Improved temperature control with integrated roll and strip cooling (Intercool) : final report

The project Intercool evaluated the possibility to integrate the application of interstand cooling and strip surface chilling into the design of the work roll cooling system with a minimum water cooling pressure. It opens the possibility to increase the strip temperature homogeneity and to increase the work roll cooling efficiency by cooling the work roll directly at the roll bite exit. Hot continuous pilot line trials and heat transfer measurements were performed with combined cooling header prototypes to evaluate different cooling strategies. Thermal sensors manufactured from work roll material were implemented in the work rolls of the pilot line. These trials gave very accurate results of the cooling efficiency and detailed information concerning the work roll thermal evolution. Results showed an increased work roll cooling efficiency of 10% when the exit roll gap is cooled compared with a conventional exit work roll cooling configuration. A faster cooling of the work roll directly after strip contact can increase strongly the work roll cooling efficiency. In addition, the exit work roll coolant can also be used as an efficient strip cooling. In order to reduce pressure and flow rate for cooling systems, a computer model assessment of different industrial cooling strategies in the finishing mill was done by the introduction of a coupled work roll and strip cooling model. The concept of a retractable wiper was chosen to perform an industrial trial. Preliminary full scale laboratory trials and an industrial risk analysis were done. A successful test was performed in the hot strip mill of ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer.