Concave Cooling Control Method for Hot-rolled Strip

Hot rolled strips usually have higher strength and lower plasticity at the ends, and the mechanical properties are distributed unevenly along the length direction. Such phenomena are caused by the different cooling rates between the end and the center. The ends of the coiled strip cool down faster than the center, inducing finer grains in the sections. Furthermore, the center of the coil is kept at high temperature for longer time, which affects the precipitation of the carbides and creates the different mechanical properties from the ends. In this paper, the temperature field of the strip during cooling was simulated to discover the characteristics of the temperature change and the effect on mechanical properties. Based on the analysis, a concept of concave cooling control was introduced and implemented in the production. Results indicated that applying the concave cooling control method could significantly improve the uniformity of the properties and promote the quality of the products.