Online Realizations of Dynamic Gap Detection and Control for Levitated Industrial Steel-Plate Conveyance System

To design a stable and fully controllable process for conveying steel plates with less noise, we have extensively investigated the feasibility of incorporating the structure that can provide appropriate extra electromagnetic attraction forces. By implementing appropriate fixed electromagnetic poles on top of the rollers at the run-out table of a steel mill, controllable lift and propulsive forces can thus be provided to drive the movable steel plate to the desired 2-D directions. Based on the stringent operational environment at a steel mill, an online recursive gap detection scheme combined with a real-time fuzzy-based controller has been developed. Realization results showed that the system, being implemented with the proposed fine-tuned processing/control scheme, can supply rapid and accurate online 2-D controls onto the steel plates and thus fulfill the design and operational objectives.