HD-lubricated high-speed small reduction rolling of hard steel strips with elastically deformable work rolls

Abstract This research investigates the effects of elastic work rolls on the hydrodynamic (HD)-lubricated high-speed rolling of hard steel strips with a small reduction. An innovative numerical method was established to couple the interactions across deformable rolls, pressurised lubricant and strips undergoing elastoplastic deformation. A dynamic explicit finite element analysis (FEA) was used to obtain the deformed solid bodies while a transient Reynolds equation was utilised to govern the hydrodynamic pressure. A non-linear lubricant shearing stress was integrated in obtaining the interface friction. The analysis demonstrates that the hydrodynamic pressure can be more affected by the yield strength of the metal strip and roll radius for a fixed rolling gap in lubricated strip rolling.