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Underground+Conveyor+Design+Guide+Rev+3 2
Underground+Conveyor+Design+Guide+Rev+3 2
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UNDERGROUND CONVEYOR DESIGN GUIDE
DOC NO AATC000860
UNDERGROUND CONVEYOR
DESIGN GUIDE
AATC Head of
REVIEWED BY Engineering,
Ford, Julian
Technical Services
and Projects
AATC Head of
REVIEWED BY Engineering,
Maapola, Phanki
Underground
Operations
AATC Head of
APPROVED BY Engineering Services,
Coetzee, Johnny
RSA Opencast
Operations
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UNDERGROUND CONVEYOR DESIGN GUIDE
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CONTENTS
Page
1 AIM 4
2 SCOPE 4
3 DEFINITIONS 4
5 CONVEYORS 5
7 BELT FEEDERS 9
9 SUPPORTING STRUCTURES 10
10 TRANSFER POINTS 23
13.1 Illumination 33
13.2 Water 33
13.3 Conveyor Isolation and Protection 34
13.4 Designated Areas 34
13.5 Fire Protection 34
13.6 Dust Control 34
13.7 Guarding 35
13.8 Brakes and flywheels on Conveyors 35
13.9 Fabrication, Construction and Installation 35
13.10 Commissioning 35
14 REFERENCES 37
15 REVISION HISTORY 37
16 APPENDICES 37
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UNDERGROUND CONVEYOR DESIGN GUIDE
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1 AIM
The AATC underground conveyor design guide is intended to serve as a best practice reference
to all designers of underground conveyor systems with no specific reference to either
mechanical, structural or civil components but rather to provide an overview to all aspects that
need to be considered in the design of a successful underground conveyor system.
This document shall be read in conjunction with the relevant Anglo American
Specifications as quoted, which shall be issued as part of the equipment and/or contract
enquiry documents.
In project specific cases where the need arise to deviate from any item in this document a
concession must be submitted to and approved by the Engineer in writing.
Where an item is specified with a note stating or equivalent, the Engineer shall be
requested in writing to grant permission to use such an alternative.
2 SCOPE
This document is to serve as a design guide for all underground conveyor systems.
Although design parameters are given for shaft conveyors, this design guide is focused
more on section and trunk conveyor systems. With regards to shaft conveyors reference
can be made to AATC000859.
3 DEFINITIONS
Term Definition
AATC Anglo American Thermal Coal
CEMA Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association
CM Continuous Miner
CMA Conveyor Manufacturers Association
Engineer AATC Discipline Engineer assigned to the project
FCT Flexible Conveyor Train
MCC Motor Control Centre
PFD Process Flow Diagram
SANS South African National Standard
RoM Run of mine
VSD Variable Speed Drive
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UNDERGROUND CONVEYOR DESIGN GUIDE
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5 CONVEYORS
a) Normative reference specifications are listed in Appendix A.
b) All underground conveyors and structures shall be designed and approved by an ECSA
registered professional with the relevant experience.
c) For conveyor designs, ISO 5048 will take preference over CEMA requirements.
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UNDERGROUND CONVEYOR DESIGN GUIDE
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Belt cover 0.8 mm PVC, 3 mm top and 2 mm bottom nitrile cover when required
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7 BELT FEEDERS
a) Belt feeders will be used to withdraw coal from the underground bunker or silo onto the
shaft belt.
b) Belt drives shall be fitted with a mechanical drive with either an automated or manual
control system.
c) The design shall take into account all permanent loads and other loads according to
SANS 10160.
d) The Contractor shall calculate all horizontal and vertical, static and dynamic loads arising
from start-up, operation, and stopping of the belt feeder. These loads shall be calculated
for full burden depth, or any other operational condition that might lead to greater loads.
e) Allowance shall be made to take into account high impact from falling material.
f) The design must consider allowance for removal and installation of belting (designated
pulling, lifting and rigging anchoring points) and standard maintenance routines.
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9 SUPPORTING STRUCTURES
9.1 General Layout
a) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0097 for a typical layout of an underground mine.
b) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0098 for underground civil layout.
c) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0099 for underground lighting layout.
d) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0100 for underground sub-station layout.
e) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0101 for underground substation and sump area layout.
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Figure 5 Typical layout of a drive station indicating the required guarding as per the
designated area.
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g) As far as reasonably practical, the weight of each individual guard shall not exceed 25 kg.
Figure 10 Typical layout of a fixed anchor point also showing the guarding as per designated
area.
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c) All areas around the tail end of the inclined/decline shaft must be free draining.
d) Storm water and or washing down water that are accumulated at the tail end of the shaft,
must be treated as polluted water.
e) The polluted water from the tail end must be transported to either the underground water
storage area by means of gravity feed or pumping, or to the surface pollution control dam
by means of pumping.
f) Gravity feed systems: Polluted water can be managed by feeding into the underground
water storage area trough gravity. V-shaped lined or unlined canals must be designed and
constructed to transport the water to the storage area.
g) Pumping systems: Polluted water can drain into a constructed sump near the tail end of
the shaft. The polluted water can then be pumped either to the underground storage area
or to the surface pollution control dam. Ensure access for cleaning the sump by means of
mobile equipment.
h) Install a wash down point at tail ends and transfer points with the provision that all polluted
water will report to a sump fitted with a pump that reports to the central water reticulation
system (Also refer to civil section for more details).
i) All equipment installations shall comply with fire suppression installation standard (Refer
to AATC fire standard for underground conveyors).
j) Where the shaft accommodates vehicle access, an arrester sand bed and emergency
crash barrier will be allowed for in the design.
k) Tail sections and transfer points in the shaft bottom shall preferably be installed in a split
in order to accommodate access and maintenance.
l) Install reinforced concrete foundations as required for tail ends and transfer stations.
Refer to civil section for more details.
m) Install adequate illumination. Refer to section on illumination for more details.
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Figure 11 - Standard stool and stringer arrangement (See Appendix C for standard drawings).
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Figure 14 - Belt sky /Tractor bridge - used for vehicle crossing (Refer to ACCWS-998).
Table 1- Minimum take-up lengths for section conveyors based on splicing allowance (1.2W) +
elastic stretch
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9.15.4 Dams
a) All underground dams and/or plugs (refer drawing/s). This standard is currently under
review.
10 TRANSFER POINTS
All transfer points must be treated as critical and must be engineered accordingly in order to
contain the flow of material and ensure continuity from the discharge point to the downstream
equipment.
The following must be considered in the design of chutes and transfer points:
a) Discharge models
b) Trajectories
c) Impact models
d) Free fall models
e) The specific material properties (moisture content, adhesive stresses, friction angles, etc.)
must be classified.
f) The flow of material must be represented graphically.
g) All chutes shall be fitted with lifting lugs.
h) Liners shall be designed for high impact and high abrasion resistance in underground
conveyor transfers. Liners shall be VRN 400 with a minimum thickness of 12 mm (16 mm
on high impact). Tiles will not be considered for underground operations.
i) The mass of any individual liner shall not exceed 25 kg.
j) All steel plates used for structural support shall be 8 mm thick.
k) All steel plates used for the control of spillage shall have a minimum thickness of 6 mm
fitted with a steel liner.
l) All steel plates used for covers or dust suppression shall have a minimum thickness of 3
mm.
m) All transfer points will be fitted with an access platform to allow for inspection and
maintenance.
n) Allowance must be made for overrun into chute from feed conveyor onto receiving belt.
g) Low maintenance
h) Accessible to maintain and inspect
i) Must be easy to clean
10.3 Chutes
10.3.1 Spiral chutes - Section conveyors
a) This is the preferred transfer chute for section conveyors up to and including 2200 tph
b) Adequate dust suppression is required to minimize fugitive material from being released
into the surrounding air.
c) The chute assembly must be fitted with a working platform for access around pulley and
bearings.
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Figure 25 - In line transfer chute with access walkway and also showing impact idlers.
Figure 26 - In line transfer chute with the drive and take-up spaced apart to allow ease of access
and maintenance.
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10.5 Skirts
a) All skirt boards shall be designed in order to prevent any material from falling of the belt
within the settling zone.
b) Deep troughed idler frames (45, 60, 80) may be used at transfers with skirt boards,
however, material properties shall be taken into consideration to ensure continuous
material flow.
c) All skirt boards shall be fitted with a 12mm VRN 400 liner.
d) Skirt boards shall be designed to allow for easy replacement.
e) The skirt board length and height shall be adequate to allow for complete settling of the
material.
f) Minimum skirt board length shall be in accordance with the table below. Specific skirt
design shall be based on actual material size and flow requirements.
g) The edge of the skirt shall be placed 6mm from the belt at the loading point to 12mm at the
discharge point.
h) The thickness of the skirt board must be sufficient to withstand pressures from blocked
chute conditions (6mm for light construction and 10mm for heavy construction).
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i) Skirt boards must be stiff enough to prevent side movement that could damage the belt.
j) Skirt boards shall be supported on structural steel frames.
k) Caution must be given to belt lift under the skirt board.
l) No covers will be placed over the skirt boards.
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Figure 30 - Different sampling ports on reducers: Split type (preferred), Bend type (preferred)
and the straight type (not preferred).
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13.2 Water
a) Allowance shall be made for wash down water and provision shall be made for all dirty
water to report to the central dirty water reticulation system.
b) Allowance shall be made for dust suppression water. The quality of the water shall be
such that any pollutants in the water shall not cause to dust suppression spray nozzles
to block up.
c) Allowance shall be made for fire protection water as per AATC fire standard for
underground conveyors and equipment.
d) Section water supply pipes will be placed on the floor right next to the structure to
prevent any obstacle in the walkway next to the belt.
e) Trunk belts and shaft belts water supply pipes shall be fixed to the run-of-conveyor
structures.
f) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0114 for services on section conveyors.
g) Refer to drawing 0000-0000-MED-0115 for services on trunk and shaft conveyors.
h) Refer to AA_SPEC_415003 for high pressure mine water reticulation system design.
i) Refer to AATC_00859 for general mechanical requirements on pipe installations.
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j) Refer to IM STD 7 Installation and maintenance of sprinkler and other water based
systems.
k) Refer to IM STD 10 Installation and maintenance of water storage tanks.
l) Refer to IM STD 11 Installation and maintenance of water spray fixed systems.
13.7 Guarding
Ref to: AA_BPG_ 375001 Conveyor guarding best practice guide.
Frame
Guard panel type Guard mesh Total mass
construction
Flatex type 348 /
Fixed 50x50x6L 50 kg
Eq.
Flatex type 348 /
Swivel 50x50x6L 50 kg
Eq.
100x20x3
Light weight
None Specimesh M389 / <25 kg
removable
Eq.*
*Aperture size subject to specific application.
13.10 Commissioning
a) The designer of the conveyor system shall develop a full commissioning procedure for
each conveyor belt.
b) Additionally, refer to conveyor belt extension procedure AADC000474.
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14 REFERENCES
15 REVISION HISTORY
Version No. Reason for Change Date
00 New Document 17/02/2014
16 APPENDICES
Appendix A Standards and Specifications
Appendix B Transition distance for belt conveyors
Appendix C Standard drawings
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Legend Explanation
A Roof Height - If E<2.1m then A should increase. A(New)=(C+D+F)
Haulage Width - If M<2m then B should increase. B(New)=(N+P+2*Q+L+R+2m) OR
B
B(New)=(H+2*J+2*K+L+2m). Whichever is greater.
C Dimension based on a flooded belt with a 400mm slab on top
D Workable height from walkway or floor level to carry strand for maintenance and inspection
E Average distance between carry and return idler
F Minimum workable height >2.1m
G Distance to centre on drive pulley (dependent on power pack size)
H Minimum walkway clearance between equipment and sidewall
I Minimum clearance underneath structure for cleaning purposes
J Size is dependent on installed power pack size (refer to table 3 - dimension Y)
K Workable size from centre of Plummer block to end of Bikon coupling
LW Wide bearing centres as per AA_SPEC_371001 Conv Pulleys and Shafts
LN Narrow bearing centres as per AA_SPEC_371001 Conv Pulleys and Shafts
M Travelling side >2m. M=B-(H+2*J+2*K+L).
N Minimum walkway clearance between equipment and sidewall
O O=G-0.5*Drive Pulley + 0.5*LTU Pulley . O is also the entry to the winch drum
P Minimum walkway width on non-travelling side
Q Workable distance from main steelwork to walkway
R Minimum walkway width on travelling side
RS Rail centres of LTU carriage (can be the same as LN)
S Travelling side >2m. S=B-(N+P+2*Q+R+L).
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Legend Explanation
T Dribble Chute Angle
U Receiving belts haulage width
V Workable distance from floor to receiving belt (1.2m)
W Floor to return strand for tractor road access
X Gearbox height (based on averages)
Y Gearbox to Bikon (based on averages)
Z Output shaft to base of gearbox (based on averages)
TA Tripper Drive pulley centres (dependant on power pack size and wrap angles)
AS Access side or travelling way of a conveyor
BS Blind side or non-travelling way of a conveyor
DA Distance dependant on drive configuration and drive pulley wrap angles
AA Jib base length (dependant on jib height and system tensions)
AB Underpass bridge length (>3m)
Underpass / tractor bridge height (>2.1m for walkways & >2.8m for tractor clearance) these
AC
height are underside of guards
Distance from jib to drive (generally less than one split length away to ensure that drive is
AD
situated in centre of split )
AE Drive length (dependant on drive configuration and structural design
AF Turnout module length generally height and system tension dependant
AG Rail bay length can vary between 3m & 4.5m
AH Minimum height to be guarded at belt inclination (>500mm)
MA Magnet Structure height dependant on tripper height, magnet type, magnet weight
MB Roof clearance above magnet structure generally 500mm for assembly purposes
MC Distance between pulley and magnet belt (specified by magnet suppliers)
* Dimensions must be determined by designer.
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