adaptive control

Method for adaptive guiding of webs

A method of adaptive guiding of a web on a roller is disclosed. The method includes computing an output of a reference model, reading an output of a sensor that indicates a web position, determining a difference between the output of the reference model and the output of the sensor, and updating a set off controller parameters for the roller based on the difference.

Adaptive Feedforward Based Control Strategy for Attenuation of Periodic Tension Oscillations in Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing

Periodic oscillations in the tension signal are frequently observed in roll-to-roll manufacturing due to the presence of many rotating elements which are often non-ideal, such as out-of-round material or eccentric rolls. In certain situations the amplitude of the oscillations is large enough to affect normal operation of the web line. The proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback control algorithms that are commonly used for tension regulation do not have the dynamic complexity to compensate for such periodic disturbances. In this paper we investigate a two-degree-of-freedom controller which has two control actions, feedback and feedforward. The feedforward part is adaptive and is designed to provide control actions to compensate for periodic oscillations. Several issues must be considered when designing a control algorithm for the attenuation of periodic oscillations. First, since the control algorithm is executed in real-time using a real-time system which may have restrictions on the sampling period, the complexity of the algorithm must be such that the control action can be computed in a time period that is less than the sampling period, and the sampling period for most systems is typically in the range of tens of milliseconds. Second, it is desirable to have a feedforward algorithm that can be implemented in parallel with an existing feedback control scheme for tension and speed regulation without the need to retune and redesign the existing scheme. Further, it is desirable to have an algorithm that is understandable to practicing engineers who may have limited or no advanced controls background other than an undergraduate course in control systems. Considering the aforementioned issues, an adaptive feedforward (AFF) algorithm that can work in parallel to an existing feedback control systems is developed for control of web tension and to attenuate periodic oscillations. The essential ingredient of the AFF algorithm is the estimation of amplitude and phase of the periodic oscillations based on which a feedforward compensating control action is generated. The action of the AFF algorithm is such that retuning or redesign of the existing feedback controller is not required. Several different configurations of the AFF for different scenarios in terms of where to apply the feedforward action in the control system are investigated. Extensive experiments are conducted on a large web platform with different scenarios and by transporting two different web materials at various speeds. Results from these experiments are presented and discussed. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed AFF algorithm to attenuate tension oscillations.

Model Reference Adaptive Control of Web Guide

The term web is used to describe materials which are typically manufactured in a roll-to-roll manner. A wide variety of materials such as textile, paper, plastics, composites and metals are manufactured in rolled form because roll-to-roll manufacture of materials is convenient for transport and storage, saves time and reduces costs. As the web is transported in the processing machinery, inherent machine misalignment and process induced disturbance cause lateral fluctuations. These lateral fluctuations, if not controlled, can result in inferior quality of the finished product. The primary focus of this research is on the development and implementation of adaptive control strategies for controlling the lateral fluctuations (lateral control or lateral guiding) in a web processing line. New performance measures which can better assist machine operators in diagnosing lateral behavior were also investigated. A novel model reference adaptive controller, which is referred to as the ``Guide Adaptive Controller'' (GAC), was developed for web guiding applications. The GAC was implemented on an experimental web line and the performance of the controller was compared with an existing industrial controller. The adaptive control strategy resulted in better performance compared to an industrial controller especially when used with difference web materials with opacity and gage variations. Compared to the existing industrial controller, the adaptive controller does not require re-tuning when the operating conditions change because the GAC adapts to process variations and attenuates disturbances. Additionally, the same adaptive controller can be used with different guide mechanisms. Two simplified approximations of GAC were also developed and implemented on an experimental web line in order to observe the adaptive behavior of the controllers. Based on these observations a systematic procedure for industrial implementation of the adaptive control strategy was developed. Extensive experimental results on commercial guides with different operating conditions and disturbances indicate that GAC can provide improved guiding performance when compared to an existing industrial controller. Therefore, GAC has a high potential to successfully replace existing guide controllers. A novel performance metric which provides a better characterization of the guiding performance when compared to existing metrics was developed. The developed metric is based on histograms. Commonly observed histograms were studied and their occurrence in web guiding applications were analyzed. The performance metric can be used as a diagnostic tool in the web processing industry to monitor the occurrence of different machine and process induced disturbances, and also to compare controllers.