EP-4735187-A1 - MATERIAL HEAD FLATNESS CONTROL WITH OPTICAL SENSORS

Abstract

A metal processing system includes an optical sensor for measuring a flatness of a material head of a metal strip being processed by the metal processing system. The optical sensor may measure the flatness of the material head before an exit tension is established in the metal strip. In some cases, the optical sensor may measure the flatness of the material head during a start of the metal processing system. A method of processing a metal strip may include receiving a metal strip from a last stand of a rolling mill and measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip with an optical sensor.

Inventors

• EBOLI, Carlos Alberto Jorio
• QUINTAL, ROBERTO ARMBRUST DE FREITAS
• ROCHA, Felipe Mappa Franca
• PORTO, Luiz Augusto Leal

Assignees

• Novelis Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240626

Claims (20)

1. 1. A method of processing a metal strip, the method comprising measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip with an optical sensor.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the flatness of the material head is performed before exit tension is established in the metal strip.
3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the flatness of the material head is performed during a start of a rolling mill.
4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor is a first flatness measuring device, and wherein the method further comprises: establishing exit tension in the metal strip; and measuring a flatness of the metal strip after establishing the exit tension with a second flatness measuring device.
5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second flatness measuring device is a roll.
6. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a flatness control actuator based on the measured flatness from the optical sensor.
7. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising predicting a flatness event based on the measured flatness from the optical sensor and generating a control signal for a flatness control device based on the predicted flatness event.
8. 8. A method of processing a metal strip, the method comprising: measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip before exit tension is established in the metal strip from a downstream tensioning device; and generating a control signal for a flatness control actuator based on the measured flatness.
9. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein measuring the flatness of the material head of the metal strip comprises measuring the flatness with an optical sensor.
10. 10. The method of claim 8, wherein measuring the flatness is performed between a last stand of a rolling mill and a tensioning device.
11. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating the control signal further comprises controlling rolling mill as the flatness control actuator.
12. 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising measuring a flatness of the metal strip after exit tension is established in the metal strip from the downstream tensioning device with a flatness measuring device contacting the metal strip.
13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the flatness measuring device contacting the metal strip comprises a shapemeter roll.
14. 14. A metal processing system comprising an optical sensor downstream from a last work stand of a rolling mill and upstream from a tensioning device, the optical sensor configured to measure a flatness of a material head of a metal strip being processed by the metal processing system.
15. 15. The metal processing system of claim 14, further comprising a controller communicatively coupled with the optical sensor, wherein the controller is configured to: predict a flatness event based on the measured flatness from the optical sensor; and generate a control signal for a flatness control device based on the predicted flatness event.
16. 16. The metal processing system of claim 14, further comprising a controller communicatively coupled with the optical sensor, wherein the controller is configured to generate a control signal for a flatness control actuator based on the measured flatness.
17. 17. The metal processing system of claim 16, further comprising the flatness control actuator, wherein the flatness control actuator comprises at least one work stand of the rolling mill.
18. 18. The metal processing system of claim 14, further comprising: the last work stand of the rolling mill; and the tensioning device.
19. 19. The metal processing system of claim 18, wherein the rolling mill is a cold rolling mill, and wherein the tensioning device comprises a rewind coder.
20. 20. The metal processing system of claim 14, wherein the optical sensor is configured to measure the flatness of the material head before exit tension is established in the metal strip.

Description

MATERIAL HEAD FLATNESS CONTROL WITH OPTICAL SENSORS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/511,036, filed on June 29, 2023, and entitled MATERIAL HEAD FLATNESS CONTROL WITH OPTICAL SENSORS, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This application relates to the processing of metal substrates, such as but not limited to aluminum or aluminum alloy metal sheets, and more particularly to systems and methods for controlling flatness of a head or first lap of a metal substrate. BACKGROUND [0003] Metal rolling can be used for forming metal strips (e.g., plates, sheets, foils, slabs, etc.), (hereinafter “metal substrates”) from stock such as ingots or thicker metal strips. Depending on the desired properties of the final metal product, the metal substrate may be hot rolled, cold rolled, and/or warm rolled. Hot rolling generally refers to a rolling process where the temperature of the metal is above the recrystallization temperature of the metal. Cold rolling generally refers to a rolling process where the temperature of the metal is below the recrystallization temperature of the metal. Warm rolling generally refers to a rolling process where the temperature of the metal is below the recrystallization temperature but above the temperature during cold rolling. [0004] An important characteristic of a metal substrate is the substrate’s flatness, or the ability of the substrate to lay flat when placed on a level surface with no externally applied loads. Off- flatness, or deviations from flatness, is caused by internal stresses in the metal substrate, and may come in various forms such as edge waves, center waves, buckling, near-edge pockets, etc. Metal substrates with poor flatness are difficult to process at high speeds, may cause steering problems during processing, may contribute to bad starts during threading, are difficult to trim and/or slit, and may be generally unsatisfactory for various customer or downstream processes. Traditionally, the flatness of the metal substrate has been measured at an exit of the rolling mill using a shapemeter roll contacting the metal substrate. However, such traditional approaches require that the metal substrate be under exit tension (e.g., by having a first length or laps of the material head in a rewind coiler) before a measurement can be made. Such traditional approaches thereby have high material waste because the material head of the metal substrate without flatness measurement and control is scrapped. Moreover, the length of the material head without flatness measurement and control in traditional approaches increases the possibility of a bad start (e g., due to off-centering, slippage, steering, etc ), resulting in stoppage of the processing system to correct the bad start and productivity losses. SUMMARY [0005] Embodiments covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various embodiments and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim. [0006] According to certain embodiments, a method of processing a metal strip includes measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip with an optical sensor. [0007] According to various embodiments, a method of processing a metal strip includes measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip before exit tension is established in the metal strip from a downstream tensioning device. The method may include generating a control signal for a flatness control actuator based on the measured flatness. [0008] According to some embodiments, a metal processing system includes an optical sensor downstream from a last work stand of a rolling mill and upstream from a tensioning device. The optical sensor may measure a flatness of a material head of a metal strip being processed by the metal processing system. [0009] According to various embodiments, a method of processing a metal strip includes receiving a metal strip from a last stand of a rolling mill and measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip with an optical sensor. [0010] According to certain embodiments, a method of processing a metal strip includes measuring a flatness of a material head of the metal strip with an optical sensor and generating a control signal for a flatness control actuator based on the measured flatness. [0011] Various implementations described herein can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, whic