Prospects of in-belt IMU sensors application for fault detection in mining conveyors

Abstract

The belt conveyors of high power are the main transport in the industry, especially for mining enterprises. Since the total length of conveyors in the mines reaches several kilometres, the inspection of all idlers in harsh conditions is a challenge for maintenance personnel because the jamming of supporting idlers with damaged bearings causes belt overheating and subsequent fire. Conveyor belt breaking is also a serious trouble during continuous operation. In this research, the authors based on preliminary measurements are aiming to show that fault detection in belt conveyor idlers is quite possible to be conducted using a single or multiple small-size IMU (or other type thin sensors) placed directly on the belt or inside it. The information available from the IMU sensor is discussed in this paper. Transient signals are associated with the sensor passing each idler. Some methods for signals processing and possible diagnostic features extraction are presented.