Simulation of the cooling process of clad rolled products in a pile

This article focuses on the numerical simulation of the cooling process of a pile of clad thick steel plates using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The main objective of the research is to predict the cooling time required for anti-flaking treatment and cooling of the stack to a temperature of 100 °C, after which sheet rolling can be unloaded from the slow cooling section. The relevance of the work stems from the fact that uneven cooling within the pile, caused by sheet flatness deviations, contact with the concrete floor, and other technological factors, directly affects the quality of the final product. During the study, a three-dimensional model based on the Finite Element Method was developed, which considers comprehensive heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation), variable thermophysical properties of the dissimilar layers of the bimetal (base layer K60 and cladding 08Kh18N10Т), as well as realistic production conditions: rolling rate, sequential pile formation, and surface roughness. The model was verified and adapted based on the results of a laboratory experiment, which allowed for refining the key heat transfer coefficients for steel-steel, steelconcrete, and steel-air contacts. As a result of simulating a series of industrial scenarios, analytical dependencies of the pile cooling time to 100 °C on the main technological parameters were obtained. It was established that the initial sheet temperature and the number of sheets in the pile (pile height) have the greatest influence, while the impact of the rolling rate is less significant. Based on the obtained data, empirical formulas describing these dependencies using power and logarithmic laws were derived. The practical significance of the work lies in providing a tool for the precise calculation of cooling process parameters, which enables process optimization, reduction of production time, and minimization of the risk of defects in clad steel plate.