The rolling process induces a heterogeneous deformation over the rolling stock height. The causes are the frictional shear stress between the contacting surfaces and the roll gap geometry. They induce a complex material flow within the rolling stock describable by the shear evolution. The shear evolution has a significant impact on rolling values like grain size and crystallographic texture and therefore on the final material properties of the rolled product. Industry and academia use fast rolling models for flat rolling processes to predict the material properties due to their short computation time. The time advantage enables online applicability to adapt processes in real time or to evaluate the influence of different process conditions several times within seconds. However, these models have a limitation regarding the shear evolution. They do not consider all relevant influences or apply simplifying assumptions, valid only for specific rolling cases. This work presents a general approach to extend fast rolling models to consider the shear evolution without any restrictions to specific rolling cases. The approach derives the shear evolution as shear angle $$\alpha$$
α
evolution based on FE simulations. The shear angle $$\alpha$$
α
is a geometrical description and not influenced by rotations, which occur during the rolling process. This enables an enhanced and simple analysis of the material flow. The outcome is an extended model that completely describes the deformation along a deformation path and enables the calculation of each desired deformation value (strain, deformation gradient, velocity gradient, etc.).