Methods For Heating Strip Product
Systems and methods for reducing the thickness of a strip of an aluminum-based material are disclosed. The aluminum-based material is pre-heated before running the material through a warm rolling process. The systems include devices for pre-heating, which can include a heated payoff station or a dedicated pre-heating station that applies heated rolls or acts as a heated tunnel.
1 . A method for reducing a thickness of an input of a metal material, comprising:
pre-heating the input to a warm rolling temperature that is less than one-half the melting point of the metal material; and
warm rolling the pre-heated input in a rolling mill to reduce the thickness of the input, resulting in a metal strip having a final thickness.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-heating is performed by heating a payoff station from which the input is directed towards the rolling mill.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-heating is performed by running the input through a heated tunnel, wherein the heated tunnel provides heat to the input via conduction, convection, or radiation.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-heating is performed by contacting a top surface and a bottom surface of the input with heated rolls, wherein the heated rolls do not substantially reduce the thickness of the input.
5 . The method of any one of claims 1-4 , wherein the warm rolling temperature is from about 350° F. to about 600° F. (about 177° C. to about 315° C.).
6 . The method of any one of claims 1-5 , wherein the warm rolling is performed to a total %WW of at least 75%.
7 . The method of any one of claims 1-6 , wherein the warm rolling is performed by a plurality of warm passes, each warm pass resulting in a %WW of up to 65%.
8 . The method of any one of claims 1-7 , wherein the rolling mill comprises a set of heated bite rolls.
9 . The method of any one of claims 1-8 , further comprising winding the metal strip into a coil.
10 . The method of any one of claims 1-9 , wherein the metal material is a metal matrix composite (MMC) material that comprises an aluminum alloy and ceramic particles dispersed in the aluminum alloy.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the ceramic particles comprise at least one ceramic material selected from the group consisting of carbides, oxides, silicides, borides, and nitrides.
12 . The method of any one of claims 10-11 , wherein the MMC material comprises from about 15 vol% to about 50 vol% of the ceramic particles.
13 . The method of any one of claims 10-12 , wherein the average particle size of the ceramic particles is from about 0.3 µm to about 5 µm.
14 . A metal strip produced by the method of any one of claims 1-13 .
15 . An article produced from the metal strip of claim 14 .
16 . A system for producing metal strip, comprising:
means for pre-heating a metal input to a warm rolling temperature that is less than one-half the melting point of the metal material; and
a rolling mill for warm rolling the pre-heated metal input to produce the metal strip.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the means for pre-heating is a payoff station that is configured (A) to feed the metal input to the rolling mill and (B) to pre-heat the metal input.
18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the means for pre-heating is a heated tunnel located between a payoff station and the rolling mill, wherein the heated tunnel provides heat to the input via conduction, convection, or radiation.
19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the means for pre-heating is a set of heated rolls located between a payoff station and the rolling mill, wherein the heated rolls are located so that a top surface and a bottom surface of the metal input are contacted by the heated rolls.
20 . The system of any one of claims 16-19 , further comprising a take-up reel downstream of the rolling mill.