Lateral Spread in Industrial Hot Rolling Processes

The lateral deformation in hot rolling has been investigated with finite element method for different geometries of billets, temperature gradients over the cross section and alloys. The maximal lateral spread is evaluated with different billets geometries and temperature gradients, and compared between isotropic and anisotropic deformation. The cross section of billets is exemplarily compared between the flat and curvy surface at the entry zone, and at different roll speeds in continuous rolling and reduction sequences. The lateral spread increases with increasing the billet size and decreasing the temperature gradient. It can be enhanced by the anisotropic deformation. The profiles of the cross section are varied with its contour at the entry zone and reduction sequences. They are sensitive to changing the roll speed in the continuous hot rolling.