PRE-HEATING AND THERMAL CONTROL OF WORK ROLLS IN METAL ROLLING PROCESSES AND CONTROL SYSTEMS THEREOF

摘要

Systems and methods for usingfull-width hot sprays 118 to pre-heat rolling mills 100 priorto processing of metal sheet or plate are describedherein. The hot sprays 118 may be individuallycontrolled. Using hot sprays can allow the rolling mill 100to reach operating temperature and achieve a desiredthermal crown so that metal sheet or plate 102 may beprocessed immediately within tolerances for flatness andgauge accuracy. Pre-heating of rolling mills 100 caneliminate the need of the rolling mill 100 to operate in atransitional period of work roll heating and can increaseefficiency by eliminating or reducing scrap material andmill downtime. Hot sprays 118 may also be incorporatedwith existing coolant systems to provide thermal controlsystems for rolling mills 100 with bi-directionaltemperature controls.