Explicit finite element simulations of web transport through process machines

The objective of this research work is to remove all assumed boundary conditions that may affect the lateral mechanics of the web and its stability and then simulate web handling problems which may not be possibly analyzed using previous reported and current existing methods. Abaqus/Explicit finite element analysis will be used to study the web instability due to interaction of webs and roller induced by different reasons for following listed problems: web steering due to downstream misaligned roller and moment interaction; cambered web steering phenomenon in spans; wrinkling due to roller misalignment (including wrinkles induced by moment interaction and different web wrap angles), web twist and roller deflection. A wrinkle failure criterion based upon Timoshenko's shell buckling theory will be developed and validated using experimental results. This failure criterion could be employed to predict wrinkle formation with modestly meshed models, which results in saving computational time significantly.