Contact Mechanics of a Thin, Tensioned, Translating Tape With a Grooved Roller

Abstract

Traction between a thin tensioned tape and a grooved roller could be significantly affected by lubrication effects that stem from the air entrainment into the tape–roller interface. An experimental and theoretical investigation was carried out to investigate the tape contact with a grooved roller. The tape-to-roller spacing was measured in a modified tape drive at various operational speed and tension values. The experiments showed that increasing tape tension and tape speed causes the tape-to-land spacing to increase. This unusual result is shown to be due to the tape bending laterally into the grooves. The effects of air entrainment on tape deflection and contact with a land is modeled by using shell theory, air lubrication, and contact mechanics. A relatively wide range of design parameters (groove width, land width) and device parameters (velocity and tension) were simulated to characterize the traction of a thin tape over a grooved roller. It was shown that air lubrication effects reduce the contact force; however, the underlying effects of tape mechanics are not entirely eliminated. This work shows that in order to characterize the mechanics of thin tape over grooved rollers, the tape deflection in the lateral direction should be included in the analysis.