Hydraulic Gap Control on Strip Rolling Mills

Abstract

Early applications of hydraulic loading were confined to foil rolling mills but recent developments have been rapid. Prestressed mills were adopted to obtain high stiffness and stability. The addition of modern quickly-responding electro-hydraulic equipment and accurate transducers has given these mills even higher effective stiffness and resulted in very good gauge control. The proving of hydraulic load and position controls in service on these mills has enabled them to be applied with confidence to ‘pure’ (screwless) hydraulic mills which are less costly than conventional mills and give improved performance. They are being widely adopted. Control methods, the requirements for transducers, hydraulic systems, etc., and the essential functions of a hydraulic gauge control are described herein.