Longitudinal and Out-of-Plane Stiffness of a Web in an Air-Flotation Oven

Air-flotation ovens are used for non-contact drying of coated web materials such as photographic film, magnetic media, and paper. In a typical air-flotation oven, the air bars are arranged in such a way that the path of web is nearly sinusoidal. When web tension fluctuates, the distance between the web and the air bars also changes. This phenomenon affects the longitudinal dynamics and tension control of an air-floated web. In some cases, tension fluctuations can cause the web to touch the air bars, resulting in damage to the coating and the web. This paper discusses an analytical model of the extensional resiliency of an air-floated web. The analysis shows that at low tension the longitudinal stiffness of an air-floated web is small, being dominated by the air cushion effects. At higher web tension, however, the effects of material deformation become more important than the air cushion effects. The analysis is compared with the experimental results obtained in a pilot air-flotation oven. The analytical and experimental results show the same trends, though the analytical model tends to underpredict the longitudinal stiffness of air-supported webs.