Impact of large deformations of webs transiting rollers

Abstract

Webs are subjected to large out-of-plane deformations when transiting rollers in process machinery. Webs are often treated as membranes in analysis but become subject to significant bending strains when transiting rollers. Anticlastic bending of thick plates is a known phenomenon. The anticlastic effect is often ignored for webs which are thin. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the large bending deformations webs are subjected to on rollers influence the internal membrane stresses and deformations in the web. The results will show that the concept of normal entry of a web to a roller has complexity that has previously not been considered. It will be demonstrated that a cross direction tensile membrane stress results from the large deformations that acts to stabilize the web and inhibit wrinkle formation.