Optimization of hot rolling parameters of CRNO steel with the aid of hot compression test and deformation map

Cold-rolled non-oriented (CRNO) electrical steels find a wide variety of applications in the core of electrical machines due to low core loss and high magnetic permeability. Stringent market conditions not only require CRNO steel with superior magnetic properties but also demand excellent surface conditions. CRNO steel is cold rolled to 0.5 mm in reversing mill. High hot rolled input thickness (>2.6 mm) increases the number of passes during cold rolling and adversely affects the mill productivity. It also results in surface defects such as buckling and coil break. The flow stress of this steel varies differently compared to conventional rolled steel. Thus, it becomes difficult to optimize the reduction schedule and hence safe hot rolling practice is adopted to restrict roll force within permissible limit resulting in higher thickness. A hot compression test was carried out in a Gleeble-3500 to evaluate the flow stress behaviour of this steel and a deformation map was developed to optimize the hot rolling window. The input from the hot compression test and deformation map was used to develop a mill setup model to accurately predict the roll force and optimize the reduction schedule of CRNO steel in the finishing stands of HSM. The final thickness of hot-rolled coils during industrial trials with an optimized reduction schedule was found to be in the range of 2.4-2.6 mm compared to 2.7-3.0 mm during conventional rolling. These coils were further cold rolled and finished in 4-5 passes compared to 6-7 passes with conventional rolling. Reduction in the number of passes has resulted in increased productivity during cold rolling as well as improved surface finish.