SIMULATION OF TAPE FLOATING BEHAVIOR IN VTR

An efficient method for numerical simulation of tape floating behavior in VTR has been developed. Parameter survey examples for tape floatin g height control in some drum-guide tape systems have been shown. The spacing between a drum and a tape is one of the most important topics regarding the tape/head interface problem for a VTR. The spacing is ca used by air film lubrication and can be determined by using the Reynol ds equation for air and the elastic equation for a tape. Each equation is discretized, using the finite element method, and solved by the Ne wton-Raphson method. The results, calculated by the present method, sh ow good agreement with experimental results. The authors also investig ated tape floating behavior for several drum-guide tape systems, which are intended to decrease tape/drum spacing, especially in the head en trance region, as follows; (1) Guidepost twist effect; (2) Difference between a rotary drum configuration and a rotary center drum configura tion; (3) A new groove location for tape floating height equalization.