Theoretical modeling and experimental study of pressure fields of inclined airflow film

Abstract

Air flotation rails are widely used in semiconductor production lines to produce an airflow film for handling components such as liquid crystal glass substrates. During transportation, the glass substrate deforms with a large curvature, which inclines the airflow film between each hole in the rail and substrate. This study theoretically and experimentally investigated the pressure field of an inclined airflow film. First, the radial velocity distribution of the inclined airflow film was derived, and a theoretical model of the radial velocity-dominated pressure distribution was developed that considered the inclination angle and central height of the film. Then, experiments were performed to measure the pressure fields of inclined airflow films with different inclination angles and central heights, and the results showed good agreement with the theoretical results. When the central height of the airflow film was fixed, the asymmetry of the pressure field increased as the inclination angle of the airflow film increased. On the other hand, when the inclination angle of the airflow film was fixed, the asymmetry of the pressure field decreased as the central height of the airflow film increased. Thus, considering the inclination angle of the velocity distribution can better embody the asymmetry of the pressure field of the inclined airflow film. These findings serve as important theoretical and experimental references for monitoring the deformation of airflow films.