Effects of rolling processes on ridging generation of ferritic stainless steel

Highlights: • The effects of microstructural refinement and texture on ridging are analysed. • Optimal reduction during cold rolling benefits the enhancement of ridging resistance. • A Steckel-mill rolling method is proposed to improve ridging resistance of FSS 430. • 30% of ridging height reduction can be achieved with proposed rolling method. - Abstract: In order to reduce the ridging generation of ferritic stainless steel (FSS) during forming process, the crystallographic texture of the FSS was modified by optimisation of both rolling and annealing processes. A systematic study was carried out to improve the ridging resistance of the FSS by investigating the sequential changes in microstructure and texture during different rolling and annealing processes. The results show that the surface roughness of the final sheet strained by 20% along the rolling direction is decreased by 20% to 30% using Steckel-mill rolling compared to traditional tandem rolling. A direct correlation is found between the ridging resistance of the FSS and the rolling routines. It has been observed that an optimal reduction value during cold rolling process is critical to the microstructural refinement and surface quality improvement of the FSS. Reduction of the fraction of {001} <110> component by optimisation of the rolling processes is found to be effective in reducing the ridging height of the FSS during the formation process.