Thermomechanical rolling of an aluminum plate

A method for reversing thermomechanical rolling of an aluminum plate in a rolling process including a plurality of rolling passes, comprising:

• specifying characteristic data, including a microstructure of the aluminum plate, a waiting thickness of the aluminum plate assigned to at least one rolling pass and at least one of rolling restart temperatures, a target temperature, a cooling temperature, and a cooling rate, for thermally controlling the rolling process;
• continuously determining values of at least one state variable including measured surface temperature profiles of the aluminum plate, from which a temperature of the aluminum plate can be derived;
• determining a pass schedule for the rolling process as a function of the characteristic data, including the waiting thickness of the aluminum plate assigned to at least one rolling pass and the at least one of rolling restart temperatures, the target temperature, the cooling temperature, and the cooling rate ,and the values of the at least one state variable obtained by said determining, including measured surface temperature profiles of the aluminum plate, the pass schedule making provision for a rolling pause between at least two successive rolling passes that starts as soon as a measured thickness of the aluminum plate is no longer above the waiting thickness assigned to a completed rolling pass, where during the rolling pause rolling of the aluminum plate is interrupted to allow the aluminum plate to cool down;
• and
• controlling the rolling process in accordance with the pass schedule, based on temperatures measured at different locations on the aluminum plate and the characteristic data, including the waiting thickness of the aluminum plate assigned to at least one rolling pass and the at least one of rolling restart temperatures, the target temperature, the cooling temperature, and the cooling rate.