The effect of surface deformation on lubrication and oxide-scale fracture in cold metal rolling

Finite-element analysis is used to examine the surface deformation of a thin strip at the inlet to the bite in cold metal rolling. There is a “pre-entry” region ahead of the bite where there is significant elastic deformation of the strip and a very short transition region at the elastic-plastic boundary (which is not accurately modeled in this analysis). A suitable normalization allows the shape of the inlet profile and the surface extension of the strip ahead of the bite in the pre-entry region to be represented by a single master curve. The effect of strip deformation ahead of the bite on inlet lubrication and surface oxide fracture in aluminum rolling is investigated.