Abstract
The looper system, located midway between adjacent stands, is a mechanical levitation device commonly applied on modern hot strip mills. In order to fully understand factors affecting the looper’s behavior and predict its motion during rolling processes, a comprehensively mathematical simulation model of the looper control system for a hot strip tandem mill is developed. The simulator includes three system modules: the looper regulator module, the looper dynamics module, and the mass flow module. Simulation results demonstrate good compatibility with position measurement of real rolling processes. Looper responses under circumstances of different original strip lengths and a varying roller speed are specifically examined. Based on this looper simulator, valuable information can be easily obtained for possible improvements on rolling processes in the future.
