FORMING SECTION MONITORING

Instrumentation to measure, monitor, and troubleshoot the wet end of the paper machine is widely used to increase the knowledge of the papermaker. The objective of this technical publication is to provide the industry with a short description of the key parameters to be measured, their importance to the papermaker, and a listing of known commercial instruments used for these measurements. It should be noted that many of these instruments and methods have been developed or modified for the paper machine and that considerable practice and skill may be required to get reliable results.

Parameters discussed include:

• Forming fabric thickness
• Forming fabric air permeability
• Forming fabric tension
• Roll abrasiveness to a fabric
• Foil angle and foil pitch
• Surface finish of machine components
• Surface speed of rolls or fabrics
• Roll diameters
• Sheet temperature
• Motion Analysis
• Wet end drainage
• Sheet formation
• Wet end drag load
• Drive shaft torque
• Headbox jet velocity