Validation of the Cooling Model for TMCP Processing of Steel Sheets with Oxide Scale Using Industrial Experiment Data

To verify the mathematical model of the water-jet cooling of steel plates developed by the authors, previously performed experimental studies of the temperature of the test plates in a roller-quenching machine (RQM) were used. The calculated temperature change in the metal as it moved in the RQM was compared with the readings of thermocouples installed at the center of the test plate and near its surface. The basis of the model is the dependence of the temperatures of the film, transition and nucleate boiling regimes on the thickness of the oxide scale layer on the cooled surface. It was found that the model correctly accounts for the oxide scale on the sheet surface, the flow rates and combinations of the RQM banks used, the water temperature, and other factors. For all tests, the calculated metal temperature corresponded well with the measured one. In the experiments with interrupted cooling, the calculated temperature plots repeated the characteristic changes in the experimental curves. The main uncertainty in the modeling of cooling over a wide temperature range can be attributed to the random nature of changes in the oxide scale thickness during water cooling. In this regard, the estimated thickness of the oxide scale layer should be considered the main parameter for adapting the sheet temperature-control process. The data obtained confirm the possibility of effective application of the model in the ACS of industrial TMCP (Thermo-Mechanical Controlled Process) systems.