Robust steering control of hot strip mill

In this article, a robust steering control design is proposed in order to guarantee the stability of a hot strip mill and improve its performances. The rolling process consists in crushing a metal strip between some rolls for obtaining a product with constant and desired thickness. The quality of the rolled products and the safety of the production process are linked to the lateral movement of the strip in the line. Then, the main task of the steering control consists in reducing this displacement. A hot strip mill treats products with very different characteristics. Then, the products are divided into several families, with reference to their physical characteristics, and a different robust controller is designed for each family. Simulated and experimental results concerning the ArcelorMittal hot strip mill of Eisenhüttenstadt are presented.