Pressure pad for stably floating thin strip

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Accordingly, it is one of the principle objects of the present invention to provide a flotation system using a special pressure pad design which will stably float light metal strip and reduce strip flutter to the point where strip marking does not occur while also maintaining high, convective heat transfer rates with the strip.
This object along with other features of the invention is achieved in a system for supporting a continuous strip of material moving in a longitudinally-extending path.
The system includes a pressure pad for directing jet streams of a gaseous fluid against the strip with the pressure pad orientated to have its lengthwise direction extend transversely across the longitudinally extending path.
The pressure pad includes a generally cylindrical pad housing having a transversely-extending slit of predetermined length positioned closer to the strip than any other portion of the pad housing.
The slit, in turn, is defined as extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge, both edges extending transversely to the strip's path.
A generally curvilinear plenum chamber within the pad housing has a baffle plate segment which spans the slit and forms with the housing a leading slot nozzle at the slit's leading edge and similarly, a transversely extending trailing slot nozzle is formed at the slit's trailing edge.
An arrangement is provided to direct a gaseous medium through the leading and trailing nozzles to form opposed high speed jet streams of gaseous medium traveling along the curvilinear baffle segment for supporting the strip while simultaneously creating under pressure zones adjacent the housing slot nozzles whereby the pad housing configuration is such that pad contact with the strip is avoided.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the baffle segment is convex and extends at its longitudinal center to a position which is spaced closer to the strip than that of the leading and trailing slot nozzles thereby providing a symmetrical, curvilinear path for the leading and trailing jet streams to travel in a non-turbulent manner prior to colliding with one another so that strip flutter is minimized