An Investigation Into the Design of Hollow Accumulator Rolls Using Finite Element Analysis

Accumulator systems consist of a series of accumulator rolls, arranged either vertically or horizontally, used in many sheet processing lines for the purpose of storing up strip. Literature on roll design for this particular type of roll is scarce. Much of the present design theory is based on a static analysis assuming the entire contact load from the strip is uniformly distributed over the roll. A previous paper done on this subject focused on modeling the roll using finite element analysis (FEA) assuming this uniform pressure load on the roll. The purpose of this work was to incorporate non-linear contact elements between the strip and the roll body in a finite element analysis. This would allow the software to distribute the load from the strip to the roll, taking into account friction and contact losses. Once accomplished, this load was placed on various roll design configurations, of which included variation in the number of roll stiffeners and the thickness of the roll body and the end plates. These results were also compared to the previous uniform pressure FEA in order to assess the validity of the uniform pressure assumption. Based on these results, a roll design methodology is presented.