The invention concerns a method and a device for measuring and adjusting the flatness and/or the strip tension of a high-grade steel strip or a high-grade steel foil during cold rolling in a cluster mill, especially in a 20-roll Sendzimir rolling mill, with at least one closed-loop control system comprising several actuators, wherein the actual strip flatness in the runout of the cluster mill is measured by a flatness measuring element on the basis of the strip tension distribution over the width of the strip.
Cluster mills of this type have a split-block or monoblock design, wherein the upper and lower sets of rolls can be adjusted independently of each other, and this can result in different housing frames.
The method mentioned at the beginning is known from EP 0 349 885 B1 and comprises the formation of measured values which characterize the flatness, especially the tensile stress distribution, on the runout side of the rolling stand, and, depending on these measured values, actuators of the rolling mill are actuated, which belong to at least one closed-loop control system for the flatness of the rolled sheets and strips. In order then to reduce the different time response of the actuators of the rolling mill, the previously known method proposes that the speeds of the different actuators be adapted to one another and that their regulating distances be evened out. However, this fails to catch other sources of errors.
Another previously known method (EP 0 647 164 B1), which is a method for obtaining input signals in the form of roll gap signals, for control elements and controllers for actuators of the work rolls, measures the tension distribution transversely with respect to the strip material, wherein the flatness errors are derived from a mathematical function in which the squares of the deviations are to assume a minimum, which is determined by a matrix, with the number of measuring points, the number of rows, the number of base functions, and the number of roll gaps in the measuring points. This procedure also fails to consider the flatness errors that occur under practical conditions and their development.
The objective of the invention is to achieve altered adjustment behavior of the individual actuators on the basis of more accurately measured and analyzed flatness errors in order to achieve greater flatness of the final product, so that the rolling speed can also be increased.
In accordance with the invention, this objective is achieved by determining a flatness error by comparison of a tension vector with a predetermined reference curve, then decomposing the curve of the flatness error over the width of the strip into proportional tension vectors in an analytical module in a mathematical approximation, and supplying the flatness error components determined by real numerical values to corresponding control modules to actuate the corresponding actuators. The advantage of this method is that it ensures a stable rolling process with a minimum rate of strip breakage and thus an increase in the potential rolling speed. Furthermore, the work of the operating personnel is simplified by the automatic adjustment of the flatness actuators to altered conditions, even in the case of incorrect settings. In addition, more uniform product quality is achieved, independently of the qualifications of the personnel. Moreover, the computation of the influencing functions and a computation of the control functions can be carried out in advance, resulting in savings of time. The flatness control system as a whole becomes more stable with respect to inaccuracies in the computed control functions. The inaccuracies remain without influence on startup. The most important components of the flatness error are eliminated with maximum possible control dynamics. The orthogonal components of the tension vectors are linearly independent of one another, which rules out mutual effects of the components among one another. The scalar flatness error components are supplied to the individual control modules.
In accordance with a refinement of the invention, the curve of the flatness error over the strip width is approximated by an eighth-order Gaussian approximation (LSQ method) and then decomposed into the orthogonal components.
An improvement of the invention is obtained if a residual error vector is analyzed, and the residual error vector is sent to directly selected actuators. All flatness errors remaining after the highly dynamic correction process, which flatness errors can be influenced with the given influencing functions, are eliminated by the residual error removal as part of the available control range. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned orthogonal components of the flatness error, it is advantageous also to consider a residual error, which is not supplied to the orthogonal components described above but rather directly to the actuators.
In accordance with additional steps, the residual error vectors can be assigned by weighting functions, which are derived from influencing functions of excenter actuators and assign the total flatness error that is present to the individual excenters.
In this regard, it is also advantageous if a magnitude of error determined by real numerical values is formed by summation from the residual error vectors assigned to the excenters.
In another refinement, the adjustment for the strip edges is carried out separately within the flatness adjustment. In this way, this type of adjustment can also possibly be completely shut off if it is not absolutely required.
In another improvement, the horizontal shift of the inner intermediate rolls is used as the actuator for the edge tension control system.
To this end, it is proposed as an improvement that a predetermined strip tension in the region of one to two outermost covered zones of a flatness measuring roller is adjusted separately for each edge of the strip by means of the edge tension control system.
In accordance with other features of the invention, the edge tension control system is operated optionally asynchronously or synchronously for the two strip edges.
In this regard, the controlled variable for the edge tension control system can be determined separately for each edge of the strip by taking the difference between the deviations of the two outermost measured values of the flatness measuring roller.
In accordance with the indicated state of the art, the device for measuring and adjusting the flatness and/or strip tension of a high-grade steel strip or a high-grade steel foil for a cold rolling operation in a cluster mill, especially in a 20-roll Sendzimir rolling mill, is based on at least one closed-loop control system for actuators, which consist of hydraulic adjustment mechanisms, excenters of the outer backup rolls, axially shiftable tapered inner intermediate rolls, and/or their influencing functions.
Therefore, with respect to a device, the previously stated objective is achieved by virtue of the fact that a comparison signal between a reference curve and the actual strip flatness of the flatness measuring element at the input of the closed-loop control system is put through to a first analyzer and independent, first and second control modules for the formation of the tension vectors and with the output to the actuator for the swiveling hydraulic adjustment mechanisms of the set of rolls, and that the comparison signal is simultaneously put through to a second analyzer and another, separate, second control module, whose computational result can be passed on to the actuator of the excenters via control functions with a coupling connection. In this way, the advantages associated with the method can be realized in a device.
In another improvement of the invention, the comparison signal between the reference curve and the actual strip flatness is put through by the independent analyzer to the independent, third control module for a flatness residual error, whose output is supplied to the coupling connection for the actuator consisting of the excenters.
In another design that continues the invention in this sense, the comparison signal between the reference curve and the actual strip flatness is put through by another, third independent analyzer to an independent, fourth control module for monitoring the edge tension control system, and its output is connected to the actuator of the tapered inner intermediate rolls.
Exact signal generation is assisted by the fact that a flatness measuring element installed in the runout is connected to the signal line of the actual strip flatness.
The remainder of the invention is designed in such a way that, for each flatness error vector, a dynamic individual controller is provided, which is provided as a PI controller with dead band in the input.
In another embodiment, in addition to the first analyzer, adaptive parameterizing means and a control display are arranged in parallel on the input side of each individual controller.
In addition, it is advantageous for connections for control parameters to be provided on each individual controller.
Furthermore, the dynamic individual controllers can be connected with a control console.
A further analogy to the method steps is that, to remove residual errors, the residual error vector cooperates via residual error controllers with the actuators of the excenters.
Independence of the measurements on the strip edges is achieved with respect to the device by virtue of the fact that the edge tension control system provides an analyzer for different strip edge zones of the flatness measuring roller, and that two strip edge controllers are connected to each analyzer.
In a refinement of this system, the strip edge controllers are connected with the actuators of the tapered intermediate rolls.
This makes it possible to switch the strip edge controllers independently of each other.
Finally, it is provided that an adaptive adjustment speed controller and a control display are connected to each set of two strip edge controllers.
The specific embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings are explained in greater detail below.
According to
The adjustment behavior of the excenter adjustment is characterized by the so-called “influencing functions”. Two or more of the outer backup rolls 18 are provided with four to eight excenters 14a arranged over the width of the barrel, which can each be rotated by means of a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit, which makes it possible to influence the roll gap profile. The tapered inner intermediate rolls 19, which can be horizontally shifted by a hydraulic shifting device, have a conical cross section in the vicinity of the strip edges 15. The cross-sectional shaping is located on the tending side of the cluster mill 2 in the case of the two upper tapered intermediate rolls 19 and on the driving side in the case of the two lower tapered intermediate rolls 19 or vice versa. Accordingly, the tension on one of the two strip edges 15 can be influenced by synchronous shifting of the two upper and the two lower tapered intermediate rolls 19.
For each of the eight adjustable excenters 14a of the illustrated embodiment,
Corresponding influencing functions, which describe the influence of the tapered intermediate roll shift position on the roll gap profile, are likewise shown over the strip width 7 to the strip edges 15 in
The decomposition of the flatness error vector into orthogonal polynomials of the tension σ(x) leads with suitable analysis to C1 (first order), C2 (second order), C3 (third order), and C4 (fourth order) in N/mm2.
The method is apparent from
In detail, the sequence is as follows: A comparison signal 20 between the reference curve 9 and the actual strip flatness 22 of the flatness measuring element 6 at the input 23 of the closed-loop control system 4 is put through to a first analyzer 11a and an independent, first control module 12a for the formation of the tension vectors 8 (C1 . . . Cx) and with the output 24 to the respective actuator 3 for the hydraulic adjustment mechanism 17 of the set of rolls 2b. Output signals of the first analyzer 11a also reach the second control module 12b. The computational result (f), from control functions 21, is passed on to the actuator 3 of the excenter 14a via a coupling connection 25. The comparison signal 20 between the reference curve 9 and the actual strip flatness 22 is put through via the independent analyzer 11b to the independent, third control module 12c for the flatness residual error 26, whose output 27 is supplied to the coupling connection 25 for the actuator 3 from the excenters 14a.
In addition,
In this regard, it is practical to consider not only the aforementioned components of the flatness error 10, but also a residual error, which is not assigned to the aforementioned orthogonal components but rather directly to the excenters 14a. According to
For each orthogonal component of the flatness error vector (
The individual controller 30 for the C1 component (oblique position) acts on the swiveling set value of the hydraulic adjustment mechanism 17 in the case of the split-block design and on the adjustment of the excenters as the correcting variable in the case of the monoblock design. The individual controllers 30 for all of the other components (C2, C3, C4, and possibly higher orders) act on the excenter actuators 14 of the outer backup rolls 18. The control functions 21 are used for the assignment of the scalar correcting variables supplied by each dynamic individual controller 30 to the excenters 14a. The control functions 21 convert a C1, C2, C3 . . . corrective motion to a suitable combination of the individual excenter corrective motions. The aforementioned decoupling guarantees that a corrective motion, e.g., of the C2 controller 30 influences no orthogonal component other than the C2 component. The corresponding control functions are computed in advance from the influencing functions as a function of the strip width 7 and the number of active excenters 14a. The PI controllers that are used have, depending on the actuator dynamics and the rolling speed, the adaptive parameterizing means 33, thereby guaranteeing the achievement of the theoretically possible, optimum control dynamics for all operating ranges. Furthermore, the selected approach of the computation of the control parameters Ki and Kp by the method of the absolute optimum allows a very simple startup, since the control dynamics are adjusted from the outside by only one parameter. Correction times of less than 1 second are achieved with the highly dynamic individual controllers 30, depending on the rolling speed.
According to
In order to take into consideration the special concerns related to 20-roll stands and to thin strip rolling and foil rolling with respect to the tension on the strip edges 15 (any strip breakage that may occur, strip flow), the strip edges 15 are treated separately within the flatness control system. Horizontal shifting of the tapered inner intermediate rolls 19 is used as the adjusting mechanism 3. According to
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2004 032 634 | Jul 2004 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2005/006570 | 6/17/2005 | WO | 00 | 12/13/2006 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2006/002784 | 1/12/2006 | WO | A |
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4981028 | Berger et al. | Jan 1991 | A |
5255548 | Melzer | Oct 1993 | A |
5535129 | Keijser | Jul 1996 | A |
5680784 | Tateno et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
5692407 | Kajiwara et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
5758533 | Quehen et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
6868707 | Nishi et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
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0 349 885 | Jan 1995 | EP |
0 647 164 | Sep 1997 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080271508 A1 | Nov 2008 | US |