Effects of rolling parameters on work-roll temperature distribution in the hot rolling of steels

Temperature variations of work-rolls in the process of hot rolling of slabs were analyzed by solving heat conduction equation with time-dependent boundary conditions. The Raylieght-Ritz and the finite-element methods were employed to solve the governing equation. To improve the accuracy, the thermal relationship between rolling metal and work-rolls was taken into account as well as the effects of different parameters such as interface heat transfer coefficient, rolling speed, and slab initial temperature were considered in the calculations. To verify the employed model, a comparison was made between the predicted and the recorded time-temperature history and good agreement was observed. Modelling results show that the interface heat transfer coefficient and rolling speed are important factors that vary effectively the temperature field within the work-roll. In addition, the interface heat transfer coefficient is affected by the other parameters and factors such as flow stress behavior of the metal being rolled and initial temperature of metal. Therefore, in order to determine an accurate temperature field within the work-rolls, flow behavior and temperature distribution in the rolling metal should also be calculated at the same time.