Coupling Between Spans in the Vibration of Axially Moving Materials

Abstract

Axially moving materials (e.g., belts, chains, bandsaws, paper and magnetic tapes, etc.) arise in various mechanical systems, and their vibration and stability are often of engineering significance. Previous work describing the transverse vibration of axially moving materials is extended in this paper to include the elastic coupling between spans. The equations of motion are derived, an approximate solution method is developed and simulation results are presented. The simulation results predict the presence of a beating phenomenon at low transport velocities which is destroyed by higher velocities and/or tension differences in the two spans. The coupling mechanism described could potentially be exploited for vibration control.