Coating deviation control in traverse direction in a continuous galvanizing line

A new air knife system for coating thickness control in hot dip galvanizing process had been developed and installed on the CGL in Pohang Steel Works, POSCO. This new system consists of air knives with remotely adjustable nozzle slot and an automatic control system which can control both longitudinal and traverse coating deviations. Based on the optimal control algorithm, a traverse coating deviation control was designed. The controller controls the lip profile of the air knives with flexible structure according to the deviation of coating weight. From the measured values which are dependent on the strip width, the lip gaps are calculated with optimal algorithm and the model of the coating deviation. Time delay between knives and a coating thickness gauge is solved by the Smith Predictor.