Seversky Pipe Plant, Polevskoy, Russia
O. A. Panasenko, Head of the Tube Rolling Laboratory of the Research Center, e-mail: PanasenkoOA@stw.ru

Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russia
A. O. Khalezov, Postgraduate Student, Dept. of Metal Forming, e-mail: alekssanja633@mail.ru
D. Sh. Nukhov, Cand. Eng., Associate Prof., Dept. of Metal Forming, e-mail: d.s.nukhov@urfu.ru
G. A. Orlov, Dr. Eng., Prof., Dept. of Metal Forming, e-mail: g.a.orlov@urfu.ru

Abstract: The condition of the working surface of the plug of the piercing mill has a significant impact on the stability of the screw piercing process of the workpiece. The wear of the plug is the reason for the appearance of various kinds of surface defects on the inner surface of the shell, which are not eliminated during subsequent operations, but degrade even more and lead to the rejection of finished pipes. The use of water cooling systems can significantly increase the wear resistance of plugs. To do this, the inner surface of the plug is drilled to supply coolant there. A disadvantage of the known designs of water-cooled plugs is the ingress of a cooling medium onto the inner surface of the shell, which is unacceptable when piercing some alloyed steel grades and entails the formation of defects on the inner surface of the pipes. The technical task set by the STZ specialists increased the wear resistance of the plugs, reduce their cracking by cooling the plug on the landing cone, exclude the ingress of a cooling medium on the inner surface of the shell and improve the quality of the inner surface of the pipes. The design of the inner cavity of the plug has been developed, which is close in shape to the profile of the outer surface of the plug of the piercing mill, and ensures a uniform flow of coolant along the inner bore of the plug. The profile of the plug tip has also been changed in order to more intensively cool the inner surface of the plug. To evaluate the efficiency of the internal cooling system of the improved plugs, numerical modeling was carried out in the SolidWorks software package. When testing experimental plugs with diameter 272 mm of the new design, it was found that the wear of the first plug occurred after 980 stitched shells, and the second plug, which was used in the production of pipes made of steel grade 09G2C, after 876.

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