DOI 10.

1007/s11015-021-01124-x
Metallurgist, Vol. 64, Nos. 11-12, March, 2021 (Russian Original Nos. 11-12, November–December, 2020)

APPLICATION OF A DISCRETE DOUBLE-ROW SCRAPER CLEANER AS AN EFFICIENT

PROCEDURE OF CLEANING OF BELT CONVEYORS AIMED AT TRANSPORTING
BULK MATERIALS

I. I. Valiullin,1 O. A. Kobelev,2 M. G. Naumova,3 I. G. Morozova,4

A. N. Pashkov,5 V. A. Nagovitsyn,6 and K. V. Goloshchapov7 UDC 62-776.2

We study an actual problem of cleaning of conveyor belts from adhered finely divided materials in the
process of operation of belt conveyors. The material remaining on the belts causes numerous problems
for the conveyor transport. In the course of time, adhered particles fall into the subconveyor space, thus
violating the normal operation of the conveyor. This also leads to rapid failures of the roller supports,
excessive abrasion of the working surface of the belt, and hence, to a more rapid wear of the conveyor
belt. The procedure of cleaning of the belts enables one to remove the indicated problems. At present,
there are various types of available cleaning units. Each of these units has its own advantages and dis-
advantages. In most cases, this complicates the choice of the required unit. We estimate the efficiency
of application of a discrete double-row scraper cleaner of the conveyor belt. Its application increases the
degree of cleaning without damaging the surface of the belt due to the presence of a counterbalance
clamping attachment.

Keywords: discrete double-row scraper cleaner, spill, belt conveyor, bulk cargo, subconveyor space,
roller support, decentralized motion, unloading drum, main flow, eccentric.

In various branches of industry, conveyor facilities, including belt conveyors, are extensively used for the
transportation of large masses of bulk materials and rocks. The urgency of the problem of cleaning of the belts
is confirmed by numerous scientific and practical works [1–9].
The absence of proper maintenance and severe operating conditions lead to failures, deterioration of the
quality of products, and, hence, financial losses [10–20]. The procedure of cleaning of conveyor belts is an im-
portant part of the entire production process. It helps us to solve one of the most important problems encoun-
tered in the operation of conveyors, i.e., the problem of return and spilling caused by the adherence of a part of
material to the belt in the course of loading and unloading (in the stage of its return). The system of cleaning of
conveyor belts should be created in the stage of design of the conveyor. The solution of the problem of cleaning
in the stage of production is more costly and less efficient. However, this is quite often done in practice.

“MISiS” National Research Technological University, Moscow, Russia.

1
E-mail: islam-3793@mail.ru.
2
E-mail: o-kobelev@yandex.ru.
3
E-mail: qwerty-rita@yandex.ru.
4
E-mail: morozovaig@misis.ru.
5
E-mail: a.n.pashkov@yandex.ru.
6
E-mail: nagovitsin.91@mail.ru.
7
E-mail: goloshapov_nooby@mail.ru.

Translated from Metallurg, Vol. 64, No. 12, pp. 89–93, December, 2020. Original article submitted July 16, 2020.

1340 0026-0894/21/1112-1340 © 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

APPLICATION OF A DISCRETE DOUBLE-ROW SCRAPER CLEANER AS AN EFFICIENT PROCEDURE OF CLEANING 1341

There are numerous causes for which significant amounts of transported rocks with various ranges of parti-
cle sizes adhere to the working surfaces of conveyor belts. Then, in the course of interaction of the idle (bottom)
branch of the belt with roller supports, the transported materials gradually falls down and fills the entire subcon-
veyor space. This violates the normal operation of the conveyor. Parallel with the intense pollution of the sub-
conveyor space by the spilled transported material, the different fractions nonuniformly stuck to the shell of
the roller supports. This leads to the decentralized motion of the belt. In this case, one of its edges is pressed
to the legs of the frame of conveyor and, therefore, permanently abrades these legs and makes them thinner.
In the major part of plants, the procedure of removal of spilled materials from the subconveyor space is per-
formed manually and rather slowly, which is dangerous for the life of workers. All these factors decrease the
efficiency of the analyzed facilities and the quality of working conditions.
The procedure of cleaning of the belt from the stuck material solves the indicated problems at the plants and
returns the transported bulk material back into the main flow.

The aim of the present work is to substantiate the possibility of application of a discrete two-row scraper
cleaner as a unit increasing the efficiency of operation of the belt conveyors used for the transportation of bulk
materials.

Choice of the Type of Cleaner Depending on the Types of Contaminants

Independently of the nature of adhesive bonds between particles of transported materials and the working
surface of the belt, the entire diversity of substances contaminating the belts can be reduced to the following five
types of polluted layers: loose, aggregate-loose, aggregate-plastic, aggregate-monolithic, and loose-fixed types
(Table 1) [21, 22].
Type I includes dry sand, granite crushed stone, and ore concentrate. The thickness of the layer of adhered
materials H is equal to the mean size of particles d .
Type II is formed by the products of primary grinding of igneous rocks with natural humidity. The thick-
ness of the layer of adhered materials H is approximately equal to the size of the largest particles d max [23–25].
Type III consists of the overburden clay rocks and ores of ferrous and nonferrous metals with a humidity
of > 10%. The thickness of the layer H significantly exceeds the mean size of particles d .
Type IV includes humid overburden rocks, coal, and other materials at temperatures lower that the tempera-
ture of freezing of free fluid. The thickness of the layer H is larger than the mean size of particles d .
Type V includes sand and cake after thermal treatment at a temperature > 100°C. The thickness of the lay-
er is equal to the mean size of particles.
Note that the cleaners based on the procedure of shifting of adhered materials appear to be perfectly suitable
for the first four types of contaminants. For this purpose, in the present work, we consider a modification of the
scraper cleaner. Scraper cleaners of belt conveyors are structurally simple and cost-efficient as compared with
the other types of units designed for the same purpose. However, ordinary scraper cleaners are characterized by
quite low efficiency, which explains the necessity of their improvement supported by the required engineering
calculations [26].

Results of Investigations

In the present work, we study the advantages of a discrete two-row scraper cleaner as compared with an ordi-
nary scraper cleaner. First, we note that the procedure of cleaning of transporting belts with the help of discrete
1342 I. I. VALIULLIN, O. A. KOBELEV, M. G. NAUMOVA, I. G. MOROZOVA, A. N. PASHKOV, V. A. NAGOVITSYN, ET AL.

(a) (b)

Fig. 1. Schematic diagrams of continuous (a) and discrete two-row (b) scraper cleaners: 1 – surfaces of the conveyor belt; 2 – continu-
ous scraper (scraper length is equal to the belt width); 3 – discrete scrapers; 4 – points of contact of the surfaces of the scraper
with the conveyor belt.

Table 1
Types of Contaminants of the Conveyor Belts

Type of State of the Scheme of pollution

Characteristics Typical transported materials
contamination polluted layer of the belt

H=d Dry sand, granite crushed stone,

I Loose
σa > σc ore concentrate

H = d max Primary products of the grinding

Aggregate-
II of igneous rocks with natural
loose σa ≥ σc
humidity
Adhesive Overburden clay rocks, ores of
Aggregate- H>d
III ferrous and nonferrous metals
plastic σa ≥ σc
with a humidity of > 10%

H>d Humid overburden rocks, coal,

Aggregate- σa ≥ σc and other materials for T < T
IV
monolithic lower than the freezing
σa < σc
temperature of free liquid
Sand and cake after thermal
Adhesive- H=d
V Loose-fixed treatment at temperatures
mechanical σa > σc
of > 100°C

scraper cleaners is more efficient because the length of an ordinary scraper is equal to the width of the belt
(Fig. 1); at the same time, the discrete scraper cleaner is split into several sections and, hence, the minimum
number of points of contact of the surfaces of sectional scrapers with the belt is larger than for an ordinary
scraper. This guarantees better contact with the belt and, hence, a higher degree of cleaning [27, 28].
APPLICATION OF A DISCRETE DOUBLE-ROW SCRAPER CLEANER AS AN EFFICIENT PROCEDURE OF CLEANING 1343

Fig. 2. Discrete scraper with a counterbalance clamping attachment: 1 – scraper; 2 – cargo; 3 – counterbalance clamping attachment;
4 – rocker; 5 – leg of the frame of the unit.

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of clamping of the discrete two-row scraper cleaner to the working surface of the conveyor belt: 1 – head
drum; 2 – belt; 3 – cargo; 4 – counterbalance clamping attachment; 5 – leg of the frame of the unit; 6 – scraper; 7 – clamping
roller; 8 – roller support.

In Figs. 2 and 3, we show a two-row cleaner with double arrangement of scrapers. Therefore, every section
of the belt is cleaned twice. To guarantee the qualitative tightening of these two rows of scrapers, it is necessary
to install an eccentric (Fig. 4) [10–13]. It plays an important role because just its presence guarantees the possi-
bility of double cleaning over the entire width of the belt. In the absence of the eccentric, only a single row of
scrapers is pressed to the working surfaces of the belt [13–15].
The process of cleaning of the belt by one scraper of the discrete two-row scraper cleaner is presented
in Fig. 5. Belt 1 moves to the left. In this case, the layer of adhered contaminants 5 starts to bend the round
scraper and forms the core of a denser component 2. The process of separation occurs in zone 4.
The formulas of the evaluation of the total force applied to the plane of the belt and the shear forces applied
to the adhered materials are known. By using these formulas, we determined the shear forces acting upon the
pollutants for the continuous and discrete scraper cleaners.
1344 I. I. VALIULLIN, O. A. KOBELEV, M. G. NAUMOVA, I. G. MOROZOVA, A. N. PASHKOV, V. A. NAGOVITSYN, ET AL.

Fig. 4. Discrete two-row scraper cleaner with eccentric tightening: 1 – head drum; 2 – belt; 3 – cleaning element; 4 – axis and the
mechanism of its rotation; 5, 6 – rockers; 7 – casing; 8 – eccentric.

Fig. 5. Computational scheme for the evaluation of the parameters of the process of separation of the plastic layer of adhered materials
from the substrate by shear and separation: 1 – obstacle; 2 – the core of a denser component; 3 – substrate; 4 – separation zone:
5 – layer of adhered contaminants.

In the stationary process of cleaning of the belt, the total force P (H) applied in the plane of the belt to the
top edge of the operating device of a cleaner is given by the following formula [2, 5]:

ΣPx = p ⋅ δ 0 ⋅ B0 ⋅ f0 + P + Tx + Ty ⋅ f m ,

where p is the pressure of the operating device of the cleaner upon the belt, Pa; δ 0 is the length of the zone of
contact of the operating device with the belt, m; B0 is the useful width of the belt, m; f0 is the coefficient
of friction of the operating device against the belt; P is the force spent for shear of the adhered materials, N;
Tx and Ty are the horizontal and vertical components of the force of action of the core of a denser component
of material removed from the belt upon the operating device of the cleaner and the belt, N; f m is the coefficient
of friction of the core of denser component against the belt.
APPLICATION OF A DISCRETE DOUBLE-ROW SCRAPER CLEANER AS AN EFFICIENT PROCEDURE OF CLEANING 1345

We now determine the force of shift of the adhered material for the continuous scraper cleaner by the for-
mula [3, 12]:
Pcont = τ a ⋅ l0 ⋅ B0 = 120 ⋅1.15 ⋅ 0.95 = 131 kPa ,

where τ a is the shear strength of the adhered materials, Pa, and l0 is the length of the separation zone, m.
The conditions of shear of the adhered materials for the discrete scraper cleaner are as follows:

Pdiscr = τ a ⋅ l0 ⋅ B0 ⋅ nscr = 120 ⋅1.15 ⋅ 0.12 ⋅ 9 = 149 kPa ,

where nscr is the number of scrapers.

As a result of our calculations, it was shown that the force of shift of the adhered materials by the discrete
scraper cleaner is higher than for the continuous scraper by 18 kPa. This proves that the procedure of cleaning
of the conveyor belt becomes more efficient if we use the discrete cleaner instead of the ordinary cleaner whose
length is equal to the belt width.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of numerical calculations demonstrate that the discrete scraper cleaner guarantees a more com-
plete pressing to the surface of the belt than the continuous scraper whose length is equal to the belt width both
due to the partition of the former into several parts and due to the presence of a special clamping attachment,
which presses the scraper to the belt in the process of abrasion. Assume that, for the identical total force of
pressing of scrapers for both types to the surface of the belt, the force of shift of the adhered materials obtained
for the discrete scraper cleaner is higher than for the continuous cleaner by 18 kPa. As an advantage of the dis-
crete scraper cleaner, we can mention the fact that each section of the belt is cleaned twice due to the double ar-
rangement of scrapers along the entire width of the belt. Thus, the procedure of cleaning of conveyor belts with
the help of discrete cleaners is more efficient.

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