IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement

Technology Conference
Ottawa, Canada, May 19-21, 1997
A Mew Optical Sensor for Measuring the Velocity of Webs
by CorrelationTechniques
Rud ig e r Zeit le r
Institute of Measurement and Control
University of Karlsruhe,
761 28 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone (+49 721) 608-31 74 FAX (+49 721) 661874 E-Mail: zeitler@ mrt.mach.uni-karlsruhe.de
Abstract - In this paper a newly developed measurement
system is presented allowing to measure the velocity of
different bdimensional objects. The measurement sys-
tem has already been tested for paper-, rubber- and tex-
tile-webs, sheet metal and road surfaces with a relative
measurement error of typically less than 1 % dependent
on the dynamic response of the correlator.
The measurement system consists of a sensor unit,
transforming the stochastic characteristics of the mov-
ing object into two signals with a delay time T*, and a
correlation unit, extracting the delay time from the sig-
nals and calculating the velocity of the surface.
Different measurements at a test stand and at an indus-
trial paper machine will be presented to demonstrate the
accuracy of the measurement system and its flexibility
and robustness. The measurements will include the ve-
locity of the paper web in different sections of the ma-
chine and velocity fluctuations of the web.
I . INTRODUCTION
In many applications laser Doppler anemometers,
spatial frequency methods or simply wheel encoders
are used for measuring the velocity of solid surfaces.
But none of them are suitable as a measurement
system for series production: laser Doppler anemome-
ters and spatial frequency methods are too expensive
while wheel encoders are invasive or measure the
velocity with a relative high systematic error due to
slipping effects between the solid surface and the
encoder wheel.
In order to use the transit time correlation method an
existing correlator was simplified making it possible to
integrate the whole correlation system within one ASIC.
Besides reducing difficult analog signal-pre-processing
the dynamic response of the system was improved and
the system was made self adaptive to various surfaces
roughness. Most of the solbutions proposed in literature
using correlation technique6 calculate the cross-corre-
lation function of two sehsor signals requiring the
implementation of maximum seeking algorithms and
other time consuming calculations. In this paper a
different method of transit time correlation is used
making a measurement range up to 1:400 possible.
The digital correlator was developed with respect to
simplicity and low cost realisation. It consists only of
one full adder, three l-bit shift registers and a few
counters.
II. PRINCIPLES OF TRANSIT TIME CORRELATION
The mathematical description of a recently developed
digital correlator was discussed in [7].
The method implemented in this correlator can be
viewed as a closed loop system (Fig. 1). It interprets
the process generating the sensor signals s l ( t ) and
s 2( t ) =s 1( t - ~: *) +n( t ) as a linear system of the trans-
port delay type with a delay time z*. The correlator
implements a model of the system and changes its
parameter - the model delay time z - until the difference
between the sensor signal s 2( t ) and the delayed signal
q( t - 1) is minimal in the mean square sense. In order
to reduce the hardware requirements the sensor signals
are clipped to one bit. The clipping operation produces
slight amplitude distortion of the correlation function but
does not displace the position of its maximum. Never-
s2(t)= sl(t - T*)+ n(t)
model 4 -t I W L
I
I J I -
Fig. 1. Principle of a closed loop correlator.
0-7803-331 2-8/97/$5.000199P IEEE 1476
theless not all of the information is used thus the RMS
of the estimated delay time increases by a factor of
n/2.
Compared to an open loop correlator which only calcu-
lates the cross-correlation function of the two sensor
signals a( t ) and s z ( t ) and estimates the position of its
maximum, the closed loop algorithm is superior as far
as statistical errors are concerned [3]. The tracking
principle has the further advantage that any variations
of the system delay time z* and thus of the velocity v
are detected immediately providing a fast dynamic
response of the system. Typical time constants of the
systern for measuring the velocity of rough surface are
less than 4 ms, that means, velocity fluctuations of
more than 250 Hz can be detected.
Ill. PRINCIPLE OF THE NEW SENSOR
The cross-correlation function of the two sensor signals
q(t) and 9( t) is given by [6]
where aii(6) expresses the spatial auto-correlation
function of the texture of the surface and KgI g2 denotes
the alperture correlation function of the sensor. As the
newly developed correlator does not estimate the
position of the maximum of the cross-correlation func-
tion but estimates the zero crossing of its first difference
quotient with finite lag difference [7] the cross-correla-
tion function has to be symmetrical to its maximum,
othenlvise systematic errors occur. Equation (1) shows
that a necessary condition is given by a symmetrical
aperture correlation function Kglg2.
In preliminary experiments different sensor principles
were realised with a micro lens bank in order to find the
most suitable one for measuring the velocity of 2-di-
mensional rough surfaces. Beside a simple sensor with
objective telecentric detectors
lens slit I
only two photo diodes and a sensor with orthogonal
structure [4] a differential sensor was tested, which
images the surface of the web with one lens to three
different photo diodes (Fig. 2). The diodes are con-
nected in difference, making the system independent of
correlated noise and removing the d.c. content of the
signal. But the sensor has to be calibrated in order to
compensate the different sensitivities of the 3 photo
diodes and to receive a symmetrical aperture correla-
tion function KgIg, .
Using a telecentric slit the system becomes nearly
independent of distance variations between the web
and the sensor.
A small industrial prototype (0 60 mm, length 170 mm,
weight 400 g) with an illumination source was devel-
oped. The nominal measurement distance was set to
170 mm. The signals of the diodes are amplified,
filtered and clipped to one bit within the sensor allowing
an easy connection of the correlator and the sensor unit
with a cable up to 20 m in length.
First the sensor was examined at a test stand at the
university of Karlsruhe, Germany. In the following the
systematic and statistical errors of the system are
discussed.
Fig. 3 shows the systematic errors dependent on
distance variations between the sensor and the paper
web.
As it can be seen the telecentric slit works properly and
the systematic error is smaller than 2 % although the
nominal distance changes by nearly 100 %. But there is
still a small dependence especially for distances greater
than the nominal distance. This error is caused by a
non-uniform illumination within the light spot, leading to
an asymmetrical cross-correlation function BI2(2).
Next the velocity of the paper web was changed from
0.5 m/s to 8 m/s (Fig. 4) whereas the sensor was
calibrated with a velocity of 0.5 m/s.
focal i mage
pl ane plane
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
distance variation [mml
Fig. 3. Systematic error dependent on distance variations.
Fig. 2. Set-up of the new optical sensor.
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0.5
0.4
0.1
0
0 2 4 6 8
velocity test stand [Ws]
Fig. 4. Systematic error dependent on velocity variations.
The measurement system is slightly dependent on the
chosen velocity v, too, due to an asymmetrical cross-
correlation function, but these errors can be neglected.
Now we are interested in the statistical errors of the
system. Theoretically it was shown in [2] that
where o, / v denotes the variation coefficient of the
velocity v, which is the relative statistical error, TcL is
the time constant of the correlator and a, the band-
width of the sensor signals. As the bandwidth is propor-
tional to the velocity of the surface this yields
(3)
with mn bandwidth of the texture in the spatial domain
[4]. That means, as mn is fixed for a given rough sur-
face, the higher the velocity the smaller are the statisti-
cal errors of the system. Using the distance L =T,, . v
moving through the sensor within the time constant of
the correlator, (3) yields
(4)
Fig. 5 shows the dependence of the variation coefficient
of the velocity on the mean velocity measured at the
test stand in Karlsruhe compared with (4), for four
different time constants of the correlator.
For a typical evaluated distance of L=20 mm the
variation coefficient is smaller than 1 %.
O +
1
0 5 10 15
velocity [m/s]
Fig. 5. Dependence of the variation coefficient of the velocity on the
mean velocity.
IV. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
The main principle of a paper machine is shown in Fig.
6. The pulp suspension containing 99.5 Yo water is
dispersed on a carrier textile in the wet section.
The water is sucked out until the pulp suspension
changes its state from liquid to solid and the formation
of the paper web is nearly completed. In the press
section the paper web moves through two pairs of
cylinders in order to further reduce the water content
and to form the surface of the web. In the dry section
the paper web is dried with hot cylinders heated by
overheated steam.
As the shrinking of the web requires different speeds in
the production line it is useful to monitor the velocity at
different positions. Moreover velocity fluctuations with
high amplitudes especially in the formation section
result in an inhomogenous mass distribution per unit
area and in an increased risk of paper breaks.
I presssection I dry section
wet section
Q
suction plant
I
V
I
99.5% 75% 55% watercontent 7%
Fig. 6. Principle set-up of a paper machine.
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V. MEASUREMENTS
The firial measurements were carried out at a paper
machine for industrial purpose at the Ecole Frangaise
de Papteterie et des Industries Graphiques in Grenoble,
France, with a maximum velocity of 0.5 m/s.
Two sensors were placed at position "1" in series in the
wet section. This arrangement allows to eliminate the
velocity fluctuations of the paper web and only to
determine the statistical errors of the system. The
velocity of the machine was set to 0.33 m/s and the
time constant of the correlator was set to 30 ms. This
yields (an evaluated length of 10 mm and according to
Fig. 5 a statistical error of 1 % is expected. The two
correlators used were synchronised and the difference
velocity normalised by twice the mean velocity was
calculated in Fig. 7. The received values represent the
statistical errors due to the stochastic nature of the
signals and are not dependent on the velocity fluctua-
tions of the web.
The standard deviation of the statistical error of the
system is 0.5 % showing the good accuracy at a real
paper machine. The error is clearly smaller than the
value expected from Fig. 5 because the paper used in
the paper machine has a finer structure than the paper
at the test stand and the values in Fig. 5 include some
real velocity fluctuations of the paper web at the test
stand.
Next we examined the velocity fluctuations of the web
in the wet section at position "1" and in the press
section at position "2" each with one sensor. The
correlator and the paper machine were set to the same
conditilons as before. The discrete Fourier transform of
the velocity variations was calculated, using a signal
length of 60 s (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9).
4
3 1
,.I1 lmean velocity: 0.33 m/s I . I
IRMS: 0.50 %
-L
-3
0 2 4 6 0 10
time[s]
Fig. 7. ]Relative difference velocity of two sensors in the wet section
normalised by twice the mean velocity.
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
frequency [Hz]
Fig. 8. Spectrum of the velocity of the paper web in the wet section.
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
frequency [Hz]
Fig. 9 Spectrum of the velocity of the paper web in the press section.
In the wet section there exists a modulation of the
mean velocity with a frequency of approximately 0.2 Hz
due to longitudinal vibrations of the carrier textile. As
these modulations are observed at the beginning of the
wet section, too, the paper dispersion is disturbed
which results in a periodical mass distribution per unit
area.
In the press section a peak at 0.3 Hz occurs. Using the
mean velocity one obtains a characteristic length of
0.91m which is the circumference of one cylinder in the
driving unit. Obviously the cylinders have an unbal-
anced state which could damage the bearings.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
The measurements show the good accuracy and
robustness of the new system for measuring the veloc-
ity of paper webs. It is not only useful to measure the
velocity of a paper web with an error smaller than 1 %
but it also can be used to increase the quality of the
paper web and to detect mechanical problems of the
machine.
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The system has already been tested successfully for
other surfaces so there exists an enormous potential in
using the new sensor for other applications e.g. meas-
uring the velocity of sheet metal, of textile webs or road
surfaces. In the next step there will be more measure-
ments at a new paper machine with velocities up to 12
m/s and a detailed analysis of velocity fluctuations up to
250 Hz.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author thanks Prof. J .C. Roux and Prof. G. Baudin,
Ecole FranGaise de Papeterie et des Industries
Graphiques, Grenoble, for their co-operation and C.
Berger in carrying out the measurements at the paper
machine in Grenoble.
REFERENCES
[l] G. Baudin, "Print-through as a quality factor in printing," XI/
Technical Conference of Paper and Graphic Industry, Budapest,
1990.
[2] H. Laqua, "Beruhrungslose Geschwindigkeitsmessung von
StraOen- und Schienenfahrzeugen mit Mikrowellensensoren,"
Doctoral dissertation, University of Karlsruhe, 1996.
[3] F. Mesch, "Speed and flow measurement by an intelligent
correlation system," /SA 90, New Orleans, 1990.
[4] F. Mesch, "Systemtheoretische Beschreibung optisch-elektrischer
Systeme," Technisches Messen atm pp 249-258, Heft 718, 1977.
[5] F. Rippinger, G. Schneider, "Low cost self-adaptive correlation
measurement system," IMEKO World Congress X, Prague, 1985.
[6] M. Weis, "Beruhrungslose Geschwindigkeitsmessung an festen
Oberflachen mit Korrelationsverfahren," Doctoral dissertation,
University of Karlsruhe, 1993.
[7] R. Zeitler, "Digital Correlator for Measuring the Velocity of Solid
Surfaces," Proceedings of the lEEE lnstrumentation and Measure-
ment Technology Conference, Vol. 1, pp 490-495, Brussels, J une
[8] R. Zeitler, "Optischer Sensor zur Lauflangenbestimmung von
Fasergarnen," GMA Conference Sensors and Measurement Sys-
tems, pp 77-82, Bad Nauheim, March 11-13, 1996.
4-6, 1996.
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