HGRS MASTER - Maintenance

Type of Skill: Specific Technical Skills

Category : Transport Equipment
Module: Belt conveyors
Unit: Cleaning devices 09 of 18
Version: 1.0 06-02-03
Reference: Belt conveyors MTC Training.ppt - Pages 23 to 25

Cleaning devices
Purpose: To remove carry-back or carry-over from the belt surface and prevent downstream damage
and uncontrolled spillage accumulation.

Bulk materials conveyed on belts are often sticky or have partially adhesive properties.
These materials have a tendency for a portion of the load to stick to the conveying surface of
the belt and not leave with the rest of the material at the discharge point. This material is
then carried back on the return run. The stuck particles will eventually fall off the belt,
accumulating in piles under idlers and pulleys as they dry or are dislodged by the vibration of
the return rollers.
As is the case with transfer point spillage, carry-back can cause serious problems for
conveyor systems.
Description: A good cleaning device can reduce the amount of carry-back and consequent conveyor
problems. Cleaning systems typically consist of a pre-cleaner and at least one secondary
cleaner.(figure 1)

Pre-cleaners are designed to remove eighty percent or more of the carryback.

To increase efficiency it should be placed in the 3 o'clock position or the 5 o'clock
position to the belt. (see figure 2)
The angle of installation of the pre-cleaner is very important. The angle should be such
that it places the pre-cleaner blade in a peeling position; (inclined against the
movement of the belt and pulley). If this angle of attack were greater (i.e., a scraping
position), more pressure would be required to hold the blade in position. As the
pressure of the cleaner against the belt increases so does the risk of damage to the
belt, splice, and cleaning blade.
Pre-cleaners are made of resilient urethane or rubber blades (rather than metal) and
are lightly tensioned against the belt to minimize damage. A blade-to-belt pressure of
approximately 2 to 5 (psi) of blade material on the belt is typical. This low blade-to-belt
pressure means that the tensioning system will be able to accommodate the change in
thickness associated with a mechanical splice. This reduces the risk of damage,
improves blade life and reduces belt wear.
A pre-cleaner is just that and should not be installed with higher blade-to-belt tension
than is specified.

The secondary cleaner(s), when tensioned at the designed belt cleaning pressure, can
remove the remaining adhering fines without being overloaded with the mass of carryback.
(figure 3)
Secondary cleaner(s) must always be installed against pulleys or idlers to guarantee a
constant distance between belt and cleaner. An adequate angle of applications is 10
(see figure 3). If additional secondary cleaners are required and used, or it is not
possible to install a cleaner in this ideal position, the cleaner(s) should be mounted
against return rollers, or other components that provide a firm surface to the belt. This
will greatly enhance the cleaning capabilities of the blades.
The location of the secondary cleaners should be closer to the conveyors discharge
point, this lowers the risk of problems with the buildup of fines in the spillage chute.
A trailing arm design, ie the belt passes over the arm before the blade, is valuable. No
matter what the level of impact, the force drives the blade down, away from the belt.
This allows the obstruction to pass through and not catch the belt. This trailing arm
design also puts the blade on the end of each arm, so the material scraped from the
belt can slide off the cleaner on both sides of the blade with minimal buildup on the
cleaner support structure.
In order for the cleaners to perform efficiently and as designed, the blade must match

Training in Maintenance Page 1 of 8

 smoothly with the belt. There are variations on the belt surface that the cleaner must
adjust to instantly. Narrow, independent blades that are individually suspended have
the best potential to remain in precise contact as the belt surface passes across the
cleaning edge. There is an additional benefit if the individual blades can pivot or rock
from side to side to instantly adjust to the changes in the belt surface. Research
indicates that a design using multiple blades (figure 4) approximately six to eight inches
(150 to 200 mm) wide is well suited for effective cleaning.
The secondary cleaner blades can be made of a hard material like steel or tungsten
carbide or ceramics. These resist the buildup or heat generated by the friction against
the belts surface. A variety of urethane formulations are also available.

Cleaners for Reversing Belts (figure 5)

When belts are reversible it is important that the cleaners work well in either direction of
operation (or at least are not damaged by belt reversal). These cleaners are fitted so they sit
and are tensioned vertically against the belt. These cleaners are typically designed with a
vertical blade that deflects around 7 degrees on both sides, under belt motion in either
direction. Due to this vertical installation, they can fit into narrow spaces where larger
cleaners with a trailing arm design would not fit.

Specialized Cleaning Systems

In addition to conventional belt cleaners, as discussed earlier, there are a number of
alternative systems to fit plant cleaning requirements. Most of these cleaners are designed
to fit into the role of a secondary cleaner. These systems include chevron cleaners, rotary
brush cleaners and air knife cleaners just to name a few. There usage is limited in our
industry.
Chevron belt cleaners have cuts in them that are often referred to as fingers. These
fingers allow the cleaners to walk over belt ribs, cleats, and chevrons (figure 6)
Rotary brush cleaners can remove carry-back of dry materials that adhere to the belt
surface due to static. They are not recommended in general.(figure 7)
Pneumatic (Air Knife) Cleaners are effective in removing dry materials however they
are expensive to operate and create additional airborne dust. The system works by
directing a stream of air over the face of the pulley to shear off carry-back.(figure 8)
Belt Washing Stations consist of two types: These systems apply water to the belt
through a spray wash as a belt cleaning method. The first method directs a low-
pressure mist of water at the belt to help the scraping process. The second washing
system uses a higher pressure spray of water to remove the carry-back from the belt.
Like the air knife system there are additional costs associated with this method.(figure
9)

Belt Turnovers
Belt turnovers are sometimes used to eliminate the problems caused by a dirty belt
contacting the return idlers. The belt is flipped 180 degrees after it passes the discharge
point therefore bringing the clean surface of the belt into contact with the return idlers.
The belt must be turned back again before it enters the tail section so the carrying side
of the belt is up at the loading point.
The distance required to accomplish the 180 degree turnover of the belt is
approximately 12 times the belt width at each end of the belt.
Fugitive material is still released by the act of twisting the belt so these belts still need
an effective cleaning system at the conveyors discharge.
The advantage is that the conveyor will remain clean along the complete length
between flipping points
As return idlers work on the clean side of the belt, there is no built up on them,
therefore the belt is also more stable (figure 10 and 11)

Pulley Wipers are often needed in addition to belt cleaning systems. Materials that stick to
the belt often adhere to snubs or bend pulleys that come in contact with the dirty side of the
belt. All pulleys working with the carrying side of the belt should be equipped with wipers..
This device can be combined with a protection plow device so that material is removed from
the belt (figure 12)
To clean adhering material from a pulley, a scraper can be mounted on the up side of the
pulley, about 45 degrees below the horizontal center line. This allows material removed from
the pulley to fall freely into the provided a spillage chute or an accessible area from which
this material can be cleaned.
Training in Maintenance Page 2 of 8
 Tail Pulley Protection Plows
The tail pulley is vulnerable to damage as the conveyor belt returns from its discharge point
at the head pulley back to the loading zone. The inner side of the returning belt can carry a
piece of material into the tail pulley as the belt passes around it. This material when caught
between the belt and pulley can do substantial damage by puncturing the cover of the belt or
damaging the lagging or pulley face. To prevent this from happening, tail protection plows or
return belt scrapers are installed.
These are placed on top of the return strand near its entrance to the tail pulley, and
direct residual material off the belt They can also be placed in additional areas to
protect other pulleys on the conveyor.
Plows prevent large objects from damaging the belt and tail pulley. They deflect
material with low-pressure scraping off the belt.
V-Plows: on belt conveyors that travel in one direction, the return belt cleaner is usually
a V-plow. A V-plow typically has a steel frame with a rubber or urethane blade which
pushes any remaining material off the belt. Often, the plow rests on the belt, tensioned
by its own weight, and floats up and down with variations in belt travel. The plow must
be secured by a safety cable to prevent it from being carried into the pulley, and
causing massive damage (figure 13-14)
If the belt has two directions of movement, the return belt scraper should be a diagonal
plow that provides protection in either direction. They are placed across the belt at an
angle of 45 to the direction of travel. When the belt is two-directional (so either pulley
can serve as a tail pulley), diagonal plows should be installed at both ends of the
conveyor. (figure15)

Standards: Precleaner and cleaner of professional design, self made cleaners are not
recommended
Tail pulley protection
Impact if not Carry back and housekeeping issues
correct:
Actions: Installation and maintenance
Unit Inspection of cleaning device in the plant
Completion:
See site specific unit for additional information, respective actions and applicable safety instructions

Figure 1
Cleaner Location

Training in Maintenance Page 3 of 8

 Figure 2
Precleaner position

90

90
Primary cleaner
Primary Cleaner

3 clock Position 5 clock Position

Figure 3
Cleaner position

10
7 7

Return Idlers
Position recommended
Maintain the blade
out of this area

Secondary Cleaner

Primary Cleaner
Secondary Cleaner

Secondary Cleaner(s) Position Blade angle

Figure 4
Multi blade cleaner

Training in Maintenance Page 4 of 8

 Figure 5
Cleaner for reversing belts

Figure 6
Cleaner for chevron belt

Figure 7
Belt sweeper

Training in Maintenance Page 5 of 8

 Figure 8
Air blade cleaner

Figure 9
Washing station

Training in Maintenance Page 6 of 8

 Figure 10
Belt flipping

Figure 11
Belt flipping

Training in Maintenance Page 7 of 8

 Figure 12
Combined wiper and plow

Figure 13
V Plow

Figure 14
V Plow

Figure 15
Plow for reversible belts

Training in Maintenance Page 8 of 8