Reduction in Bright Band at 6hi 2

6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

By Shailendra Kr. (Oprn) Sushil Kr. Singh (Oprn) Digvijay Singh (CRM MM) Kundan Kr. Singh (Oprn) Atanu Maity ((Oprn)

Problem Statement
6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

Problem Affected KPI

Bright band at 6hi 2 mill Quality Yield.

Statement Bright band formation at 6hi 2, which was not desirable for quality of tin mill product. Band was observed only on top of the surface.

Observation
6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

1. Bright band formation on the top of the surface during rolling. 2. Band is prominently visible after high speed (> 500 mpm) 3. It is coming on the top surface only. 4. No band pattern mark on the surface of the rolls (Work Rolls), is visible, after withdrawal from mill. 5. It is visible right from the 1st coil after roll change. 6. At the start of band formation, the side lines is prominently visible but got diminished as speed goes up.

Analysis of the problem

6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

To try and solve the band problem in TCIL we followed a methodology which starts with determining the defect. This was done by making a list of all possible defects and then performing various tests to confirm the true defect. The probable causes were

Corrosion Solution carry over Differential surface roughness Frictional Scratches Poor Cooling

To find true cause, we took samples and did various experiments.

Experiments
6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

Visual Inspection

The first thing we observed after securing the sample was a flow mark within the band area. This was a visual test. The band has a particular location.

Test with Weak Acid

We tested the band area with weak acid to find out if it is an issue of corrosion and we found that band remained even after applying weak acid on it, which confirmed that it is not corrosion.

Experiments
6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

Test With Acetone

We tried to clean the band using solvent (Acetone) to determine that the band is oil. After cleaning the band vigorously with acetone the band couldnt be removed which confirmed that it is not an oil band.

Test of differential roughness

Then we checked surface roughness at the band area and the clean area and we found that there is no statistical difference in surface roughness. There was a slight difference; not statistically relevant.

Test for scratches

We also checked for friction scratches and found that there were not any scratches.

Experiments
6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

Test With Acetone

We removed the top 6 centre lubrication nozzles from the top work roll lubrication header to check whether there was any effect on the band. By doing this the flow was increased by 100 L/Min. We observed that the dimension of the band was changed and had become wider and more on the centre. We put the nozzles back and this was the first action that confirmed we could change the dimension of the band by manipulating the coolant volume.

We turned off the top strip coolant headers to reduce the volume in entry side (So total volume reduced by 220 L/Min)- The results of reducing the flow has changed the band significantly. The bands were reduced and hardly visible. But we also observed very high coiling temp. Again, we were able to change the dimension of the band by changing the coolant volume. After doing the above test we found that strip coolant volume effects the dimension of the band significantly but the strip temperature had increased to an unacceptable range. Next we switched back on the top strip coolant header but increased the spray angle on the top strip surface by increasing the distance between the header and the strip; this was accomplished by raising the strip coolant header. This resulted in a more even distribution of coolant on the strip surface. After raising the strip coolant headers we found that the dimension of the band had changed and intensity of the band was also reduced.

Summary
6hi CVC Cold Rolling Mill

Even though the defect was not clearly identified, by manipulating possible root causes we are able to change the dimension and intensity of the bands. As reported by TCIL personnel the actions taken above have resulted in an improved condition in respect to the bands. Further trials to further improve the condition are highly recommended.