Effect of hot strip processing during direct charging of thin slabs on the properties of cold strip of LC-steel

Direct charging of thin slabs of low carbon steel (0.05%C) was investigated by using laboratory tests an a thin-slab-casting simulator linked with the hot deformation simulator (Wumsi). Starting with a different initial thickness of simulated thin slabs (45 down to 25 mm) the total strain epsilon(Sigma) was varied. Hot deformation schedules (with and without roughing) with different finishing temperatures T-F lead to some differences in the hot strip microstructure. Nevertheless, after cold rolling and batch annealing, a rather uniform pancake-structure and a pronounced {111}-texture were achieved in the cold strip without any significant relation to the processing routs. The measurement of final mechanical properties proved that a good deep drawability of cold strip can be achieved with direct charging of thin slabs, well comparable to that after a conventional cold charging of thick slabs.