Study on Nodular Graphite Steel Rolls *

By Tohei Ototani * * and Yoshiaki Masuko* * *

Synopsis fore, of graphitic steel are not always satisfactory

In order to improve the resistance to fire cracking and and, moreover, some troubles such as forging crack,
wear of steel rolls for primary hot rolling mills, such as quenching crack and other types have frequently
blooming, s labbing and roughing mills, without reduction of been experienced in the course of t he manufacture
their strength and toughness, some characteristics of cast of this steel. These may be the reasons why graphitic
iron rolls must be included in the properties of steel rolls . steel has not been able to find so many practical uses
It was, therefore, undertaken to apply nodu lar graphite
as expected in spite of being regarded as a new
steel to rolls for primary mills to accomplish the objective
mentioned above. One of the authors has rece ntly developed
material combining both advantages of stee l and
nodular graphite steel, with the use of special Fe-Ca a lloy. cast iron. The deox idi zing condition of this steel
This steel has free nodular graph ite even in the as-cast state. recently has been increas ingly studied.
The characteristics of nodular graphite steel were first in· One of the authors has recently developed special
vestigated mainly from the metallurgical point of view, and Fe-Ca alloy containing 20- 30 % Ca as the most
its promising applicability to rolls was clarified. effective additive for Ca treatment, due to the special
The trial manufacture of actual rolls of nodular graphite influence of this new alloy upon iron and steel. H )
steel was next performed for several mills.
The author also has discovered that fre e nodul ar
The results of service performance of these rolls were, as
graphite can be found even in an as-cast state of
expected, superior to that of rolls, which previously had been
used, with special reference to the following points; eutectoid or hypereutectoid steel by the addition of
1) The nodular graphite steel roll has excellent strength this alloyY )
and toughness. It has, therefore, almost no tendency to The strength and the toughness of such high-
breakage in service which has been often experienced in carbon steels are clearl y higher than those of us uai
cast iron rolls. graphitic steels, because of their nod ular or spheroi-
2) The nodular graph ite steel roll has great resistance to dal form of graphite. These steels, therefore, are
fire crackin g. It has, therefore, less occasion to shorten its
called " nodular graphite steel" by the author.
life by surface cracking than usual steel rolls.
In most primar y hot-rolling mills stee l rolls h ave
3) The nodular graphite steel roll has great resistance to
wear. Combined with the resistance to fire cracking, it can been widely used because of their high strength and
give more rolling tonnage and finer rolled products with toughness. Especiall y for blooming, slabbing or
dimensions of higher precision than that of usual steel rolls. larger roughing mill s, steel rolls are most common ly
used because of the lack of the strength and tough-
I. Introduction ness of cast iron r olls.
However, steel rolls are not always satisfactory in
It has been known for a long time that cementite resistance to fire cracking a nd wear. That is, the
in well-deoxidized high-carbon steel graphitizes life of steel rolls is sometimes shortened by the pro-
during annealing at high temperature.1) Such pagation of fire cracking in servi ce and are some-
steels, in which a part of the carbon content exists what inferior to cast iron rolls as to the resistance
in the form of free graphite, were expected to be to wear because of their relatively low-carbon content.
the material combining both advantages of steel and Considering the applicabi lity of the above-men-
cast iron. So called "graphitic steel" is one of such tioned characteristics of nod ular graphite steels to
steels which has been developed in practical use be- primary hot rolling mills, it is believed that the
cause of its special features in simultaneously show- development of newly-designed rolls is possible, that
ing the forgeability of steel and the high wear is to say, strong, tough, high fire-crack-resistant and
resistance of cast iron.~ )-4) Graphitic steel, therefore, wear resistant rolls, because free nodular graphite
is originally obtained through forging. Some ideas, can be expected to prevent the occurrence and propa-
however, which attempt to apply this steel for cast- gation of fire cracks through its effective influence
ings by the improvement of deoxidizing condition on the dispersion of thermal stress on the rolling
and by the combination of alloying elements, have surface and be expected to increase the resistance to
recently been studied. 5 )-i) wear through the possibility of increasing carbon
Free graphite of graphitic steel, either in forgings content.
or in castings, presents itself in quasi-flaky or flaky From the above point of view, the authors studied
form because it is obtained by the decomposition of material cha r acter istics of nodular graphite steels
cementite during graphitizing heat treatment at high and the trial manufacture of actual rolls was per-
temperature. The strength and the toughness, there- formed with several primary hot-rolling mills.

* Lecture delivered before 62nd Grand Lecture Meeting of The Iron & Steel Institute of Japan on October 19, 1961 in
Akita. Japanese text was printed in "Tetsu-to-Hagane" (Journal, Iron & Steel Institute, Japan) Vol. 48, No.5, pp.
669- 677.
** Prof., Dr. Eng., Research Institute for Iron, Steel and Other Metals, Tohoku University.
*** Dr. Eng., Osaka Steel Works, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.

32
 Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vo!' 2 No. 4 December 1962 ( 345)

The results of servi ce pe rformance of these roll s although some redu ction in h a rdness was observed.,
were, as expected, superior to those of rolls whi ch the toughness remained a lmost unchanged .
had previously been used. (2) With 1. 5 'j{, C content, h owever, the Ca treatment
Th e following is t he a uthors' report on the above- caused greater preci pitation of nodu lar graphite, and
mentioned stud y. an improvement in toughness also was proved.
(3) Such a tend ency was even more noticeable with
II. Mate rial Characteristics of N odu lar Graph- an approximate 2.2"1" C content. Steel of a s imilar
ite S teel composition did not show a y ield point, which was
conspicuous in nodular graphite steel in an as-
In the a pplication of n odular graphite steel for annealed state. The strength and toughness of the
rolls, the amount of nodular graphi te a nd mechanical nodu lar graphite steel also were improved re-
properties mu st first be considered in var ious com- markably.
binations of a lloy ing elements . The above-mentioned changes in mech a ni cal pro-
perties are closely related to the quantity of n odulm'
1. Effects of Carbon Content on Micro-Structure and g r aphite. If the rati o of graphite is increased in
Material Properties of Nodular Graphite Steel 1-1.5% C stee l by examining the co mbin ation of
a lloy elements, further improvement in toughness
Wi t h a basi c electr ic f urn ace, n od ular g raphite
can be expected.
steels of the chemica l composition sh own in Table 1
wer e prod uced. Th ese stee ls we re g iven Ca by t he
add it ion of 1";, Fe-Ca a ll oy (20. 1";, Ca, 45.5";, S i ) 2. Effects of the Combination of A lloying Elements
a nd a 16 kg cast bl ock was used as a test specimen. on the Amount of Graphite Precipitated and on
the Mechanical Properties of Nodular Graphite
Table I Chemical composition of steels tested Steel
C he mica l co mposition (110) Fe·Ca In a basic electric furnace the authors melted
S tee l
a lloy ca rbon steels, Mo steels ( about 0.45";, Mo ) , Cr-M o
mark s C Si Mn P S Ni Cr Mo addition
steels (about 0.7(';, Cr and 0.25 % Mo) and Ni-Cr-Mo
steels (abo ut 0.6";, N i, 0.7 "~ Cr and 0.25 "~ Mo ) with
I~
NS 16 1.1 3 0.68 0.0 17 0.0 18 0.56 1. 03 0.26 None

NS 14 0.94 0.95 0.49 0.024 0.0 12 0.58 1.08 0.26 A dd e d Ca treatment, where carbon content was varied about
------ 0.8%, 1.0'/'0 and 1.4 °~ . In each kind of steel, Si
NS 17 1 ~45 -
1.07 0.75 0.016 0.0 18 0.53
- - 1 -- - ----
1.04 0.28 None
content was intentionally varied fr om 1";" to 2%, and
NS 12 1.45 0.96 0.54 0.0 16 0.0 13 0.61 1.06 0.25 Added the amount of graphite a nd the mechani cal properti es
---- were examined. Other testing conditi ons were the
NS 19 2.17 1.07 0.71 0.016 0.0 16 0.54 1.06 0.25 None
1---- - --- same as those mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
NS 20 2.20 0.94 0.68 0.0 14 0.0 14 0.54 1.05 0.24 Adde d The foll ow ing was proved by the above tests:
(1) The combination of alloying elements influ enced
Steels with almost s imilar compos iti on withou t Ca the amount of precipitation of nodul ar graphite. The
treatment were prepared for compari son. Graphite higher the carbon content, the greater was t he
stru cture of the test specimen is sh ow n in Photo 1, amount of graphite when the same alloy ing elements
and its mechani cal properties are sh own in Table 2. were combined . With different steels of the same
The following facts were revealed by t he above carbon content, the amount of graphite increased in
tests: the order of Cr-Mo st eel, Ni-Cr-Mo steel, Mo steel
( 1) With 1"{, C content, t he Ca treatment caused a and carbon steel. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the
parti a l precipitation of nodu la r graphite, and, influence of Si had an especially close r elationship to

Table 2. Mechanical properti es of steels tested

As·cas t As·a nnea le d *
---- F e·Ca
Steel marks Yi e ld T e n s ile E longa· Red uct io n Brine ll C h arpy Yie ld T e ns ile E longa· R eduction Brine ll Ch a rp y a lloy
point stren gth lion of a r ea ha r dness val u e point str e ngt h ti on o f a rea h ardness va l u e addition
( kg/m m 2) ( kg m1ll 2) (%) (%) number ( kg·m/cm 2) ( kg/mm 2) Ckg/mm 2) (%) (%) number ( kg ·m/c m 2)

NS 16 80.2 363 0.3 6004 91.7 9.6 9.7 263 1.4 None
NS 14 78.9 0 331 0.3 58.5 91.4 7.9 11.1 255 1.3 A dded
NS 17 63.0 0 341 0. 1 57.8 90.3 1.3 1.0 292 0.2 None
N S 12 63.7 0 331 0.2 55.9 78.9 2.6 2.8 274 0.4 A dded
NS 19 40.8 0 378 0.1 55.8 0 0 331 0. 1 None
NS 20 42.9 0 329 0.2 50 .0 58.3 1.0 1. 7 311 0.3 Add ed

925°C x 6h->furnace cool, 725°C X 5h->furnace~cool.

*
33
( 346J Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No.4 December 1962

Photo 1. Effect of addition of Fe-Ca alloy on nodular graphite formation of

special cast steel with reference to carbon content (No etch , x 100)

34
 Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No. 4 D ecember 1962 ( 347J

the ca rbon content. With 1.4";, C, the largest amo unt tioned in paragr aph (1 ) . This s ituation is as s h own
of graphite was observed when Si was 1.5" i, . The in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Therefore, the content of Si
content of Si showing t he greatest amount of h as an important influence on t he relationships be-
graphite incr eased in proportion to t h e r ed ucti on of tween the a mount of graphite and t he mech a nical
the carbon content. properties. Thus, when there was a small amo unt
(2) On examining the m ech an ical properties of the of g raphi te, as in the case of a steel conta ining 1";,
va r ious steels in heat-treated state (925 ° C X6h a ir-- C, the strength of the steel was increased a nd the
cool and 725°Cx 5h air-cool ), it was found t hat toughness was decreased on the whole along w ith the
carbon steel, Mo steel, Cr-Mo stee l a nd N i-Cr-Mo increase in the amount of Si. However, wh en t here
steel, respectively, showed cha racteristic changes in was a large amount of g raph ite, as in t he case of a
accordance with the amount of graphi te, as men- steel contai nin g 1.4";. C, t here was a tendency for

11 . 1

~\)
~

-"
~
~ 0.:3

§ lI .l -
°E
-<:

Fig . 1. Compa ri son of t he amount of

11 . 1 nodular g raphite in hea t-trea ted
state among var ious kinds of
stee ls tested wit h specia l re-
ference to t he effect of S i and C
u~~~~==~~==~----~ content. (Heat treatment: 925° C
1 )1"~" 1~)Ll.lr~ ~1;% x 6 hrs-> air cool, 725 C x 5hrs->
1\0 addition ,\dd ('d \\1111 \:t,·Ca ;d ll',' ,\ dd t,t! \\ ll h J.(. Ca <lllll \ Add rd \\Ith \' (' ( '" ,d lo., air cool)

1(1 0

~
"
~ )(J

~
J.
~
Jf
.~
~ tI (1) .'§
"-
'- I ,\ 10 '-, It'l' l

",
~~~.==.:.--:.=~.~,;----:.:~~_~::::;~?:::::.~::st\i-CI " IO "",,1
lill
iO
I
e-- __ o - - - - Cr-,\\u '-, tt.'d
',H --c °Carh:H1 ~ t {·t ·J
~----------~
-~ --- ~o

----- : .; ~

,~-~=~~~~~~:~-~-->---.<~~-=--. ~
Fig. 2. Compa ri son of tensile properties
~~.-~~~~·_~·~'::t:'-.~<;~~ ~:~~ll""C, ,-I '____-l6 -
in heat treated state among
............... ---- \ 0:i -C r· f\! o s tecl ~
--.:.::..., 5 ~ various kinds of C 1.0% nod ular
1-------11---- C:u·bon .!:, I te ] '----.....:-..... ·Cr· ~ Io s teel -+ ~ grap hite steels tested with
x special reference to the effect

L---~S~i ------------'S~'i------------~S~)~o------------~S~i------------~2
1.0% 1.090 1. ;)70 2 .0%
1
of Si content (Heat treatment:
925° C x 6 hrs->air cool, 725°C
:--Jo addition ,\ddt ·c! Ililh "\" ('iI ,din., .\ ddl'cI with !."p·Ca alloy .\deled with Fe-ell illlo~'
x 5 hrs->air cool)

35
[ 348J Tetsu -to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No.4 December 1962

___ . .--4>-" - "_

'- ··-0er-.\ lo stC'd
~ ·· ~~ _ ___ :':':-:~_-=--.--- - - --- - - --0\i_Cr.'\ I() !-.tce l ~( I ,,' ;
------ -Qr - - __ .- - ' =-- ---0 \1 0 !,t<'cl
Ca rbon s teel

- 70
j
'8.
..::Jo- \j- Cr- ;\10 ~ t ('d
""-.;
iO
,Ii" ~~.::.:.:_~~~c-==.~:---~=;::'-~~~;,::~;~ 6()
;;
0

- - '---e
i
.\ In !.t(' {' !
. enrhon ~ kPl
,,0

Fig. 3. Comparison of tensile properties

in heat t r eated state amo ng
various kind s of C 1.4% nodu lar
g rap hite steels tested with s pecia l
reference to the effec t of Si co n -
tent (Heat treatment: 925" C x 6
S, Si Si Si hrs-> air cool, 725°C x 5 hrs->a ir
1.0°6 1.11% l.fl96 2.0%
\0 tl ddition Adtl('(1 wi th Ft"C" alloy .\dd <'<.1 wilh Fe·Ca allo)' Added "'ilh Fe- Ca alloy cool)

both strength an d toughness to be increased at 1.5";, wearing out, but a lso has an undesirable effect on
Si , at \vhich point the la rgest a mount of graphite was the gauge and su rface appeara nce of r oll ed products.
obser ved. The mechani cal str ess, the thermal stress and the
From the above tests, th e foll ow in g facts we re wea ring effect generally a re incr eased with the in-
determin ed about the material properties of nodular cr ease in r oll diameter and the s ize of raw materials
g raphite steel : to be r olled. For example, the r eason for t he break-
(1 ) The amount of graphite in nodu la r g r a phite age of most rolls in blooming, s labb ing and larger
steel is closely connected with the amount of C, Si r oughing mills lies in the fire crack in g on the r olling
and other alloying elements, a nd therefore can su rface, and the reaso n for the rejection of most
be varied according to the combin ation of such larger diameter rolls in structural roughing mills
elements. li es in the ab ras ion on the sid e su rface of grooves
(2) The mechanical properti es of nodular or wear on the r olling surface.
graphite steel a re closely connected w ith the From the above consideration, it may be concluded
amount of graphite, and str ength and toug hn ess that r oll s for primary h ot-r olling mills are necessary
are noticeably improved on the whole as the to satisfy the following t hree properties.
a mount of graphite increases. ( 1) High strength a nd hi gh toughness.
( 2) High r esistance to fire cracking.
I II. A pplicabilit y of Nodula r G raphite S tee l fo r (3 ) High resistance to wear.
Primary Hot- R olling M ill Rolls It is clear that the strength and the toughness of
nodular graphite stee l are superi or to the strength
Rolls for primary hot rolling mills are used in and toughness of cast iron. And from the compa ri son
general for rolling hot raw m ater ials, their rolling of Fig. 2 with F ig. 3, it is also clea r that the str ength
surfaces being cooled by water. The rolling su rfaces, and the toughness of 1.4% C- 1. 5 '70 Si nodular
therefore, are subject to (1 ) m echan ical str ess due graphi te steels,whi ch contain mu ch f ree nodular
to rolling load, (2 ) thermal stress due to cyclic heat- graphite, are almost equa l to those of usual steels
ing by the hot raw mater ial a nd coolin g by water with 1.0 010 C not t r eated by Ca. With regard to the
and (3 ) wearing effect due to the friction with the strength and toughness, therefore, such nodular
hot r aw material. When raw material to be r olled graphite steels may be used in rolls for blooming,
begins contact with the roll, the mechani cal stress slabb ing a nd larger roughing mill s for whi ch high-
becomes impact stress. Thi s impact stress sometimes carbon special cast steel r olls have been common ly
breaks down the roll. Thermal stress ca uses cracks used. With regard to the resistance to fire crack-
on the rolling surface (fire cracking ) and t hese fire ing, such nodular graphite steels m ay be used fo r
cracks frequently propagate to the circumfer enti al prevention of fire cracking on the rolling surface of
direction of rolling surface to shorten t he life of the usual special cast steel r olls through t he effective
roll. The wearing effect makes r oll replacement influen ce of nodu lar graphite on the dispersion of
frequent, and causes more reduction of roll di a meter thermal stress. As to the res istan ce to wear, such
which not only decreases the rolling tonnage before nod ul ar graphite steels may be a lso expected to

36
 Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No.4 December 1962 ( 349J

decrease the wear of rolls because of their higher Th e authors conducted tests on each of the above
carbon content and self-lubricating action of free points, an d set up a better manufacturing plan for
nodular graphite. nodular graphite steel rolls based on the results.
Moreover, as the strength and the toughness of In a test case for the manufacture of nodular
2.2 ~ C - nodular graphite steels are superior to graphite steel rolls, the authors selected a chemi cal
strength and toughness of usual special cast steel composition and hardness su itable to the projected
w it h the same chemical composition, they may be use of the rolls. Here are details of the material
used to improve the strength and toughness of the characteristics of representative rolls and the results
so-called Adamite rolls which have previou sly been of their use:
used for medium or smaller roughing mills. This 1. Blooming and Slabbing Mill Rolls
improvement of strength and toughness makes the The authors conducted trial manufacture of a
carbon content of Adamite rolls higher, by which the blooming mill roll "vith a barrel diameter of 870 mm,
resistance to \year may be expected to be improved. barrel length of 2,200 mm, over-all length of
The resistan ce to fire cracking of Adamite roll s is 4,040 mm and weight of llt 220 kg, with a composi-
a lso expected to be improved by increase of free tion of 1.2 ~1.4 °~ C, 1.3 ~ 1.7 °; , Si, 0.5 ~ 1.0 n{) Ni,
graphite with in crease of the carbon content. 0.8 ~ 1.3 "; , Cr, 0.2 ~ 0.4 "~ Mo and a hardness of about
Summing up the above, it is concluded that the 35 degrees Shore.
app licability of nodular graphite steel for primary A test was condu cted with the left-over part of the
rolling mill rolls is very promising with a wide r ange trial r oll with regard to mi cro-structure and mecha-
of carbon content, and this applicability may be nical properties. Through this test, evenly dispersed
spec ially remarkable for improvement in the res ist- fine nodu lar graphite as shown in Photo 2 was
ance to fi r e cracking of roll s for blooming, slabbing observed. This test confirmed that the trial roll
and larger roughing mi lls and also for the wear- sh owed the expected qu a lity. The structure and dis-
resistance of rolls for med ium and smaller roughing tribution of hardness throughout the section was
mi lls. sh own to be even, and the mechanical properties
Moreover, from the view point of material showed a tensile strength of 70 kg / mm2 and a Charpy
character istics of nodu lar graphite steel, and as the notch impact value of 0.6 kg-m / cm . ~
property of the rolls may easily be contr olled accord- In addition to the above-mentioned roll, blooming
ing to their service conditions, it is reasonable to and slabbing rolls s uch as shown in Table 3 were
say that there will be progressive development in also manufactured and the serv ice performance of
the practical use of nodular graphite steel rolls . these rolls also was far superior to those manufac-
IV. Trial Manufacture of N odular Graphite tured of ordinary m aterials. Noticeable points were
Steel Rolls and R esults in Service P e r fo r - as fo llows:
mance i. Fire cracks on the Rolling Surface Showed
The applicability of nodular graphite steel to rolls Honeycomb-Like Patterns Instead of Propa-
is clear in laboratory tests, but in the manufactur- gation to Circumferential Direction.
ing of actual rolls with this steel, the following pro- As clearly shown in Photo 3, the nodular graphite
blems must be solved from the viewpoint of practice. steel roll revealed typical honeycomb-like hexagonal
( 1 ) Proper quantity and method of addition of Fe- patterns instead of sharp circumferential cracks
Ca alloy. (2) Casting designs and manuals which which were often seen in special cast steel rolls.
influence the precipitation of nodular graphite, and ii. The Wear Was Less on the Rolling Surface.
the influence of the casting mass in particular. (3) Table 3 shows the comparison of wear in service
Changes in the matrix structure and the mechanical of nodular graphite steel rolls with that of special
properties by heat treatment. cast steel rolls and ductile cast iron rolls in four
Table 3. Comparison of wear in service of nodular graphite steel roll with that of other rolls in 4 rollingmills
Rolls Reduction of roll diameter by wear
Kinds of mill in service per 10,000 t of rolled ingot
Size ( mm ) S hore ( mm)
Materials hardness
Nodular graphite steel 33~36 0.38
Blooming mil! 870 II x 2,200 x 4,040 Specia l cast steel 30~35 0.62

Nodu lar graphite steel 33~35 1.20

Slabbing mill 940 II x 2,300 x 4,785 Special cast steel 33~35 4.40

Nodular graphite steel 30~35 1. 30

Blooming mill 760 II x 1,900 x 3,380 Ductile cast iron 38~42 2.50

Nodular graphite steel 33~37 1.60

Blooming mill 1,000 II x 2,400 x 4,630
- -
Ductile cast iron
-
37~43
I- 1.92

37
( 350J Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No . 4 December 1962

C 1. 3"" nodular g r aphite stee l r oll C 2.0 "" l1odulal" graphite stee l r oll
•
•
I. '.
~

• •
I· •
•
•

.,
".
•
..
-. ., 1

•
• • f
.- ~
•
",
......o.
...
• • •
No etch

• • .• I
( x 100 )
•
•
. • .
•

...
-
~

.,
• •s ·-
•• ~ • '"4

. • •
•
•
•
• .. •
•
.
~ \
• ••
•
Nodular graph ite O.2s no Nodular g ra ph ite 0.45 (10

5 11'1 Pi era!
etc h ( x 300)

C 0.85 ')0 spec ial cast stee l roll C 1.7 °u Adam ite roll

(5 % Picral etc h, x 500) (5°, Picral etch , x 100)

Photo 2. Comparison of microstructure of nodular graphite steel rolls

with that of a special cast steel rolls and an Adamite roll

::18
 Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No. 4 December 1962 ( 351 J

rolling mill s. The wear was esti m ated as the reduc- center was ver y uniform and showed a lmost no ap-
tion of roll diameter by r eal wear in se rvice per parent m ass effect which a lmost always cou ld be seen
10,000 t of rolled ingot during on e period between in cast iron or ductile cast iron rolls . Tensile
two roll changes. The wear of t h e s pecial cast steel strength was about 50 kg / mm ~, Charpy n otch impact
r oll was about 2- 3 times th at of the nodular graphite valu e was 0.4 kg-m / cm~. Two other t ri al rolls for
steel roll and the wear of ductile cast iron roll was the roughing stand of a hot strip mill were made:
much more than t h at of the nodu lar graphite steel (i ) one w it h a barrel diameter of 455 mm, barrel
roll in spite of its rather high h a rdness. length of 1,500 mm, over-all length of 2,300 mm and
weight of 2 t of C 2.0 "'o-Cr-Mo nodular graphite steel
Ill.The Abras ion Was Less on the Side Surface of
Grooves.
Photo 4 shows clearly less ab r as ion in nodulal'
graphite steel r oll s than in specia l cast steel rolls.
iv. The Servi ce Life Was Longer.
As a r es ult of above-mentioned features, the se rvi ce
life of nodu la r g r aphite steel r oll s becomes longe r.
Thi s is clearl y sh own in Table 4 in which the serv ice
life is compa red by t h e r educt ion of r oll diametel' by
each dressing d uri ng one pel' iod between two r oll
rep lacem ent per 10,000 t of r oll ed ingots.
As ment ioned above, bloom in g a nd slabb in g mill
rolls with nodu la r g r aphi te steel are superi or to
us ual rolls with regard to t he r es istance to fire crack-
in g a nd wear as well as to the stl'ength and tough -
ness. Co mparing this \\"ith the mi cr ostru ctu re shown
in Photo 2, the effective infl uence of the introduction Spe cial cast s teel roll
of fin ely di spersed fre e nodula r graphite is clearly (After rolling about 13,000 tons of ingots )
seen.

2 . Rolls for the Roughing Stand in Hot Strip Mills

The authors made a trial roll for the roughing
stand of a hot strip mill with a barrel diameter of
472 mm, a banel lengt h of 1,300 mm , an over-all
length of 2,900 mm and " 'e ight of 2 t 100 kg, an d w ith
a ch emi cal composition of 1.9 ~ 2.1 ";, C, 1.3 ~ 1.7 (': , S i,
0.5 ~ 1.0 " :, Ni , 0 .8~1.2 ('~ Cr, 0.2 ~ 0 .4 {';, Mo and a
hardness of Shore 40 to 45 degree . A test with t hi s
roll a lso was condu cted in respect to mi crostructure
a nd mecha ni ca l properties likely with those rolls al-
r eady mention ed . The microstr ucture was composed
of comparatively large nodula r graphi te and fre e
cementite fin ely di spersed t h roughout the well-g lobu- Photo 3. Compariso n of a nodular graphite steel roll with
a special cast s teel roll for slabbing mill with
rized matri x. The distribution of micr ostru cture regard to fire cracks on rolling surface in service
'. a nd h ard ness t hrough the section from smface to (Roll size: 940 mm x 2,300 mm x 4,785 mm)

Table 4. Comparison of nodular graphi te steel roll with other rolls in three rolling
mills with reference to reduction of roll diameter per each dressing
Rolls
Reduction of roll d iameter by d ressing
Kinds of mi ll
per 10,000 t of rolled ingot ( mm)
S ize ( mm ) Materials

S labbing mill 940 if> x 2,300 x 4,785 Nodu lar graphite s tee l ILl
Special cast steel 20.2
--- -
B looming mill 870 if> x 2,200 x 4,040 Nodular graphite steel 2.36
Specia l cast steel 4.70
Nodular graphite stee l 3.40
Blooming mill 760 if> x 1,900 x 3,380 Ductile cast iron 5.10
Special cast steel 23.4
- ----

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[ 352J Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No. 4 December 1962

Nodu lar graph ite stee l ro ll a nd (ii ) the other with a barrel diameter of 715 mm,
(After r olling abo ut 2,000 tons of in gots)
barrel len gth of 965 mm , over-all length of 2,690 mm
and weight of 5 t of C 1.7 ":,-Cr-Mo nodular graphite
steel. Both of these rolls proved superior in actual
use to rolls made of conventional materi a ls.
The results of servi ce performances of these roll s
were as follows:
i. Fire Cr acks We I'e Fine an d Abrasion Wear Was
Less.
As sh own in Photo 5 and Photo 6, nodular
g raphite steel r oll s wer e s uper ior to Adamite rolls
or specia l cast steel rolls.
ii. The Service Life Was Longer .
As a r esu lt of the above-mentioned feature , the
service life of the nodular graphite steel rolls became
longer. Table 5 shows one of the typical examples,
where the definition of the redu ction of roll diameter
Ditto, but s hows less abrasion on the s ide s urface of the groove
was the same as shown in Table 4.
In ad diti on to these, the fine surfaces of rolled
products are ordin ari ly thought more important t han
the service life of t he rolls for t he roughing stand of
a hot str ip mill. P hoto 5 and Photo 6 show the
superior ity of nodu la r g r ap hi te steel roll even in this
point.
Table 5. Comparison of a nodular graphite steel roll with
an Adamite roll at the roughing s tand of a hot
strip mill with refere nce to redu ct ion of roll
diameter per eac h dressing
( Roll size : 472 <p x 1,300 x 2,900 )

Redu ct ion of roll diam ete r by each

Kinds of roll dress in g per 10,000 t o f [-o iled 51",b
( 111m )

Nodular gra phi te

stee l ro ll 4.30
S pec ial cast steel ro ll (After rolling a bo ut 3,000 to ns of ingots) s how in g
more abrasion on the side s urface of the groove
Adamite roll 6.90

3. Rolls for the Roughing Stand of Structural Mills

A roll for No.2 r oughing stand of a medium
structura l mill having barrel diameter of 600 mm,
barrel length of 1,800 mm, over-all length of 2,900mm
and weight of 4t 500 kg was manufactured with
nodular graphi te steel, of which the chemical com-
position was C 1.9 ~ 2.1(V" , Si 1. 3~ 1.7 % , Ni 0 .5~
1.0"{" Cr 0.8 ~ 1. 2 ";, an d Mo 0 .2~ 0.4 (;:, . The Shore
hardn ess of this r oll was set between 50- 55 degrees .
Investigati on into the material of this roll showed
the sam e free nodular graphite and free cementite as
that of the C 2.0 % nodular graphite steel roll shown
in Phot o 2, these graphite and cementite being dis-
persed through the harder matrix. The distribution
of microstru cture and hardness on the section all
Photo 4. Comparison of nodular graphite steel roll with through thi s roll fr om surface to center was uniform.
s pecial steel roll for blooming mill with regard to Tens ile strength was about 55 kg /mm2 and Charpy
abrasion wear on the side surface of the groove in notch impact value was about 0.3 kg-m / cm~ in spite
ser vice (Roll size: 870 mm x2 ,200mm x4,040mm) of its rather high hardness.

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 Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No.4 Dece mber 1962 353J

The results of servi ce performan ce of this r oll ax e and toughness.

g iven in Table 6, show in g t he superi ori ty of the Through the m a ny service performance examples
n odu lar g r aphi te steel roll to the grain roll which has descr ibed above, the SLl ccess of the app lication of
a consider ably higher hardness. nodular g r aphite steel for roll s for primary hot roil-
ing mills now is clearly see n.
Table 6. Comparison of a nodular graph ite steel roll with
a grain roll at the roughing stand of a structural v. Conclusion
section mill with reference to reduction of roll
By application of t he new metalli c materials, an
diameter per each dressing.
( Roll size : 6001> x 1,800 x 2,900) idea was developed that some char acteri stics of cast
iron should be introduced in the properties of steel
R educ tion o f r oll di ame te r by ro lls for prima r y hot-rolling mill s in order to improve
Kinds of ro ll Shore eac h dressing per 10,000 l of
h a rdn ess
roBed in got ( 111111 )
t heir res istance to fir e cracking and wear whi le main-
taining the proper sh 'ength and toughn ess. This
Nod ula r g raph ite
s tee l ro ll 6l.6 new m etalli c mate ria l is nodular g r a phite steel which
has fre e nodular g r aphite eve n in the as-cast state in
G rain roll 58 ~65 85 .2
the stee ly matrix.
In addition to this, while the bl'eakage at t he n eck After ma ny yea r s of f und amental invest igat ion
of journal is frequently expe ri enced in g r a in r oll s, and trial manufactu r e, new ly-d es ign ed r oll s, nam ely,
no s uch breakage has been expe ri enced wit h nodul a r nodular graphite stee l r oll s \\'ere developed a nd the
graphi te steel roll s because of their higher strength production of about 480 for va ri ous kind s of r olling
Nodul a r gra phi te steel I-oil Nodu lm- graphite steel roll
(Afle r ro lling about 500 tons of s labs ) (JHte r ro lling about 3,000 lon S of s la bs

Adam ite ro ll Specia l cast st eel roll

(Afte r ro lli ng a bou t 500 lons of s labs ) (After ro llin g about 1,000 ton s of s labs )

Photo 5. Comaparison of nodular graphite steel roll with Photo 6. Comparison of a nodular graphite steel roll with a
Adamite roll at the roughing stand of hot strip special steel roll at the roughing stand of a hot st rip
mill with regard to fire cracks on rolling surface mill with regard to fire cracks on rolling surface
in service (Roll size : 455 mm x 1,500 mm x 2,300 mm) in service (Roll s ize: 715 mm x 965 mm x 2,690 mm)

41
( 354J Tetsu-to-Hagane Overseas Vol. 2 No.4 December 1962

mills has already been performed since the first (1937) 4, 409.
manufacture in 1957. All these nodular graphite 3) D. K. Bullens: "Steel and its Heat Treatment", 2
rolls have shown a service performance far superior (1953) 93.
4) T. Sato & S . Totani: Nippon Kinzoku Gakkai-Si 0.
to that of other usual rolls. The demand for these
Japan Inst . Metals) , 18 ( 1954) A, 107; in Japanese.
rolls is remarkably increasing every year. 5) T. Saito, H. Sawamura and S. Morita: "Kinzoku Zairyo
The properties of nodular graphite steel rolls, oyobi sono Kakoho - Ch utetsu Hen-(Metallic Materials
moreover, are still being improved to satisfy the and their Treatment - Cast Iron Series-) , ( 1953) 142:
intensified severity of service conditions. The published by Maruzen Co., Ltd. in Japanese.
characteristics of steel containing nodular graphite 6) P.P. Berg & S.P. Berg & S.P. Nestercev: Lit. Proiz.,
are expected to expand the range of the use of this 12 (1956) 25: Kagaku Gizitsu Topic Sokuho - Soren no
type of roll in the future. Bu- ( Prompt Report of Scientific and Technological
Topics - USSR Series - ) in Japanese, 120 (1957 ) 234.
The above-mentioned development of this newly-
7) T. Sato & S. Totani: Nippon Kinzoku Gakka i-Si o.
designed roll owes much to encouragement and co- Japan Inst. Metals) , 21 ( 1957 ) 234.
operation of many rolling shops. The authors wish 8) T. Ototani et al.: Japanese Patent Application Published:
to express their cordial thanks to the engineers in Showa 34- 855 ( Feb., 21, 1959) .
these sh ops. 9) T. Ototani et al.:
Japanese Patent App!. Pub!.: Showa 34- 5251 (Jun., 25,
1959)
JJ JJ Showa 34 5252 (J un., 25,
REFERENCES 1959)
JJ JJ Showa 34 5254 (J un. , 25,
1) A. B. Kinzel & R. W. Moore: Metals Technology, 1 1959)
(1934) 6, 6. JJ JJ Show a 35 15002 ( Oct.,
2) F. R. Bonte & M. F leischm ann: Metal Progress, 31 11, 1960)

42