Metal Rolling and Heat Treatment Processing

1. Introduction

As an important cornerstone of the development of human civilization, metal materials are the most widely used materials in modern society. Over the past one-hundred years people have continuously innovated and made breakthroughs in the development and application of metal materials, in which rolling and heat treatment technologies have played an important role. In order to meet the growing technological demands in various fields, such as automobile manufacturing, energy development, and construction engineering, metal forming and heat treatment technologies are also constantly being upgraded. Related research focuses on the laws of metal deformation and microstructural evolution, which not only promotes the development trend of low energy consumption and low pollution in the material processing industry but also conforms to people’s demand for a good ecological environment.

With the rise in digital science and technology at the end of the 20th century, especially after OpenAI released ChatGPT at the end of 2022, the industry has also ushered in new opportunities for the rise in digitalization. In the field of metal rolling and heat treatment, future implementation of intelligent and digital technologies will further help researchers tap into the potential of metal materials, develop new metal material processing and heat treatment technologies and equipment, help the sustainable development of a high-quality green and intelligent industrial economy, and promote the progress of human society.

2. Contributions

The research contents of the Special Issue Metal Rolling and Heat Treatment Processing include but are not limited to the following aspects: research and development of new rolling process and new equipment (contribution 1), development of advanced heat treatment technology (contribution 2), numerical simulation of material forming and heat treatment (contribution 2), microstructure and properties control of metal material forming and heat treatment (contributions 3–6), development of new products based on rolling and heat treatment (contributions 7–9), and intelligent rolling and heat treatment (contribution 10), etc.

Carta et al. (contribution 1) considered the effects of three temperatures and three deformation processes on the roll bond strength of AA3105 strips. The results showed that the bond strength increases with a decrease in temperature and deformation. Ye et al. (contribution 2) proposed a confined slot air-jet quenching method for steel sheets, and the flow and heat transfer phenomena near the wall were obtained by numerical simulation, which provided a basis for industrial design. Liang et al. (contribution 3) improved the strength and hardness of Fe-28Mn-8.5Al-1.0C lightweight wear-resistant steel by obtaining nano-sized k-carbides in grains by aging treatment. When the aging temperature was increased, the number and volume of k-carbides increased and the second-phase strengthening and dislocation strengthening were enhanced, which improved the wear resistance of the material. Yang et al. (contribution 4) investigated the effect of annealing temperature on the microstructure and properties of DH steel containing Nb and Nb-Cu and optimized its hole expansion properties. Finally, high-quality Cu-bearing DH steel with a strength of 1289 MPa, an elongation of 19.8%, a hole expansion ratio of 21.9%, and a hole expansion loss of 10% was obtained. Čatipović et al. (contribution 5) determined the effects of heat treatment parameters and copper content on the tensile strength, toughness, and elongation of ductile iron by austempering experiments. The corresponding mathematical model was developed and the combined regression gray–fuzzy technology was used for multi-response modeling and optimization.

Wu et al. (contribution 6) studied the effect of finishing rolling temperature on the toughness of 500 MPa grade weathering steel. With a decrease in finishing rolling temperature the HAGB and M/A fractions increased and decreased, respectively, and the critical crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) value increased significantly, resulting in the increase in the low-temperature toughness of weathering steel. Huang et al. (contribution 7) obtained low-carbon low-alloy steel with high plasticity and toughness by obtaining retained austenite through intercritical heat treatment. Additionally, by increasing the intercritical quenching temperature the content of retained austenite was increased, and subsequently its comprehensive properties were regulated. Wang et al. (contribution 8) significantly improved the low-cycle fatigue life of Al-5Cu-0.8Mg-0.15Zr-0.2Sc alloy after peak aging treatment by adding 0.5% Ag. The increase was 126.7% and 90.1% at 20 °C and 200 °C, respectively. Hu et al. (contribution 9) investigated the effect of the heat input of a V-Ti-N microalloyed weathering steel on the microstructure and tensile properties of the coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ). With the increase of E_j, the increase in MED and the decrease in dislocation density resulted in a decrease in yield strength. Jiao et al. (contribution 10) used machine vision and the DBO-RBF algorithm to establish a mathematical model for the visual graphic control of plates in plate mills. The model had good prediction and control performance, which could reduce the sheet end-cut loss area by 31% in practical applications.