Issues of pressure and web stability in the design of air flotation dryers

The pressure field generated across an air flotation nozzle is measured for a range of operating conditions, and used to calculate the associated total lift force. This data is used to analyse the suitability of nozzle layouts within dryer modules at the design stage - in terms of web stability and operating range. The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in dryer design is also considered. Typical results show how the airflow can be visualised and the pressure characteristics predicted, cutting down development time and providing additional insight into the process.