Development of Materials for the Making of Rolling-Mill Rolls for Hot-Strip Mills

The main mechanisms of degradation of rolling-mill rolls for hot-strip mills are: abrasion, oxidation, adhesion (sticking) and thermal fatigue. Consequently, these result in degradation phenomena such as: abrasive wear, oxidative wear, sliding wear, oxidative banding and others. Under these circumstances, the tribological behavior of rolling-mill rolls is affected. Conversely, microstructural and process parameters have a key role on the performance of alloys utilized in the production of rolling-mill rolls. Increasing the performance and resistance against the phenomena described above has been a critical challenge for roll manufacturers. This paper highlights the latest developments in multi-component white cast iron and ICDP alloys applied to hot-rolling mills. The development of these new alloys consisted in the making of pilot-scale samples. Microstructural and metallurgical analysis was conducted to correlate the behavior of alloys and degradation phenomena. After the analysis real-scale trials were carried out. The results were analyzed and allowed for the introduction of a new generation of alloys for hot-strip mills.