MENISCUS SHAPE EXPERIMENTS IN FORWARD ROLL COATING

In the present paper, experiments are reported for the measurement of the complete meniscus profile in asymmetric forward roll coating. A thin laser sheet technique is used to recover accurately the shape and position of the interface for an extensive database of operating conditions. Knowledge of the interface profile and position is then used to measure the total flow rate and its distribution on each cylinder. The results provide for the first time validation of numerical predictions for the extended shape of the meniscus. Comparison with existing theoretical and numerical predictions validates both these approaches, but reveals the need to model the whole flow region, including gravity, instead of restricting to the region downstream of the nip separating the rotating cylinders. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.