EuroWire November 2019

Technical Article

Study on Process Simulation and Quality Control of Copper Rod Continuous Casting and Rolling By Hui-shuang Ji, Yang Liu, Yan Peng, Shuang-lei Wang, Yu-rong Gao, Dong-ya Qian, Jia-huan Gao, National Engineering Research Centre for Equipment and Technology of Cold Strip Rolling, and Jiangsu Hengtong Precision Metal Material Co Ltd, China

Abstract Continuous casting and rolling is the key technology of copper rod manufacturing, and determines the performance and quality of the copper rod. Aiming at the problems of copper rod in SCR3000 continuous casting and rolling production lines, such as high content of copper powder, poor torsional performance and low deep processing performance, a deformation model of copper rod continuous casting billet and hot continuous rolling was established, and the corresponding finite element model was established based on the field process parameters. The forming and deformation rules of copper rod were analysed, and the quality control methods and process optimisation measures of copper rod were discussed. At the same time, the phenomenon of copper sticking on rolls of hot continuous rolling was solved. The research conclusion has an important guiding role in the production of high quality copper rods. 1 Introduction Copper rods are used for enamelled wires, ultra-fine wires, wires and cables, communication lines and other fields because of their good physical and electrical properties. With the development of industry and the rapid improvement of science and technology, not only has the demand for copper rods increased rapidly, but also the quality of copper rods is more stringent [1] . In the process of copper rod processing, the solidification process of liquid copper in five-wheel continuous

the SCR3000 production line, this paper studies the solidification process of copper billet and the deformation behaviour of copper rod during the continuous casting process, establishes the corresponding theoretical model and finite element numerical simulation analysis, deeply studies the continuous casting and hot rolling process in the production process of copper rod and its influence on the quality of copper rod, and puts forward the technological optimisation measures. The quality of copper rod can be effectively improved. Continuous casting and hot rolling are the key processes of the SCR3000 production line. The theoretical models of continuous casting stage and hot rolling process are established respectively, and the production process of copper rod is analysed comprehensively. 2.1 Analysis of casting technology An SCR3000 five-wheel casting machine is composed of a casting wheel, steel belt, driving device of the casting wheel, follow-up wheel device, carbon coating device of casting mould, traction device of casting billet and conveying device of casting billet. The system structure is shown in Figure 1 . Copper liquid is injected into the trapezoidal crystallisation chamber, wrapped by a steel strip and casting wheel at a certain angle from the tundish casting pipe. Cooled by water of the casting machine, liquid copper solidifies and crystallises dynamically in the form 2 Theoretical modelling

casting process, which is the core of SCR continuous rolling system, involves the coupling of temperature field, flow field and solidification field. The defects of hot rolling sticking roll and finished copper rod, such as high copper powder content and poor torsion performance, seriously affect the efficiency of copper rod production and the quality of finished copper rod. Therefore, the existing process should be comprehensively and thoroughly analysed and controlled in production, and the key processes should be optimised to ensure the quality of copper rods. Continuous casting and hot rolling process directly determine the working capacity of SCR copper rod production equipment and the quality performance of finished copper rod. Yang [2] has theoretically established the relationship between microstructure and macro-properties by simulating and analysing the micro- structures and compositions of copper alloys produced by the SCR method, and has fully revealed the solidification behaviour and property changes of copper alloys. Sahoo [3] studied the effects of casting speed and temperature on the solidi- fication process of continuous casting by considering the selection of solidification and turbulence model when changing the numerical simulation parameters. Komanduri et al [4] studied the mechanical properties of copper, such as tensile strength, and explained the influence of deformation speed and degree on the deformation process of fine-grained copper rod. Aiming at the defects existing in the continuous casting and rolling process of

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November 2019