Laboratory Machine Verification of Force Transmission Provided by Friction Acting on the Drive Drum of a Conveyor Belt

Abstract

The paper presents the measured values of tensile forces acting on transmission idlers in the upper and lower run of a conveyor belt placed on a laboratory machine designed at the Department of Machine and Industrial Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava. The tensile forces detected by two strain gauge load cells and recorded using DEWESoft software were used to calculate the friction coefficient, which acts on the surface of the driving drum casing and the conveyor belt. The friction coefficient at the slip point, or during the slippage of the conveyor belt on the rubber or steel casing of the driving drum, was determined for two states of the surfaces that are in contact. Experimental measurements on a laboratory machine determined four values of friction coefficients for two types of drum surfaces and for two states of contact surfaces, which were compared with the recommended standard values. The measured values reached higher values in comparison with the values given by the CSN standards. The highest deviation of 273.3% is achieved using a steel wet surface, and the lowest deviation of 106.3% is achieved when using a rubber dry lining for the driving drum casing. On the presented laboratory machine, it is possible to measure tensile forces for different speeds of movement, different belt angles on the driving drum, various types of belt surfaces, different types of drum casing linings, and different sizes of tension forces for the endless loop of the conveyor belt. For these characteristics of the conveyor belt, the magnitude of the friction coefficient acting between the belt and the drum surfaces can be determined.

Research on the tension of steel cord conveyor belts based on transverse vibration modelling

“…belt conveyors, and a series of studies have yielded results. Currently, the most widely used device for measuring conveyor belt tension is the tension sensor, which has very high availability in measuring tension at the loaded and unloaded sections of the conveyor belt [1]. By elevating the idler bracket at the designated point, the sensors can be utilized to convert the measured tension into tension of the conveyor belt.…”

The Reduction of Rotating Conveyor Roller Vibrations via the Use of Plastic Brackets

“…On the drive drum of a conveyor belt driving station, the conveyor belt is carried away by frictional forces acting on the contact surface between the surface of the drive drum casing and the surface of the conveyor belt. The solution of the force ratios acting on the driving drums is based on the basic Euler (Eytelwein) relation [22,23]. The transmission capability [24,25] between the drive drum and the conveyor belt depends on the angle of the wrap, the coefficient of friction between the belt and the drive drum, and the belt tension (which generates the tension force of the conveyor belt).…”