Simulation of rolling friction in the working stands of wide-strip mills

The energy consumed for rolling friction in the interroll contact area in the working stands of cold-rolling and pinch-pass mils intended for the production of wide steel strips has been analyzed. The coefficients and power of rolling friction are obtained for the first time using the databases of the process control systems of operating mills and simulating these quantities. A statistically reliable regression relation is obtained between the coefficient of rolling friction and the significant parameters of rolling and skin rolling (i.e., the interroll force, the roll speed, and the roll body roughness). The power fraction consumed for rolling friction is found to reach 60–80% of the total power of the main drive of working stands for skin rolling and 30–50% for cold rolling. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account these power losses in designing mills and developing technological cold-rolling conditions.