ISSN 0967-0912, Steel in Translation, 2016, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 282–284. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2016.

Original Russian Text © A.G. Kuz’menko, V.T. Chernenko, N.S. Sukharev, D.A. Kleshchenko, 2016, published in Stal’, 2016, No. 4, pp. 44–46.

Thermomechanical Strengthening of Thermtime Rebar

A. G. Kuz’menko, V. T. Chernenko, N. S. Sukharev, and D. A. Kleshchenko
OOO NPP Inzhmet, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: n.sukharev@ingmet.ru
Received April 5, 2016

Abstract—Tempcore and Thermex technologies for the thermal strengthening of rebar in the bar-rolling line
are analyzed. New Thermtime technology is proposed. The dependence of the cooling rate on the water flow
rate is determined. The temperature distribution over the bar cross section in thermal strengthening is pre-
sented.

Keywords: thermal strengthening, Tempcore, Thermex, Thermtime, cooling rate, water flow rate, rebar, tem-
perature, self-tempering, strength class
DOI: 10.3103/S0967091216040045

The thermomechanical strengthening of rebar in
the bar-rolling line is widely used. This process
includes cooling of the hot bar on exit from the last
finishing cell, subsequent self-tempering with equal-
ization of the temperature over the cross section, and
slow cooling on a rack.
We know that the strength and plasticity of the steel
are improved if the forced cooling rate is increased to
the critical quenching rate in double heat treatment
(quenching + tempering), as in one-time heat treat-
ment (interrupted cooling). If the cooling rate is
increased from 125 to 325 deg/s in the quenching of
steel with 0.15% C, say, with special tempering such
that the yield point is 687 MPa, the relative elongation
rises from 8 to 18% and the relative constriction from
42 to 58% [2]. The reduction in the plastic properties
of low-carbon steel subjected to quenching and tem-
pering with decrease in the cooling rate in quenching
is due to the appearance not only of tempered marten-
site in the strengthened steel but also of intermediate
products of austenite disintegration, structure-free
ferrite, and other components. The inhomogeneous
structures in quenched steel, in turn, give rise to non-
uniformly distributed cementite in the tempered state
and hence impair the strength and plasticity.
The required structure and mechanical properties
of thermally strengthened bar with specified chemical
composition depend on the cooling rate. The neces-
sary and permissible rate depends on the selection of
the coolant and the parameters of the cooling system
and the water-supply system. Given the poor quench-
ing properties and hardenability of low-carbon low-
alloy steel bar, it is especially important to increase the
cooling rate during the thermal strengthening of bar
(for example, steel rebar) in the rolling line, in accor-
dance with standard documents such as BS4449:2005
(Britain), DIN488 (Germany), State Standard GOST
R 52544–2006 (Russia), and State Standard DSTU
3760:2006 (Ukraine). Increase in the cooling rate
minimizes the content of alloying elements (in partic-
ular, manganese) without loss of performance and also
minimizes the length of the forced-cooling line.
Existing technologies for thermomechanical hard-
ening developed in Belgium (Tempcore [1]), Ger-
many (Thermex [2, 3]), and Russia [4] share the same
functional system. A sprayer sends coolant (water)
under pressure into a cooling chamber (a tube), which
has a water-runoff system at the exit. In Tempcore and
Thermex technologies, additional sprayers create a
water jet opposing the main flux, which is disrupted.
In the Russian technologies, self-splitting of the
water is used for this propose. Some of the coolant is
diverted to a special channel by means of an attach-
ment at the end of the cooling chamber and is sprayed
in the opposite direction to the water flux, which is dis-
rupted [3]. That permits the use of 100% of the water as
coolant. As a rule, air sprayers (dryers) are mounted
beyond the water-dispersal system for final removal of
coolant residues from the surface of the bar.
The cooling water is at high pressure: 1.2–1.4 MPa
for Tempcore; 1.8–2.0 MPa for Thermex; and 1.8–
4.5 MPa for the Russian systems. The main design
parameter is the length of the autonomous cooling
sections (including the sprayer, the cooling chamber,
and the water-splitting device): 1.2 m for Tempcore;
3–5 m for Thermex; and 6–9 m for the Russian sys-
tems. In Tempcore technology, the autonomous sec-
tions are gathered together in groups of up to ten. Each
autonomous section must be fitted with a valve for
water supply to the sprayer and a valve for water supply
to the opposing sprayer. Thus, a single cooling module

282
 THERMOMECHANICAL STRENGTHENING OF THERMTIME REBAR
1 4 3 2 ΔL 5 1
L
Fig. 1. Section of the Thermtime thermal-strengthening
system: (1) water sprayer; (2) module with the water split-
ter; (3) telescopic cooling chamber; (4) electromechanical
drive; (5) idling path.
in the Tempcore system requires an array of 20 valves.
The cooling-wall temperature is regulated by discrete
change in the number of cooling sprayers, which are
turned on and off by means of valves.
The Tempcore and Thermex systems do not permit
unimpeded passage of small-radius bar through the
cooling system at high speed (20–45 m/s). That
requires the use of push-rod units. Russian systems
employ not only forced cooling but hydraulic trans-
portation of the bars at rolling speeds up to 45 m/s.
The degree of cooling is regulated in increments in
Thermtime systems at mill setup (transition from one
bar profile to another) and smoothly in thermal
strengthening (in real time). The discrete regulation of
the cooling conditions at mill setup is identical for all
the technologies and reduces to change in length of the
cooling section by selecting the required number of
sprayers or by adjusting the length of the cooling
chamber. The use of sections with telescopic chambers
in the Thermtime system permits reduction in the
number of sections from 15–16 to 4–6 in up-to-date
high-speed mills.
In the given cooling systems, where water is sup-
plied directly to a closed cooling chamber, adjusting
the input pressure modifies the flow velocity relative
to the bar surface and hence the cooling rate. We know
that, with increase in the water flow rate relative to the
cooled bar surface, the cooling rate steadily increases,
while the increase in the cooling rate of deep layers
reaches a limit.
If the bar is cooled in a closed chamber with exces-
sive static pressure by a water flux moving at 12–15 m/s,
which exceeds the speed of the bar, the process is lim-
ited solely by the thermal conductivity of the material
and does not depend on the increase in cooling rate at
the surface; this is cooling with boundary conditions
of the first kind. In that case, the fastest possible cool-
ing is ensured [5]. Obviously, in view of the working
water pressure of 1.2–2.0 MPa employed, the follow-
ing deficiencies may be noted when using the pres-
sure-regulation system (gates) of the Tempcore and
Thermex technologies: slow cooling of the bar, since
the cooling conditions may only change on the
ascending section of the saturation curve in response
to change in the pressure; nonuniform surface cool-
STEEL IN TRANSLATION Vol. 46 No. 4 2016
283
2 3 4
Air
Bar
7
6
5
Runoff to drainage channel
Fig. 2. Module with the water splitter: (1) trolley; (2) tele-
scopic cooling chamber; (3) adjustable bush; (4) remov-
able collector; (5) water sprayer; (6) bush; (7) air sprayer.
ing and hence nonlinearity (distortion) of the bars
after cooling; and hydrodynamic disruption of the
cooling section, with associated change in the trans-
portation conditions (even with push-rod units in the
rolling line).
Inzhmet specialists have now introduced the pro-
duction of the new Thermtime thermal-strengthening
system. A key feature of this technology is control of
the thermal strengthening by adjusting the length of
the active cooling zone and thus the cooling time τ,
with constant rolling speed Vro = const. In addition,
this system employs self-splitting of the water flux,
which has performed well in practice. In Fig. 1, we
show a typical cooling section for a single-strand
Thermtime thermal-strengthening system used in the
production of rebar of types 8–40 at rolling speeds up
to 40 m/s [5, 6].
The section consists of a platform where the cool-
ing vessel is parallel to a bypass roller conveyer or an
idling path. The platform takes the form of a four-
wheeled trolley moving transverse to the rolling axis
under the action of as hydraulic cylinder, so as to put
the bypass roller conveyer or idling path into operation
in discontinuous quenching or on transition to hot
rolling. The cooling line consists of two separate mod-
ules connected by a telescopic cooling chamber: a
fixed module with a sprayer; and a moving module
with the water splitter. (The second module moves
along the rolling axis). The moving module (Fig. 2) is
equipped with an electromechanical chain drive,
which continuously corrects the length L of the active
cooling zone in the telescopic chamber—that is, the
cooling time τ.
The cooling section has the following internal ele-
ments: an intake chamber; a water sprayer; a telescopic
cooling chamber; a water splitter; an air sprayer; and
an idling path. The Thermtime system does not permit
control of the process by changing the water pressure
at the sprayer input. With constant water pressure and
flow rate, the cooling rate is high and stable, and no
284 KUZ’MENKO et al.

Recommended steel grades for the production of rebar of types 6–40 (strength classes A500S, A600, At800, and At1000)
by Thermtime technology
Content, %
Strength class Rebar type, grade of steel
C Mn Si
A500S No. 6–22, Ст3пс ≥0.18 ≤0.55 0.15–0.30
No. 25–32, Ст3пс ≤0.24 0.6–0.7 0.15–0.30
No. 36–40, Ст3пс 0.26 0.8–0.9 0.15–0.30
A600 No. 10–40, 28C 0.25–0.32 0.6–0.9 0.9–1.2
At800 No. 10–20, 28C, 25Г2C 0.25–0.32 0.6–0.9 0.9–1.2
At1000 No. 10–18, 20ГС 0.20–0.22 ≤1.5 ≤1.5

valves are required to regulate the pressure and flow
rate. When valves are used, strict limits must be set on
the purity of the cooling water,
The distinguishing feature of this technology is the
use of higher pressure: up to 2.5 MPa for rebar of types
20–40 and 4.5 MPa for rebar of types 8–18, as against
1.6 and 2.5 MPa, respectively, for the Tempcore and
Thermex technologies. The high water pressure per-
mits flow rates within the cooling chamber that are
about 15–20 m/s higher than the speed of the bar and,
hence, high cooling rates, close to the maximum
attainable values. That improves the quality of the
rebar produced and permits increase in rolling speed
or shortening of the cooling line.
To assess the strength of the rebar produced by
Thermtime technology, we determine the volume of
transformed austenite over the cross section of the bar.
Using the heat-conduction equation, we plot the tem-
perature distribution over the cross section in Fig. 3
[7]. Assuming that the temperature of austenite trans-
T, °C
1030 Final rolling temperature
t0 = 1050°C
960 S600°C
890 S550°C
820 1
S500°C
2 no. 4, pp. 68–72.
750
3
680
610 Limiting temperature of austenite
martensite transition
tMs = 550°C
540
470
400
–1.0 –0.8 –0.6 –0.4 –0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 r/Rreb
Fig. 3. Temperature distribution over the cross section at
the end of cooling when the mean-mass self-tempering
temperature is Tst = 600°C (1), 550°C (2), and 650°C (3).
Notation: t, temperature; r/Rreb, relative radius of cross
section; r, absolute radius of cross section; Rreb, rebar
radius; S, thickness of quenched layer.
formation is 910°C, we find the diameter of the region
where the austenite is not transformed
t − ts
θ= .
t0 − ts
Here t is the temperature at the given point of the cross
section; ts is the surface temperature; t0 is the final roll-
ing temperature; and θ is the Fourier number. It fol-
lows from the calculation that 60% of the metal is
quenched at the self-tempering temperature Tst =
600°C, as against 52% at Tst = 550°C and 45% at Tst =
500°C. In strengthening rebar, such cooling condi-
tions ensure mechanical properties corresponding to
strength classes A500S, A600, At800, and At1000 for
economically alloyed steel produced in accordance
with the relevant Russian standards: STO ASChM 7–
93 and State Standards GOST R 52544–2006 and
GOST 10884–94, as we see in the table.
REFERENCES
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rebars, MPT Int., 1990, no. 2, pp. 61–69.
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Development of equipment for the accelerated cooling
of rolled products in the stream of the 530 mill, Stal’,
2000, no. 7, pp. 65–67.
3. Shlyakhov, N.A., Vakula, L.A., Lekhtman, A.A., et al.,
Thermo-mechanical strengthening of wide reinforcing
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5. Chernenko, V.T., Kuz’menko, A.G., Krysanov, E.V.,
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Translated by Bernard Gilbert

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