Development of novel lubricant for

minimisation of rolling friction of Cold

Rolling Mills

Presentation by
Binod Krishna
Deputy General Manager
& Head of Shape Rolling Group

Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS)

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)
Ranchi, Jharkhand
ROAD MAP

♠ LABORATORY FORMULATION
Laboratories of respective oil suppliers
♠ LABORATORY EVALUATION
Laboratory of R&D Centre for Iron and Steel
(RDCIS)
♠ INDUSTRIAL EVALUATION
Tandem mill of BSL, Bokaro
♠ COMMERCIALISATION
Cold Rolling Mills of SAIL
 LABORATORY FORMULATION

♦ Formulations of candidate oils were carried out in the

laboratories of respective oil suppliers.
♦ Selection of suitable chemistry of the candidate oils was
guided by requirements of the subject mill and
performance of the existing oils-in-use.
♦ Most promising oil sample was selected from a lot of
samples based on their physico-chemical properties and
performances at some of the tribological rigs.
♦ Total three oils (oil-1, oil-2 and oil-3) of the selected
formulations were submitted (one each by three oil
companies) to the laboratory of R&D Centre for Iron and
Steel (RDCIS) at different interval of times for
evaluation of their industrial applicability
Experimental Rolling Mill
FEATURES OF EXPERIMENTAL ROLLING MILL

► Make- Hille, England

► Commissioned in 1983

► Used for both Hot and Cold Rolling

► Consists
Reheating Furnace,
2-hi / 4-hi Reversing Mill,
Emulsion application system,
PC based data acquisition system,
Controlled cooling system
& other instrumentation systems
 EXPERIMENTAL ROLLING MILL
Type of mill 4-Hi, Reversing
Work roll diameter, mm 150 (Nominal)
Backup roll diameter, mm 350 (Nominal)
Roll barrel length, mm 400
Max rolling force, t 150
Max rolling torque, t-m 5.2
Max rolling speed, m/min 60
Input strip size, mm 1.5-4 thick x 300 wide
Output strip size, mm Min. 0.1 thick
Emulsion system Re-circulation type
Tank capacity, litre 500
Agitation system Mechanical agitator
Emulsion pressure, kg/cm2 1-2
Emulsion temperatureoC 45-60
EXPERIMENTAL ROLLING MILL

FUNCTIONS:

♫ Development and evaluation of next generation

rolling lubricants
♫ Deformation studies for design of hot and cold
rolling process parameters
♫ Development of high valued steel products
 UTILISATION OF ERM

IN SAIL:
→ Development of high valued special steels (HSLA, ti-bearing,
bainitic rail, fire resistant, duplex stainless steel, etc.)
→ Increase in productivity of tandem cold rolling mills at BSL and
RSP by 25-30%.
→ Improvement in surface quality of cold rolled products at BSL and
RSP (surface reflectance increased to 90%)

NON SAIL:
→ Extending laboratory facilities for basic, scientific and industrial
research to industries (TISCO, Midhani, Pratap steel, etc.) and
educational institutions (IIT Kanpur, NIT Rourkela, BE college
Hawrah, IT BHU, etc.)
→ Evaluation of newly developed rolling oils for major oil companies
(IOC, HPCL, Balmer Lawrie, Castrol, Shell, Houghton Hardcastle,
etc.)
 LABORATORY EVALUATION

Emulsion concentration, % 2
Emulsion temperatureoC 45-55
Rolling speed, m/min 15
Material rolled IS 513 steel
YS of material, kg/mm2 28
Hardness of material, HRB 60+2
Sheet size, mm 1.96-2.0 x 180
No. of pass 12 (Low-reduction rolling)
Reduction ratio, % 10-20 / pass
No. of pass 5 (High-reduction rolling)
Reduction ratio, % 20-40 / pass
 INDUSTRIAL EVALUATION

◙ The optimised formulation of each candidate oils was put

on trial at the 5-stand tandem mill of BSL, Bokaro for 3-
4 months.
◙ Industrial performance of oil was evaluated in terms of
lubrication characteristics, cooling efficiency, cleanliness
characteristics, and emulsion and ageing behaviours.
◙ Performance parameters like specific roll force, speed,
tension, reduction regime, coil temperature, roll
temperature, surface reflectance, level of black patch
and iron pickup, emulsion parameters, etc. were
monitored throughout the trial to evaluate the said
characteristics.
◙ Economic potential of the oil was also studied.
◙ Performances of the new oils were compared with that of
the oil-in-use (oil-0).
COMMERCIALISATION

■ After completion of the industrial trial,

suitability of the candidate oils was analysed
against critical parameters like specific roll
force, surface reflectance and occurrence of
iron pickup mark.
■ After finding suitable, the oils were
recommended for commercialisation.
■ Before commercial supply of the oil, it was
further fine-tuned based on results of
industrial trial.
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF OILS

Properties Oil-0 Oil-1 Oil-2 Oil-3

Appearance at Clear liquid Clear liquid Clear liquid Clear liquid
30 oC
Specific gravity 0.90 0.90-0.95 0.90-0.92 0.92
at 30 oC
K. Viscosity @ 45-50 40-45 50-60 55
40 oC, cSt
Sap value, 195-205 165-185 170-190 185
mgKOH/g
Acid no., 15-20 18-20 10 9
mgKOH/g
pH of 2% 5.5-6.5 5.0-5.5 5-6 6.5
emulsion in DW
 PERFORMANCE OF ROLLING OILS AT ERM

Parameters Oil-0 Oil-1 Oil-2 Oil-3

Total reduction, % 82 87 85 86

Minimum strip thickness, mm 0.35 0.25 0.30 0.27

Maximum friction coefficient 0.102 0.075 0.085 0.098

Minimum friction coefficient 0.052 0.046 0.045 0.041

Average friction coefficient 0.066 0.057 0.059 0.060

 PERFORMANCE OF ROLLING OILS AT ERM

Parameters Oil-0 Oil-1 Oil-2 Oil-3

Maximum sheet temperature, oC 118 90 94 90

Average surface reflectance, % 80 90 88 90

Ease of emulsification Good Good Good Good

Emulsion stability index, % 90-95 70-75 80-85 80-85

Performance deterioration in No No No No
ageing
LUBRICITY OF ROLLING OILS
0.12
Friction Coefficient

0.10 Oil-0 Oil-1

Oil-2 Oil-3
0.08
0.06

0.04

0.02
Pass reduction: 10-20%

0.00
10 30 50 70 90
Cumulative Reduction, %
Lubricity of rolling oils at ERM
 INDUSTRIAL TRIAL WITH NEW ROLLING OIL

☻ Lubrication performances of different rolling oils tried at

the 5-stand tandem cold mill were evaluated in terms of
specific roll force, inter-stand tension and friction
coefficient. Typical values of these parameters for
different rolling oils during rolling of TMBP coils (0.26-
0.28 mm x 925-935 mm) are given in next slide.
☻ Other parameters for the reference and candidate oils
have been summarised and shown in second slide. In
general, average specific roll forces of 5 stands varied in
the range 0.7-1.2 t/mm for different oils during rolling of
various sizes and grades of steel.
☻ It was observed that even for the same rolling oil and
the same size of strips, there was wide variation in roll
force and speed from shift to shift. This may be due to
differences in material characteristics of the rolled strips,
 INDUSTRIAL TRIAL WITH NEW ROLLING
OIL

☻One of the major problems with the reference oil was

inferior surface cleanliness of the cold rolled strips
processed through hood annealing line.
☻In the initial stage of rolling with this oil average surface
reflectance was of the order of 60%. Later, it could be
improved to 67-80%.
☻During investigations it was found that the carbon residue
in the oil was over 0.5 % by weight, which was
considered a possible reason of impaired surface
cleanliness.
☻Simultaneously, the thermo-gravimetric analysis of the
candidate oil exhibited that there was about 3-5% of oil
residue left even at temperature of 600-800oc. This
might be causing soot formation during the annealing
process.
 1.6 Force
500
1.4 450
400
1.2

Forward Tension, t
Sp. Roll Force, t/mm

350
1.0 300
Tension
0.8 250
0.6 200
150
0.4 Oil-0 Oil-1 100
0.2 Oil-2 Oil-3 50
0.0 0
1 2 3 4 5
Stand No.

Typical specific roll force and forward

tension for TMBP coils at Tandem Cold Mill
 0.11
Oil-0 Oil-1
Friction Coefficient 0.09 Oil-2 Oil-3

0.07

0.05
Size: 0.27mm x 935 mm

0.03
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Cumulative Reduction, %

Typical friction curves during rolling of

TMBP coils at Tandem Mill
PERFORMANCE OF OILS AT TCM

Parameters Oil-0 Oil-1, 2,

3
Coil temperature oC (thick gauge) 75-120 55-100

Coil temperature oC (thin gauge) 120-145 90-125

Peak work roll temperature, oC 60-76 55-68

Surface reflectance, % 67-80 75-90

Emulsion concentration (stands 2-4), 1.0-3.5 0.5-3.0

%
Iron fines in emulsion (stands 2-4), 70-300 50-500
ppm
COMMERCIALISATION

1.8
1.6
Surface defects, %

1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2 Oil-0 Oils-1 and 2

0.0
00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07
Year
Surface defects in CR products
 CONCLUSION
♣ Semi-synthetic type cold rolling oils were first developed
and tested in laboratory.

♣ Optimised formulations of these oils were introduced at a

5-stand tandem cold mill.

♣ Industrial performances of these oils were satisfactory

with respect to lubricity, cooling efficiency and surface
cleanliness.

♣ There is possibility of further enhancing the mill

performance by improving quality of these oils.
THANK YOU