Development of a Process for Manufacturing Rolled H-Shapes With Light-Webs

A process for manufacturing light-web rolled H-shape steels has been investigated. The results obtained are as follows: (1) to realize the light web, it is necessary to reduce the residual stress for preventing the web from buckling and not to decrease the web rolling temperature for preventing the material quality from worsening; (2) to reduce the residual stress, it is effective to cool the flange by water between the roughing and the finishing universal mills and also after the finishing universal mill; and (3) to not decrease the web temperature, it is effective to carry out tandem rolling by roughing universal mills. Kawasaki Steel Corp. has installed the water-cooling equipment and also revamped a roughing universal mill to the two-stand tandem universal rolling mills at the Wide Flange Beam Plant. As a result, it has become possible, as expected, to manufacture the light-web rolled H-shape steels.