Stretch Levelers Set-up based on FE Modeling and applied to stainless steel strips at ArcelorMittal Gueugnon

摘要

Thanks to this study using a finite element model, we achieved to quantify the defect correction capability of a stretch leveler and we have been able to get some conclusions on the way the machine has to be used to be more efficient. The first point was the influence of the movable roll on the center buckles defect correction. We noticed that the movable roll was efficient until an intermesh value of 40mm, and that it was useless to use higher intermeshes as we already have enrolment at this position, so the curvature radius undergone by the strip is equal to the roll radius, and can not be smaller. This conclusion has been done thanks to a curvature analysis along the stretch leveler. The second conclusion was on the influence of the total elongation distribution in the several S-Blocks of the stretch Leveler. Indeed we demonstrated that when the elongation is done in Area2, the actual elongation is higher, inducing a better defect correction capability. For a given submitted elongation of 0.40 percent, the actual elongation is equal to 0.14 percent when it is done in Areal, whereas we can get an actual elongation of 0.31 percent when it is done in Area2.