SIMULATION OF RAIL ROLLING USING THE GENERALIZED PLANE-STRAIN FINITE-ELEMENT APPROACH

The objective of this paper is to present the simulation of the rail r olling. The generalized plane-strain method is applied to the modellin g of the 3D problem using a 2D finite-element formulation. In conseque nce, significant savings in the computing time and in the required mem ory can be obtained. The present work focuses on the application of th e method to the simulation of UIC60-rail rolling at Katowice Steelwork s pie. The solution includes the introduction of the full asymmetry of the groove with respect to both the horizontal and the vertical plane s and the remeshing procedure of the rail shape. This improved approac h is applied to the simulation of the last pass during the rolling of the rail. As a consequence, distributions of strain rate, strain and t emperature in the cross section of the bloom are determined for differ ent stages of the pass. The results draw several conclusions regarding the material flow in the last groove which can be helpful in the roll -pass design and in the prediction of microstructure evolution.