Described herein are thin metal strips having hot rolled exterior side surfaces characterized as being primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, or at least primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, and including elongated surface structure. As a result, because the prior austenite grain boundaries are not primarily or substantially present, all such prior austenite grain boundaries are not susceptible to grain boundary etching due to acid etching or pickling. In particular examples, the thin metal strips undergo hot rolling performed with a coefficient of friction equal to or greater than 0.20 with or without use of lubrication.

A high-strength steel sheet includes a steel structure with: ferrite being 35% to 80%, martensite being 5% to 35%, and tempered martensite being 0% to 5% in terms of area fraction; retained austenite being 8% or more in terms of volume fraction; an average grain size of: the ferrite being 6 μm or less; and the retained austenite being 3 μm or less; a value obtained by dividing an area fraction of blocky austenite by a sum of area fractions of lath-like austenite and the blocky austenite being 0.6 or more; a value obtained by dividing, by mass %, an average Mn content in the retained austenite by an average Mn content in the ferrite being 1.5 or more; and a value obtained by dividing, by mass %, an average C content in the retained austenite by an average C content in the ferrite being 3.0 or more.

A control device for a rolling mill apparatus including at least one rolling mill stand for rolling a metal plate includes: a detection signal acquisition part for receiving, from an edge crack sensor, a detection signal of an edge crack at an end portion of the metal plate in a plate width direction; and a rolling condition decision part for deciding a rolling condition for the rolling mill apparatus. The rolling condition decision part is configured to change, if the detection signal acquisition part receives the detection signal of the edge crack, the rolling condition for the rolling mill apparatus from a first rolling condition immediately before detection of the edge crack to a second rolling condition which is more capable of suppressing growth of the edge crack than the first rolling condition.

A rolling mill is provided with: a roll for rolling a metal plate, the roll being capable of shifting in an axial direction and having a tapered portion at an end portion in the axial direction; and a heating unit configured to form an expansion portion protruding in a radial direction in the tapered portion by heating the tapered portion.

A method for preparing an ultrafine-grained superalloy bar, the method including: 1) designing a rolling machine including two rollers and two guide plates, where each of the two rollers includes a first roller and a second roller; the first roller includes a first curve and the second roller includes a second curve; the first curve and the second curve form a generatrix of the two rollers; 2) disposing the two guide plates with two curved surfaces thereof opposite to each other; disposing the two rollers to be between the two guide plates; where the two rollers and the two guide plates form a deformation zone of the rolling machine; and 3) driving the two rollers to rotate around their central axes, heating and introducing a superalloy blank from a gap between two first rollers to the deformation zone of the rolling machine; advancing the superalloy blank towards two second rollers.

A method for manufacturing a ring-rolled product, which manufactures the ring-rolled product from a ring material, includes a step of rolling the ring material, which has an operation of rolling the ring material from both inner and outer circumferential sides thereof between a mandrel roll and a main roll in a state of rotating the ring material toward one side in a circumferential direction thereof, and induction-heating the ring material by induction heating elements. An induction heating element is disposed on only an outer circumferential side of the ring material or is disposed on each of both the inner and outer circumferential sides in a region immediately before the rolling, or an inclined portion is provided in an outer-peripheral edge portion of a coil in the induction heating element.

A high-strength steel sheet includes a steel structure with: ferrite being 35% to 80%, martensite being 5% to 35%, and tempered martensite being 0% to 5% in terms of area fraction; retained austenite being 8% or more in terms of volume fraction; an average grain size of: the ferrite being 6 μm or less; and the retained austenite being 3 μm or less; a value obtained by dividing an area fraction of blocky austenite by a sum of area fractions of lath-like austenite and the blocky austenite being 0.6 or more; a value obtained by dividing, by mass %, an average Mn content in the retained austenite by an average Mn content in the ferrite being 1.5 or more; and a value obtained by dividing, by mass %, an average C content in the retained austenite by an average C content in the ferrite being 3.0 or more.

Systems and methods for using full-width hot sprays to pre-heat rolling mills prior to processing of metal sheet or plate are described herein. The hot sprays may be individually controlled. Using hot sprays can allow the rolling mill to reach operating temperature and achieve a desired thermal crown so that metal sheet or plate may be processed immediately within tolerances for flatness and gauge accuracy. Pre-heating of rolling mills can eliminate the need of the rolling mill to operate in a transitional period of work roll heating and can increase efficiency by eliminating or reducing scrap material and mill downtime. Hot sprays may also be incorporated with existing coolant systems to provide thermal control systems for rolling mills with bi-directional temperature controls.

Described herein are thin metal strips having hot rolled exterior side surfaces characterized as being primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, or at least primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, and including elongated surface structure. As a result, because the prior austenite grain boundaries are not primarily or substantially present, all such prior austenite grain boundaries are not susceptible to grain boundary etching due to acid etching or pickling. In particular examples, the thin metal strips undergo hot rolling performed with a coefficient of friction equal to or greater than 0.20 with or without use of lubrication.

Described herein are thin metal strips having hot rolled exterior side surfaces characterized as being primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, or at least primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, and including elongated surface structure. As a result, because the prior austenite grain boundaries are not primarily or substantially present, all such prior austenite grain boundaries are not susceptible to grain boundary etching due to acid etching or pickling. In particular examples, the thin metal strips undergo hot rolling performed with a coefficient of friction equal to or greater than 0.20 with or without use of lubrication.