METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING MARTENSITE- OR BAINITE-RICH STEEL USING STECKEL MILL AND CONTROLLED COOLING

A steel rolling mill including a Steckel mill is provided with an in-line upstream quench station located downstream of the caster and upstream of the reheat furnace, a shear located downstream of the Steckel mill, and a temperature reduction station downstream of the shear. The upstream quench station has spray nozzles that quench a surface layer of the steel to transform same from an austenitic to a non-austenitic microstructure. The shear provides a precise transverse vertical face on the leading end of the steel. The temperature reduction station applies cooling fluid to the rolled steel so as to obtain a preferre d microstructure that may be either bainite or martensite. If bainite, the temperature reduction station includes laminar-flow cooling apparatus; if martensite, th e station also includes an initial rapid quench, in which latter case the station is followed by a tempering furnace.