Soft measurement of paper smoothness based on time–frequency analysis of paper quantization noise

Aiming at the problem that paper smoothness cannot be measured on line, a new method for soft measurement of paper smoothness is put forward on the basis of studying paper quantization distribution. A soft measurement system is established, by which, paper quantization noise is processed by time–frequency analysis and non-linear transformation, so that online paper smoothness can be obtained through a Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBFNNs). The results show that this soft computing method is a feasible way with high measuring accuracy.

► A new method for soft measurement of paper smoothness are provided.
► A paper’s smoothness can be reflected in time–frequency of its quantization noise.
► Paper quantization noise is processed by STPS and RBFNN to obtain paper smoothness.
► The method of soft measurement has high accuracy and simple measuring process.