Buckling phenomena related to rolling and levelling of sheet metal

The paper deals with analytical and numerical considerations of buckling phenomena in thin plates or strips under in-plane loads which typically appear during rolling and levelling, i.e. straightening by stretching, of sheet metal. Buckling due to self-equilibrating residual stresses, caused by the rolling process, in eventual conjunction with global tensile stresses (denoted as “rolling buckling”) as well as buckling during the levelling process (denoted as “stretching buckling” or “towel buckling”) are considered. Analytical estimates are derived and compared against results of numerical simulations and field observations. Mode jumping by varying the global strip tension is explained on the basis of the derived analytical solutions. It is shown how from the waves, i.e. height and length, observed on the strip sliding over or lying on a rigid plane one can provide information about the distribution of the differences in the plastic strains over the width of the strip which lead to the buckled configuration. And, vice versa, knowledge of the plastic strain distribution can be used for estimating the expected wave heights representing a measure for the geometrical quality of the rolled product. The influence of the dead weight of the strip on the post-buckling pattern is also discussed on the basis of non-linear analyses.