Fuzzy multiple stand tension control of a roughing rolling mill

In the steel rolling industry, control of the hot metal rolling process plays an important role in assuring high product quality and safe process operation. Although many advanced looper control technologies for finishing rolling process have emerged, looperless interstand tension control of roughing rolling mills remains a challenging problem. This paper proposes a multistand fuzzy tension control system for a roughing rolling mill. Combined with a novel decoupling strategy, the proposed scheme makes it possible to realize intelligent tension-free control of multiple roughing rolling stands. The results from a virtual rolling test demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed technique.