Effect of hot rolling reduction process on macro-inclusion in high silicon steel plates: A numerical study

Inclusions inevitably exist in steel plate, whose behaviour during rolling severely affects the quality of product. In this article, a finite element method was used to simulate the hot rolling behaviour of hard and soft inclusions in high silicon steel plates at different sizes, positions and shapes (circle and square) when the adhesion to the matrix were weak. The shape, relative position and dimensions around the inclusions after rolling were obtained. When the inclusions are hard, cracks are produced around the inclusions after rolling. When inclusions are soft, there are no cracks around the inclusions. Large hard inclusions are more likely to move to the plate surface. When the inclusions are in the position of 1/16 of the sheet, the relative distance between the inclusions and the surface of the sheets is significantly reduced, from 0.062 at the beginning to less than 0.02. Furthermore, the effect of the size and location of hard inclusions on the microscopic defects produced after rolling is discussed. The microscopic defects around the inclusions increase with increasing size and decreasing distance of the inclusions.