An on-line parallel controller for the runout table of hot strip mills

In a hot strip mill, the strip is cooled by spraying water from top and bottom on the runout table (ROT), before the strip is coiled. The desired mechanical properties and metallurgical structure of the strip are achieved by controlling the cooling rate and temperature of the strip on the ROT. This paper describes a novel on-line parallel controller which incorporates both feedforward and feedback actions to control the temperature of the strip on the ROT. The performance of the proposed controller has been studied with the aid of a real-time simulator and is reported in this paper.