Method and apparatus for cooling rolling mill rolls and flat rolled products

A method of differentially cooling different selected portions of a rolling mill roll comprising;

• providing a plurality of cooling spray nozzles on a spray bar adjacent to such rolling mill roll such that different nozzles are adapted to cool different selected portions of such rolling mill roll at a predetermined spray-angle and spray-distance, and such that those nozzles adapted to cool at least a first of such selected portions of such rolling mill roll are positioned so that at least one of such spray-angle and such spray-distance is different from that effected by nozzles adapted to cool at least a second of such selected portions of such rolling mill roll, said nozzles on said spray bar being spaced along a surface of said spray bar in a curved alignment, so as to form an arc with respect to a straight line parallel to the axis of said spray bar, such that, at any particular position of said spray bar, the spray-angles and spray-distances effected by adjacent nozzles are not the same and effect at least one of different spray-angles and different spray-distances to achieve different cooling rates within different portions of such rolling mill roll, admitting a continuous flow of liquid coolant through all of said nozzles and onto a surface of such rolling mill roll, and controlling a cooling rate within at least such first selected portions of such rolling mill roll by effecting a uniform controlled movement of all nozzles adapted to cool such first selected portion to uniformly change at least one of said first spray-angle and said first spray-distance effected by such moved nozzles to thereby change the cooling rate within at least said first selected portion of the rolling mill roll.

Apparatus for use in combination with a rolling mill roll for differentially cooling different selected portions of such rolling mill roll comprising;

• a plurality of coolant spray nozzles adapted to spray a liquid coolant onto a surface of such rolling mill roll whereby different nozzles are adapted to cool differed selected portions of such rolling mill roll, and such that the nozzles for cooling at least a first of such selected portions are spaced along a surface of an elongated spray bar adjacent to such rolling mill roll, the nozzles on the spray bar being spaced along a surface of the spray bar in a curved alignment, so as to form an arc with respect to a straight line parallel to the axis of said spray bar, so that, at any particular position of said spray bar, the spray-angles and spray-distances effected by the nozzles are not the same and effect different spray-angles and-or different spray-distances to achieve different cooling rates within different portions of such rolling mill roll, means for admitting a continuous flow of liquid coolant to each of said nozzles so that the coolant will egress from said nozzles and impact on a surface of such rolling mill roll at predetermined spray-angles and spray-distances, and at lest one of such spray angles and spray-distances can differ for nozzles cooling differing selected portions of such rolling mill roll as necessary to effect differing predetermined cooling rates within differing selected portions of such rolling mill roll, drive means for causing a controlled movement of said spray bar sufficient to change at least one of such spray-angles and spray-distances of the nozzles thereon as necessary to change the cooling rates effected within at least such first selected portion.