Flows in forward deformable roll coating gaps: Comparison between spring and plane-strain models of roll cover (Q1383023)

The article deals with a coupled problem on fluid flow between two cylinders (one of them is deformable). The fluid is supposed to be viscous and incompressible, and the elastic body is made of incompressible Mooney-Rivlin material. The process is studied for two models: array of springs, and plane-strain model of deformation. The main objective is to give a theoretical analysis of the flow in the deformable roll coating gap, and to determine the flow rate through the gap (related to the wet film thickness) as a function of roll speed, roll position, and material properties. First, the authors give a detail review of theoretical and experimental analysis on the elastohydrodynamics of roll coating. This problem has specific properties which result in the mathematical formulation, i.e. free boundaries. The mathematical model contains also special mappings onto rectangular fixed domains for elastic and fluid media, which must be taken into account by mesh generation. The article deals mainly with the investigation of stationary processes. A finite element scheme based on the Galerkin method is applied for solution, and the obtained algebraic system is solved by Newton iterations. The numerical solution requires powerful computer resources. The problem is investigated for different gaps and different elastic properties of bodies and roll cover thickness. The authors present some conclusions about the ranges of validity of different model variants, and show how the flow formation depends on elastic properties of rolls and their position.