Application of a Smith Predictor for Control of Fabric Weight during Weaving

Fabric weight is an important product criterion of woven fabrics. An adequate sensor in order to monitor fabric weight during weav ing is proposed in this paper. In addition, a closed control loop is designed in order to regulate fabric weight during weav ing. After plant identification it is observable that the system includes a long dead time. Therefore a stable Smith predictor is designed. Stability and robustness of the Smith predictor is proven by simulat ion. In addition, experiments do show the necessary speed of the Smith predictor to control the fabric weight.