Evolution of Surface Transversal Crack in Intermediate Slabs during Hot Rolling Deformation

In the continuous casting of steels, surface transversal cracks are often found. These defects may severely influence the final quality of the products. The evolution of transversal V-shaped cracks with different depth on the surface of a continuously cast steel slab during hot rolling was studied. The artificial V-shaped cracks were made on the surface. The rolling process parameters from an industrial rolling mill have been used as a reference. The specimens of rolled workpiece in intermediate slabs were obtained after different rolling passes. The morphology of surface crack and microstructure evolution in the rolling process were investigated by optical microscopy. The results show that the depth of surface transversal crack gradually decreased with the increase of rolling passes. The grain size of ferrite and pearlite on the sample surface also gradually reduced. The microstructures around cracks with the different depth are almost identical, without direct correlation with the initial crack depth.