Mechanics of thin, flexible, translating media and their interactions with surrounding air

Abstract

Thin, flexible, continuous structures known as webs are used in a wide range of industrial applications. These structures interact with the surrounding air in beneficial or detrimental ways, depending on the application and the process parameters. A review of the literature related to modeling and experimental work on (mostly) the steady state fluid-structure interactions is given. Equilibrium equations of web mechanics, and the inertia dominated and viscosity dominated air flows are presented. Simulation examples from four different industrial applications; web/air-bar interactions; roller/web interactions for permeable and impermeable webs; and the flat-top recording-head/ magnetic-tape interactions, are presented. Copyright © 2006 by The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.