Belt Conveyor Design

Pulleys

Mark Alspaugh
Overland Conveyor Co., Inc.
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulleys
1
• Selection
– Construction(1) 2

– Capacity(2)
3
– Behavior (3)

• Design 4
– Fatigue(4)
5

– Failure Modes (5)

Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulley Construction and Configurations

• Type
– Drum- Cylindrical
– Wing-Paddles
• Beat vs. Puncture Belt
• Components
– Bearing
– Shaft
– Hubs
– End Disc
– Rim and Center Discs
• Rim Surface
– Lagging- Traction and Wear
– Crown – Tracking
– Specials –Spiral vs. Puncture
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Components

• Bearing allows rotation

– Roller-
• Spherical
• Tapered
– Pillow Block
– Take-up Block
– Internal- ‘Dead Shaft’
• Shaft transfers moment to pulley
– Standard Bar- CD, HR T&P
– Turndowns to Bearings
• Machined to fit
• Max radius for min Kf
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Components

• Hubs
– Proprietary XT®, HE®, B-Loc®
• Keyed Bushings (US)

– Single Taper
– Axial Stress resists clamping
• Clamped (International)
– More Bolts and tapers
– Radial Stress on hub

– Weld In or Integral to End Disc

Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Component Construction
• End Disc
– Radial support
– Moment from shaft deflection
– Weld in
• Limit by hub connection
• Rigid vs Flexible
– Integral
• Machined
• Solid
– Rigid
– Rim connection limited
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Component Construction

• Rim and Center Discs

– Rolled and Seam Welded
– Tube or Pipe
– End Disc Weld
• Fillet (U.S.)
• Groove
• Seam Weld on ‘T’ Designs
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulley Capacity and Sizing

• CEMA
– Shaft Equations identify limit
• Bending moment from 8000 psi
bending stress
• Free shaft deflection –post
‘70’s- .0023 in/in
• Engineered Class
– Designed for the application
– Select Bearing, Hub, Bores
– Size Shaft, End Disc, Rim- maybe
lighter!
• Proprietary
– ‘Over’ designed, Heavier
– Mine Duty, ‘Extra’
– No Standardization
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulley Behavior
• Crown
– Diameter Varies End to Center
– Tracking- belt climbs up-self
equalizing
– Belt Stretch and Stress
– Fabric Belts only
• Slip and Wear
– Global
• Drive
– Local
• Drive, Crown, Transitions
• Runout
– Dial indicator measurement
– Fabric Belt 1/8 in- rolling, weld sink,
straightness disc centering
– Steel Cable Belt .030 in- machined steel
and or lagging
– Shaft –angular .010 in/in- Hub and
installation misalignment
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Crown
• Diameter Variation
– CEMA -1/16”-1/8” /FW
– End Crown-Trapezoidal , Curve
• Flat or Straight Face
– Rolled and welded
– Tube or Pipe
• Standard
– Rolled
– Expanded Tube
• End Crown
– Machined
– Shrink
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulley Design
• Rotating Beam
– High Cycle Fatigue >109
– Weld Joint Fatigue
• Low propagation life
• Poor repairability
– Mean Stress
• Weld Stress Relief
• Installation Stress
• Quasi Empirical
– Basic Equations
– Empirical limits
• Advanced Design
– FEA
– Crack Initial Life
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulleys- Life vs. Load

S-N Curve

12000
10000
8000
Load

6000
4000
2000
0
100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 100,000,000 1,000,000,000
Cycles
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulleys- Life vs. Load

30 in Diameter
750 fpm Belt Speed
7.9 ft Circumference
95 RPM
300 days per year
20 hrs per day
6,000 hrs per year
360,000 minutes per year
34,364,261 rev per yr
343,642,612 rev per 10 years
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulleys- Life vs. Load

• Design Load 20,000#

• +10% = 22,000#
• +20% = 24,000#
S-N Curve

12000

10000

8000
Load

6000
4000

2000

0
100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 100,000,000 1,000,000,000

Cycles
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Pulleys- Life vs. Load

• Design Load 20,000# 1,000,000,000 cycles 29.1 years

• +10% = 22,000# 180,000,000 cycles 5.2 years
• +20% = 24,000# 55,000,000 cycles 1.6 years

2800

2600

2400

2200

2000

1800

1600
10,000,000 100,000,000 1,000,000,000
Advanced Belt Conveyor Design

Failure Modes
• Rim
– At thick end disc
– At center
• End Disc at hub weld
• Hub- Moment Load
– Walking
– Bolt heads

• Shaft
– Overstress at turndown
– Frettage under hub

• Bearing life- L10?

– Seals
– Misalignment wear