How does a woven screen form a sheet from wet paper pulp?

In the process of papermaking, a woven screen serves as a filtration medium to transform a liquid suspension of cellulose fibres into a solid, matted sheet.12

The formation occurs through the following mechanism:

• Filtration: A dilute suspension of paper stock is deposited onto a finely woven metal or synthetic fibre screen. As the stock flows across or into this screen, the mesh allows water to pass through while retaining the solid fibres on its surface.312
• Drainage: The screen acts as a filter, enabling the water to drain away from the fibre suspension. In modern machines, such as the Fourdrinier machine, this process is often enhanced by table rolls or suction devices located beneath the wire, which create a pumping or suction action to accelerate water removal.3
• Matting: As the water is removed, the fibres are left behind, interlocking to form a continuous, matted web of wet paper.12

Once this initial sheet is formed on the screen, it is sufficiently consolidated to be transferred to the press section for further water removal and drying.32