Conveyor Belt

What is a Conveyor Belt?

Of all the methods invented for the continuous transportation of materials, the conveyor belt has proved to be most versatile and in long term, the most economical. It is designed for handling of products, such as coal, sand, ores, minerals, chemicals to foodstuffs. Thus, virtually, almost in every field of industry there is use of conveyor beltings and conveyor system involving bulk transportation.

INTRODUCTION

Conveyor belt consists of a load supporting tension members (carcass), protected from wear and tear, chemical action, heat etc. by an elastomeric cover.

Carcass, which is basically fabric or steel cord, considering to be the main tension bearing member.

REQUIREMENT OF CONVEYOR BELT

High strength : to be able to carry the load

Low growth: so that belt does not become slack

High impact resistance : In order to take care of shock loads Good troughability : to convey lumps/granular materials

Low bending resistance & no buckling : for low power consumption

Effective mechanical splicing : to be able to be repaired

REQUIREMENT OF CONVEYOR BELT

Good adhesion between components : to be able to carry the load Resistance to atmospheric condition : for durability

Longer life
Good flexibility Low creep & high compression resistance

ADVANTAGES OF CONVEYOR BELT

High capacity in handling material. Economic transportation. Least degradation of materials. Lowest power requirement.

Faster transportation.

Conveyor Belt consists of 3 Elements

COVER RUBBER
A CARCASS (REINFORCING MEMBER) INTERPLY RUBBER

COVER RUBBER
IT IS USED FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES: To protect the belt from being damaged by the materials conveyed. It protects the carcass from external abrasion and impact injuries. Covers are designed to resist adverse service condition, like Abrasion, Heat, Oil, Fire, Static Electricity, Chemicals etc. depending upon application.

COMPONENTS REQUIREMENT
Cover Rubber : Designed to suit different purpose
M-24 : Compound can be based on NR or synthetic polyisoprene N-17 : Here Tensile strength is needed is 17 MPa. NR can be blended with rubber of cheaper quality. Heat Resistance Type I : Upto 120 deg C (NR, SBR can be used) Type II : Upto 150 deg C (SBR can be used) Type III : Upto 200 deg C (Chlorobutyl / bromobutyl, EPDM can be used) Oil Resistance : Compound can be based on NBR, CR, depending on the nature of oil contact

CARCASS
IT IS USED FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES :

To provide the body to a belt. Carcass can be defined as the tension and strength bearing member consisting of either Textile Material or Steel Cord. It primarily provides resistance to tension forces that build up in the conveyor system. It also provides strength to resist belt tear and loading impact. For load support, it gives troughing.

COMPONENTS REQUIREMENT
Textile fabrics are the most common reinforcing materials in flat belting. The type of fabric used: Cotton Viscose Rayon Glass Nylon Polyester Aramid Steel

REINFORCING MATERIALS
COTTON Low tension Light duty service COTTON-NYLON Better resistant to impact damage Tear strength is higher than cotton Better troughabllity and greater flexibility Increased tesion rating Longer flex life

 NYLON FABRIC Reduction in belt weight High tension rating Greater troughability and better flexibility. Better moisture resistance Excellent impact resistant Superior durability No fatigue during bending POLYESTER FABRIC Better moisture resistance Low stretch Less dependability on temperature Other properties similar to Nylon

Steel Cord High Strength Low bending stress Superior troughing characteristics High splice efficiency Adhesion High Impact resistance Good flexibility Less creep Higher fatigue resistance

COMPONENTS REQUIREMENT
Interply Rubber

For textile Belt

Improvement of adhesion between plies & ply to cover The load support is improved by greater Inter-ply rubber Damage to fabric can be avoided by increase of Inter-ply rubber

For Steel Cord Belt Good bonding to metal, i.e, higher adhesion with metal Bonding strength should be retained upon repeated dynamic flexing Higher hardness with adequate tear resistance & rigidity

CONVEYOR BELTS (I) FRICTION COMPOUND

Smoked sheet 100 Zinc oxide 5 Stearic acid 2 SRF black 10 Whiting/activated calcium 15 carbonate Tackifier / softner 5 Antioxidant 1 Accelerator (CBS) 0.6 Sulphur 2.5 (Cure : 20 min. at 1500C)

CONVEYOR BELTS (II) COVER COMPOUND

Smoked sheet 50

SBR 1500 50 Zinc oxide 5 Stearic acid 2 Tackifier / softner 5 ISAF black 40 Antioxidant 1.5 Accelerator (CBS) 1.0 Sulphur 2.0 (Cure : 20 min at 1500C)

BELT CHARACTERISTICS
Belt Strength : Cord strength (KN) X n / Width of Belt in mt. where, n = Number of cords Cord Path : = P(n -1)+d, Where, P = Pitch in mm n = Number of cords d = Cord diameter in mm Belt designation Textile : 2400 x 2000 / 4 x NN x 10 + 6 x M-24 X CE Width = 2400 mm, Bottom Cover = 6mm Belt Strength = 2000 KN/mt. M-24 = Grade No. of Ply = 4, of rubber with TS 24 MPa NN = Nylon-Nylon CE = Cut edge Top Cover = 10mm, construction

BELT CHARACTERISTICS
Steel Cord Belt
2400 x ST4000 x 8.8 (7X19) x p-15 x n-157 x 200mt Width = 2400mm Strength on belt = 4000KN Cord diameter = 8.8 mm Cord Construction = 7x19 Pitch = 15 mm Number of cords = 157 Length = 200mt.

Breaker Fabric
Breaker fabric is recommended for critical application. It is placed between the cover and the carcass to improve additional anchorage through locking and to resist cover against grouping, stripping and tearing. It finds particular application where impact due to fall of lumps from greater height is experienced.

BASIC DESIGN CONSIDERATION

Tension Tension to overcome friction of the belt and conveyor compound that contact the belt Tension to overcome friction of the load Tension to raise or lower the load through elevation changes Minimum Ply A belt has been designed for the minimum number of piles for load support and it also will have enough carcass tensile strength to meet the tension requirement Maximum ply The belt must be designed to be sufficiently flexible transversely to trough properly.

BASIC DESIGN CONSIDERATION

Impact The carcass must be beefed up through the use of special fabrics, breakers, and construction so that the belt can be withstanding abnormal impact Flex Life Rubber quality, pulley diameters, belt speed and length and troughing flexure all influence carcass flex-life. Cover A very small premium for upgrading quality or adding cover gauge may be well rapid in terms of overall belt life

The Core Element Steel cord

The Core Element Steel cord

The cords may have several types of configurations like:

77

719

119+77

MANUFACTURING
Textile Conveyor Belt

Fabric is skim coated in calender

Rubber Cover is sheeted from calender or Roller die Fabric is assembled in belt building machine under uniform tension and consolidated by pressurizing rollers The assembled carcass is transferred to main let off station

MANUFACTURING

Rubber is laid on top of the carcass. Similarly, bottom cover is also laid on the other side of carcass

The belt is then vulcanized being pre-stretched under high temperature and pressure with pre-determined compression
The cured belt is then passed through repair machine, where defects is determined and repaired accordingly.

TESTING OF TEXTILE CONVEYOR BELT

Dimension check e.g, width, pitch, edge width, cord diameter, cord position i.e, vertical displacement, cover thickness etc. Full Belt T.S. EB at 10 % of Breaking Load Adhesion : Cover to Ply & Ply-Ply Adhesion drop after ageing TS & EB of cover Ageing drop of TS & EB of cover Abrasion resistance of cover

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Tear resistance of cover Troughability Hardness of Cover Flame resistivity Drum friction test Electrical Resistivity