Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
On Tuesday, May 4, the Rolls Technology Committee (RTC) held a meeting at AISTech in Pittsburgh, Pa. The meeting began with discussion of their mission statement, which they agreed was still appropriate as written. Having programmed several joint sessions this year, the RTC thought this had a positive impact on the quality and attendance at their sessions. After they held the election of RTC officers for the coming year, they reviewed their procedure for identifying the paper for their Best Paper Award. They also planned to set up a meeting with the Safety & Health Technology Committee to establish a method for reporting corrective actions on safety issues. Tentative plans were made for a fall meeting. Before closing the meeting, John Ballani presented the outgoing chair, Jerry Bunnell, with a plaque of appreciation for his service to the committee.
The Rolls Technology Committee (RTC) met on Jan. 27–28 in Golden, Colo., at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. David Matlock and Dr. John Speer welcomed everyone and provided an overview of the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center (ASPPRC). The committee’s first order of business was to finalize their sessions for AISTech 2010. They continued some work on a joint session they are planning with the Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee that will conclude with a panel discussion focusing on the future of hexavalent chromium and the impact on the industry if its use for plating rolls becomes restricted or eliminated. The RTC also reviewed the status of a joint session they will offer with the Hot Sheet Rolling Technology Committee. Their plan is to conclude their paper sessions with another panel discussion on roll inspection systems. They then identified topics to focus on for the AISTech 2011 Call for Abstracts. The RTC continues to explore the possibility of developing a Specialty Training Conference, possibly one that would relate to roll shop safety. This led into a discussion on safety, and the RTC made a plan for the committee leadership to meet with representatives from the Safety & Health Technology Committee to develop a means to communicate corrective actions. After these discussions, technical presentations were made to the committee, with time for a question-and-answer period. These presentations included Dr. Emmanuel DeMoor on “Trends in the Development of New High-Strength Steel Grades for Automotive Applications,” Alexander Hudgins on “Shear Failures in Bending of Advanced High-Strength Steels,” Grant Thomas on “Quenched and Partitioned (Q&P) Steels Produced via Direct Hot Rolling,” Nika Muckelroy on “Microstructure and Mechanical Properties Comparison of Direct Quenched Versus Conventional Quenched and Tempered Plate,” and Myra Dyer on “A Study of Microalloy Precipitation in Hot Charged Slabs.” The next day included a tour of Golden Aluminum, where attendees saw aluminum being processed from scrap through the final product. There was plenty of time in the roll shop to discuss the company’s roll practices and experiences.
The Rolls Technology Committee (RTC) met at Nucor Steel–Indiana in Crawfordsville, Ind., on Oct. 13–14. Committee chair Jerry Bunnell of ArcelorMittal welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending. He then led the group in a round table discussion on safety, particularly as it pertained to roll shops. The RTC then toured Nucor’s Castrip facility and had the opportunity to observe the process in operation and talk to the crew. After the tour, Mark Schlichting of Nucor Indiana gave a presentation on the Castrip process. A discussion followed on getting additional members on the committee. The RTC then toured the hot mill and the roll shop. After this tour, they started planning their sessions for AISTech 2010. They reviewed available abstracts and developed several session topics. From here, they identified additional papers they could bring to the topic and also tie in with a couple of panel discussions. The RTC planned one whole day of sessions based on discussion on the future use of chromium from chrome plating rolls, and decided to pursue a joint session with the Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee. After their sessions were planned, the RTC discussed the possibility of developing a Specialty Training Conference focusing on roll shop safety and decided to continue this discussion at their next meeting. Mr. Bunnell presented a plaque of appreciation to Bob Bennett for arranging and hosting the meeting and tours.
The Rolls Technology Committee (RTC) met on May 5 in conjunction with AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. They began the meeting with the election of officers for the upcoming year, and elected Jerry Bunnell as chair, John Ballani as vice chair and Kalyan Khan as papers chair. This was followed by a review of the RTC mission statement, which will remain as is. The RTC then held a review of their AISTech sessions to date, and the general consensus was that the papers and discussions were very good. The committee has an award for best paper, and they reviewed the criteria and selection process for the award. They also discussed committee membership and methods to attract new members and increase committee participation. They then discussed plans for their meeting in September, including topics for technical presentations and their preferred tour facility.
The Rolls Technology Committee (RTC) met Jan. 13 in Florence, Ind. Tony Payling welcomed everyone to the meeting. Discussion was held on committee membership and contacts that were being made to encourage participation. The RTC then worked on finalizing their sessions for AISTech 2009. Continuing their focus on safety, they finalized their session on “Roll Shop Safety” and decided to make their third session a panel discussion on “Safety Issues in the Roll Shop,” covering all areas from materials and equipment through handling and processing. Additional session chairs were identified, and the chairs’ responsibilities were discussed, including personal contacts with the presenters prior to the conference. For the AISTech 2010 Call for Papers, the RTC decided to solicit papers on additional types of rolls, including pinch rolls. This discussion was followed with a technical presentation from Eric Almquist on “Roll Grinding Using Abrasive Belts.” Although the committee had been discussing a meeting in Europe, it was decided to wait until 2010 to plan. The next two RTC meetings will be at AISTech 2009 in St. Louis and at Nucor Steel–Indiana. Bobby Heinz and Jay Richter of Gallatin Steel then explained the logistics and route for the tour of Gallatin that day. The RTC toured the caster, tunnel furnaces, roll shop and the hot mill.
The Rolls Technology Committee (RTC) held a meeting Sept. 16–17 in Columbus, Miss., with a tour of the Columbus Roll Shop and Severstal Columbus (formerly SeverCorr). The tour began the morning of Sept. 16 and started with the cold mill roll shop, followed by the hot mill roll shop. During the tour, the attendees had the opportunity to see the roll grinders, the electric discharge texturing (EDT) machine and the chroming process. This was followed by a tour of Severstal Columbus, where attendees followed the process from the caster through the hot mill. The RTC then went through the pickler and the 5-stand tandem cold mill. The hydrogen annealing bases and the temper mill completed the tour. After lunch, Jim Senne moderated a round table discussion on alternate methods and procedures to extend roll life. Presentations were made by various committee members, with discussion following each presentation. The next day, the committee planned their sessions for AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. The RTC hopes to conduct a joint session with the Safety and Health Technology Committee on roll shop safety. After selecting papers for AISTech, the RTC identified session titles and session chairs. They then discussed membership on the committee and identified companies to target for participation. An update on the 2008 Leadership Development Conference was provided. This was followed by open discussion, including a couple options for the next RTC meeting. They also discussed the possibility of a European meeting in 2009.
The Roll Technology Operating Committee (RTOC) met in Pittsburgh, Pa., on May 7 at AISTech 2008. The meeting began with the presentation of the RTOC’s Best Paper Award to Eugene Nikitenko for his paper, “Hot Band Profile Irregularities Related to Thermal Contour of Work Rolls.” The status of the integration plan for the AISI committees was then discussed, and the name of the committee was changed to the Rolls Technology Committee (RTC). They also discussed coordinating some of their efforts with the Hot Sheet Rolling Technology Committee and the Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee. They were pleased with the attendance at their AISTech 2008 sessions and with the quality of the presentations, and made plans to discuss potential changes for future sessions. Officer elections made Tony Payling the chair, Jerry Bunnell the vice chair and Kalyan Khan the papers chair. Their mission statement was modified to include roll manufacturing and also roll shop operations and safety. They then developed their potential meeting sites for the upcoming year and discussed the possibility of a European tour in the fall of 2009. Topics and presentations for upcoming meetings were also identified. Some of these topics include how users can ensure roll availability via roll repair techniques, achieving maximum useful roll life, roll shop safety and environment, handling of grinding wheels, and crane safety.
