Engineering: Fully Funded M2A EngD Scholarship: Developing alternative coating and texturing technologies to limit work roll degradation
Start date: October 2022
Expected interview date: April 2022
Academic supervisors: Dr Christian Griffiths (TBC) and Dr Zak Abdallah
Industrial supervisor: James Neucker
Sponsoring company: Tata Steel UK
Background:
Within the Cold Rolling Process and Annealing Lines (CAPL) of the steelmaking process, Work Rollers are used for achieving steel gauge (thickness) reduction, mechanical properties and surface textures to meet customer requirements. To maintain the desired material condition the work rolls require reprocessing after rolling campaigns, currently work rolls are reprocessed through Grinding and can then be Electro Discharge Textured with most but not all being Cr plated, improving hardness and increasing the length of rolling campaigns and process stability.
New environmental legislation could result in the Cr plating process being removed from use in future years and so the search for suitable technologies for maintaining the surface quality of work rolls has begun.
This project will aim to:
- Review literature and current practice within the industry to understand the current state of knowledge on roll finish.
- Improve the theoretical understanding of the demands on the roll surface when processing material using rolls with and without Cr coating and what texturing technology can limit surface degradation, such as but not limited to, Electro Discharge Texturing, Laser Cladding, Laser Texturing.
- Complete lab trial work on possible alternatives on contemporary work roll grades and advanced work roll grades with the later target of practical line trials.
The outcomes of this work will be applicable across multiple areas of the UK steel industry by offering a greater understanding of the options available, or possibly a solution.
This is a key research commitment for Tata Steel UK, and a significant body of collaborative work is already underway, including a current EngD project. The successful applicant will collaborate with the team working towards a solution to this problem.
The Candidate will be expected to spend time at Tata Steel UK’s Port Talbot Site and University Labs.