A novel signal processing approach to laser velocimetry

A novel signal processing approach has been developed to optimize the performance of an advanced non-contact laser velocimeter designed primarily for length and speed measurement in metals rolling mills. High accuracy over a wide velocity range, with no loss of performance at low velocities, has been realized. Velocity is determined over a fixed length of material travel, rather than over a fixed time interval, so as to avoid the loss of accuracy that is inherent to the latter at low velocities. This enables the velocimeter to deliver superior performance in hot and cold metals rolling applications, including transfer bar imaging and strip tracking for Crop Optimization, Automatic Width Control, and mass flow Automatic Gauge Control. (author)