Simulation of In-Plane Transverse Displacement of Tape

The equations of motion for a thin strip of flexible material are used to describe the in-plane transverse motion of an axially moving magnetic tape in a tape transport. The relative contribution of the tension term compared to the bending stiffness term is analyzed for typical tension values and the frequency range of interest. The bending stiffness term is found to be 10–20 times larger than the tension term in the frequency range of interest in typical tape drives. The full equation of motion for the displacement of a single span of tape between two reels is solved numerically subject to boundary and initial conditions and the result is compared to experimental measurements. The agreement between measurement and numerical simulation is very good.