Work roll thermal expansion control in hot strip mill

Work roll thermal expansion (crown) plays an important role in controlling strip profile and flatness of the strips. This can be done with a perfect and controllable cooling system which also takes care of the work roll against damage induced by fire cracking. In this paper, a computer model based on finite difference method is developed under transient condition to calculate the temperature and thermal crown profile in the work roll. The model has the ability of accepting variable boundary condition in circumferential and axial direction for different cooling configurations such as using different types and numbers of nozzles and headers in different direction. The results of simulation are compared and verified with an actual rolling program result for which the temperature of a work roll was measured at Mobarakeh Steel Complex. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.