An Investigation into the Texture Transfer in the Process of Lubricated Skin Pass Rolling

This article investigates the surface texture transfer mechanisms in lubricated skin pass rolling of metal strips with three-dimensional rough surfaces of both regular patterns and random surface asperity distributions. Two important steps have been completed. The first is the successful establishment of an efficient numerical method for predicting the 3D texture transfer. It was identified that the new method can be used reliably with the key complex factors coupled in skin pass rolling, such as the effects of lubricant and surface roughness. The second is the exploration of the texture transfer mechanisms with the aid of this new method. In addition, the effects of hydrodynamic pressure on the texture transfer efficiency were comprehensively investigated by a dynamic explicit finite element analysis. It was found that lubrication plays a critical role in determining the surface texture transfer. The texture transfer ratio decreases with increasing the lubricant viscosity. A larger pressure coefficient brings about a lower texture transfer ratio, but a larger reduction ratio leads to a greater texture transfer.