BEARING FLOTATION COMPENSATION FOR METAL ROLLING APPLICATIONS

A process inferentially determines hydrodynamic bearing flotation in a metal rolling operation for a metal roller bearing. The process receives from a mill stand processing the metal roll a rolling load of the metal roll, a gap between a pair of rollers pressing the metal roll, and a speed of the metal roll through the pair of rollers. The process further recieves from the mill stand a gauge of the metal roll after the metal roll has passed through the pair of rollers. The process determines the hydrodynamic bearing flotation using the rolling load of the metal roll, the gap between a pair of rollers pressing the metal roll, the speed of the metal roll through the pair of rollers, and the gauge of the metal roll after the metal roll has passed through the pair of rollers. The process then adjusts the gap between the pair of rollers based on the determined hydrodynamic bearing flotation.