9th International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Metallurgical Processes in Steelmaking - STEELSIM2021

In the processing of heavy plates, the leveling operation aims at improving the plate flatness and minimizing residual stresses, but is also the last process step influencing the strength properties in a significant manner. To this end, the roller-leveling machine applies multiple cycles of plastic bending with a strain sequence depending on the actual leveler setup to the plate cross section . The plastic deformation, in turn, affects the strength properties of the heavy plate. In consequence of the bending deformation, the strength contribution due to leveling varies across the plate thickness direction. In a previous work, a model to predict the local change of the strength properties across the thickness direction due to the leveling process was developed. The present work focuses on how these locally different strength changes across the plate thickness contribute to the plate’s final overall strength . This modelling concept enables the implementation of a high performance automation application that is not only able to compute the levelling forces and power consumption but also to predict the degree of plastification and the change of the strength properties dependent on the leveler setup parameters.