Practical Belt Conveying Part 1, Chapter 15 Page | of 16, Rev.3 15.3 154 15.5 15.6 15.7 158 15.9 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 CHAPTER 15 CONVEYOR ARRANGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PULLEYS ~ GENERAL MATERIAL ENTRAPMENT BETWEEN BELT AND PULLEY HIGH TENSION BEND PULLEYS. TWO ADJACENT PULLEYS DRIVE SNUB PULLEY HEAD DRIVE vy GROUND MOUNTED DRIVE, DUAL PULLEY DRIVES HEAD & TAIL DRIVES & TAIL BRAKES TAIL TAKE-UPS DECLINED REGENERATIVE CONVEYORS, TRANSFER ANGLES HEAD END SHUTTLES, SHUTTLING CONVEYORS TRAVELING TRIPPERS CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part I, Chapter 15 Page 2 of 16, Rev.3 15.2 CONVEYOR ARRANGEMENTS ‘TRODUCTION When laying out a belt conveyor there are many options for pulley configuration, drive location ete. and while most designers have preferences for certain there are a number of important points to consider which may influence the choice of conveyor arrangement. In this chapter the following aspects relating to conveyor arrangements are reviewed:~ © Pulleys - General * Material entrapment between belt and pulley * High tension bend pulleys * Two adjacent pulleys * Drive snub pulleys ‘+ Head drive v ground mounted drive * Dual pulley drives © Head and tail drives and tail brakes © Tail take-ups * Declined regenerative conveyors * Transfer angles © Head end shuttles * Shuttling conveyors © Trippers PULLEYS — GENERAL Pulleys are expensive items which require maintenance when the lagging is wom or when bearings or locking clements fail. Pulley failures do occur and a serious failure can lead to catastrophic damage. Every pulley also requires a supporting structure which adds to the capital cost of the conveyor, Every time a belt is bent around a pulley, the belt is subjected to additional stresses caused by the following factors:~ ‘* Compressive and shear stresses in the cover rubber caused by the radial component of the belt tension (See Section 14.3). * Bending stresses in the steel cords or in the fabric reinforcement. ‘© Stresses caused by pulley eccentricity or irregularities in the pulley surface, CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part I, Chapter 15 Page 3 of 16, Rev.3 15.3 * On drive pulleys, additional shear stresses are caused by the transfer of the drive torque to the belt carcass. Pulleys therefore contribute to the capital and operating costs ofa conveyor and they also subject the belt to additional stresses which in extreme cases can be detrimental to the belt or the splice. For these reasons, it should be an objective of the designer to minimise the number of pulleys wherever possible. MATERIAL ENTRAPMENT BETWEEN BELT AND PULLEY In most cases it is desirable to arrange pulleys so that water and material spillage are not drawn in between the belt and the pulley. Note: on a steel cord belt a single rock passing between the belt and a pulley can snap the steel cords. Fig.5-1 shows the preferred arrangement of bend pulleys. With this arrangement any rainwater or spillage is diverted away from the lower bend pulley. Fig. 15-2 shows a non-preferred example where rainwater and spillage will be directed towards one pulley. \ RAIN WATER AND SPILLAGE © : TAKE-UP Fig. 15-1 Preferred bend pulley arrangement TAKE-UP. nae RAIN WATER — AND SPILLAGE = & PLOUGH ig 15-2 Non-preferred bend pulley arrangement There are obvious cases where this problem cannot be avoided such as the tail pulley. Where it is not possible to avoid this problem, belt ploughs should be used to clear any material off the return belt. In addition the pulley should be lagged with diamond patterned rubber which will expel any water. This rubber lagging will also reduce the risk of material build up on the pulley surface and minimise damage caused by rock entrapment. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part 1, Chapter 1S Page 4 of 16, Rev.3 15.4 HIGH TENSION BEND PULLEYS. When a worn belt with a dished profile is bent around a bend pulley with the worn carry side of the belt in contact with the pulley, the cords at the edge of the belt will have a longer travel path around the pulley than the centre cords. This difference in the length of the travel path will cause the tension in the edge cords to rise and the tension in the centre cords to fall. This variation in cord tension is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig.15-3. Note: the sum of the tension in all the cords does not change. CORDS PARALLEL 2 cone eee BOTTOM caver , PROFILE OF WORN BEL To caver—/ | PRIOR TO | END PULLEY BOTTOM cove CORDS PARALLEL TO BOTTOM COVER / PROFILE OF woe senses eee trae ee eee WORN BELT ON BEND ] PULLEY BELT WIDTH “w t average CORD TENSION DIAGRAM Fig.1S-3 Wor belt in contact with bend pulley CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part I, Chapter 15 Page 5 of 16, Rev.3 This differential radius problem will cause significant transverse shearing of the belt to accommodate the variation in the cord path lengths around the pulley and slippage will occur between the belt and the pulley. This slippage and the corresponding wear will normally occur in the centre section of the belt where the belt tension is at its lowest value. Photos 15a and 15b show the type of pulley lagging wear that can occur. This problem applies to both steel cord and fabric reinforced belting. Photo 15a Wor lagging on a high tension bend pulley Photo 15b Typical central lagging wear on a bend pulley CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part |, Chapter 15 Page 6 of 16, Rev.3, When the wear on the pulley lagging is combined with the belt wear, the differential radius problem obviously gets worse and the pulley wear will accelerate. The transverse distortion across a stee! cord belt caused by the combination of a worn belt and worn pulley, has been measured at 15 mm acro: 1500 mm wide belt. This distortion can take 10 m or more to dissipate on either side of a high tension bend pulley. The high edge tension and the high shear stresses developed in the belt by this problem are believed to be a major contributing factor in belt splice failures, particularly when the bend pulley is located prior to the drive where the belt tension is at its highest value. Where the use of a high-tension bend pulley cannot be avoided, it is recommended that the belt safety factor be increased to compensate for the increase in edge tension at the wom pulley. (See Chapter 17 for information on belt safety factors), The message is therefore, avoid high-tension bend pulleys whenever possible or be prepared to pay a cost penalty for a stronger belt. MAXIMUM BELT TENSION s IPPER STACKER TRIPPE Stee AES BEND PULLEYS Fig 15-4 Stacker tripper In some cases, such as a yard conveyor fitted with a stacker tripper (Fig. 15-4), it is not possible to avoid high tension bend pulleys. Where high-tension bend pulleys cannot be avoided, one possible method of reducing the wear rate on these bend pulleys is to use a special smooth ceramic lagging. Belle Banne manufacture a rubber lagging which has individual ceramic tiles embedded in the rubber. These tiles normally have small protrusions on the top surface, itis however possible to purchase this lagging with the smooth side of the tiles on the outside, making it suitable for use on bend pulleys. Another possible solution to minimising the wear on the pulley lagging would be to keep the surface of the bend pulley wet by using a fine water spray. The normal Belle Banne ceramic lagging with the protrusions on the outer surface should NEVER be used for lagging high tension bend pulleys, as the movement of the distorted belt on the rough tiled pulley surface could cause serious belt or splice damage. TWO ADJACENT PULLEYS, When two pulleys are located close to each other, such as a drive pulley and a drive snub pulley, the distance between the belts should be sufficient for the normal bending, compressive and shear stresses in the belt and cover rubber to recover before the belt reaches the second pulley where the bending stresses will be reversed. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part, Chapter 15, Page 7 of 16, Rev.3 The theoretical analysis of the stresses in the belt and the optimum pulley separation distance is extremely complex. However, for general design purposes the following two rules can be used:~ (a) The belt length from the exit tangent point on Pulley A to the entry tangent Point on Pulley B should be equal to at least I second of belt travel. For example, if the belt velocity is 3.8 m/s, the minimum distance between the tangent points should be 3.8 m. (b) The minimum distance between the tangent points should also be equal to at least twice the belt arc length on the first pulley. For example, if Pulley A has a diameter of 1200 mm and the are of contact is 180°, the are length is equal to the pulley radius (mm) x the are of contact (radians). The minimum separation distance should therefore be:- Snin = D@x10° = 1200 x 3.14 x 10° = 3.76 m Where: = wrap angle in radians D= pulley diameter_ mm The larger of the two values should be selected for the separation distance, If the only solution to a particular layout problem is to locate the two pulleys closer together than the recommended minimum distance, a higher belt safety factor should be used to compensate for the additional belt stresses caused by the more rapid reverse bending. Refer to Chapter 17 for details on belt safety factor selection. DRIVE SNUB PULLEY INCREASED EDGE TENSION FROM TRANSITION. a rive PULLEY SS eat INCREASED EDGE TENSION FROM WORN SNUB PUL SNUB PULLEY ig. 15-5 Typical drive snub arrangement Fig. 15-5 shows a typical head pulley drive which is fitted with a snub pulley. The snub pulley is used to increase the wrap angle on the drive pulley so that the take- up tension can be reduced and the belt strength minimised. While this may be true in theory, when the effect that a worn snub pulley can have on the edge tension in the belt is taken into consideration, the use of a snub pulley becomes less attractive. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part |, Chapter 15 Page 8 of 16, Rev.3 Although the snub pulley is on the low tension side of the drive, the increased edge tension caused by the worn belt or wom lagging on the snub pulley could take several metres to dissipate and accordingly, the increased edge tension will travel around the drive pulley to be added to the increase in edge tension caused by the ‘rough transition. It can therefore be proved that as far as belt strength is concerned, there is nothing to be gained from using a drive snub pulley. The following comparison between two drive pulley arrangements illustrates this point One drive does not have a snub pulley and has a 180° wrap angle. The other drive has a snub pulley with a 210° wrap angle. In both cases the effective tension value is 100 KN and the coefficient of friction is 0.25. (a) 180° wrap w= 0.25 I, 100 =83.8 KN (e”-1) Ty =T.+T: = 100 + 83.8 = 183.8 KN (b) 210° wrap w= 0.25 100 = 66.7 kN Ty = 100 + 66.7 = 166.7 kN ‘The 210° wrap angle may appear to show an advantage of a 10% lower T value possibly requiring a less expensive belt. However, if the detrimental effect of a worn belt being bent around the worn snub pulley is taken into consideration, the resulting ‘maximum belt tension could actually occur with case (b), In sections 17.6.2 and 17.6.3 it is shown that for a given set of circumstances, the belt safety factor without a drive snub pulley would be 6.8:1 and for the same conveyor with a drive snub pulley, the stress raising effect of the snub pulley will require a belt safety factor of 9.2:1, thereby negating any perceived advantage in using a snub pulley. Other reasons for eliminating head drive snub pulleys are: Reduction in capital and maintenance costs. + The location of the snub pulley can compromise the d requiring a less steep chute back plate. mn of the chute by * The reverse bending caused by the close proximity of the snub pulley to the drive pulley will cause additional distress to the belt and splice that has not been included in the above analogy. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part |, Chapter 15 Page 9 of 16, Rev.3 15,7 HEAD DRIVE v GROUND MOUNTED DRIVE, Fig. 15-6 shows a common belt conveyor arrangement where for convenience of access to the drive components, the drive is located on the ground. This arrangement has the disadvantage that it incorporates a high tension bend pulley which could require the use of a larger belt safety factor (Refer to Section 15.4), In addition, rainwater and material spillage could find their way between the belt and the drive pulley, thereby increasing the risk of belt slip or belt damage occurring, Fig.15-7 shows a similar arrangement which incorporates a low tension drive snub pulley, for the reasons given in the preceding section this arrangement is not recommended. Fig.15-8 shows a ground ‘mounted drive with a high tension snub pulley for the primary drive pulley. As the high tension bend pulley could significantly inerease the belt stresses at the drive pulley (refer Section 17.6.5), this arrangement should be avoided wherever possible. Generally speaking, the best place for the drive is on the head pulley. RAIN WATER AND MATERIAL — SPILLAGE CAN ENTER DRIVE NON-DRIVEN. HEAD PULLEY HIGH TENSION BEND PULLEY TAKE-UP y) Fig.15-6 Ground mounted drive Type 1 without snub pulley RAIN WATER AND MATERIAL SPILLAGE CAN ENTER DRIVE — NON-DRIVEN HEAD PULLEY HIGH TENSION BEND PULLEY TAKE-UP DRIVE sNuB —“ PULLEY Fig 15-7 Ground mounted drive Type 2 with low tension snub pulley CopyrightI Belt Conveying Part |, Chapter 15 Page 10 of 16, Rev.3 RAIN WATER AND MATERIAL SPILLAGE CAN ENTER DRIVE NON-DRIVEN HEAD PULLEY HIGH TENSION BEND PULLEY Peat sate Ree ’ PRIMARY at oy secounany 5) see aRey Fig.15-8 Ground mounted drive type 3 Dual pulley drive with high tension primary drive snub pulley 15.8 DUAL PULLEY DRIVES Dual pulley drives are used to effectively reduce the take-up tension requirements and this reduces the maximum belt tension (See Section 14.7.3). There are two important rules for dual drive arrangements. Firstly, both drive pulleys should be in contact with the clean side of the belt and secondly, in order to avoid the use of high tension bend pulleys, the primary drive should be located on the head pulley wherever possible. Fig. 15-9 shows one type of dual drive arrangement that has been used on overland conveyors. This arrangement requires the use of a medium tension bend pulley which will suffer from the increased edge tension problem when the belt and pulley are worn (Refer Section 15.4). However in this case, the bend pulley is in a location where the belt tension has been reduced by the torque from the primary drive and the bend pulley is also a reasonable distance from the primary drive. There should not therefore be any serious belt overstressing problems caused by this pulley configuration. This arrangement allows for a horizontal ground mounted take-up structure to be used and the last bend pulley provides a convenient location for a low speed brake. This pulley arrangement also avoids water and material entrapment problems at the pulleys. \— primary MEDIUM TENSION DRIVE PULLEY BEND PULLEY TAREE, SECONDARY DRIVE PULLEY Low SPEED BRAKE PULLEY Fig.15-9 Dual pulley drive Arrangement 1 CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Pant I, Chapter 15 Page 1 of 16, Rev.3 ? PRIMARY DRIVE PULLEY TAKE-UP PULLEY PLousH SECONDARY DRIVE PULLEY Fig.15-10 Dual pulley drive Arrangement 2 An alternative arrangement which has also been used on overland conveyors is shown in Fig.15-10. With this arrangement, two bend pulleys have been eliminated but this layout has the following disadvantages when compared to Fig. 15-9:- + The secondary drive is vulnerable to material and rainwater entrapment * There are no pulleys in the drive area suitable for a low speed brake. Where the primary drive cannot be located at the head pulley, the drive pulleys can be arranged as per Fig.15-11. With this arrangement water and spillage are diverted away from the drive pulleys. In order to minimise the stress raising effect of a worn high tension bend pulley on the drive pulley, the minimum distance from the high tension bend pulley to the primary drive pulley should be 10 m (Refer Section 15.4). The minimum separation distance between the medium tension bend pulley and the secondary drive pulley should be in accordance with Section 15.5. WATER AND SPILLAGE \—now-oriven HEAD PULLEY —— HIGH TENSION BEND PULLEY PRIMARY ORIVE PULLEY \—SecoNDaRY DRIVE PULLEY \— Mepiunt TENSION BEND PULLEY Fig.15-11 Dual pulley drive Arrangement 3 HEAD & TAIL DRIVES & TAIL BRAKES On long conveyors a third drive can be located on the tail pulley to reduce the ‘maximum belt tension. The tail pulley is also a technically sound location for a low speed brake CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part 1, Chapter 15 Page 12 of 16, Rev3 15.11 While the theory may prove that a tail drive or a tail brake may be the best technical solution, there are two disadvantages of separating the drive areas on long, conveyors. Firstly, if the timing between the head and tail drives being energized or the time when the tail brake is applied is not correct, serious belt slip could occur on the tail drive. For this reason the design of the conveyor should include an accurate flexible body dynamic analysis of the accelerating and decelerating belt tensions to ensure that adequate slack side tension will be maintained at the tail drive at all times. The second problem is an operational one in that when unscheduled maintenance is required on a conveyor fitted with head and tail drives or even a head drive and a tail brake, the maintainer must isolate drive equipment that is located in two substations whieh could be many km’s apart. The use of head and tail drives will therefore cause additional lost production time when a fault has to be rectified, particularly on long overland conveyors. These two problems should be considered when evaluating the pros and cons of a tail drive or a tail brake. TALL TAKE-UPS. In order to ensure adequate slack side tension at all times the best location fora gravity take-up is close to the drive. However, the simplest conveyor configuration often consists of a head drive pulley and a tail take-up pulley, in many cases this is the preferred option. It is however very important that the conveyor designer understands that with most conveyors, the take-up tension will have to be significantly larger when a tail take-up is used. This additional tension is required to compensate for the reduction in the slack side tension at the drive pulley which will occur during acceleration of the belt. The benefits of a simple two pulley conveyor may well justify the cost of superior acceleration control equipment, which would minimise slack side tension loss during acceleration, making the head drive/tail take-up arrangement more acceptable. DECLINED REGENERATIVE CONVEYORS. With declined regenerative conveyors, the drive and take-up are usually located at the tail end of the conveyor. Figs.15-12 and 15-13 show typical tail drive arrangements for regenerative conveyors. In both illustrations the take-up is located prior to the drive to suit the negative torque requirements. In order to minimise material spillage into the drive area, the loading point should be located downstream from the drive and take-up area. With the pulley arrangements shown, any spillage or rainwater on the return belt should be ploughed off prior to the low tension bend pulley. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part 1, Chapter 15 Page 13 of 16, Rev.3 15.12 15.13 LOADING POINT | DRIVE PULLEY TIGHT SIDE = TAKE-UP: BEND PULLEY —/ \— pLousi Fig. 15-12 Regenerative conveyor Single pulley tail drive arrangement LOADING POINT | — PRIMARY /— TIGHT SIDE DRIVE PULLEY ¥/ y . a a 4 ——* += TAKE-UP. seconoary PLOUGH DRIVE PUL \— BEND PULLEY Fig 15-13 Regenerative conveyor Dual pulley tail drive arrangement TRANSFER ANGLES It probably goes without saying that the simplest belt conveyor transfers are of either the directly inline or the 90° type. This does not mean that transfers at other angles won't work but they will usually have added complications and may require additional transfer height. For this reason preference to inline and 90° transfers should be given when laying out a new plant. HEAD END SHUTTLES Head end shuttles can be used where one conveyor is required to feed more than one discharge point ot to discharge material along the length of a bin or hopper. For short travel requirements, such as a conveyor that has to feed two or three other conveyors or when the shuttle path is a straight line, a simple head end shuttle can be used as per Fig.15-14. With this design, the head pulley and the first bend pulley are located on a movable rail mounted frame. A section of suspended trough idlers is required on the fixed structure to provide space for the shuttle to retract. If the conveyor drive cannot be located on the head pulley, the fixed bend pulley may provide a convenient location for the drive. Shuttles of this type can be driven by a variety of means including wheel friction, rack and pinion or a winch. The rack and Pinion option usually gives superior positioning control and is therefore often used. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part I, Chapter 15 1 of 16, Rev3 ONISHUTTLE Fane / ico suseenoco 11ER swuTTLE Frame xe puter Fig.15-14 Head end shuttle — single frame type Where the conveyor geometry requires a curved structure, a shuttle with an articulated frame will be required as shown on Fig. 15-15. These shuttles can be driven by winches but a rack and pinion drive has become the most common type today. These articulated shuttles require a large structure to accommodate the five levels of idlers, the rails and associated walkways. Due to the fact that the articulated shuttle structure is under considerable compressive forces, wear on the pins between the carriages can be quite severe. In addition, on many of these shuttles, belt tracking problems occur when the shuttle is travelling in one direction but not necessarily in the opposite direction. To minimise the risk of belt tracking problems, it is recommended that each segment of the shuttle be accurately guided along one of the rails using side guide rollers. apnicuLaTio fount Strucrina miter SHUTTLE Meunreo— PULLEY raven Fig.15-15 Head end shuttle ~ articulated frame type These curved shuttles are also extremely vulnerable to a mechanical failure or an electrical malfunction in the shuttle drive system. Ifa drive failure occurred, the shuttle could run down the rails out of control causing catastrophic damage. To reduce the risk of this occurring, it is recommended that a low speed disc brake be fitted to the rack and pinion drive shaft. This brake being designed to operate in the event of a shuttle overspeed situation being detected. CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part I, Chapter 15 Page 15 of 16, Rev.3 15.14 15.15 SHUTTLING CONVEYORS Another method of distributing material along a hopper is to use a rail mounted conveyor that shuttles backwards and forwards. A typical shuttling conveyor arrangement is shown in Fig.15-16, These shuttling conveyors are usually driven via the travel wheels. cournuous. /—Feto cwre Sets Fig. 15-16 Shuttling conveyor This type of shuttle requires the use of continuous skirts. A seal belt system can be incorporated to cover the top of the skirts. Photo 15c shows a CDC designed shuttling conveyor with a seal belt. To extend the coverage range of this type of shuttle, the belt ean be made reversible Photo 15¢ Shuttling conveyor with seal belt TRAVELING TRIPPERS, Material distribution trippers come into their own when there is a reasonably long, travel distance. When compared to a shuttle, a tripper has the disadvantage that it has a discharge chute that will require maintenance, but it has the significant advantage that it does not require the large and expensive external structure CopyrightPractical Belt Conveying Part 1, Chapter 15 Page 16 of 16, Rev.3 associated with an articulated shuttle. A tripper can also be used on an elevated structure to feed a stockpile. Fig.15-17 shows a typical travelling tripper arrangement, A seal belt is usually fitted to seal the feed slot into the hopper. J7— TRPPER HEAD PULLEY ‘SIOE DISCHARGE: “Tripper BEND PULLEY \— rat Fig.15-17 Travelling tripper Atone time bin distribution trippers had a bad reputation for wheel wear and other problems. However, it is possible to design a relatively lightweight, trouble free tipper and CDC has designed a number of very successful machines. Photo 15d shows a CDC designed belt tripper mounted on a factory test track. This tripper was designed for an 1800 mm wide iron ore conveyor. This type of tripper uses standard railway wheels which effectively track the machine, eliminating the need for any side guide rollers. A VVVF drive is used to give acceleration and deceleration control and variable speed capability. Photo 15d Bin distribution tripper on a test track The decision to select either a segmented shuttle or a tripper will depend in part on the length of travel and the relative cost of the two options including their associated structural costs CopyrightMEASURING MACHINE WHEEL LOADS USING A COPPER ROD Clean the rail head with a brush, place % inch (6.35 mm) diameter x 50 mm long annealed copper rod along the top surface of rail on the rail centreline. If necessary hold the rod in place with a piece of masking tape at one end (not in the middle of the rod). Run the wheel over the rod, collect the rod and measure the width of the flattened rod at the centre using a micrometre or vernier. Using the chart, project a line from the width of the flattened rod to the wheel diameter line and drop a vertical line to read the wheel load Note: if the wheel is mounted in a pivoted bogie, measure the load on each wheel in the bogie at the same time, placing the rods the same distance from each wheel, “as 8 WOT tw WicHES & ° s ” id 6 ™ 7s » . 3S weet too thermic tomes 7 os LOAD DIAGRAM so FOR COPPER ROD ABM OW. SPS mre low u Measuee beanaTuCHAPTER 15 CONVEYOR ARRANGEMENTS — QUESTIONNAIRE Engineering and Intermediate Level 1, Why should pulleys be arranged so that any material spillage is carried away from the pulley nip point?_¢— <1 doce vot a cot 2. What causes central lagging wear on some bend pulleys ? Worn enter fiw LA 3. State why pulleys should not be located too close to each other ? Beverse trnbins J 4. Give two reasons why head drive snub pulleys are considered undesirable ? Reeve bende wv heer wit, eb be Tncense sass 5. Whats the fajordisvanage of grome mounted dives? Mie. Ma lool 6. Which side of the belt should be in contact with the drive pulley ? eA oon 7. What are two possible disadvantages of using a tail brake or a tail drive in conjunction with a head drive? Peessure e \se 8. What is the disadvantage of a tail take-up when used on a near horizontal conveyor which has a head drive 9. Name two disadvantages of an articulated frame shuttle when compared to a tripper ? ol bony hoorl & eee wo | Rear Kruchre x Gi 10. What is the principal disadvantage of a bin distribution tripper when compared to a bin distribution shuttle DatsiBook\Questionites'Chp 15 EAI L doc 18900CHAPTER 15 CONVEYOR ARRANGEMENTS - QUESTIONNAIRE Engineering and Intermediate Level 1. Why should pulleys be arranged so that any material spillage is carried away from the pulley nip point ? 2. What causes central lagging wear on some bend pulleys ? 3. State why pulleys should not be located too close to each other ? 4. Give two reasons why head drive snub pulleys are considered undesirable ? 5. What is the major disadvantage of ground mounted drives ? 6. Which side of the belt should be in contact with the drive pulley ? 7. What are two possible disadvantages of using a tail brake or a tal drive in conjunction with a head drive ? 8. What is the disadvantage of a tail take-up when used on a near horizontal conveyor which has a head drive ? 9. Name two disadvantages of an articulated frame shuttle when compared to a tripper ? 10. What is the principal disadvantage of a bin distribution tripper when compared to a bin distribution shuttle ? ‘dataBook Questionaires\Chp 15 EAT L doc 153100CHAPTER 15 CONVEYOR ARRANGEMENTS — ANSWERS. Engineering and Intermediate Level 1. To reduce the risk of belt damage occurring, The differential radius to the belt carcass caused by the worn belt and the associated lower pressure in the central section of belt. These two factors allow the belt to slip in the central section causing the lagging wear. 3. To allow the complex stresses in the belt to recover before being bent in the opposite direction 4, © The wor pulley condition at the snub pulley can increase the edge tension at the drive pulley. ‘Reduction in capital and maintenance costs. ‘* The location of the snub pulley can compromise the chute design. ‘© The close proximity of the snub pulley may cause additional distress to the belt. (See Question 3) 5. Rainwater and spillage can enter the drive area This arrangement also requires a high tension bend pulley 6. The bottom cover or ‘the clean side’ 7. © The possibility of belt slip occurring at the tail pulley. Having to isolate the conveyor at two substations when unscheduled maintenance is required 8. © The take-up mass has to be larger than if it was located close to the drive. ‘The possibility of serious shock loads occurring at the take-up during acceleration, The size of the supporting structure The high compression forces on the hinge pins Belt tracking problems. The vulnerability of the design to a mechanical failure or electrical malfunction of the drive, which would allow the shuttle to run down the rails out of control 10. A tripper requires a side discharge chute which will require more maintenance than the flow through head chute on a shuttle. D Book PBC 1'Questiomires\Chp 15 BAI Loe xiaoBELT CONVEYORS — TAKE-UP SYSTEMS 1 GENERAL A belt conveyor requires a take-up system that will provide adequate slack side tension at the drive pulley to prevent belt slip occurring during acceleration, steady state running, and deceleration. The take-up system should also be capable of absorbing changes in belt length that occur due to the following: * Changes in belt tension from empty to loaded and from acceleration through to deceleration, ie dynamic effects, © Changes in ambient temperature. Particularly with steel cord belts. © Permanent stretch, ‘The take-up travel should also include sufficient spare belting for one additional splice to be made. In some cases, additional take-up tension may be required to limit belt sag on the carry side to acceptable levels. 2. TAKE-UP TYPES ‘The most common take-up types are:~ © Gravity operated © Winch operated © Mechanical adjustment 2.1 Gravity Operated Systems Gravity operated systems are the most common type due to their simplicity and also that they can accommodate belt length changes without the need for a control system. ‘The disadvantages of gravity systems are that they do not vary the slack side tension to suit the torque at the drive and that sudden movement of the take-up mass during acceleration and deceleration can induce significant dynamic changes in the belt tension at the take-up. Gravity take-up systems generally come in two basic forms (a) vertical systems incorporating 3 pulleys and (b) horizontal or near horizontal systems. ‘The vertical systems are generally simpler but may prove to be more complex when a system to raise the mass for maintenance purposes is incorporated. If located under the return strand, the horizontal trolley type will still require two or three pulleys, whereas a tail take-up only requires the use of the tail pulley. In both cases a rope and sheave system is required to connect the take-up carriage to the take-up mass. With this type of take-up itis relatively easy to incorporate a winch to raise or lower the mass for maintenance purposes. PBC Book/Handouts s® May 2005 Page | of 35 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 5.1 Take-Up Carriage For both the vertical and horizontal take-up types the take-up carriage must be accurately guided ‘o prevent a belt that has drifted to one side from skewing the carriage and hence the pulley. Once the pulley is skewed the belt will remain drifted to one side, The best way to guide a vertical carriage is to place the guides on the conveyor centerline. With the guides in this location, two pairs of cam roll bearings or wheels per side can be used to accurately guide the carriage along steel rails. For the horizontal type, the best design is one using two pairs of cam roll beatings to accurately ‘guide one side of the carriage along a small crane rail. Double flanged wheels located on both sides of the carriage are used to take the vertical loads, If‘w’ shaped wheels are used on the trolley there are potential problems with wheel face friction and it is possible for the wheels to ride up the 45° guides when a drifted belt applies a skewing couple. 5.2 Take-Up Rope Systems ‘The rope sheaves used in take-up systems should incorporate rolling clement bearings, the preferred type being a full complement roller bearing. Plain bronze bushes should not be used. Rope sheaves should have a diameter equal to at least 24 x the rope diameter. Due to potential dust build-up problems, horizontal rope sheaves should be avoided where possible, Due allowance should be made for friction in the rope system. For rolling element bearings allow a friction loss of 2% per sheave. (Refer to AS 1418 Part I Appendix D). If plain bushes are used, the friction loss should be increased to 4% per sheave. Wire ropes should be in accordance with Australian Standard AS 3569 and should be of a flexible construction such as 6 x 36 SW or 6 x 41 SW. ‘The rope safety factor should be 5 x the static rope load 5.3. Take-Up Weights ‘Take-up weights should be designed to prevent dust build-up or entrapped water from increasing the mass, ‘The take-up weight should be designed to provide the calculated tension requirement. Provision for the addition of extra mass of up to 20% of the theoretical requirement should be incorporated into the design. This extra mass may be required if belt slip occurs. ‘The conveyor should be designed for the extra 20% of take-up mass. PRC Book/Handouts 5 May 2005 Page 3 of 3