WEB DEFECTS

PEER REVIEWED

The mechanics of wrinkling

DAVID R. ROISUM

RINKLING ISA MOST

COM-

mon and costly web defect encountered

in the manufacturing and converting of
lightweight grades of paper, film, foils,
nonwovens, and textiles. Wrinkling is
so common that it has been given
synonyms and appellations no less
diverse than the wide variety of
materials, machines, and applications it
has appeared on. In this paper,
however, we use the word wrinkling to
denote any deviation from absolute
flatness of the web. Its severity can
range from an almost imperceptible
troughing of the web in an open span to
a trough that is so pronounced that it
folds over and creases when crossing a
roller or upon entering a nip. We also
include the baggy web or the layflat
problem as subsets of this encompassing definition of wrinkling.
Despite the ubiquitous nature of
wrinkling, however, there are only a
few references that offer a brief treatment (1, 2). In this paper, we try to
remove the mystery by explaining in
simple but relevant terms how wrinkles
are formed and how they can be
reduced. We begin this by showing that
all wrinkling results from a single
behavior. Later, we describe some
common mechanisms of wrinkle
causation and how to reduce wrinkles
after the fact.
COMPRESSIVE BUCKLING OF WEBS

A web wrinkles because it has buckled

in compression (3). We all know from
experience that you cannot push a rope,
because it folds under the smallest of
compressions. A web also shares this
behavior, because it, too, buckles under
just a few psi (lb/in.2) of compression.

Another analogy is a yardstick,

which bows outward if too much axial
load is applied. Unlike the yardstick,
which is only loaded in one direction,
however, a web can be loaded in three
directions. One direction is the MD
(machine direction line tension), and
the other two directions are what can
cause wrinkling. Because all wrinkles
are a compressive buckling of the web,
it is important to determine how webs
can get loaded in compression.
We use Mohr's circle to show what
types of forces may load a web in
compression. Mohr's circle, as seen in
Figs. 13, is a plot of shear stress (y
axis) vs. tensile or compressive stress
(x axis). All possible states of stress for
a member in planar loading, such as
webs, can be represented as a circle on
this plot. This is a useful tool for
showing both how to combine
different kinds of stresses and how the
web sees stresses in different
directions.
We first look at Mohr's circle for
the simpler case of an unwrinkled web
in pure MD (machine-direction)
tension, as shown in Fig. 1. The right
side of the circle is the MD face, which
is loaded by web line tension. The left
side of the circle, or CD (crossdirection) face, has no stresses and
thus sits at the origin. Just to the left of
the
origin
and
under
slight
compression is the wrinkling boundary. As seen here, a web that is loaded
in pure MD tension has a Mohr's circle
that does not cross into the buckling
boundary and thus has no tendency to
wrinkle.
While the figure shows a large
distance between the circle and the
wrinkling boundary for illustration
purposes, in real life, the separation is
very small for thin materials. The

Wrinkling is a common proble, thin

webs of almost any material. This paper
shows how all wrinkling is a
compressive buckling of the web
induced by either CD compression or
in-plane shear stresses. Common
causes of wrinkling are then discussed;
these include roll(er) misalignment,
deflection and diametral variations, and
constrained expansion as well as
residual stresses of manufacturing.
Wrinkle removal via web flattening and
web spreading are briefly reviewed.
Application:
The primary application of this paper is
to diagnose the mode of wrinkling,
which then leads to options for wrinkle
prevention or removal.

amount of compression a web can

withstand is primarily determined by
the cube of the web caliper. Web
modulus, span width, span length, and
other factors are not as strong. This is
why wrinkles are common with
materials that are less than 10 mils in
thickness,
regardless
of
their
composition. This is also why wrinkles are rare for materials thicker than
100 mils.
If we add a slight amount of CD
compression to the MD web tension,
we push Mohr's circle past the
wrinkling boundary, as seen in Fig. 2.
Constrained expansion is one way to
cause this to happen. Constrained
expansion is where a web wants to get
wider going through a process, such
as due to a tension drop, moisture
increase, or temperature increase.
Since the web cannot effectively
push its edges outward, it may instead
buckle out of plane. Also, a web may
gather because a slender roller
deflects too much, or at a spreader
that is not operating properly. The
distinctive feature of CD

VOL. 79: NO. 10 TAPPI JOURNAL 2 I 7

WEB DEFECTS

////

(oMD=IO,T = 0)

/o"X(Co np.) a (Tensile) |

^X

///s \

//A

(CJCD = -2.5,X = 0)

////
Element stress

Element stress

Web

No wrinkles

/. Pure MD tension

compression is that the wrinkles run

exactly in the machine direction (4).
If we add a slight amount of shear
stress to the MD web tension, we
again push Mohr's circle into the
wrinkling boundary, as seen in Fig. 3The causes for shear stress share a
common theme: either a web and/or a
roller is crooked. The distinctive
feature of shear wrinkles is their
angled orientation (5).
As we have seen, Mohr's circle is a
powerful tool for diagnosing wrinkles.
First, you can cut troubleshooting time
in half by merely noting whether the
wrinkle is oriented exactly in the
machine direction or at a slight angle.
Second, you can gauge shear stress
severity by the angle of the wrinkle.
Third, you can theoretically pull out
shear wrinkles with enough tension
(left as an exercise for the reader).
However, wrinkles return when the
product is cut or sheeted if its source
was the material itself. Finally, Mohr's
circle shows

218 TAPPI JOURNAL OCTOBER 1996

Web
Causes
Constrained expansion Roller
crown Roller deflection Bad
'spreading'

Causes

11

2. AID tension + CD compression

just how close to trouble we run, even

under the best of conditions.
CONSTRAINED EXPANSION

Many web machines contain an

expansive process that tends to
increase the width of the web. For
example, plastic films may be heated
in air-float ovens or over heated
rollers. Here, the web tries to grow
wider due to hygrothermal expansion.
Similarly, many paper webs see a
moisture increase in coating and
printing operations, which tries to
increase the width due to hygroscopic
expansion (6). Finally, two other
processes that often expand the web
are calendering and embossing.
However, expansion can also occur in
web handling merely due to a drop in
tension somewhere in the line. Here,
the web tries to expand because of
Poisson's ratio. While Poisson's ratio is
typically approximately 0.3 for most
materials, nonwovens can exceed a
ratio of

3. This means that the changes in

width are three times the changes in
length.
The fractional expansion of width
for linear elastic processes can be
calculated as:
V

Ten

4r--H ----- +a Ar+p AX

1 E.c

2
(1)

where
w

= width
u?1 = Poisson's ratio
Ten = lineal web line tension
E, = MD modulus
c
= caliper
a,
= CD coefficient of thermal
expansion
T
= temperature
62
= CD coefficient of solvent
expansion

4. MD trough wrinkle

bt.iL

Web travel
Misalignment
Tension profile
Draw profile
Material skew

Deflection
Net
Tension
Weight

3. MD tension + shear

5. Excessive deflection wrinkling

These expansive forces do not always result in the edges of

the web moving outward (to a greater width), especially on
lighter grades. Rather, the web may take that extra width as
the arc length of a buckled sinusoidal shape. There are
many reasons that this buckling behavior is more common
than edges moving outward, but the "you cannot push a
rope" analogy suffices as a visual tool. As seen in Fig. 4, the
constrained expansion of a free web results in a curtain-like
appearance, where the troughs are oriented precisely in the
machine direction. Furthermore, the spacing or wavelength
between
the
troughs
is
0.25
calculated as (7):
1+ 1.95 JL -Ten ( %(2)

where
X = wavelength
L = web span length
Ten = lineal web line tension
E = web modulus
oCj = longitudinal stress = Ten /caliper.

The amplitude can be estimated from:

Aw
w

_ / TL4_\
" 2b " V % )

where
_,

= buckled lateral strain

ID

A
= amplitude A.
= wavelength.

A web begins to show a noticeable troughing at CD buckling

strains of as little as 0.1%. By the time the strains reach 1%, the
web looks like curtains and is at great risk for foldovers and
creases. A 0.1% thermal expansion of polymers may require a
temperature rise on the order of 100-200CE In one case, a
converter built an expensive vacuum treater with a heated roller
that increased the film temperature to nearly 400F in a single
step. Unfortunately, the web buckled off the hot roller surface due
to expansion so that a uniform treatment was not possible. A more
common situation is passing a film through an air flotation oven.
To address the MD troughing, the
VOL79: NO. 10 TAPPI JOURNAL 2 I 9

WEB DEFECTS

Web

Web

Region I
Planar

Increase L/W

Region III
Wrinkled

Increase gauge
8. Misalignment wrinkle relationships

Shell

Groove

Wide grooving:
Web may slide
inward into
grooves

Shell

Thread

Raised thread: Web

may slide inward to
lands and gather
due to high diameter

CD
LU

R
egion
6. Wrinkling at wide grooves/threads

Partial drive
II
Rivers & lakes
Slack

edge

b/l

MISALIGNMENT
ANGLE

-c

A
-c

7. Roller misalignment wrinkle

>

-Ci
T-

Material skew

first roller after the oven should be a spreader to avoid

creasing the web over a conventional roller. Unfortunately,
this first position after the dryer is also coveted by guide roll
and/or vacuum pull roll functions.
Paper is generally thicker than many films and thus is
slightly more buckling resistant. However, problems should
be anticipated on paper when the hygroscopic expansion
reaches 1%; this is approximately equivalent to a 5%
moisture increase. This amount of water addition is
common in most latex coaters and some treaters and
printing operations. Again, we would consider a spreader in
the first position after the coater station.

Trim removal

Zh -c

Corrugation
OTHER MD TROUGH WRINKLE CAUSES

Other causes of MD trough wrinkles include excessive roll

or roller deflection. We illustrate this tendency with the
schematic given in Fig. 5. As seen here, the roller deflects
downward due to roll weight and moves to the right due to a
normally smaller web tension. The net shape of the
deflected roller is similar to a bowed roller, except that it is
pointed backward or in the contracting direction. The web
does not know whether we call an

Misalignment

3-

Zh

~C
D- -C

fcZh

Zh -c
9. Other shear wrinkle causes

element a mere idler roller, a spreader, or a contractor. It reacts to a

given geometry in the same manner. Thus, if the "roller" looks like
a bowed spreader pointed backward, the web reacts with the
220 TAPPI JOURNALOCTOBER

tendency to trough wrinkle.

Other orientations, such as reversing the path of the web in
the figure, result in neutral or even spreading effects. For a variety
of reasons, however, the web may tend to wrinkle more easily
than it tends to spread. Thus, the net effect of excessive deflection
of a system of rollers is the tendency for MD trough wrinkling of
the web. To avoid this type of wrinkling, rollers should not deflect
more than about 0.015% of roller width. This

Symptoms: Wrinkle oriented precisely in

the machine direction.Troughs are evenly
spaced with the exception of some
diametral variations.
Fundamental behavior: CD compressive
buckling strain
Modes:
Constrained expansion
Moisture increase Solvent
increase Temperature
increase Tension drop
Roll(er) geometry
Roller deflection excessive Grooving
width excessive Raised threads or
features High-diameter position
(tracking) Low-diameter position
(sliding)
/. MD trough wrinkle summary

value is about one-tenth of the 0.15%

bow value often specified for the
bowed-roller spreading of unslit stiff
webs. Thus, for example, it would take
a typical bowed-roller spreader to clean
up the troughing caused by ten rollers
whose deflection just met standard but
whose deflection was pointed in an
inopportune direction. As a rule of
thumb, rollers that are adequately sized
for deflection have a slenderness ratio
(length/diameter) of 10-15 if nipped
and 15-20 if unnipped (8).
Another cause of wrinkling is
excessive grooving width. It is ironic
that many people believe that grooving, especially if spiraled outward, has
a spreading effect. Unfortunately, the
tendency of all grooving is just the
opposite. As seen in Fig. 6, the web
tends to pull into the overly wide
groove. It may do this elasti-cally, in
which case there is no damage.
However, the web could slip slightly
sideways, especially at the edges,
which can induce trough wrinkling. To
avoid MD troughing caused by
grooving, the groove width should be
no wider than 10-20
times
the
minimum web

Roll diameter increase

Roll wrap angle decrease
Roll/web speed difference (sliding or
floating vs. tracking) Roll or
web roughness change
(depends on application)
Speed increase Tension
decrease Web permeability
decrease Width increase
//. Factors to increase web flattening

caliper (9). Another reason to avoid

wide grooves on film is to avoid
marking of the web. Many film products bear the tractor-tire tread marks of
idler rollers they have touched.
A final source for MD trough
wrinkling is diametral variations. If the
variation is large and intentional, such
as with raised threads, the web may be
pulled inward, just as in the case of
wide grooves. However, any largediameter area of a roller also tends to
gather material there into a trough for
another reason. The principle for this is
the mechanism for the centering of
belts on a crowned pulley (which also
creates CD compression) and is
opposite to that of a concave spreader.
Because the diametral variation need
be as little as 0.1% to start gathering
thin-gauge materials, rollers must be
cut accurately and caliper controlled
closely for wound rolls. If the web is
slipping instead of tracking, it gathers
at small-diameter areas.
As we have seen, there are many
mechanisms that can cause the MD
trough wrinkle. They can be broadly
categorized as due to constrained
expansion or roller geometry. Table I
summarizes the various modes of the
MD trough wrinkle. However, they all
share the common features of a trough
that is oriented exactly in the machine
direction
and
result
from
a
compressive CD buckling strain.

Simplex
Concave roller
Bowed spreader roller
D-bar or bent pipe
Duplex
Dual bowed roller
Pos-Z
Expander rollers
Slatted
Banded
Covered
Edge stretchers
Edge pull stretcher rollers
Tenter chains
///. Spreading devices

DIAGONAL SHEAR WRINKLES

From the Mohr's circle of Fig. 3, the

superposition of a shear stress on a
web line tension produced a circle that
could cross beyond the buckling
boundary. However, the direction of
maximum compression for a web in
shear is at a slight angle from the
cross direction. Thus, the troughs are
oriented at a right angle to the
maximum compression, which is, in
other words, at a slight diagonal to the
machine direction. The angled
wrinkle uniquely identifies the
presence of a shear component; the
steeper the angle, the larger the shear
stress.
Aside from the commonality of an
angled wrinkle, the numerous different sources share another feature.
Shear wrinkles always result from
something being crooked, such as a
profile variation problem. In many
cases, the crooked element is a
machine component, such as a roller,
instead of the web. If the web is
crooked, it often displays a discernible
rope or corrugation, or it is baggy in
spots. Since there are so many sources
of shear, we cover only the more
common cases here (5).
ROLLER MISALIGNMENT

Undoubtedly, the classic shear wrinkle

case is caused by a misaligned
VOL. 79: NO. ID TAPPI JOURNAL22 I

WEB DEFECTS

TENSION, lb/in.

x- -------- Yield
\
A'

(yc
)CJ
s
/

/
s

/
// /
/"
k/

( 6

Unwinding:
Outside
loosens

ti htens

) z

Unwinding:
Inside
tightens

Top view of a crepe wrinkle

tl
Winding: inside
loosens

MD

Side view of a crepe wrinkle

(enlarged)

ZD MD

'\f\f\f\f\f\f\.
/ /. Interlayer slippage and the crepe wrinkle

roller pair. It has the fingerprint of diagonal wrinkle that

walks sideways on the downstream roller of the misaligned
roller pair. As seen in Fig. 7, the specific misalignment that
causes this wrinkle is the component of misalignment that is
in the plane of the roller pair. One can use several rules to
determine the direction of misalignment. First, the trough
points to the short side of the downstream roller. Second,
the wrinkle walks uphill or toward the long side of the
downstream roller. Misalignment in this sense is the lack of
parallelism of one roller with respect to the other, rather
than with respect to an alignment datum. Thus, both rollers
can be misaligned in the machine sense of level and square
but not cause wrinkles in that span because they are
mutually parallel. Alignment tolerances needed to avoid this
mode of wrinkling can either be calculated or determined by
experience. A model has been pioneered for misalign222 TAPPI JOURNALOCTOBER

*/

//

'
' /

'
' //

\/s

10. CD wrinkles and air entrainment

/^TpX Winding: /
\ Outside

l
B'

/ v.

A"

v.
B"

STRAIN, in./in. or %

12. Baggy web stress-strain diagram

ment wrinkling in a joint research project by 3M and the Web

Handling Research Center (10). The results are summarized in
Fig. 8. There are three web states on this plot of web tension vs.
misalignment angle. Region I is for a flat and unwrinkled web,
which occurs when misalignment is sufficiently small. Region II
is for a web with a slack edge but no wrinkling, which occurs
when tension is sufficiently small. Region III is where the
diagonal wrinkle crosses the downstream roller. There are several
courses of possible treatment given a web in the wrinkled state
denoted by the heavy dot. The most obvious and preferable would
be to reduce the misalignment angle; this would move the point to
the left and into the flat web region.
Another possibility would be to increase tension, which may
move the point above the wrinkling boundary. By Mohr's circle,
this reduces the intrusion into the buckling zone. Ironically,
however, one could also reduce tension to move the point below
the wrinkled region. By reducing tension, web-to-roll traction is
also decreased; this can allow the web to partly break instead of
conforming to the violent bend required to make normal entry to
the downstream roller (11). In other words, low tension provides a
safety valve for misalignment. However, using tension to reduce
wrinkling may not be desirable, because there are other webhandling limits that may be exceeded. If tension is too low, the
web becomes floppy and ill behaved. Conversely, if tension is too
high, the web may be damaged or even break. An appropriate web
tension for most applications is between 10 and 25% of the web's
tensile strength (12).

Bow method
Tension is not uniform

o
UJ

1. Lay a
long strip
of web
on floor and flatten as best
possible.

Back

Front
Short (tight)

2. Measure bow
(B) & length (L).

Some deckle
positions are
'longer' than
others

-H *k- w
bagginess as:

Bag(%)=I

Back

Front

OTHER DIAGONAL WRINKLING

There are other ways that something can be crooked even if

the axes of all rollers are aligned. For example, the

OO%x4B
2

W/L

Fold method

A"!

13. Baggy web tension and length

If all of above remedies are exhausted, it is still possible

to move the wrinkling boundary itself. The boundary
between Regions I and III has been modeled and can be
moved to the right by increasing the aspect ratio of the span
(length/width) or by increasing web caliper. The boundary
between Regions II and III is empirically determined and
can be moved up by reducing any traction factor and by
increasing speed.
Despite the important relationships revealed by this
analytical approach, it may not be sufficiently conservative
for good web machine practices (13-15). Obviously, the
wrinkled Region III is unacceptable for any operation.
However, the slack web Region II should also be
undesirable, because if one side is slack, the other side must
be at least two times the line tension; this is probably an
excessive and unhealthy variation. Also, slack webs do not
go through nips well. Even the flat Region I may not always
be adequate, because a tension profile variation exists with
any misalignment, even if the web does not wrinkle in
obvious protest. Thus, a flat web is necessary but not
sufficient for applications where tight tension control is
desirable.
In lieu of modeling, we can use the experience of
machine builders to establish alignment tolerances. The
tolerances used by large paper machinery builders on the dry
end is 2-3 mils per 100 in. of face. A few larger film
machinery builders also use the 3 mils/100 in. tolerance.
Those few converting machine builders who have
established standards often use a looser 1 mil per foot of
face. In any case, standards of this order require alignment
by optical transit rather than by hand tools (16).

3. Calculate

2B->

<H

1. Lay a strip of
web on floor and fold lengthwise
down
middle.
2. Measure bow (B) & length (L).
3. Calculate bagginess as:
Bag(%)=IOO%x4BW/L2

.VJ
-H N-w/2
14. Bagginess measured as camber

diameter of the roller may vary along its face. Then, the highdiameter areas have a faster surface speed than the low-diameter
areas and thus force an in-plane shear stress. While small
diametral variations may be tolerated on some rollers, nipped
rollers are very unforgiving for two reasons. First, the nip pressure
itself is nonuniform. Second, the web cannot slip in a nip to
relieve itself as it could on a wrapped roller.
Several common cases of diagonal wrinkling are shown in
Fig. 9- The corrugation or rope is usually found after surface
winding of a web that has an abrupt caliper variation. Rivers and
lakes are formed when the crowns are not appropriate for a nipped
roller pair (17). Wrinkles can also be generated at nips where the
nip pressure is not uniform on a deformable roll(er) (18). Finally,
any portion of a baggy web that is not sufficiently tightened to
bring it into tension everywhere will likely wrinkle when entering
a nip. This wrinkling happens because the baggy lane gets behind
the rest of the web until it is dragged through in a gulp by shear
stresses.
The partial drive wrinkles form on the boundary of a
driven/braked element that does not span the entire web width.
Material skew occurs when the principal (stiffest) axis of an
anisotropic material is not aligned with the machine direction. The
principal axis of paper from a paper machine and film from a
tenter is oriented straight
VOL79: NO. 10 TAPPI JOURNAL 223

WEB DEFECTS

\
^

AL

D-L

CI*iiAii UA.;.i

~\

Perpendicular
Chalk lines

i 6. Traction resists web flattening

JL

ti

.Z

Another mechanism for creating CD-oriented wrinkles

is by interlayer slippage (20). As seen in Fig. 11, the

MD
Perpendicular
CD

1. Carefully scribe two

perpendiculars to slit
edge 50-100 ft apart.

LJ

4. W
i
t
h

2. Mark two narrow

deckle positions
within a tight (t) and
loose (I) band.

s
c
i
s
s
o

3. Strike chalk lines on

each side of the tight
and loose bands.
rs, cut out the two strips.
5. Drag strips from one end to
flatten.
6. Align perpendiculars.
7. Calculate bagginess as:
Bag(%)=IOOxl/2xAUL

15. Bagginess measurement by strip method

in the middle but outward at the machine edges. Finally,

whenever a portion of a web is not tensioned, such as at a
trim slitter, a diagonal trough forms.
CD WRINKLES AND WINDING

Winding and unwinding processes can generate wrinkles

that are primarily oriented in the cross direction either due
to air entrainment or interlayer slippage. Some air is always
entrained into a winding roll. The amount of air brought in
is dependent on the type of nip roller (if any), web
permeability, web caliper, web width, speed, and other
factors (19). The problem that can occur is that the air may
get trapped behind a nip as a bubble, as seen in Fig. 10. If
this bubble grows, it eventually goes through the nip in a
gulp, causing a wrinkle or crease that is primarily oriented
in the cross direction.
Finally, air trapped in a wound roll can outgas over the
course of several days; this causes the roll to collapse on
itself, forming the buckles defect. The solution to these
defects is to exclude sufficient air by using a heavily loaded
nip roller (>5 pli) that is smooth or narrow-grooved (to
avoid tunneling the air into the roll) and which has a soft
cover (to conform to wound roll diametral variations).

wound roll layers may slip upon themselves in the presence

of an internal or external nip and during winding or
unwinding. If the slippage is nonuniform and in the
uncinching (loosening) direction, the roll may crepe
wrinkle. Nip-induced defects are common with light slippery grades of paper (lightweight coated or newsprint) and
with bulky grades such as tissue.
THE BAGGY WEB

Most of the wrinkling cases discussed earlier are due more to a

shortcoming in web handling or machine design rather than any
prior web defect. That is, while web properties and
nonuniformities can affect the propensity to those wrinkles, the
basic mechanism operates even on perfect webs. However, there
are at least as many web defects that are the result of a prior
manufacturing defect, such as web bagginess. Here, the web may
be ill behaved even going through a perfect machine.
224 TAPPIJOURNALOCTOBER1996

The baggy web has two distinct visual differences from the
MD troughs discussed earlier (21). First, the tight and loose bands
are irregularly spaced across the width. Second, the product does
not lie flat and straight. However, it is important to determine if
the web is naturally crooked or is elastically (temporarily) forced
that way through the machine. If the web lies flat on a table but
not through the machine, then the web is not being handled
properly through the machine, perhaps due to causes discussed
earlier. If the web does not lie straight and flat on a table, then you
have a case of residual stresses. A web that does not lie flat on a
table has uneven stresses built into it during manufacturing and, in
some cases, rough handling after manufacturing.
It is helpful to understand what residual stresses are and how
they cause the web to be crooked. Figure 12 shows a stress-strain
curve for a material lying on a table under no external stress. On
this sample are two points labeled A and B. Note how one is
compressive and the other is tensile. Residual stresses indicate
that the web has nonzero stresses inside it, even though no
external stresses are imposed on it.

The effect of the residual stresses

is made clear by two examples. If A
and B were at the same point (x, y) but
one was on the top and the other on the
bottom, the web has a curl in the
machine direction or the cross
direction. If the points had the same
MD position but were on different
edges of the web, the web would be
baggy or cambered. Of course, there
are many other combinations of MD,
CD, and shear stresses that can cause
crookedness or lie-flat problems in a
web.
Thus, one way to define a baggy
web is as a variation of the web tension across the width of a parallel
roller pair, as seen in Fig. 13. However, the difficulty in using this definition is that measuring the tension
variation is extremely difficult. The
instrumentation that is capable of
tension profiling may have poor
measurement quality, be extremely
expensive, or be very complex.
Alternatively, a baggy web can be
defined as one where the "natural
length" of the material is different
across its width. Surprisingly, a web
where lengths vary by only 0.1%
results in severe bagginess on almost
any material or product. Lighter webs
may tolerate only about 0.01% before
the web appears visibly baggy or has a
noticeable lie-flat problem. The baggy
lane is a position that is just slightly
longer than the rest. It buckles out of
the plane of the web to accommodate
the extra length, because it cannot
push and stretch the adjacent tight
bands.
There are several ways to measure
the bagginess of a web. Figure 14
shows a bow and a fold method, which
are most suitable for narrow webs
whose residual tension or natural
length varies linearly from front to
back. Camber is the term used for this
idealism of real web bagginess. These
methods would not, for example, be
able to detect bagginess that is
symmetrical about the centerline. The
advantage of these methods is

simplicity of measurement, so they are

occasionally used for quality control
testing.
A more general method of quantifying bagginess is shown in Fig. 15Here, we use a strain- or length-based
measure of bagginess in any CD
position(s) of interest. Indeed, one
could cut the entire width into
numerous strips to completely profile
bagginess with respect to the average
length. Unfortunately, this method is
tedious and time consuming, so it is
not suitable for routine use.
The specific causes for baggy
lanes are as diverse as the names
given to the defect. However, there
are some universal troubleshooting
techniques. First, the source of the
defect must be where the material has
sufficient mobility, such as the point
of manufacture, or later in processing,
where there are high stresses,
moistures, and temperatures. Second,
the deckle position and width
correspond to its source. The source is
in general a profile precision problem.
The problem should be identified and
corrected at its source, because there
is very little that can be effectively
done after the fact.
The one rare cure of the baggy
web is to yield it (22). This is illustrated in Fig. 12 by pulling the web to
A'B' and releasing it to A"B".
However, it may be more difficult to
yield the web uniformly than it would
be to make it uniform in the first
place. Another advertised treatment is
to use spreaders. However, the effect
is almost always temporary and local
to the spreader area. Also, the effects
are usually disappointingly small,
because spreaders act in the cross
direction while the baggy web
problem is in the machine direction.
Thus, it is only the weak Poisson
coupling between a CD pull of the
spreader that increases the effective
MD tension

and thus may temporarily pull a baggy

portion of a web into tension.
FLATTENING AND SPREADING

There would be little need for

spreaders in a perfect world where the
web and machine are true. The
realities are, however, that wrinkles
may remain despite our best efforts to
correct them at their source. Then we
can, as a last resort, attempt to remove
the wrinkles via flattening and
spreading. Web flattening is a passive
process that allows the web to be as
wide as it would prefer to be. Web
spreading is an aggressive process that
forces the web to be wider than it
would prefer to be.
Flattening works on the principle
that the web would avoid compound
curvature because it is at a highenergy state. The web, which must
first follow the arc of the roller or bar,
would prefer not to hold a second arc
as a trough or wrinkle crossing the
roller or bar. As seen in Fig. 16, the
wrinkle crossing the roller induces
compressive CD forces that would
tend to push the edges outward. These
forces are very weak and thus can
seldom overcome the friction or
traction between the web and the
roller. If the friction can be reduced
sufficiently, however, the trough
pushes itself outward until the web is
flat (23) The factors for reducing
web/roller traction are given in Table
H (24).
All that is usually needed to flatten
a web is to lightly wrap a largediameter bar (or roller if sliding cannot be tolerated). Caution must be
exercised, however, because loss of
traction also means a certain loss of
web-handling control.
Spreading is a more aggressive
process than flattening and thus can
deal with webs that are in need of
more serious treatment. The various
types of spreading devices, listed in
approximate order of strength, are
shown in Table in (25-27). The

VOL. 79: NO. 10 TAPPI JOURNAL 225

WEB DEFECTS

KEYWORDS
corrugation, crease recovery, creasing,
design, flattening, rolls, tolerance, web
spreaders, webs, wrinkles.

most common pitfall to avoid with the

common concave and bowed-roller
spreaders is loss of traction. Slipping
causes a loss of the spreading function
and may even cause wrinkling.
Slipping is avoided by reducing bows,
wrapping the rollers adequately, and
making sure the surface has an
aggressive traction with the web.
However, spreading is only able to
effectively treat MD trough wrinkles
or diagonal shear wrinkles. Bag-giness
and most other web defects are not
appreciably affected by spreading. For
example, if a web has

bubble-shaped patches of bagginess,

the spreader could not pull them out,
because the flat areas around the
bubble would carry all of the
spreading forces. Also, spreading is
greatly limited on unbonded multiply
materials. Here, spreading may be
limited to the ply in contact if web/roll
friction is greater than web/web
friction. Also, spreading is limited to
the point where the first ply becomes
taut in the cross direction. Finally, the
effect of spreading is almost always
temporary and local to the spreader
area, lasting perhaps only a span or so
downstream.

sive buckling of the web. The first

troubleshooting technique is to
observe the angle of the wrinkle. If it
is directly in the machine direction,
the cause is one of a few easily distinguishable cases of constrained
expansion or related behavior. If the
web is at a slight angle, determine if
the crookedness is web or machine
related. Finally, baggy webs are irregular in character and most difficult to
treat. In most cases, bagginess is the
result of manufacturing profile
problems and must be corrected at the
source. TJ
Roisum is president of FinishingTechnologies,

SUMMARY

Wrinkles may appear to be as varied

as the webs and applications on which
they are found. As we have seen,
however, wrinkles and lie-flat
problems share a common feature in
that they all result from a compres-

Inc., 1305 Orchard Ct, Neenah.WI 54956.

Received for review Dec. 11, 1995.

Accepted Feb. 9, 1996.
Presented at theTAPPI 1996 Polymers, Laminations
and Coatings Conference and the TAPPI 1996 Finishing and Converting Conference.

LITERATURE CITED
1.

Roisum, D. R., The Mechanics of

Rollers, TAPPI PRESS, Atlanta, 1996, p.
305.

2. Smith, R. D, Roll and Web Defect Terminology, No. 0I0IR234, TAPPI

PRESS, Atlanta, 1995, pp. 78-83.
3. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine
Feb. 1994, p. 16.
4. Roisum, D. R Converting Magazine
March 1994, p. 22.
5. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine
June 1994, p. 22.
6. Roisum, D.
129(1993).

R.,

Tappi

J.

76(6):

7. Shelton, J. J., Proceedings of Second

International Conference on Web Handling, Oklahoma State University,
Stillwater, OK, 1993, p. 303.
8. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine
Jan. 1996.
9. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine
Aug. 1995, p. 26.

226 TAPPI JOURNAL OCTOBER 1996

10. Gehlbach, L S., Good, J. K., and Kedl, D. M

Tappi). 72(8): 129(1989).
11. Daly, D. A, Tappi 48(9): 88A( 1965).
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1994, p. 20.
13. Roisum, D. R Proceedings of Third International Conference on Web Handling, Oklahoma
State University, Stillwater, OK, 1995, in
press.
14. Roisum, D. R, TAPPI 1995 Finishing and Converting Conference Proceedings, TAPPI PRESS,
Atlanta, p. 113.
15. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine March
1995, p. 48.
16. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine Nov.
1995, p. 24.
17. Benson, R. C, Chiu, H. C, LaFleche.J., et al.,
Proceedings of Second International Conference
on Web Handling, Oklahoma State University,
Stillwater, OK, 1993, p. 333.
18. Benson, R. C, LaFleche.J., and Stack, K. D.,
Proceedings of Third International Conference
onWeb Handling, Oklahoma State University,

Stillwater, OK, 1995, in press.

19. Tajuddin, B., "Mathematical Modeling of
Air Entrainment in Web Handling Applications," M.S. thesis, Oklahoma State
University, Stillwater, OK, 1987.
20. Roisum, D. R., TAPPI 1994 Finishing and
Converting Conference Proceedings, TAPPI
PRESS,Atlanta,p.89.
21. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine April
1994, p. 22.
22. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine April
1995, p. 20.
23. Friedrich.C.R., Tappi). 72(2): 161(1989).
24. Ducotey, K. S., "Tractions Between Webs
and Rollers in Web Handling Applications," Ph.D. thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 1993.
25. Roisum, D. R., Converting Magazine Nov.
1995, p. 60.
26. Roisum, D. R TappiJ. 76(10): 63(1993).
27. Roisum, D. R., Tappi). 76(12): 75(1993).