Ryayan Tahlil Sepahan Company, Isfahan Science and Technology Town , Isfahan, Iran
Published online: 07 Oct 2011.
To cite this article: Ahmad Saboonchi & Saeid Hassanpour (2008) Simulation of Cold Rolled Steel Coil Heating during Batch
Annealing Process, Heat Transfer Engineering, 29:10, 893-901, DOI: 10.1080/01457630802125807
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01457630802125807
Cold rolled coils are subjected to the annealing process in order to improve their formability and mechanical properties. A
mathematical model of thermal behavior of coils during the heating cycle has been developed. Based on experimental data
from several tests, the accuracy of the model has been confirmed. This model enables us to determine the coldest point of
coils and the end time of furnace operation. Furthermore, the model has been used to analyze the effect of strip thickness on
the heating time required. Thinner strips lead to prolonged heating time and larger temperature differences within the coil.
INTRODUCTION
Cold rolled steel coils need to be annealed after they
leave the cold rolling process. The purpose of annealing is to
improve steel strip formability and remove residual internal
stresses imparted during rolling. Cold rolled coils are heated
and retained at a certain temperature in batch anneal furnaces,
and then cooled and removed. The heating and cooling rates
of coils in batch furnaces are slow due to large masses of
coils.
Figure 1 shows the schematic view of an annealing furnace.
It consists of an inner cover, the furnace, and the base. The basefan circulates an inert gas, usually a volume combination of
10% hydrogen and 90% nitrogen called HNX, inside the inner
cover and among the coils. Grooved plates, called a convector, are used between two adjacent coils to allow the gas pass
through the coils. A convector consists of a flat circular plate
with concentric hole and some thicker ribs welded on to it (see
Figure 2). The furnace mounted on the base has burners that heat
the wall of the inner cover, and the gas inside the inner cover
is heated as a result of contact with the wall. In some annealing plants, heating cycles are determined from prepared charts
based on experimental trial and error. They are for certain sizes
of coils and do not support all coil sizes. A proper mathematical model of the annealing process can predict the temperatures
Address correspondence to Professor Ahmad Saboonchi, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84154, Iran.
E-mail: ahmadsab@cc.iut.ac.ir
of the internal points on the charges coils and the time when
each point reaches the desired recrystalization temperature. Efforts have been made in most plants to develop such a model.
Meyer and Woelk [1] first developed the theoretical basis of a
mathematical model of the annealing furnace. Harvey [2] also
developed a mathematical simulation of the annealing process.
Rovito et al. [3, 4] developed an online model, mostly based
on statistical functions, to predict the end time of the annealing process and the cold spot temperature (the coldest point of
the coils in heating cycle). It should be mentioned that in these
models, either the cold spot position was predetermined (see
Figure 3) or its calculated temperature was corrected by measuring an auxiliary point temperature located on the coils outside
layer.
The model developed in this paper is meant to simulate heating of cold rolled steel coils in annealing furnaces at the Mobarakeh Steel Complex (MSC) located in Isfahan, Iran. This
model is capable of online computation of the temperatures of
all points of a coil even when its only input variable is the inert gas temperature. This temperature is read by the operator
from a thermocouple mounted inside the inner cover. The model
was subjected to several experiments for validation. The good
agreement found between the predictions by the model and the
experimental data confirm the accuracy of the model. First, this
model was used to determine the exact time of furnace firing for
any coil size in the annealing plant. Finally, the effect of strip
thickness on the heating time required and on the temperature
difference between cold and hot spots of the coil was investigated. The great temperature difference in coil during heating
893
894
T
T
1
(cT ) =
kr r
+
kz
(1)
r r
r
z
z
The most important issue in the heat transfer equation within the
coil is the equivalent thermal conductivity along radial direction
[5]. The thermal conductivity of the coil along its axial direction
(k z ) is assumed to be the same as that of the steel. But for the
radial direction (kr ), an equivalent thermal conductivity must be
assumed, due to the fact that a number of steel sheet layers are
laid alongside each other.
Radial Thermal Conductivity
Two flat surfaces lying on each other can have few contact
points [6]. The ratio of actual contact area (the sum of contact
points) to apparent contact area between the two flat surfaces
(A), depends on the material, surface roughness, and the pressure
created between them. It can thus be claimed that heat transfer
between the two layers will take place in the three following
ways:
1. conduction at contact points, Rcnd,cnt
;
2. conduction through the gas medium occupying the voids be
tween contact points, Rcnd,gas
; and
3. radiation through the voids between contact points, Rrad,gas
.
ts
ks
(2)
895
Table 1 Properties of steel [6] and inert gases [5] against temperature
Steel thermal
conductivity
T (K)
(W/m.K)
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Steel specific
heat capacity
(J/kg.K)
Nitrogen thermal
conductivity
(W/m.K)1000
Hydrogen thermal
conductivity
(W/m.K) 1000
490
527
563
612
685
782
886
991
26.2
33.3
39.8
45.8
51.2
56.1
60.7
64.8
182
228
272
315
351
384
412
440
59
57
53
50
45
41
34
33
(8)
Boundary Conditions
Rcnd,cnt
=
ta
ks (A)
(3)
Rcnd,gas
=
ta
ka (1 A)
(4)
Rrad,gas
=
4T 3
1
(1 A)
(5)
1
1
1
1
Req
= Rs + Rcnd,cnt
+ Rcnd,gas
+ Rrad,gas
kr =
ks
1+
(6)
(k s /k a )(2)(t s /t a )
[1+(k s /k a 1) A] (2)+(1A)4T 3 (t a /ka )
(7)
As strips are coiled under tension, the gas only penetrates in the
spaces between strips; it has no tangible circulation and must,
therefore, be assumed to be static and motionless.
Two simplifications have been made in Eq. (7): in contact points, steel thermal conductivity has been used in lieu of
the thermal contact conductance; and the values of A and ta
have been assumed to be constant throughout the heating cycle,
whereas their values depend on the quantity of pressure between
two layers, which in turn is a function of temperature gradient
inside the coil.
heat transfer engineering
(9)
(10)
k z (T /z)|z=0,L = C[h 0,L ,cnv (Tgas Tsurf ) +
)
(11)
896
of the area where the gas passes to the total convector area, and
determined from its shape.
Using the basic Eq. (12) by considering coil dimensions, the
circulation rate of inert gas, and temperature measurement near
surface points of coils in all experiments, heat transfer coefficients for all surfaces of coil were obtained as Eqs. (1315):
N u L = c Rem Prn
h Ri = 0.7kPr0.33
v Ri
L
0.33
0.5
vRo
L
0.305 1.0
Ri L
(17)
These two relations have been developed for the furnaces employed at the HNX annealing unit at MSC and may take different
forms under different conditions. They were based on measurements for different charges with varying dimensions so they
could account for all charges used.
0.45
Ro 1.0
1.4 L
(13)
(14)
h 0,L = 0.04kPr0.33
(16)
(12)
h Ro = 0.65kPr
+ 1.30.25 ]Tgas
v0,L
(Ro Ri)
Ro
r
0.60
Dh
Ro Ri
0.055
(15)
Several experiments for different dimensions of coil and gas temperature were done. Then, the coefficients of Eqs. (1315) were
obtained. These equations are good for the following ranges:
0.65 < Pr < 0.79,
50 C < Tgas < 700 C,
210 mm < Ri < 320 mm,
heat transfer engineering
To solve Eq. (1), the finite difference method was used. The
equations were solved using the Alternative Implicit Directions
(ADI) and FORTRAN programming language. In the ADI technique, this equation was solved in the form of consecutive iterations of tridiagonal matrices to obtain temperatures for each time
interval. In the computer program, changes of physical properties were considered in terms of temperature changes in any
iteration. Equations (18) and (19) are the discretization form of
conduction equation in ADI method. Three computational grids
were studied (i.e., 15 15, 30 30, and 60 60). The errors related to energy balance of last two grids were below 3%.
Table 2 Characteristics of the three-coil charge
Coil number
(position)
Steel strip
thickness (mm)
Steel strip
width (mm)
External
diameter (mm)
1 (B-bottom)
2 (C-middle)
3 (T-top)
2.5
2.5
2.5
1250
1250
1250
1682
1691
1670
897
Steel strip
thickness (mm)
Steel strip
width (mm)
External
diameter (mm)
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
1000
1000
1000
1000
1661
1657
1627
1542
1 Ti+1, j Ti1, j
+
r
2r
Ti,n+1
j Ti, j
t/2
= kr
1 Ti+1, j Ti1, j
+
r
2r
+
k zn
(18)
(z)2
Figure 7 Temperature-time curves for mid-point of middle coil (C) in a threecoil charge: experimental and numerical results.
Ti+1,
j 2Ti, j + Ti1, j
(r )2
+
k z
n+1
n+1
Ti,n+1
j+1 2Ti, j + Ti, j
(z)2
(19)
Figure 9 Temperature-time curves for near outside layer point of third coil
from bottom (C2) in a four-coil charge: experimental and numerical results.
898
+
krn(i+1, j) krn(i1, j)
+
kr(i, j)
+
t/2
krn(i, j)
Ti+1,
j 2Ti, j + Ti1, j
(r )2
1 Ti+1, j Ti1, j
+
r
2r
Ti,nj+1 Ti,nj1
(20)
2z
+
ci, j
Ti,j
ci,n j
(r )2
kr(i+1, j) kr(i1, j)
t/2
Ti+1,
j 2Ti, j + Ti1, j
2r
(z)2
Ti,n+1
j Ti, j
+ k z(i,
j)
( C)
2z
ci, j
2r
n
n
k z(i,
j+1) k z(i, j1)
Ti+1,
j Ti1, j
2r
n
+ k z(i,
j)
1 Ti+1, j Ti1, j
+
r
2r
Ti+1,
j Ti1, j
2r
n+1
n+1
Ti,n+1
j+1 2Ti, j + Ti, j
(z)2
2z
n+1
Ti,n+1
j+1 Ti, j1
2z
(21)
Temperature
difference ( C)
Time (hr)
Time (hr)
Temperature
difference ( C)
18.0
14.0
12.5
208
194
183
34.5
25.0
23.0
62
63
56
899
Temperature
difference ( C)
Time (hr)
Time (hr)
Temperature
difference ( C)
13.0
11.3
10.3
160
135
115
25.5
21.5
19.2
42
36
38
900
v
y
z
CONCLUSIONS
Subscripts
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors graciously acknowledge MSC for funding this
project, Simulation of cold rolled coil HNX annealing process,
and would like to express their gratitude to the manager of the
cold rolling mill and the R&D department of Mobarakeh Steel
Complex, Isfahan, Iran, for their support.
velocity, m/s
volume fraction
axial coordinate from end of coil
Greek Symbols
emissivity
viscosity, kg/m.sec
density, kg/m3
Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.67
108 W/m2 K4
time, hr, sec
0
a
cnd
cnt
cnv
H
i
j
L
N
r
rad
Ri
Ro
s
surf
z
Superscript
NOMENCLATURE
n,*
A
c
C
c
Dh
h
k
L
Nu
Pr
r
R
Re
Ri
Ro
T
t
time interval
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Furnace, Steel Research, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 207212, 1974.
[2] Harvey, G. F., Mathematical Simulation of Tight Coil Annealing,
The Journal of the Australasian Institute of Metals, vol. 22, no. 1,
pp. 2837, 1977.
[3] Rovito, A. J., Aiello, W. M., and Voss, G. F., Computer-Based
Models for Predicting End of Anneal Time at LTV, Iron and Steel
Engineer, vol. 66, no. 7, pp. 3540, 1989.
[4] Rovito, A. J., Aiello, W. M., and Voss, G. F., Batch Anneal Coil
Cold Spot Temperature Prediction Using On-line Modeling at LTV,
Iron and Steel Engineer, vol. 68, no. 9, pp. 3137, 1991.
[5] Baik, S. C., Kwon, O., Park, S., Hong, B., and Oh, K. H., Analysis of
Heat Transfer in Hot-Rolled Coil for Optimum Condition of Forced
Cooling, Metals and Materials, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 369375, 1999.
[6] Greenwood, J. A., and Williamson, J. B. P., Contact of Nominally
Flat Surfaces, Proc. Royal Society of London, Series A, vol. 295,
no. 1442, pp. 300319, 1966.
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