BASIS WEIGHT PROFILE CONTROL OF A PAPER MACHINEA

During the 1980s, the use of high-speed printing and copying machines which will not tolerate much variation in paper weight has increased. As a result, there is a growing demand for improved basis weight control systems for paper machines. Basis weight, the weight of a square meter sheet of paper, is the most important measure of paper consistency. Until quite recently, basis weight could only be controlled manually; this required experienced operators. The reasons for the difficulty in automating control of basis weight is due to the complexity and variability of process characteristics, the "noisiness" of the process (process disturbances), and actuator inadequacies. This paper describes a method of automatic control that we have developed; it incorporates the experience of expert operators, and the results of simulation, in confidence factors.e factors.