Improved roll pass design for long

products with WICON Rolling Library

WICON Rolling Library is a professional tool for making all the necessary calculations and
simulation of the process parameters in a rolling mill. This includes roll pass design, evaluating
changes to process conditions, evaluating new products or process routes as well as evaluating
modifications to existing mills or new design proposals.

Author: Martin Hndemark

Danieli Morgrdshammar

T odays demands on productivity and quality in hot

rolling mills for rod and wire require continuous
analysis of processes and equipment. To reduce risk, time
shown in Figure 1. This example describes the layout of
the WICMILL rod and bar mill consisting of 16 conti-stands
followed by a 5-stand Kocks block with three separate
and cost in projects for the introduction of new products driven stands and ending with two coupled stands driven
and the managing of new equipment, good analysis by one motor.
tools are required. WICON Rolling Library is a collection Layout also includes data on motors, gears and tension
of programs that enable the necessary calculations and control, together with information on cooling conditions/
simulations of the process parameters in a rolling mill rates in and between the stands and roll deflection
to be made. Additionally, operators can test and check characteristics of the stands. Roll deflection is used in the
their own ideas as well as the technical quotations of Rolling simulation program for calculating the empty gap
mill suppliers when upgrading existing mills or building (unloaded stand) and is calculated from the roll deflection
new mills. value for the stand.
The library covers different mill layouts, from single The resulting deflection (G) of the pass is the calculated
stand blooming mills and old looping trains, to modern roll separating force (F) multiplied by the mechanical
continuous mills, 3-roll blocks and 2-high finishing deflection value (Dmec) minus the gap reduction due to the
blocks with conceivable symmetrical groove shapes and oil film layer (Doil) for stands with oil film bearings.
rolling sequences, which can occur when rolling finishing
rounds, squares, hexagons and flats in wire rod, bar or Groove table This covers all types of grooves used for
blooming mills. It is also possible to make simulations and rolling of rounds, squares, hexagons, flats, asymmetric
calculations of the slit rolling process. grooves used in 3-high stands (see Figure 2) and slit
The DOS version of WICON has been available since grooves (see Figure 3). Grooves are defined in tables, one
1985 and the first Windows version was released in 1998. table for each type of groove. When data for a groove
It is now used by more than 120 companies. is entered it is also possible to directly see and print a
The programs included are: drawing (see Figure 4).
` Data base, comprising Layout, Groove table and Rolling
schedule Rolling schedule This program describes each pass
` Rolling in the rolling process (see Figure 5). One row represents
` Pass design one pass. Data on the mill layout is loaded from the file
` Plot roll created in the Layout module to obtain data on motor and
` Graphs gear ratios. Each groove is inserted in the schedule from
` Temperatures the Groove table database. The groove dimensions are as
X-Y coordinates included in the schedule.
DATA BASE The spread coefficient (SC), value used for spread
Data base consists of three program modules for building calculations in the simulation program (Rolling), is
up the fundamental data of mill, grooves and rolling automatically inserted for each pass and depends on
schedules. the geometric combination of inserted grooves in the
schedule. Default values have been evaluated from a large
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Layout A rolling mill layout consists of a number of number of passes in continuous mills when rolling plain
motors and stands connected in various arrangements. carbon steel between 0.5-0.85%C. The main reason why
Each specific mill can be explained with the 13 columns the values differ is that the lower valuesaare from groove

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 Forming processes

r Fig 1 Data sheet 4 WICMILL rod and bar mill

combinations in the beginning of the mill where the

temperature is higher than for the groove combinations in
the middle part of the mill.
The nominal gap is the active gap during the rolling
when the roll separating force is acting on the stand. The
empty gap when the stand is unloaded is calculated in
the simulation program based on the actual calculated roll
separating force.

ROLLING
Rolling, the main program, is a dynamic simulation program
which instantaneously recalculates the conditions for the
mill setup after any change of the rolling parameters. r Fig 2 Drawing of asymmetric groove used in
Rolling can be used to simulate and calculate process 3-high stands
parameters to be used in the setup of the mill, to analyse
rolling problems or optimise the process, as an analysis
tool when introducing new products and equipment or as
a tool for staff education.
Calculations are carried out in five steps:
` Dimensions
` Speed (motor/roll revolution)
` Load, torque and power
` Temperature
` Empty gap

Dimensions Dimensions are calculated from billet to

finished dimension using a spread formula which is a
function of geometry, material, temperature and tension. r Fig 3 Drawing of slit groove
The calculation of spread is based on the Wusatowski
spread formula [1] which has been modified by
Morgrdshammar in order to better conform with measured
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width values.Since these considerations apply only to plain

sections, ie, square and rectangular bars rolled between
plain cylindrical rolls, Lendls method of equivalent a

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 rectangles [2] needs to be used (see Figure 6).
With the modified spread the real exit width W1 is
calculated as a function of entry width, SC, spread factor
(SF) and the calculated width based on geometrical
conditions for exiting equivalent rectangle.
SC is dependent partly on the groove combination but it is
much more dependent on the composition and temperature
of the rolled material and the friction conditions between
the rolls and the material. It has been evaluated from a
large number of passes in continuous mills when rolling
plain carbon steel between 0.5-0.85%C.
SC values during the spread calculation are multiplied by
the SF. By entering a SF deviating from 1 it is possible to
simulate other spread conditions than the default values.
The difference between real entering width and width
of the entering equivalent rectangle W0Eqv. is shown in
Figure 7.

Speed (motor/roll revolution) As well as having a

proper pass design in order to get good surface quality,
r Fig 4 Table for box grooves with entered data tolerances and high production yield, it is of great
importance to set an accurate speed and motor revolution
relationship between the stands/motors in a continuous
mill in order to control interstand tension. Calculation of
speed and motor revolution is made from finishing exit
speed upstream of the billet according to the principle of
constant mass flow. The speed calculation is a function of
finishing speed, area of the bar, roll diameter, tension and
forward slip.
DEff. is the effective roll diameter, which is calculated
based on the process conditions at the neutral point.
This is the point between entry and exit, in which the
horizontal component of the circumferential speed of
the roll is equal to speed of the bar. The roll diameter
varies with the depth of the groove along the width of
the groove (see Figure 8). The diameter at the groove
bottom DB is smaller than the outer diameter DO. The
r Fig 5 A rolling schedule example circumferential speed at the groove bottom is, therefore,
smaller than the circumferential speed at the roll barrel.
Each part of the cross-section of the bar must of course
have the same speed in the rolling direction. This means
that there must be one roll diameter, the working diameter
DW, which is generating that speed. The neutral point DW
is situated between the groove bottom diameter DB and
the diameter DI at the intersection between the groove
and the bar edge. DW is therefore a dynamic variable and
not a constant based on the groove depth as in common
Level 2 systems.
Other factors calculated or considered in the models
are circumferential speed, exit speed, mass flow, which
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must be constant along the contact length, and degree of

forward slip (FS).
The effective roll diameter DEff. in the WICON Rolling

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 Forming processes

Library can be larger or smaller than the outer roll

diameter. The reason for that is the FS, which, in many
Level 2 control systems, is totally neglected although it
is of greatest importance for the correct speed setup of a
mill. Both FS and DW increase with increasing reduction
by decreasing the gap for a given groove. The conclusion
is that the DEff. for a groove changes when the roll gap is
changed while the conventionally used DW is constant and
independent of gap setting and the spread properties of
the rolled material.
The exiting volume V of the rolled material must in a
continuous mill be the same in all stands.
Applying a tension between two stands means that
the motor revolution of the second stand is increased in
comparison with the motor speed for tension-free rolling.
When applying a tension of 5% between stand 1 and 2
only, the motor speed of stand 2 is increased by ~5%.
The exiting speed will increase from v2 to ~1.05 x v2. As
the exiting volume from each stand must be constant, the r Fig 6 Schematic drawing of round oval sequence with
exiting area A2 must decrease to ~ A2/1.05. equivalent sections
As the gaps are the same in all cases, the decrease of the
exiting area in stand 2 must be related to a smaller width
of the exiting bar. The tension will therefore decrease the
spread in stand 2. As the tension changes the width it
also affects the forward slip, the working diameter and
the neutral angle. This is not taken into account in the
explanation above, but is of course included in the process
calculations in the programs.
The leading and tail end of the bar will always be rolled
without tension, as the tension can only work when the
bar is in contact with at least two stands at the same time.
That means that the ends will be wider than the rest of
the bar, which has been rolled in a steady state condition.
The difference in width along the bar will be larger the
greater the tension and the greater number of stands
controlled by low tension control in separate driven stands
or the more stands there are in a block. The length of the
width difference is dependent on the distances between
the stands and the reductions in each stand.
In a block the rolling equipment is mounted on a
framework in a continuous arrangement and the stands
are driven by one motor. This kind of arrangement requires
rolling with tension between the stands which are achieved
by decreasing the gear ratio of each stand in comparison
with the ratio which would have been selected for tension-
free rolling. When the balance is disturbed by changing r Fig 7 Difference between real entering width
the gaps in any of the stands or the entry area into the and width of entering equivalent rectangle
block, it is not possible to change the speeds as the gear
ratios are fixed. The only way to find a new balance is
to change the elongation values in such a way that the
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principle of constant volumes remains. This new balance

is calculated by the program and reported as changes in
tension between the stands. Unless the changes do not a

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 accurate flow stress value to be used in the load, torque
and power calculation. The program calculates the entry
temperature for each pass going out from the given entry
temperature in the first pass and the cooling conditions
specified.

Empty gap Empty gap is calculated as a function of load,

dimensions, mechanical roll deflection and oil film factor.
The calculation of the empty gap setting is done in order
to get the desired active gap for the loaded stands. The
resulting deflection of the pass is the calculated load (roll
separating force) multiplied by the mechanical deflection
value minus the gap lessening due to the oil film layer for
stands with oil film bearings. The oil film layer is mainly a
function of the roll revolution. The oil film is counteracting
the mechanical deflection.
r Fig 8 Neutral point the working diameter DW
RESULTS FROM CALCULATIONS
The main module Rolling is a dynamic simulation program
turn the tension to a compression, the width of the bar which instantaneously recalculates the conditions for the
will only be affected by changing the entry section or by mill setup after any change of the rolling parameters,
changing the gap of the first or last stand in the block. eg, the gap changing for material with different spread
This is a very complicated interactive calculation which properties. All the relevant calculations are instantly carried
has proved to be very accurate when tested on measured out and results are displayed as in Figure 9, which shows
values. The calculated motor revolution deviations are one rolling sequence and how the grooves are filled. The
within 1.5%, which means that the speed control system grooves are displayed on one another in the way the bar
will be balanced much quicker than with conventional enters into the next groove in order to better understand
setup data. The first billet normally runs within tolerances the spread conditions. The red lines in the grooves are
compared to 5-8 test billets for a conventional setup. the free bar edge. It is also possible to present results
graphically directly in Rolling or in the Graphs modules.
Load, torque and power The calculation of load, torque
and power is based on the Sims formula [3] from billet to Results that are presented are:
finishing dimension as a function of geometry, grade of ` Empty gap
rolled material, temperature and tension. The flow stress ` Height and width are presented as cold or hot
data are collected from Weber [4] and from Cook and dimensions. The cold dimension is the hot dimension
McCrum [5]. For each material there are eight graphs divided by the expansion factor for the actual temperature
for the natural strain values between 0.05 and 0.7. Each and the actual material for the flow stress data.
graph covers the temperature range 900-1,200C and the ` Area reduction or elongation. The reduction is the area
mean strain rate 1.5-100 1/sec. The programs make an reduction A in % while the elongation is the ratio Aentry/
interpolation of the data in the graphs in order to find the Aexit in the pass.
flow stress for the specific pass conditions. The program ` Effective diameter or Diameter difference. This is used
includes 12 base materials. For each material it is possible for calculating the exit speed from a pass, see Speed
to add a Flow stress multiplication factor to be able to (motor/roll revolution). The diameter difference DEff is
simulate rolling with material that not is in the material the effective roll diameter DEff minus outer roll diameter
database but similar to one of those. D. The diameter difference may be compared with The
groove factor, but is much more accurate as it includes the
Temperature The temperature calculation is based on a influence of the forward slip.
method developed at Morgrdshammar and is a function ` Motor or roll revolution. The revolution is calculated
of power, dimension and heat transfer coefficients. The from the finishing speed. If a calculated revolution for a
method is a simplified model of the numerical solution of pass exceeds the restrictions given in the loaded Layout
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2011

the differential equations of heat transfer in a solid bar. The file (eg, max. motor revolution, max. or min. loop growth),
calculated temperature is the weighted mean temperature the program tries to find a speed that can be accepted by
over the cross-section, which is used to calculate the most the Layout specifications.

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 Forming processes

r Fig 9 Example of one rolling sequence and how the grooves are filled

` Speed, exit speed from each pass. ` Bar area, the cold or hot cross-section area of the bar
` Tension between stands. The tension between two after the pass.
stands has a major impact on the spread in the second ` Bar length, the cold or hot length of the bar after the pass.
stand, which will be evident by studying the change of
the bar width in the second stand when changing the PASS DESIGN
tension value. This module is the program for designing new grooves in
` Entry temperature. When the program finds a given existing rolling schedules as well as producing completely
temperature for a pass it uses this temperature for the new rolling schedules. Redesigning single grooves in an
load calculation and calculates the next temperature until existing rolling schedule is made by just a mouse click.
it finds another given temperature, and so on. In Pass design there are in-built general rules of design
` Load, Torque and Power. Load is the roll separating that automatically create new grooves in a mouse click. A
force acting during the deformation of the rolled material. comparable calculation that is made in Rolling which gives
Torque is the total rolling torque required for deformation the opportunity see how different groove geometric will
of the rolled material. Power is the power required for affect the rolling directly.
deformation of the rolled material. Power max, Power
mean and Power available are also calculated. Power max PLOT ROLL
is the combination of all interacting power values which Plot roll is a CAD program specially designed for making
has the highest value, including the empty running power groove drawings, roll drawings (see Figure 10) and groove
of the drive equipment (~10% of the rated maximum plans. It is easy to use and has also an interface with other
power of the motor). The available power PAvailable of a common CAD programs. It can also be used as the initial
DC motor is a function of motor revolution and the rated data for CAM programs. When a roll drawing is created,
maximum power. The maximum power PMotorMax is available groove dimension is called from the Groove database and
only between the base revolution and the maximum automatically added to the roll drawing that then directly
revolution. can be printed or saved as CAD file.
` Available power for a standard AC motor is the rated
motor power. GRAPHS
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` Angle of bite, the program is flagging for values larger Graphs are a program for displaying multiple function,
than 25. Values larger than 25 can be accepted in reality multiple dimension process data graphs, (see Figure 11).
depending on the rolling conditions. The graphic presentation makes it easier to understand a

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 q Fig 10 Groove dimensions are called from the groove database
and automatically added to the roll drawing

and evaluate the process conditions in the mill and how by forced water cooling. Depending on the design of the
the different finishing dimensions are interacting. pipes and the flow and pressure, it is possible to reach
values between 10,000 and 50,000W/(m2C). Normal
TEMPERATURES values for the water cooling section between the finishing
This program calculates the temperature distribution over stand and the laying head in high speed wire rod mills
the cross-section in a solid body by heating and cooling are 10,000-25,000W/(m2C). Values above 25,000W/
as a function of time. The mathematical model used is a (m2C) are reached using the special cooling equipment
numerical solution of the differential equations of heat for direct heat treatment of rebars.
transfer in a solid bar. The thermal flow inside the bar is
a function of the thermal conductivity and the thermal The program can also be used for evaluation of actual heat
diffusivity of the selected material. The values are a transfer coefficients by comparing measured temperature
function of the temperature and the composition of the values with the calculated values for different given heat
material. The values of the build in material data library transfer coefficients.
are taken from a BISRA report [6].
The heat to be removed from the surface or the heat to CONCLUSIONS
be absorbed by the surface is a function of the temperature All rolling mills have problems regarding product quality,
difference between surface and surrounding media and production yield, or both. Most are also continuously
the applied heat transfer coefficient. The total heat transfer investigating the possibility to widen the product range
coefficient by cooling consists of three parts: and/or increase production. Only by having a good
knowledge of the process parameters is it possible to
` Radiation r. This is calculated in the program and make the right decisions and take the right measures
is about 60W/(m2C) for a bar surface temperature of for making the desired improvements. WICON Rolling
1,000C. Library is a professional tool for making all the necessary
` Convection c. The heat transfer coefficient depending calculations and simulation of the process parameters in
on natural convection is ~30W/(m2C). Forced air cooling a rolling mill. The easy-to-use concept and the fact that
MILLENNIUM STEEL 2011

may increase the convection by another ~100W/(m2C). the programs are self-educational makes it possible for
` Water cooling w. Many investigations have been all staff involved in production to test ideas for improving
carried out in order to evaluate the heat transfer coefficient mill conditions. MS

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 Forming processes

Martin Hndemark is Engineer, Process Technology

at Morgrdshammar AB Part of the Danieli Group,
Smedjebacken, Sweden.

Contacts: martin.handemark@morgardshammar.se
giacomo.verlini@morgardshammar.se

References
[1] Z Wusatowski, Fundamentals of rolling, pp87-107,
London: Pergamon Press, 1969
[2] A E Lendl, Rolled bars, Iron and steel, pp397-402,
499-501, 601-604, 1948
[3] R B Sims, The calculations of roll force and torque in
hot rolling, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, pp191-200, 209-214 (168), 1954
[4] K H Weber, Metallformung, Freiberger forschungshefte
B46, Berlin, 1959
[5] P M Cook and A W McCrum, BISRA
[6] Physical constants of some commercial steels at
elevated temperatures, edited by BISRA, 1953. r Fig 11 Graphs module showing the Power graph

DANIELI MORGRDSHAMMAR