Modelling heat transfer in hot rolling work rolls

Work rolls in a hot rolling mill are subjected to successive heating and cooling cycles, with the net result of a positive heat influx. This sort of heating might cause damage, as well as shape defects in the roiled strips, so it is therefore necessary to know how the temperature of the rolls increases. This particular phenomenon has been modelled following different approaches. Three models have been developed to calculate the transient heat dow (two using the finite-difference method and one integrating the heat how to the roll). A fourth model, based also in the integration of the heat flow, was developed to compute the temperature distribution at steady-state. It is concluded that each model has its own value! and that all of them have to be used when a comprehensive analysis of the rolling conditions is required. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.