Flotation Dryers: Expanding Applications for Air Foils, 2010 PLACE Conference

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Air foils are single-sided flotation bars that can both heat and transport a moving web. A continuous and smooth air curtain over the surface of the foil provides an effect that is much like a “non-contacting idler roll”. They are particularly well-suited for drying applications that may include low web tension, controlled drying rates, light or heavy substrates, and/or prevention of wrinkles or curling. In the inverted position, an air foil can lift and carry a moving web without making contact with the web. With this degree of versatility, the air foil is often preferred for dryers and ovens that might otherwise use single and double sided slot nozzles, slot nozzles over idler rolls and/or impingement air bars.