The control of temperature distribution across the strip is essential for
the hot strip flatness improvement. Hot strips of Arcelor in Avilès may
display wavy edge defects that are generated after the finisher and are
attributed to residual stresses introduced by the accelerated cooling
on the run-out-table. A first approach has established that the thermal
drop on the run-out-table has a significant effect on flatness, at the
edges in particular. Among several systems that may control temperature
at the edges, the edge masking technology has been selected,
considering the previous implementation on CSP mills. Wavy edges
are considerably removed or even suppressed on the operator side,
while they are reduced but not eliminated on the drive side.