Development and Application of Thermo-mechanical Control Process Involving Ultra-fast Cooling Technology in China

Thermo-mechanical control process (TMCP) is an important and effective rolling technology for microstructural control to obtain excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength, excellent toughness and other performances, which consists of controlled hot rolling and controlled cooling. RAL laboratory in China has been making efforts to develop ultra-fast cooling (UFC) technology, which is referred as the core technology for New Generation (NG)-TMCP. The ongoing development of UFC technology, with high cooling capacity and uniform cooling control, provides the effective control of cooling paths for a wide range of water-cooled steel strips and plates. Here, the development and characterization of UFC technology are introduced, and advanced cooling system (ADCOS) for the UFC equipment will be elucidated as well. Moreover, the superior mechanical properties can be obtained by inter-pass cooling technology during rolling processing, which is characterized by water-cooling between controlled rolling passes and further reheating due to the internal heat capacity of plate on its own. The resultant theory and technology can achieve resource conservation, energy saving and emission reduction for green products in the manufacturing process for upgrading of steel industry in China.