Groove rolling is one of the main process routes for the production + of metal long products, such as bars, beams, wires, and rods. In this + process, a workpiece is deformed by two or more rotating rolls to + reduce the cross-section to achieve a desired cross-section shape. The + shape is determined by the contour of the rolls’ surfaces, called the + groove or calibre. The process is usually accomplished in multiple + steps, each called a pass. The industry is currently under heavy + pressure to optimize its processes regarding energy consumption while + maintaining or increasing product quality. The introduction of new + materials and alloys challenges production and technology engineers. + In the past decades, numerical simulation tools have become an + integral part of process development and maintenance. They are used to + estimate forces and engine torques, as well as geometrical and + microstructural evolution of the workpiece for a given pass sequence + and input workpiece geometry and material. This knowledge is important + to design or optimize a process, identify sources of errors, increase + product quality or extend the product portfolio.
+PyRolL is an open-source, modular, and extensible framework aiming + at the numerical simulation of groove rolling processes and + accompanying processes, such as heating, cooling, and transportation. + PyRolL Core serves as the basis for model and application development + by defining needed data structures and solution algorithms and + providing a versatile plugin system. Rolling processes are quite a + complex issue since a simulation has to regard the mechanical behavior + of the workpiece and plant, as well as thermodynamic and chemical + processes occurring within the workpiece. The plugin system enables a + modular simulation setup, where the user can choose from a growing + library of state-of-the-art model approaches published in scientific + literature that target specific aspects of the process such as + material flow, stress state, thermal evolution, microstructure + evolution or elastic tool response. Additional and new model + approaches can be implemented as plugin packages and used just the + same as officially provided ones. By this concept, the ecosystem can + grow and thus avoid the need to implement the basics every time, so + the user or developer can concentrate on the actual focus of their + work.
+Established in the late 19th century, mathematical modelling of
+ groove rolling and optimization of used grooves, known as groove or
+ roll pass design, was investigated by a variety of authors. Geuze
+ (
The mentioned models and simulation programs use empirical,
+ analytical or semi-analytical approaches to describe the groove
+ rolling process. Aside from these models, there is a huge amount of
+ research focusing on the usage of finite element method-based models
+ for groove rolling and groove pass design. The finite element theory
+ is actively developed since the 1980s for use in groove rolling
+ (
According to the authors’ experience, it is not common in the field
+ of rolling simulation to provide source code and input files alongside
+ journal publications, so the work cannot be reproduced directly and
+ easily. Noteable exceptions from this are Alexander
+ (
The authors thank the following people for their valuable feedback + and/or testing efforts:
+-
+
Jennifer Mantel (Student, TU Bergakademie Freiberg)
+Richard Pfeifer (Student, TU Bergakademie Freiberg)
+Frank Gerlach (VFUP Riesa e.V.)
+Gerald Rothenbucher (Plansee SE)
+Koos van Putten (SMS Group GmbH)
+Louisa Preis (FNsteel B.V.)
+Michael Molter (Saarstahl AG)
+Christian Overhagen (University Duisburg-Essen)
+Tomas Kubina (Liberty a.s.)
+The authors thank the following industrial partners for supporting + the software development by submitting feedback on usage, simulation + result quality and rewarding questions to answer:
+-
+
ESF Elbe-Stahlwerke Feralpi GmbH
+FNsteel B.V.
+BGH Edelstahl Freital GmbH
+SMS Group GmbH
+Plansee SE
+Saarstahl AG
+Liberty Ostrava a.s.
+The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
+The software development was or is supported by the following + research projects:
+-
+
Development and Modelling of Wear of Grooved Rolls for + Finishing Blocks (Industrial Funding by ESF Elbe-Stahlwerke + Feralpi Riesa GmbH)
+Investigations on Material Flow and Forming Conditions + (Industrial Funding by ESF Elbe-Stahlwerke Feralpi Riesa GmbH)
+Design and Numerical Investigations of Different Leader Passes + for Rebars (Industrial Funding by ESF Elbe-Stahlwerke Feralpi + Riesa GmbH)
+The software development will be supported by the following + upcoming research projects:
+-
+
“Validierungsförderung” by Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB) and + European Union (EU)
+Implementation and Validation of a Calculation Model for + Angular Sections produced by Rolling (RISE DAAD)
+