No description available.

The objective of the hot rolling mill is to transform slabs of steel into thin strips which conform to specific dimensional and metallurgical customer requirements. High performance and flexibility in the operation is required due to strict customer demands, variable market conditions, and the drive for continuous improvement. Historically human schedulers have performed the scheduling and sequencing tasks, however it is not a reasonable expectation that they consider all the complex objectives required in optimal production of a hot mill. Therefore, there are significant opportunities for improvement in this area through the application of mathematical optimization models and solution algorithms. This work presents a set of models and a solution algorithm for optimal scheduling and sequencing of production within a hot rolling steel mill. The models and algorithms presented within this thesis are specifically developed for ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Hot Strip Mill in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. First, a graph theoretic representation of the production block is developed along with an asymmetric travelling salesman formulation of the sequencing problem. A slab transition cost function comprised of the hot rolling process objectives is formalized. The objective of the optimization is to generate a complete block sequence which minimizes the cost of transitions between slabs thus minimizing the overall cost of production. The Concorde exact solver is leveraged for the sequencing problem. Second, the scheduling of slabs from inventory into blocks is considered in addition to sequencing. A methodology for slab clustering is defined. The novel concept of width-groups is developed and a heuristic algorithm is devised to calculate an objective for the MILP slab scheduling model. The objective of the scheduling optimization is to construct a set of blocks which minimize deviation from the calculated width-group design. A revised sequencing model, updated to reflect the relaxations enabled by the width-group design, is formulated. Industrial production and offline trials show that the proposed scheduling-sequencing framework outperforms the human scheduler in all critical performance metrics for both scheduling and sequencing. A conservative estimate of the reoccurring monetary benefits available from use of the proposed scheduling-sequencing optimization framework is greater than $1.2M CAD per year. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The effect of high temperature, high strain rate deformation on the evolution of second phase particles in commercial aluminium alloys has been investigated. Three model alloys provided by Novelis have been examined, and the evolution of particles during deformation has been examined for the alloy that most closely resembles the composition of alloys used in commercial applications. The effect of deformation mechanisms was expected to be an enhancement of diffusion controlled processes; therefore the first part of the work was to develop a heat treatment that would produce a fine distribution of dispersoid particles. This heat treatment was then used to prepare material for torsion testing, at strain rates similar to those found during the hot rolling stage of commercial production. Testing was performed at both the end of heat treatment temperature, to remove thermal effects, and at a lower temperature which more closely represents the temperature during commercial rolling. Material was examined by optical microscopy, FEGSEM and TEM and the particle populations were characterised by backscattered FEGSEM imaging and image analysis. This demonstrated that the disperoid particle population develops in multiple ways. Along with the enhancement of coarsening there is a significant shape change to the dispersoid particles, suggesting a change in the character of their interface. It has also been demonstrated that there is nucleation of new particles, despite a long prior hold time, in material deformed at the same temperature as the heat treatment. Material deformed at lower temperatures also demonstrated a larger increase in the volume fraction of dispersoid than material with the same thermal history. A constitutive model for diffusion enhancement and a model for particle evolution have been combined to simulate the effects of thermomechanical processing on the particle population.

Este trabalho avalia a influência do método e qualidade do esmerilhamento de tarugos na qualidade superficial de barras redondas de aço laminadas. Foi avaliada a rejeição de barras laminadas para três condições diferentes de acabamento superficial de tarugo – não esmerilhado, esmerilhado total simples, e esmerilhamento total duplo. Constatou-se que o esmerilhamento superficial de tarugos melhora a qualidade superficial de barras laminadas e, para os aços testados, o esmerilhamento total simples ofereceu melhor custo beneficio entre rendimento metálico e rejeição de barras por defeito superficial. Também se constatou que a profundidade de remoção da camada superficial do tarugo no esmerilhamento não é proporcional à redução de defeitos no produto laminado, sendo a aproximação da camada colunar uma variável com provável influência em tal resultado, assim como a presença de defeitos internos subsuperficiais, que tendem a aflorar com a redução da distância até a superfície da peça. / This work evaluates the influence of billet grinding method and quality in surface defects of hot rolling steel bars. It was evaluated bar rejection rates due to surface defects for three different billet surface conditions: without grinding, bright grinding of the entire surface and double bright grinding of the entire surface. The results show that the bright grinding of the entire surface with a single pass results in better cost benefit between yield loss and bar rejection rates. It was also observed that the grinding depth of the superficial layer of the billet is not proportional to the reduction of defects in the rolled product. This may occur in consequence of the reduction of the chill zone thickness, or even by the presence of sub superficial defects that can emerge to the surface with the reduction of the defect distance to the billet surface

In the steel industry, laser triangulation based measurement systems can be utilizedfor evaluating the flatness of the steel products. Shapeline is a company in Linköpingthat manufactures such measurement systems. This thesis work will present a series ofexperiments on a Shapeline measurement system in a relatively untested environment, thehot rolling mill at SSAB in Borlänge.The purpose of this work is to evaluate how the conditions at a hot rolling mill affectsthe measurement performance. It has been anticipated that measuring in high temperatureenvironment would introduce difficulties that do not exist when measuring in cold environments.A number of different experiments were conducted, where equipment such as laserand camera bandpass filter were alternated. Via the experiments, information about noisedue to the environment in the hot rolling mill was gained. The most significant noise wascaused by heat shimmering. Using the presented methods, the magnitude and frequencyspectrum of the heat shimmering noise could be determined. The results also indicates thatheat shimmering cause large errors and is quite troublesome to counter. In addition to this,the quality of the line detections under the hot rolling mill circumstances was examined. Itcould be observed that the line detections did not introduce any significant errors despitethe harmful conditions.

Este trabalho avalia a influência do método e qualidade do esmerilhamento de tarugos na qualidade superficial de barras redondas de aço laminadas. Foi avaliada a rejeição de barras laminadas para três condições diferentes de acabamento superficial de tarugo – não esmerilhado, esmerilhado total simples, e esmerilhamento total duplo. Constatou-se que o esmerilhamento superficial de tarugos melhora a qualidade superficial de barras laminadas e, para os aços testados, o esmerilhamento total simples ofereceu melhor custo beneficio entre rendimento metálico e rejeição de barras por defeito superficial. Também se constatou que a profundidade de remoção da camada superficial do tarugo no esmerilhamento não é proporcional à redução de defeitos no produto laminado, sendo a aproximação da camada colunar uma variável com provável influência em tal resultado, assim como a presença de defeitos internos subsuperficiais, que tendem a aflorar com a redução da distância até a superfície da peça. / This work evaluates the influence of billet grinding method and quality in surface defects of hot rolling steel bars. It was evaluated bar rejection rates due to surface defects for three different billet surface conditions: without grinding, bright grinding of the entire surface and double bright grinding of the entire surface. The results show that the bright grinding of the entire surface with a single pass results in better cost benefit between yield loss and bar rejection rates. It was also observed that the grinding depth of the superficial layer of the billet is not proportional to the reduction of defects in the rolled product. This may occur in consequence of the reduction of the chill zone thickness, or even by the presence of sub superficial defects that can emerge to the surface with the reduction of the defect distance to the billet surface

Este trabalho avalia a influência do método e qualidade do esmerilhamento de tarugos na qualidade superficial de barras redondas de aço laminadas. Foi avaliada a rejeição de barras laminadas para três condições diferentes de acabamento superficial de tarugo – não esmerilhado, esmerilhado total simples, e esmerilhamento total duplo. Constatou-se que o esmerilhamento superficial de tarugos melhora a qualidade superficial de barras laminadas e, para os aços testados, o esmerilhamento total simples ofereceu melhor custo beneficio entre rendimento metálico e rejeição de barras por defeito superficial. Também se constatou que a profundidade de remoção da camada superficial do tarugo no esmerilhamento não é proporcional à redução de defeitos no produto laminado, sendo a aproximação da camada colunar uma variável com provável influência em tal resultado, assim como a presença de defeitos internos subsuperficiais, que tendem a aflorar com a redução da distância até a superfície da peça. / This work evaluates the influence of billet grinding method and quality in surface defects of hot rolling steel bars. It was evaluated bar rejection rates due to surface defects for three different billet surface conditions: without grinding, bright grinding of the entire surface and double bright grinding of the entire surface. The results show that the bright grinding of the entire surface with a single pass results in better cost benefit between yield loss and bar rejection rates. It was also observed that the grinding depth of the superficial layer of the billet is not proportional to the reduction of defects in the rolled product. This may occur in consequence of the reduction of the chill zone thickness, or even by the presence of sub superficial defects that can emerge to the surface with the reduction of the defect distance to the billet surface

During this thesis work a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model (FEM) was builtto simulate hot rolling in the blooming mill at Sandvik Materials Technology (SMT) inSandviken. The blooming mill is the first in a long line of processes that continuously or ingotcast ingots are subjected to before becoming finished products. The aim of this thesis work was twofold. The first was to create a parameterized finiteelement (FE) model of the blooming mill. The commercial FE software package MSCMarc/Mentat was used to create this model and the programing language Python was used toparameterize it. Second, two different pass schedules (A and B) were studied and comparedusing the model. The two pass series were evaluated with focus on their ability to healcentreline porosity, i.e. to close voids in the centre of the ingot. This evaluation was made by studying the hydrostatic stress (σm), the von Mises stress (σeq)and the plastic strain (εp) in the centre of the ingot. From these parameters the stress triaxiality(Tx) and the hydrostatic integration parameter (Gm) were calculated for each pass in bothseries using two different transportation times (30 and 150 s) from the furnace. The relationbetween Gm and an analytical parameter (Δ) was also studied. This parameter is the ratiobetween the mean height of the ingot and the contact length between the rolls and the ingot,which is useful as a rule of thumb to determine the homogeneity or penetration of strain for aspecific pass. The pass series designed with fewer passes (B), many with greater reduction, was shown toachieve better void closure theoretically. It was also shown that a temperature gradient, whichis the result of a longer holding time between the furnace and the blooming mill leads toimproved void closure.

O aço 10B06 é utilizado na produção de fio máquina para trefilação. Por ser produzido em aciaria elétrica, o teor de nitrogênio desse aço tende a ser elevado, o que pode causar o fenômeno de envelhecimento, resultando em aumento de resistência e queda de ductilidade. Reduzir o teor de nitrogênio livre é uma forma de minimizar esse efeito, o que é realizado pela adição de boro. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o efeito do boro no aço 10B06. Foram utilizadas amostras de fio máquina, diâmetro 5,50mm, e arame trefilado com teores de boro variando de 55 a 112ppm. Os dois principais fatores que influenciam a microestrutura e propriedades mecânicas do material são a composição química e o processo produtivo. Por esse motivo, inicialmente foi avaliada a etapa de resfriamento durante a laminação do fio máquina, por meio de uma análise termográfica. Foi encontrada a temperatura de 767ºC no início do resfriamento do material, valor próximo de Ac1, limite inferior do intervalo intercrítico. Esse fato favorece o enriquecimento da austenita em carbono, facilitando a formação de martensita e/ou austenita retida. Os resultados da análise metalográfica com Nital revelaram microestrutura composta de aproximadamente 88% de ferrita e 12% de perlita. Já o reagente Le Pera identificou ilhas de martensita e/ou austenita retida (MA), o que foi comprovado por análises de microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os resultados de microdureza mostraram uma tendência de queda com o aumento do teor de boro. As medições de nanodureza confirmaram a presença do microconstituinte MA. A ferrita apresentou dureza na faixa de 280 - 320 HV, enquanto o MA ficou no intervalo de 349 - 424 HV. Comparando-se o limite de resistência obtido no fio máquina com menor teor de boro (55ppm - 434MPa) com o de maior (112ppm - 394MPa), observasse uma redução de 40MPa para um acréscimo de 57ppm de boro, confirmando o efeito esperado para esse elemento pela formação de BN. Utilizando os dados da curva tensão versus deformação foram obtidos os coeficientes de encruamento dos fios máquina, que apresentaram uma tendência de crescimento com o teor de boro, sendo que o material com 101ppm de boro mostrou o melhor valor para aplicação em processos de conformação. As análises fractográficas revelaram que os mecanismos de fratura presentes em todos os materiais foram a formação e coalescimento de microvidades. Considerando-se todas as análises realizadas nesse trabalho foi possível evidenciar o efeito do boro na redução do efeito do envelhecimento provocado pelo nitrogênio. Entre os testes realizados, os que apresentaram as melhores relações B/N foram os de teores 109 e 112ppm de boro. Essas relações estão próximas do valor máximo indicado de 0,8. / The 10B06 steel grade is applied to the production of wire rod for drawing. The steel is produced in an Electric Arc Furnace and this process can lead to higher nitrogen levels that cause strain aging resulting in an increase of the strength and ductility loss. The reduction of free nitrogen content through boron addition is one way to minimize this effect that can be done through boron addition. In this way, the present work aims to study boron effect on 10B06 steel. It was used wire rod, diameter 5,50mm and a cold-drawn wire rod with chemical composition from 55 to 112ppm of boron. The main factors that influence the microstructure and mechanical properties of the material are the chemical composition and the productive process. For this reason, initially, the cooling treatment was analyzed using thermography and it was found at the beginning of the cooling process a temperature of 767oC in the material, close to Ac1, lower limit of the intercritical interval. This temperature can facilitate the enrichment of carbon in the austenite, making easier martensite and/or retained austenite formation. The metallographic analysis with Nital etchant showed a microstructure composed of about 88% ferrite and 12% perlite, and Le Pera etchant identified martensite and/or retained austenite (MA), what was confirmed by scanning electron microscope analysis. Furthermore, nanohardness measurements confirmed the presence of the microconstituent MA, as ferrite presented hardness from 280 to 320 HV and MA from 349 to 424 HV. Microhardess results decreased with increasing boron content. A decrease of 40MPa in the tensile strength was observed between the wire rod with boron content of 55ppm (434MPa) and the one with 112ppm (394MPa), in agreement with the expected effect of the BN formation. It was possible to obtain hardening coefficient of the wire rod using the data of the stress versus strain curve, which increased with boron content, and the material with 101ppm of boron showed the best value for forming application. Fractographic analysis revealed that the fracture mechanisms in all the materials were the development and coalescing of microcavity. Considering all the analysis of this study it was possible to confirm boron\'s effect to reduce strain aging caused by nitrogen. Materials with 109 and 112ppm of boron presented the best B/N ratio, with values close to the maximum indicated, 0,8.

Embora a literatura disponível sobre conformação mecânica disponha de grande número de trabalhos relacionados à fadiga térmica em cilindros de laminação a quente, poucos autores abordam como esse tipo de dano é influenciado por algumas características do processo - em especial a oxidação na superfície de trabalho dos cilindros, tanto enquanto formação de uma camada de óxido uniforme sobre essa superfície quanto na forma de corrosão. Essa lacuna ocorre a despeito do volume de referências que relacionam a oxidação à fadiga térmica em escala laboratorial. O presente trabalho busca relacionar ambas as linhas de investigação, utilizando métodos analíticos e numéricos comparados com experimentos em diferentes escalas, para compreender sob quais condições são formados os óxidos presentes nos cilindros, qual seu comportamento mecânico no decorrer dos ciclos de laminação e como os óxidos influenciam na ocorrência de trincas de laminação a quente. A análise da superfície de trabalho de um cilindro em escala piloto revela a presença de trincas térmicas na superfície de trabalho. Os padrões de defeitos obtidos se mostram de acordo com o exposto em diversas referências publicadas sobre ensaios de fadiga térmica e termomecânica, em relação à presença e distribuição de óxidos no interior das trincas e na superfície externa das amostras. Em paralelo, foram desenvolvidos modelos numéricos do processo de laminação a quente, inicialmente em escala macroscópica, para obter detalhes sobre distribuições de temperatura, tensões e deformações nos cilindros, de difícil obtenção experimental. Estes modelos foram simulados e seus resultados comparados com valores medidos no laminador piloto, validando seu uso para avaliação do comportamento dos cilindros durante uma série de campanhas de laminação. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o mecanismo de fadiga de baixo ciclo normalmente associado ao dano térmico não é suficiente para explicar a nucleação das trincas de fadiga térmica observadas no experimento. O erro na predição pela teoria de fadiga de baixo ciclo tradicional, em conjunto com a caracterização dos cilindros em escala piloto e com observações de cilindros em escala industrial presentes na literatura, permite levantar a hipótese de que os fenômenos de oxidação e corrosão em curso durante o processo de laminação contribuem para uma redução significativa da resistência dos cilindros à fadiga termomecânica. Cálculos analíticos e simulações adicionais em escala microscópica foram realizados, incluindo os efeitos da oxidação e da corrosão, confirmando a hipótese e oferecendo uma linha de investigação mais assertiva para a nucleação e evolução do dano nos cilindros. / Although the literature on metal forming presents a considerable amount of references related to thermal fatigue in hot rolling, only few authors discuss how this type of damage is influenced by some characteristics of the rolling process - specially the oxidation that develops at the surface of the rolls. This gap occurs despite the amount of references relating oxidation to thermal fatigue in laboratory scale. The current work aims to relate both investigation paths, employing analytical and numerical methods in comparison with experiments in different scales, to provide understanding about the conditions at which the oxides observed upon the rolls are formed, their mechanical behaviour during the rolling process and how they influence thermal fatigue cracking in the rolls. The analysis of the roll surface in a pilot scale mill reveals the presence of thermal fatigue cracks on the work surface. The patterns of defects observed are in accordance with several references on thermal and thermomechanical fatigue, regarding the presence and distribution of oxides inside the cracks and at the external surface of the samples. In parallel, numerical models of hot rolling were developed, initially at macroscopic scale, to obtain details on temperature, stress and strain distribution in the rolls, which are difficult to obtain experimentally. These models were simulated and their results were compared with values measured in the pilot scale mill, validating their use to evaluate the behaviour of the rolls throughout a series of rolling campaigns. The obtained results show that the low-cycle fatigue mechanism commonly associated to thermal damage is not enough to explain the nucleation of thermal cracks seen in the experiments. The error in the prediction using the traditional low-cycle fatigue theory, in conjunction with the characterization of the pilot-scale rolls and with observations of industrial scale rolls, yields the hypothesis that oxidation and corrosion phenomena occurring throughout the rolling process contribute to a significative reduction in the resistance of the rolls to thermomechanical fatigue. Analytical calculations and additional simulations in microscopic scale were conducted, including effects of oxidation and corrosion, confirming the hypothesis and providing a more assertive line of research for damage nucleation and evolution in the rolls.