P.A.F. Witvliet
Lange bandtransporteurs voor bulkmaterialen.
Literature survey,
Report 94.3.TT.4341, Transport Engineering and Logistics.
The belt conveyor is a frequently used, reliable continuous transportation
system. Since the first design in 1795 the simple basic principle of the
belt conveyor has always remained the same: an endless belt revolving over
one or more drive pulleys and a return pulley.
Until the late seventies the belt conveyor was mainly used for in-plant
transport of bulk materials. Trucks or trains were used for the
long-distance haulage of bulk materials. This situation changed during the
oil crisis in the seventies. Fuel became very expensive and other, more
energy-efficient ways of transport had to be found. The belt conveyor is
such an energy-efficient transporting method.
The most frequently used type is the troughed belt conveyor with steelcord
belt. The material is carried on a rubber belt, troughed by idlers. A single
layer of parallel steel cables, completely imbedded in rubber, functions as
the longitudinal tension element. Another type of conveyor is the
'cable-belt'-conveyor. Here the belt acts as a supported beam, troughing
naturally under the material load. The belt is supported on steel cables
located in grooves formed on the underside of the belt. These cables
take all the longitudinal stresses.
Because of the possible high belt-stresses the drive engineering of
long-distance belt conveyors requires special attention, in particular the
drive arrangements for starting and stopping the belt. During starting and
stopping rapid changes in belt velocity have to be avoided, to prevent the
development of large dynamic stresses.
Current research activities focus on the analysis of the dynamic behaviour
and reducing the energy-consumption of the belt conveyor. Vertical and
horizontal curves are another subject of research. The behaviour of the belt
in curves should be critically analysed to ensure problemfree functioning of
the belt conveyor.
Due to better understanding of the behaviour of the belt and the drive
characteristics, low factors of safety and lighter constructions have become
possible. These developments make the belt conveyor even more economically
attractive.
Reports on Transport Engineering and Logistics (in Dutch)
Modified: 2008.05.13;
logistics@3mE.tudelft.nl
, TU Delft
/ 3mE
/ TT
/ LT.