Sensorless tension control in paper machines

Proper operation of the dry end of a paper machine requires some type of sheet tension control. Present systems use either indirect-speed-control-based schemes, or sensor-based direct tension control utilizing load cells or swing rolls. The indirect schemes are inadequate for most newer machines, and both types of the commonly used sensor-based schemes are invasive, expensive, require either special, or extra rolls, and add complexity to the sheet runs. This paper proposes and evaluates sheet tension estimation using only conventional motor and control signals, present in all newer drive controllers, integrated into a process model observer. This observer-based approach eliminates the need for the invasive tension transducers, and may also be used to replace the inaccurate indirect speed control schemes.