Flying characteristics of tape above rotating drum with multiple heads

The running mechanism of flexible and thin tape above a rotating head was analyzed through numerical simulation and experimentation. The scope of the analysis was confined to the phenomenon of elastohydrodynamic lubrication between the rotating cylinder with multiple heads and running tape. This analysis was based on the equation of the orthotropic plate, taking into account the effect of geometric nonlinearity and the modified Reynolds equation. The finite element method was adopted as the numerical simulation technique to solve the two coupled nonlinear equations. In the numerical and experimental analyses, the effects of multiple heads on the tape deflection were considered