Finite element modeling of thermal and mechanical stresses in work-rolls of warm strip rolling process

An integrated mathematical model was developed to study the thermo-mechanical behavior of strips and work-rolls during warm rolling process of steels. A two-dimensional finite element analysis was first employed to solve for the thermo-mechanical response of the rolled strip under steady-state conditions. The calculated roll pressure and temperature fields were then used to apply proper boundary conditions for solving the governing thermo-mechanical problem for the work-roll. The obtained results indicate that in warm strip rolling of steels, the thermal and mechanical stresses developed within the work-roll are comparable; however, the more significant influence is due to heating and cooling of the work-roll during the process, particularly in case of warm rolling operations of the strips with higher initial temperature. Besides, the utilized model was shown to be capable of determining the effects of various rolling parameters on the thermo-mechanical behavior of strips and work-rolls during warm rolling process.