised.Also the welding conditions have been simulated.The favourable microstructure is achieved by the proper selection of an appropriate chemical composition of low carbon content and increased niobium micro alloying in combination with suitable strictly controlled hot-rolling parameters.The addition of niobium in combination with the adjustment of other alloying elements increases the recrystallisation stop temperature and thus makes it possible to apply a high temperature processing(HTP) concept.The homogeneous bainitic microstructure across the strip gauge is then formed during accelerated cooling on the run-out table of the hot-rolling mill.All results indicated excellent properties of these hot strips which make it suitable for spiral pipes of grade X80 for example 18.9mm×Φ1 220 mm at dimension.

Mill scale structure and damp heat corrosion performance of four 510L hot-rolled strips

In this study, the matrix structure, state and composition of the mill scales of four typical domestically made 510L hot-rolled strips were observed and analyzed by means of optical microscopy （OM） ,scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The corrosion behavior of the steels with and without mill scales were investigated by means of hot-humid corrosion tests under the condition of relative humidity （ RH ） of 95% at 50℃ and 70℃, respectively. The results show that the matrix structures, state, composition and thickness of mill scales vary in the strips. The rusting starting time of the specimens with scales is generally a bit longer than that of the specimens without scales, but their corrosion mass-gain is higher. For these two kinds of specimens ,their corrosion rate increases significantly with the increase of temperature. The rusting behavior of the 510L strips produced by various plants is different due to the variations of hot-rolling processes and designed chemical compositions. Various relevant aspects should be taken into account in the evaluation of the corrosion behavior of hot-rolled strips.

Application of a new feature extraction and optimization method to surface defect recognition of cold rolled strips

Considering that the surface defects of cold rolled strips are hard to be recognized by human eyes under high-speed circumstances, an automatic recognition technique was discussed. Spectrum images of defects can be got by fast Fourier transform （FFF） and sum of valid pixels （SVP）, and its optimized center region, which concentrates nearly all energies, are extracted as an original feature set. Using genetic algorithm to optimize the feature set, an optimized feature set with 51 features can be achieved. Using the optimized feature set as an input vector of neural networks, the recognition effects of LVQ neural networks have been studied. Experiment results show that the new method can get a higher classification rate and can settle the automatic recognition problem of surface defects on cold rolled strips ideally.

Online application of automatic surface quality inspection system to finishing line of cold rolled strips

An automatic surface quality inspection system installed on a finishing lineof cold rolled strips is introduced. The system is able to detect surface defects on cold rolledstrips, such as scratches, coil breaks, rusts, roll imprints, and so on. Multiple CCD area scancameras were equipped to capture images of strip surface simultaneously. Defects were detectedthrough 'Dark-field illumination' which is generated by LED illuminators. Parallel computationtechnique and fast processing algorithms were developed for real-time data processing. Theapplication to the production line shows that the system is able to detect defects effectively.

Surface Inspection System for Cold Rolled Strips Based on Image ProcessingTechnique

A new surface inspection system for cold rolled strips based on image processing is introduced. The system is equipped withtwo different illumination structures and CCD matrix cameras. The structure and image processing of the inspection system are described. Some efficient algorithms for image processing and classification are presented. The system is tested with strip samples fromcold rolling plants. The results show that the system can detect and recognize six common defects of cold rolled strips successfully.

Correlation of morphological anisotropy and Lankford value of deep drawing sheets hot-rolled by compact strip production

Cold-rolled steel sheets in automotive applications require an excellent deep draw ability, which is characterized by the Lankford value （r-value）. In this study, a correlation was identified between r-value and pancake-shaped grain flatness which is indicated as the ratio of grain diameter in the rolling direction （RD） and normal direction （ND） of sheets （dr/dn）. A mathematical model （ r = e^0.345（dn^1/2-dr^1/2） ） was developed to calculate r-value by the microstructure of steel sheets hot-rolled by compact strip production （CSP）. It is shown that the r-value is higher, if the microstructure of steel sheet is of pancake-shaped grains elongated in the rolling direction. The calculated r-value is confirmed to fit exactly to the measured one from the large-scale production.

“Quartus scale” of hot-rolled strip steels and its formation mechanism

The types and growth of various oxide scales formed during the different phases of the production of hotrolled strip steel products are reviewed. Similarities and differences between the ＂tertiary scale＂ on the surface of carbon steels at high temperatures and the oxide scale on pure iron are compared. The micro-structural features of the ＂final oxide scale＂ on the surface of strip steels at room temperature as well as the relationship between these features and the position of the steel coil （plate） and the subsequent processes of recoiling, temper rolling and trimming, etc. are summarized. The actual oxide scales retained on the commercial hot-rolled strip steels at room temperature have been proposed to define as ＂ quartus scale＂ for the first time. The micro-structural development and phase transformation of the initial ＂tertiary scale＂ during and after cooling and coiling are described. The reasons for the ＂tertiary scale＂ on carbon steels differing from the oxide scale formed on pure iron, and the major influencing factors in the formation of various types of ＂quartus scales＂ are analyzed from both thermodynamic and dynamic viewpoints. The development mechanism of ＂ quartus scales＂ is discussed and the potential effects of the ＂ quartus scale＂ state （thickness, constitution, structure and defects）, on the rusting and pickling properties of commercial hot-rolled strip steel, as well as on the mechanical properties of oxide scales are analyzed.

Densification process of 10%B_4C-AA2024 matrix composite strips by semi-solid powder rolling

Semi-solid powder rolling（SSPR） is a novel strip manufacturing process,which includes the features of semi-solid rolling and powder rolling.In this work,densification process and deformation mechanisms of B4 C and AA2024 mixed powders in the presence of liquid phase were investigated.The relationships between relative densities and rolling forces were analyzed as well.The results show that liquid fraction plays an important role in the densification process which can be divided into three stages.Rolling deformation is the main densification mechanism in deformation area when the liquid fraction is lower than 20%.When the liquid fraction is equal to or higher than 20%,the flowing and filling of liquid phase are the densification mechanisms in deformation area.The relative densities increase with increasing rolling forces.The relative density–rolling force curves are similar at 550 °C and 585 °C.The characteristics of the curve shapes are apparently different at 605 °C and 625 °C.

Self-Learning and Its Application to Laminar Cooling Model of Hot Rolled Strip

The mathematical model for online controlling hot rolled steel cooling on run-out table （ROT for abbreviation） was analyzed, and water cooling is found to be the main cooling mode for hot rolled steel. The calculation of the drop in strip temperature by both water cooling and air cooling is summed up to obtain the change of heat transfer coefficient. It is found that the learning coefficient of heat transfer coefficient is the kernel coefficient of coiler temperature control （CTC） model tuning. To decrease the deviation between the calculated steel temperature and the measured one at coiler entrance, a laminar cooling control self-learning strategy is used. Using the data acquired in the field, the results of the self-learning model used in the field were analyzed. The analyzed results show that the self-learning function is effective.

EVALUATION OF LUBRICANTS FOR COLD ROLLING ALUMINUM STRIPS

Various kinds of base oils were applied to cold rolling aluminum strips on a test mill for evaluationof the influences of these base oils,aromatics contents and viscosity of base oils on their lubricating performances and surface reflectivity of rolled strips at annealing. Results showed that low friction coefficient androlling force were obtained by using the normal paraffins,whereas their contaminations on the annealed stripsurface were the same as those of other saturated hydrocarbons. Aromatics in base oil affected the stir face reflectivity of annealed strips, but the decrease of aromatics in base oil was ineffective to improve rolled stripssurface quality when it is less than 1 %. Base oil viscosity has the great influences on the lubricating performances and surface reflectivity of annealed strips just in this condition.

Application of multi-scale feature extraction to surface defect classification of hot-rolled steels

Feature extraction is essential to the classification of surface defect images. The defects of hot-rolled steels distribute in different directions. Therefore, the methods of multi-scale geometric analysis （MGA） were employed to decompose the image into several directional subba^ds at several scales. Then, the statistical features of each subband were calculated to produce a high-dimensional feature vector, which was reduced to a lower-dimensional vector by graph embedding algorithms. Finally, support vector machine （SVM） was used for defect classification. The multi-scale feature extraction method was implemented via curvelet transform and kernel locality preserving projections （KLPP）. Experiment results show that the proposed method is effective for classifying the surface defects of hot-rolled steels and the total classification rate is up to 97.33%.

Stream Surface Strip Element Method and Simulation of Three-Dimensional Deformation of Continuous Hot Rolled Strip

A new method,the stream surface strip element method,for simulating the three-dimensional deformation of plate and strip rolling process was proposed.The rolling deformation zone was divided into a number of stream surface(curved surface)strip elements along metal flow traces,and the stream surface strip elements were mapped into the corresponding plane strip elements for analysis and computation.The longitudinal distributions of the lateral displacement and the altitudinal displacement of metal were respectively constructed to be a quartic curve and a quadratic curve,of which the lateral distributions were expressed as the third-power spline function,and the altitudinal distributions were fitted in the quadratic curve.From the flow theory of plastic mechanics,the mathematical models of the three-dimensional deformations and stresses of the deformation zone were constructed.Compared with the streamline strip element method proposed by the first author of this paper,the stream surface strip element method takes into account the uneven distributions of stresses and deformations along altitudinal direction,and realizes the precise three-dimensional analysis and computation.The simulation example of continuous hot rolled strip indicates that the method and the model accord with facts and provide a new reliable engineering-computation method for the three-dimensional mechanics simulation of plate and strip rolling process.

Cast-rolling force model in solid-liquid cast-rolling bonding(SLCRB) process for fabricating bimetal clad strips

Based on twin-roll casting, a cast-rolling force model was proposed to predict the rolling force in the bimetal solid-liquid cast-rolling bonding(SLCRB) process. The solid-liquid bonding zone was assumed to be below the kiss point(KP). The deformation resistance of the liquid zone was ignored. Then, the calculation model was derived. A 2D thermal-flow coupled simulation was established to provide a basis for the parameters in the model, and then the rolling forces of the Cu/Al clad strip at different rolling speeds were calculated. Meanwhile, through measurement experiments, the accuracy of the model was verified. The influence of the rolling speed, the substrate strip thickness, and the material on the rolling force was obtained. The results indicate that the rolling force decreases with the increase of the rolling speed and increases with the increase of the thickness and thermal conductivity of the substrate strip. The rolling force is closely related to the KP height. Therefore, the formulation of reasonable process parameters to control the KP height is of great significance to the stability of cast-rolling forming.

Application of automatic surface inspection system in cold-rolled strip production

The detection and classification of real-time surface defects play an important role in automotive sheet inspection and production. In this paper, an automatic surface inspection system （ASIS） based on signal processing in Baosteel NO. 4 cold-rolled plant is briefly presented. We demonstrate that the strip surface defect properties such as image, type, pitch, and position can be accurately calculated and classified by the automatic surface inspection system. In the manufacturing of the high-quality cold-rolled strips, it is necessary that the real-time surface defects can be detected and transferred by the automatic surface inspection system combined with annealing lines and recoiling lines.

Research on Single-Side Long Edge of Hot Rolled Strip Caused by Asymmetrical Stiffness of Mill Stand

To analyze and solve the problem of single-side long edge of hot rolled strip in certain domestic factory, the asymmetrical deformation of rolls and strip in asymmetrical stiffness mill stand based on slit beam model, the strip profile and rolling force distribution at the exit of asymmetric stiffness stand mill were calculated using influence function method. Considering the character of in-site equipment and technology, a scheme of adjusting load distribution in finishing mill was made and the experiment was applied. Comparison of strip profile between new load distribution and the old one shows that the method can solve single-side long edge problem well.

Modeling of microstructure evolution and mechanical properties during hot-strip rolling of Nb steels

An integrated metallurgical model was developed for Nb steels to predict the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties during the hot-strip rolling and cooling process. On the basis of the industrial data, the transformation kinetics, strength, and elongation rate were evaluated for different chemical compositions and processing parameters. The yield strength and tensile strength increase with increasing Nb content or decreasing finishing temperature. The bainite distributed in finer ferrite matrix, which is produced at relatively low coiling temperatures, can greatly increase the strength of steel, especially tensile strength, thereby decreasing the yield ratio. A reasonable agreement was found between the predicted and measured results. It indicates that the present models can be used to simulate the actual production process.

Effect of ceramic work rolls on surface roughness of rolled SUS304 ultra-thin strips

Surface morphology and roughness are important parameters of surface quality of cold-rolled ultra-thin strip steel.In order to study the effect of Si_(3)N_(4) ceramic work rolls on the surface roughness of SUS304 ultra-thin strip,ABAQUS finite element model calculation,3D laser profilometry,and other methods were adopted based on the physical characteristics of Si_(3)N_(4) ceramic roll and 9Cr2MoV steel roll,like anti-flattening performance and oil wettability.The surface morphology and roughness of SUS304 ultra-thin strip rolled by different material work rolls under oil lubrication conditions were measured.The results showed that under the rolling force of 10 kN,the maximum flattening amount of Si_(3)N_(4) ceramic roll was reduced by 35.14%compared to that of 9Cr2MoV steel roll.The reduction rate of SUS304 ultra-thin strip rolled by ceramic roll was 34.19%,while that rolled by steel roll was only 22%;Si_(3)N_(4) ceramic roll can further increase the number of alternating convex peaks and concave valleys in the rolled thin strip,reduce the profile steepness,reduce surface roughness,and enhance the planarization effect of surface micro-convex bodies,with improving surface quality and surface glossiness.Finally,the mechanism of Si_(3)N_(4) ceramic roll significantly improving the surface roughness of rolled SUS304 ultra-thin strip was proposed.

High Speed Twin Roll Casting of Aluminum Alloy Strips

The twin roll caster for aluminum alloys has many a dv antages. For example, rapid solidification, low equipment cost, and low running cost, etc. However, the twin roll caster has some disadvantages. They are slow c asting speed and limitation of alloys. In the conventional twin roll caster, the casting speed is slower than 10 m/min. Aluminum alloys, which freezing range is wide, can not be cast. In the present study, break through of these problems wa s tried, and a new type twin roll caster was devised. A vertical type twin roll caster equipped with a nozzle was devised in order to cast aluminum strips at the speeds higher than 60 m/min. Characteristic features of this caster were vertical type, use of copper rolls, low separating force (n o operation of rolling), no use of lubricant, and equipment of the nozzle. In th e high speed roll casting, feed of molten metal of the vertical type twin roll c aster was easier than that of the conventional horizontal type caster. The use o f the copper rolls made cooling rate higher. The low separating force and the us e of the copper rolls prevented sticking of the strip to the roll. The lubricant was not needed, as the sticking of the strip to the roll did not occur. No use of the lubricant was useful to increase the cooling rate and casting speed of th e strip. The nozzle was used in order to improve contact condition (heat transfe r) between the melt and the rolls by hydrostatic pressure. In the twin roll cast er of the present study, many devices were done to improve the cooling condition of the strip in order to increase the casting speed. It was said that the roll casting of A5182 was very difficult, as freezing zone of A5182 was very wide. However, A5182 strip could be cast at high speeds up to 120 m/min using the twin roll caster of the present study. The microstructure of the strip cast using the conventional type twin roll caster is columnar structu re. The microstructure of the strip cast using the twin roll caster of the prese nt study was not columnar but equiaxed structure. It is said that mechanical pro perties of the strip cast using the twin roll caster is cheaper than that of the strip made from DC casting. However, the mechanical properties of the strip cas t using the twin roll caster in the present study were almost same as the proper ties of the strip made from DC casting. The thickness of the strip cast using th e twin roll caster of the present study was from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm, and this thic kness was thinner than that of the strip cast using the conventional twin roll c aster. Semisolid roll casting was tried in order to increase the roll speed more and mo re. The twin roll caster of the present study was equipped with a cooling slope in order to make semisolid slurry. The cooling slope was the simplest process to make the semisolid slurry. Solid rate of the semisolid slurry was about 10%. Th e casting speed increased up to 180 m/min by the effect of semisolid casting. Me chanical properties were improved by the semisolid casting, too.

Allowable variation of cold-rolled strip transverse profiles in high tension

The formation mechanism of the cold-rolled strip shape with high tension was studied. An advanced method to calculate the allowable variation of strip transverse profiles was established by the strip buckling criterion, which can be more properly used in cold rolling. With this method, the aim allowable variation of the product strip transverse profile and the required transverse profile range of incoming strips can be reached. Besides, this method has been successfully applied in a domestic tandem cold mill, and the transverse profile range of incoming strips suggested with this method is more practicable and complete. Consequently, the good performance is acquired.