Rolling

▪ Rolling is a deformation process in which the thickness of the work is

reduced by compressive forces exerted by two opposing rolls.

▪ Rolls rotate to pull and simultaneously squeeze the work between

them.
▪ Most rolling is carried out by hot working, called hot rolling

▪ The basic rolling process is known as flat rolling, used to reduce

the thickness of a rectangular cross section.

▪ The rolling process in which a square cross section is formed into

a shape such as an I-beam is known as shape rolling
▪ A bloom has a square cross section
▪ A slab is rolled from an ingot or a bloom and has a rectangular cross
section
▪ A billet is rolled from a bloom and is square in cross section
 Analysis of flat rolling

▪ In flat rolling, the work is squeezed between two rolls so that its
thickness is reduced by an amount called the draft (d)
▪ Draft

▪ Conservation of matter is preserved, so the volume of metal exiting the

rolls equals the volume entering

▪ Similarly, before and after volume rates of material flow must be the
same, so the before and after velocities can be related as
▪ During rolling, the strip is pulled into the
rollers due to the presence of frictional
force at the interface between rollers
and strip.

▪ To avoid bending of the strip, the

surface velocities of the rollers must be
equal.

▪ To maintain the same contact area

between the roller and strip, the
diameter of both rollers must be equal.
What about speed of rotation of rollers ?
Deformation zone

▪ The zone between the

entry and exit point is entry
known as the deformation
zone. exit

▪ The deformation required

for reducing the thickness
is obtained in this zone
only.
AB = Length of deformation zone, L
O

θ = Angle of bite A θ
B

𝑑
C
𝑂𝐵 𝑂𝐶 − 𝐵𝐶 𝑅 −( 2 )
cos θ = = =
𝑂𝐴 𝑂𝐴 𝑅

d
R. cos θ = R − ( )
2

d = D ( 1- cos θ)
AB = Length of deformation zone, L
O

θ = Angle of bite A θ
B

𝐿= 𝑂𝐴2 − 𝑂𝐵2 C

= 𝑅2 − (𝑅 − 𝑑/2)2

= 𝑅. 𝑑 − 𝑑2/4

𝐿 = 𝑅. 𝑑 𝑅. 𝑑 ≫ 𝑑2/4
AC = Arc length of deformation zone
O

θ = Angle of bite A θ
B
AC = R. θ C
𝐴𝐵 𝑅.𝑑 𝑅.𝑑
tan θ = = 𝑑 =
𝑂𝐵 𝑅−( 2 ) 𝑅

𝑑
tan θ =
𝑅
▪ The rolls pull the material into the roll
gap through a frictional force on the
material.

▪ Thus, a net frictional force must exist

and be to the right.

▪ Increasing friction also increases rolling

forces and power requirements.

▪ In practice, controlled levels of friction

are maintained with the use of
lubricants.
Maximum value of angle of bite (θ)
O
▪ Net frictional force in the
A θ
horizontal direction is 90- θ
θ B
Fx = F cosθ – N cos(90- θ) N
F C
= F cosθ – N sinθ
= µN cosθ – N sinθ
= N(µcosθ – sinθ)
Fx ≥ 0 (for pulling the strip
into the roller, Fx ≥ 0 )

N(µcosθ – sinθ) ≥ 0
µcosθ ≥ sinθ ≥ 0
 µcosθ ≥ sinθ
µ ≥ tanθ
tanβ ≥ tanθ
β≥θ
The limiting condition is θmax = β
𝑑
µ = tan β = tan θ =
𝑅

Maximum possible draft 𝑑 = µ2R

θmax = β ▪ Roll bite condition in rolling/limiting condition for un-

aided entry/ Coulombs friction condition
Exercise
For a single pass rolling in a two high rolling mill, derive expressions for
(a) angle of contact (b) contact length (c) roll bite condition.

Derive the mathematical expression for the limiting condition (roll bite)
for un-aided entry of a slab into the rolls.
 Relative velocity of rollers and strip
▪ The surface speed of the rigid roll is
constant.

▪ The velocity of the strip increases from

its entry value of Vo as it moves through
Vo Vf
the roll gap, and is highest at the exit
from the roll, where it is denoted as Vf

▪ The metal accelerates in the roll gap,

similar to incompressible fluid flows
through a converging channel.
▪ At the neutral point or no-slip point, the
velocity of the strip and roll is the same. No slip

▪ To the left of this point, the roll moves

faster than the strip; to the right of this
point, the strip moves faster than the roll. Vo Vf

▪ Forward slip in rolling is defined as,

Vf − Vr
Forward slip =
Vr

▪ Forward slip is a measure of the relative Vo < Vr < Vf

velocities involved in the roll gap and
correlates with surface finish.
 True strain & Avg. flow stress in flat rolling
▪ The true strain experienced by the work in rolling is based on before and
after strip thickness.

▪ The true strain can be used to determine the average flow stress Yf applied
to the work material in flat rolling

▪ The average flow stress is used to compute estimates of force and power
in rolling
Roll force, Torque and Power requirements

Let F = Rolling force, N

(Roll separating force)

w = Width of the work being rolled, mm

p = Roll pressure, Mpa

L = length of contact between rolls and

work, mm
▪ Given a coefficient of friction sufficient
to perform rolling, roll force F required
to maintain separation between the two
rolls (Roll separating force) can be
computed by integrating the unit roll
pressure over the roll-work contact area.
▪ The torque in rolling can be estimated by assuming that the roll force
is centered on the work as it passes between the rolls, and that it acts
with a moment arm of one-half the contact length L.

Thus, torque for each roll is

▪ The power required to drive each roll is the product of torque and
angular velocity.

▪ Angular velocity is 2𝜋N, where N rotational speed of the roll.

• Pavg - Average flow stress acting on material
( The uniform pressure of roller due to which reduction of
material is happening)
𝐻𝑜+𝐻𝑓
havg=
𝑑2

W- width of strip
▪ The total power for both roll is:

2𝜋𝑁𝑇
𝑃 kW = 2.
60000
Doubling the value to account for the fact that a rolling mill consists
of two powered rolls.
2𝜋𝑁𝐹𝐿
𝑃 kW =
60000

F is in newtons, L is in meters, and N is the revolutions per minute of

the roll
Spreading
▪ In rolling plates and sheets with high width-to-thickness
ratios, the width of the strip remains effectively
constant during rolling.

▪ While rolling bars with a smaller width-to-thickness

ratio, their width increases significantly and the increase
in width is called spreading.

▪ Spreading increases with increasing friction, and

decreasing ratio of roll radius to strip thickness.
Spreading can be prevented by using vertical rolls that
provide a physical constraint to spreading (edger mills).
Rolling mill

▪ Several types of rolling mills and equipment are available, with a

range of sizes and diverse roll arrangements.

▪ A rolling mill can be either reversing or non-reversing.

▪ In the non-reversing mill, the rolls always rotate in the same

direction, and the work always passes through from the same side.

▪ The reversing mill allows the direction of roll rotation to be

reversed so that the work can be passed through in either direction.
2 high rolling mill

▪ The basic rolling mill consists of two opposing rolls and is referred to
as a two-high rolling mill.
3 high rolling mill

▪ In the three-high mill, there

are three rolls in a vertical
column, and the direction of
rotation of each roll remains
unchanged.
▪ To achieve a series of reductions, the work can be passed through
from either side by raising or lowering the strip after each pass.

▪ The elevator mechanism needed to raise and lower the work makes it
complicated.
Reducing roll diameter

▪ Advantages are gained in reducing roll diameter.

▪ The roll-work contact length is reduced with a lower roll radius, and
this leads to lower forces, torque, and power.

▪ Owing to the high roll forces, the smaller rolls would deflect
elastically between their end bearings as the work passes through
and larger backing rolls are needed to support them.
4 high rolling mill

▪ The four-high rolling mill uses two smaller-diameter rolls to contact

the work and two backing rolls behind them
Cluster and tandem rolling mill
▪ Another roll configuration that allows smaller working rolls against
the work are the cluster and tandem rolling mills, as shown.

Cluster roll mill Tandem roll mill

▪ Tandem mills are used to achieve higher throughput rates in
standard products.

▪ This configuration consists of a series of rolling stands, each making

a reduction in thickness or a refinement in shape.

▪ With each rolling step, work velocity increases, and the problem of
synchronizing the roll speeds at each stand is important.
Various rolling processes
Thread Rolling

▪ Thread rolling is used to form threads on cylindrical parts by rolling

them between two dies.

▪ It is the most important commercial process for mass producing

external threaded components
The advantages of thread rolling over machining (thread cutting) are:
▪ Better material utilization
▪ Stronger threads due to work hardening
▪ Smoother surface
▪ Better fatigue resistance due to compressive stresses introduced by
rolling

Gear rolling is a cold working process similar to thread rolling, except

that the deformed features of the cylindrical blank or disk are oriented
parallel to its axis (or at an angle in the case of helical gears).
Ring rolling

▪ Ring rolling is a deformation process in which a thick-walled ring of

smaller diameter is rolled into a thin-walled ring of larger diameter.

▪ Applications include bearing races, steel tires for railroad wheels etc.

▪ Raw material savings, ideal grain orientation, strengthening through

cold working are the advantages of ring rolling.
Tube pierce rolling

▪ A specialized hot working process for making seamless thick-walled

tubes and it utilizes two opposing rolls.

▪ The process is based on the principle that when a solid cylindrical part
is compressed on its circumference, high tensile stresses are developed
at its center.

▪ If compression is high enough, an internal crack is formed. In roll

piercing, this principle is exploited by the setup shown
▪ An internal mandrel assists the operation by expanding the hole and
sizing the inside diameter of the tube.

▪ The terms rotary tube piercing and Mannesmann process are also
used for this tube-making operation.
Grain structure refinement in rolling

▪ Hot rolling is an effective way to reduce grain size in metals for

improved strength and ductility