Analysis of snake rolling force and torque with changes of thickness depending on unequal roll radii based on pure aluminum experiments

Abstract

An analytical model, in which unequal radii are replaced with an equivalent radius, is creatively proposed to predict the rolling force and roll torque in general case of snake rolling. With the model, the effects of roll radius ratio, roll speed ratio, offset distance between rolls, reduction and friction coefficient on rolling forces in hot snake rolling of aluminum alloy are obtained. Also, the thicknesses of slab are investigated in different zones, which firstly propose the changes of thickness during snake rolling. Owing to the good agreement with the results measured in experiments and calculated by finite element method and other traditional models, those calculated by the proposed model are verified. The proposed model can be used to predict more accurate theoretical results for snake rolling force and torque.