Study on the VCRplus Back-Up Roll Contour of 1500 mm CVC Mill

The back-up rolls of hot strip mills wear considerably under the conditions of high temperature and heavy load, which affects the roll service period and the stability of strip profile control. Serious uneven wear, short service periods, and spalling problems occurred on conventional back-up rolls of upstream stand CVC mills in 1500 mm continuous hot rolling production lines. Through finite element simulations, the problems are determined to be caused by the configuration of a flat roll contour of the back-up roll and the CVC roll contour of the work roll, which leads to uneven contact pressure between the rolls. The wear distribution form is ‘anti-CVC’ shape, and there is peak contact pressure between the rolls on both sides of the roll body. In particular, the long-term negative shifting of CVC on site further increases the peak contact pressure between the rolls, resulting in uneven wear and spalling accident. Based on the design technology of VCR back-up roll contours with variable contact lengths, and considering the cooperation between the middle of the back-up roll and the CVC work roll contour, the roll contour of the back-up roll has been improved. The designed VCRplus roll contour was analyzed and evaluated by finite element simulation, including the distribution of contact pressure between rolls, the control effect of bending force, and the transverse stiffness of the roll gap. The simulation results show that the VCRplus roll contour can effectively improve the uneven distribution of contact pressure between the rolls, and effectively improve the control effect of bending force and the transverse stiffness of the roll gap. Industrial tests demonstrate that VCRplus back-up roll contours have the advantages of uniform back-up roll wear, enhanced self-sustaining of the roll contour, and further extension of the back-up roll service life. The roll contour has now stably been put into industrial production, and the rolling capacity during the back-up roll service period has been extended from 150,000,000 kg to 250,000,000 kg.