DESIGN OF 25 TPH CAPACITY COAL CONVEYOR SYSTEMS (BELT,

BUCKET, AND SCREW)

A COAL CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

DESIGN REPORT PRESENTED TO
ENGR. DENNIS G. REBUTA
Professor

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN

SUBJECT ME 523A POWER PLANT ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHEASTERN PHILIPPINES
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

SUBMITTED BY

KENNETH DWIGHT P. BOJA

Student

MAY 2019
 Table of Contents
CHAPTER I .......................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background of the Study ......................................................................... 1
1.2 Objectives of the Study............................................................................ 2
1.3 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................ 3
CHAPTER II ......................................................................................................... 4
RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES ....................................................... 4
2.1 Related Literature ....................................................................................... 4
2.1.1 Belt Conveyor ....................................................................................... 5
2.1.2 Bucket Elevator .................................................................................... 7
2.1.3 Screw Conveyor ................................................................................... 8
2.2 Related Studies......................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Belt Conveyors ................................................................................... 11
2.2.2 Bucket Elevator .................................................................................. 13
2.2.3 Screw Conveyor ................................................................................. 16
CHAPTER III ...................................................................................................... 20
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 20
3.1 Design Considerations .............................................................................. 20
3.2 Design Criteria .......................................................................................... 22
3.2.1 Belt Conveyor ..................................................................................... 22
Belt Conveyor Design Specifications: .......................................................... 23
3.2.2 Bucket Conveyor ................................................................................ 24
Bucket Elevator Design Specifications: ....................................................... 26
3.2.3 Screw Conveyor.............................................................................. 26
Screw Conveyor Design Specifications: ...................................................... 28
MECHANICAL PLANS .................................................................................... 29
References ......................................................................................................... 30

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter will discuss about the background of the study, its objectives

and the statement of the problem.

1.1 Background of the Study

Material handling is as old as the first human beings on the planet that

needed to move things. They required some form of transport to move

themselves and the materials they relied upon to live. Material handling was used

in what is considered to be one of the ancient world’s greatest achievements, the

construction of the pre-Inca temple in Peru. It is estimated that 20 tons of stones

were quarried and moved from a valley up more than 2000 feet to the site of the

temple. It wasn’t until 1913 when the first mechanised progressive-assembly line

was produced by Ford. Nevertheless, the uses of mechanised and automated

material handling equipment are now in effect these days. Material management

is described as the systematic physical movement of materials, which includes

the concepts of physical distribution management, business logistics and

material management that all overlap together. There are several definitions for

material handling. Some that state that MH is the physical movement between

short distances which occurs in warehouses, production facilities and retail

stores, involving different forms of transport. Others put more emphasis on the

concept of building blocks – MH is the movement of products such as bottles and

boxes. MH is a science that studies the physical movement of materials. It

involves defining problems, collecting and analysing data, finding solutions and

evaluating the alternatives, selecting the preferred method and performing

frequent reviews. MH is also an art because scientific formulas and mathematic

models are not enough to create the design of material handling (Royale

International, 2015).

1
 Conveyors are used when material is to be moved frequently between

specific points over a fixed path and when there is a sufficient flow volume to

justify the fixed conveyor investment. Different types of conveyors can be

characterized by the type of product being handled: unit load or bulk load; the

conveyor’s location: in-floor, on-floor, or overhead, and whether or not loads can

accumulate on the conveyor. Accumulation allows intermittent movement of each

unit of material transported along the conveyor, while all units move

simultaneously on conveyors without accumulation capability. For example, while

both the roller and flat-belt are unit-load on-floor conveyors, the roller provides

accumulation capability while the flat-belt does not; similarly, both the power-and-

free and trolley are unit-load overhead conveyors, with the power-and-free

designed to include an extra track in order to provide the accumulation capability

lacking in the trolley conveyor. Examples of bulk-handling conveyors include the

magnetic-belt, troughed-belt, bucket, and screw conveyors. A sortation conveyor

system is used for merging, identifying, inducting, and separating products to be

conveyed to specific destinations, and typically consists of flat-belt, roller, and

chute conveyor segments together with various moveable arms and/or pop-up

wheels and chains that deflect, push, or pull products to different destinations

(Kay, 2012).

1.2 Objectives of the Study

The study aimed to address the following objectives:

1. To develop a design for 25 tph capacity coal conveyor system comprised

of belt, bucket and screw conveyors.

2. To present the calculations for each of the design systems

aforementioned

3. To justify the efficiency of each conveyor system design with

computations

2
1.3 Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to answer the following questions:

1. How to develop a conveyor system design that would enable the transport

of 25 tph of coal?

2. What formulae are to be used in computation for factors considered in

designing each conveyor system (belt, bucket and screw)?

3. What values do the computations need to have to justify the efficiency of

each conveyor system?

3
 CHAPTER II
RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES

In this chapter, the proponent presented the synthesis of related literature,

and studies that are related on the origins, mechanism, design, and efficiency of

the various conveyor systems designed by the researcher, namely, belt, bucket,

and screw conveyors. The literature came from books, online journals, research

articles, and unpublished materials to help the researcher in establishing the

backbone of the study.

2.1 Related Literature

A conveyor system is a device which is used to move bulky materials from

one place to another. Conveyors are really important in transporting heavy and

large materials and packages. They are very effective and efficient which makes

them usable in nearly all industries that require material handling. There are

several types of conveying systems which suit the different requirements of

various industries. Conveyors are widely used in manufacturing and

warehousing, handling bulk material. They're even used in the automation of

different manufacturing procedures. Industries include electronics, automotive,

agricultural, food processing, canning, bottling, pharmaceuticals, furniture, scrap

metals, and packaging. Conveyor systems are even regularly used in sorting by

postal and freight companies and for air-port baggage handling. As a conveyor is

extremely important in a company to efficiently increase its production in an

extremely judicious manner, it is considered the lifeline of their business. Proper

maintenance is therefore an important need to insure its high performance rating.

It requires frequent inspection and monitoring of motors, availability of key parts,

and proper training of maintenance personnel. Picking the proper conveyor type

and system design is extremely important to ensure it works as envisioned. An

accurate selection of a suitable conveyor system is therefore important. Things

just like shape, weight and material of the conveyed products need to be

4
considered. Proper maintenance would increase the service life of your conveyor

system (Mennel, 2010) .

2.1.1 Belt Conveyor

Belt conveyors, which are also often referred to simply as conveyor belts,

are perhaps the most commonly thought of and widely recognizable conveying

system. The typically operate across horizontal spaces; however, they can also

be designed to work on an incline. Belt conveyors utilize a system of two or more

pulleys to continually rotate a belt on an endless loop. The item being moved is

placed on one end of the belt and conveyed to the other. Rotating the belt more

quickly will of course increase the speed of the system (Understanding

Conveying Systems, 2015).

A belt conveyor is a typical energy conversion system from electrical

energy to mechanical energy. Its energy efficiency can be divided into four

components: performance efficiency, operation efficiency, equipment efficiency,

and technology efficiency. The improvement of energy efficiency can easily put to

the operation efficiency and equipment efficiency for most energy systems. It

holds true for belt conveyors. It is also noted that equipment efficiency, and

consequently operation efficiency, decides performance efficiency which is

usually reflected by various external indicators, such as energy consumption,

energy cost, or emission of greenhouse gas. On the other hand, a performance

indicator can drive an operation in the optimal efficiency mode (Zhang & Xia,

2010).

For more than 100 years the troughed belt conveyor has been used to

transport bulk materials. Its success has been attributed to its relatively low

capital cost, high degree of reliability and availability, and low operating and

maintenance costs. The only significant problems with conventional conveyors

have occurred at transfer points when the transported materials were sticky,

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dusty or there was a need to provide a totally enclosed system to protect the

product from the environment or contain dribble from the return belt (Loeffler,

2010).

One of the most interesting developments in technology in the recent past

has been the distribution of power along the conveyor path. Is has not been

uncommon to see drives positioned at the head and tail ends of long conveyors

and let the tail drive do the work of pulling the belt back along the return run of

the conveyor. But now that idea has expanded to allow designers to position

drive power wherever it is most needed. The idea of distributing power in multiple

locations on a belt conveyor has been around for a long time. The first

application in the USA was installed at Kaiser Coal in 1974. It was shortly

thereafter that underground coal mining began consolidating and longwall mines

began to realize tremendous growth in output. Mining equipment efficiencies and

capabilities were improving dramatically. Miners were looking for ways to

increase the size of mining blocks in order to decrease the percentage of idle

time needed to move the large mining equipment from block to block. Face

widths and panel lengths were increasing. When panel lengths were increased,

conveyance concerns began to appear. The power and belt strengths needed for

these lengths approaching 4 -5 km were much larger than had ever been used

underground before. Problems included the large size of high power drives not to

mention being able to handle and move them around. And, although belting

technology could handle the increased strength requirements, it meant moving to

steel reinforced belting that was much heavier and harder to handle and more

importantly, required vulcanized splicing. Since longwall panel conveyors are

constantly advancing and retreating (getting longer and shorter), miners are

always adding or removing rolls of belting from the system. Moreover, since

vulcanized splicing takes several times longer to facilitate, lost production time

due to belt moves over the course of a complete panel during development and

6
mining would be extreme. Now the need surpassed the risk and the application

of intermediate drives to limit belt tensions and allow the use of fabric belting on

long center applications was actively pursued (Alspaugh, 2004).

2.1.2 Bucket Elevator

Bucket Conveyors are integrated with double strand roller chains that can

lift the load on a horizontal and inclined profile. Ideal for handling abrasive and

hot material, these bucket conveyors are known for their strong body and low

power consumption. These are used for vertical transportation of bulk and small

grain size materials. The conveyors are used in food, agricultural,

pharmaceutical, cosmetics, chemical, ceramic and glass industry, but also for

transportation of bulk materials in heavy industry. The conveyors allow vertical

transportation. The material transport is without spillage and contamination, the

closed conveyor design prevents dusting. Variety of configuration allows

installation of the bucket conveyors on sites with very limited space.

An ideal design for bucket conveyor is one with a pair of parallel draw

elements between which the buckets are supported on spindles about which they

rotate pendulum fashion. Forward rollers are mounted on the ends of the

spindles and rear rollers are mounted at the opposite edge of the bucket. Each

bucket has a flange or lip which overlaps the top edge of an adjacent bucket. The

rollers on the buckets engage guide rails to properly orient the buckets as they

pass over return gears and from the loading area to the dumping area and back

again. By maintaining proper orientation of the buckets, the load level of each

bucket and thus the capacity of the conveyor is increased. The bucket conveyor

is of simple design, has low wear and high conveying capacity (Glowatzki, 1988).

Bucket conveyors consist of endless chains or belts to which are attached

buckets to convey bulk material in horizontal, inclined, and vertical paths. The

buckets remain in carrying position until they are tipped to discharge the material.

Various discharging mechanisms are available (Britannica, 2019).

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2.1.3 Screw Conveyor

A screw conveyor or auger conveyor is a mechanism that uses a rotating

helical screw, called "flighting", that is installed within a tube or trough, to move

liquid or granular materials. They are used in many bulk handling industries.

Screw conveyors in modern industry are often used horizontally or at a slight

incline as an efficient way to move semi-solid materials, including food waste,

wood chips, aggregates, cereal grains, animal feed, boiler ash, meat and bone

meal, municipal solid waste, and many others. The first type of screw conveyor

was the Archimedes' screw, used since ancient times to pump irrigation water.

They usually consist of a trough or tube containing either a spiral blade

coiled around a shaft, driven at one end and held at the other called a solid shaft

screw. Other types are open helix or shaftless screws driven at one end and free

at the other. The rate of volume transfer is proportional to the rotation rate of the

shaft. In industrial control applications the device is often used as a variable rate

feederby varying the rotation rate of the shaft to deliver a measured rate or

quantity of material into a process.

When space allows, utilizing an inclined screw conveyor is a very

economical method of elevating and conveying materials. As the angle of

inclination increases, the capacity of a given unit rapidly decreases. The general

rule of thumb is 45 degrees or less, otherwise the material will end up falling

backwards over the flighting and not conveying to the intended destination (What

is a Screw Conveyor?, 2016).

Screw conveyors become less efficient when they are used to convey

material vertically. Capacity decreases with inclination about 30% for a 15°

inclination and about 55% for a 25° inclination. Relying heavily upon friction for

their operation, screw conveyors tend to wear rapidly, especially their flighting,

and they are inefficient in use of energy. Torque on the screw can be substantial;

8
therefore, less-expensive units with lightweight shafts should be driven from the

input end, especially if the flighting is not attached continuously along the shaft.

This wraps the flighting more tightly about the shaft due to torsional deflection,

increasing greatly its torsional rigidity. If driven from the discharge end, shaft

deflection compresses the flighting, which may lead to its buckling and, in

extreme cases, to breaking of the welds and crumpling of sections of flighting

inside the tube. The limiting angle depends upon the coefficient of sliding friction

of the corn on steel and the pitch-to-diameter ratio of the screw. Capacity

decreases as slope increases (Elsevier B.V., 2019).

A screw conveyor or auger system is composed of several parts. The

screw conveyor is composed of a pipe with a welded steel strip that is formed

into a continuous helix. The helix is referred to as the flighting. The distance

along the pipe from one point on the flighting to the next similar point is called the

“pitch”. Couplings and shafts refer to the mechanisms by which two screw

conveyors are joined. Hangers are used to provide support and maintain

alignment of the screw conveyor. The screw conveyor may be housed in a “tube”

or “trough”. The tube is a hollow cylinder, whereas the trough has a “U” shape,

hence the term “U-trough” augers.

The theoretical capacity of a full screw conveyor is:

𝐶𝑐𝑎𝑝 = (𝐷² − 𝑑²)𝑃𝑁36.6

where:

Ccap=volumetric capacity of full screw conveyor, ft3/h

D=diameter of screw, (in.)

D=diameter of shaft, (in.)

P=pitch of the auger (usually the pitch is equal to D), (in.)

N=revolutions per minute of the shaft.

9
 The actual capacity of the screw conveyor may be one-third to one-half of

the theoretical capacity because of material characteristics, screw-housing

clearance, and the degree of elevation.

Horsepower requirements are difficult to determine because of the

variations between different augers and materials. The following equation

estimates the horsepower required for an auger operating in the horizontal

positioning (Henderson and Perry, 1976):

𝐶ℎ𝑝 = 𝐶𝑐𝑎𝑝𝐿𝑊𝐹33000

where:

Chp=computed horsepower

Ccap=volumetric conveyor capacity, ft3/min

L=conveyor length, ft

W=bulk weight of material, lb/ft3

F=material factor.

The horsepower in equation 7.35 must be adjusted for horsepower under

5.0 hp:

If Chp < 1, hp=2.0Chp

If 1=< Chp < 2, hp=1.5Chp

If 2=< Chp < 4, hp=1.25Chp

If 4=< Chp < 5, hp=1.1Chp

If Chp >=5, hp=Chp

where hp=horsepower of horizontal auger.

Screw conveyors become less efficient when they are used to convey

material vertically. Capacity decreases with inclination about 30% for a 15°

inclination and about 55% for a 25° inclination.

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 Tube and U-trough screw conveyors are the two most common conveyors

of grain. Generally, U-trough screw conveyors operate at a lower speed than

tube screw conveyors. Their screw diameters are usually larger, giving them

greater capacity per revolution. Because of their lower speed, the U-trough screw

conveyors are generally considered to cause less grain damage than tube screw

conveyors. However, tube screw conveyors are less expensive and meet the

needs of most grain handling situations.

Portable screw conveyors are used extensively for transferring grain into

and out of storage. Diameters typically range from 6 to 12 in., with maximum

capacities near 5500 ft3/h. Portable screw conveyors range in length from

around 6 to 100 ft. Moving grain with this type of screw conveyor at angles

exceeding 45° is considered impractical (Bucklin, 2013).

2.2 Related Studies

2.2.1 Belt Conveyors

Different methods such as fork lifting, conveyors systems, crane, etc. has

been identified for lifting or transporting bulk materials or products from one place

to another in the manufacturing industries depending on the speed of handling,

height of transportation, nature, quantity, size and weight of materials to be

transported. The objective of this research work is to provide design data base

for the development of a reliable and efficient belt conveyor system that will

reduce cost and enhance productivity while simultaneously reducing dangers to

workers operating them. Conveyor system is a mechanical system used in

moving materials from one place to another and finds application in most

processing and manufacturing industries such as: chemical, mechanical,

automotive. Conveyor systems are durable and reliable in materials

transportation and warehousing, Based on different principles of operation, there

11
are different conveyor systems namely: gravity, belt, screw, bucket, vibrating,

pneumatic/hydraulic, chain, spiral, grain conveyor systems etc.

The choice however depends on the volume to be transported, speed of

transportation, size and weight of materials to be transported, height or distance

of transportation, nature of material, method of production employed. Material

handling equipment ranges from those that are operated manually to

semiautomatic systems and to the ones with high degree of automation. The

degree of automation however depends on handling requirements.

Material handling involves movement of material in a manufacturing

section. It includes loading, moving and unloading of materials from one stage of

manufacturing process to another. A belt conveyor consists of an endless and

flexible belt of high strength with two end pulleys (driver and driven) at fixed

positions supported ‘by rollers (Deepak Gupta, 2015).

Material handling is an important sector of industry, which is consuming a

considerable proportion of the total power supply. For instance, material handling

contributes about 10% of the total maximum demand in South Africa. Belt

conveyors are being employed to form the most important parts of material

handling systems because of their high efficiency of transportation. It is

significant to reduce the energy consumption or energy cost of material handling

sector. This task accordingly depends on the improvement of the energy

efficiency of belt conveyors, for they are the main energy consuming components

of material handling systems. Consequently, energy efficiency becomes one of

the development focuses of the belt conveyor technology. A belt conveyor is a

typical energy conversion system from electrical energy to mechanical energy. Its

energy efficiency can generally be improved at four levels: performance,

operation, equipment, and technology. However, the Majority of the technical

literature concerning the energy efficiency of belt conveyors focuses on the

operational level and the equipment level. In practice, the improvement of

12
equipment efficiency of belt conveyors is achieved mainly by introducing highly

efficient equipment. The idler, belt and drive system are the main targets. In the

influences on idlers from design, assembly, lubrication, bearing seals, and

maintenance are reviewed. Energy saving idlers is proposed and tested in

Energy optimized belts are developed in by improving the structure and rubber

compounds of the belts. Energy-efficient motors and variable speed drives

(VSDs) are recommended in general, extra investment is needed for the

equipment retrofitting or replacement; and the efficiency improvement

opportunities are limited to certain equipment. Operation is another aspect for

energy efficiency of belt conveyors. The operation efficiency in terms of

operational cost of belt conveyors is improved by introducing load shifting. Speed

control is recommended for energy efficiency of belt conveyor systems, even

though it is occasionally challenged. The core of speed control is to keep a

constantly high amount of material along the whole belt, which is believed to

have high operation efficiency. The theoretical analysis along with experimental

validation on a VSD based conveying system is presented in. Nowadays, the

idea of speed control has been adopted by industry and successfully applied to

some practical projects. Further investigations on VSDs of belt conveyors are

carried out in. The current implementations of speed control however concentrate

mostly on lower control loops or an individual belt conveyor. It has not been used

to deal with the system constraints and the external constraints, such as time-of-

use (TOU) tariff and storage capacities, nor has it been applied to coordinate

multiple components of a conveying system (Vijay & Biradar, 2015).

2.2.2 Bucket Elevator

Conveyor is almost universal in application. Bucket elevator is a type of

vertical or inclined transport equipment that efficiently moves goods between

floors, vessel or other structures. In the paddy post-harvest system, paddy is

moved, transported, or conveyed from place to place. Traditionally, these have

13
been hand operations. After harvest the paddy is placed in gunny bags and

transported several times through storage and processing before the milled rice

finally reaches the consumer. Paddy is often handled too much, resulting in high

handling costs and excessive losses. Screw and belt conveyors move paddy

horizontally or up small inclines (Theint & Lin, 2018).

In a particularly useful embodiment of the present invention guide or

support means are provided for preventing the buckets quite simply from hanging

down from their spindles as they are conveyed upwards, which would tend to

limit the load level. These means insure that the buckets are displaced from their

hanging position to a position in which the filling opening is largely directed

upwards, so that the load level and thus the capacity of the conveyor are

increased. Displacing or swinging the buckets sideways away from their hanging

position exerts transverse loads on the draw gear or endless chain which it is

perfectly able to accept. The displacement resulting from these lateral tractive

forces can be compensated by providing the guide rails with a suitable cam

configuration. The draw gear can be maintained in a normal straight position,

despite the side forces exerted upon it, provided support rollers on the bucket are

fitted. An especially useful construction prevents this sideways displacement by

the provision of a counter guide rail. Any of the components of the draw gear or

any special parts can slide along the counter guide surface; however, the best

solution is to employ guide rollers which can be provided quite simply on

extensions of the spindles about which the buckets are allowed to swing freely. In

another version of the invention, the two guide surfaces consist of the two

opposite edges of a guide rail, both ends of which are preferably sickle-shaped

so that the rollers can run on and off them easily and smoothly. A fixed stop may

be provided to abut the side of the bucket at the entry point so that the buckets

are slightly tipped at this point, allowing the lateral projections to run up onto the

guide surfaces (Glowatzki, 1988).

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 The bucket elevator is probably the oldest known form of conveyor, Its

history can be traced back to the days of Babylon where wicker baskets lined

with a natural pitch and fastened to ropes operating over wooden sheaves turned

by slaves, were used for the elevating of water into irrigation ditches. It consists

of:

1) Buckets to contain the material;

2) A belt to carry the buckets and transmit the pull;

3) Means to drive the belt;

4) Accessories for loading the buckets or picking up the material, for

receiving the discharged material, for maintaining the belt tension and for

enclosing and protecting the elevator as shown in fig 1

Figure 1

A bucket elevator can elevate a variety of bulk materials from light to

heavy and from fine to large lumps. A centrifugal discharge elevator may be

vertical or inclined. Vertical elevators depend entirely on the action of centrifugal

force to get the material into the discharge chute and must be run at speeds

relatively high. Inclined elevators with buckets spaced apart or set close together

may have the discharge chute set partly under the head pulley. Since they don't

depend entirely on the centrifugal force to put the material into the chute, the

speed may be relatively lower.

15
 Nearly all centrifugal discharge elevators have spaced buckets with

rounded bottoms. They pick up their load from a boot, a pit, or a pile of material

at the foot pulley. The buckets can be also triangular in cross section and set

close to on the belt with little or no clearance between them. This is a continuous

bucket elevator. Its main use is to carry difficult materials at slow speed. Early

bucket elevators used a flat chain with small, steel buckets attached every few

inches. Current construction uses a rubber belt with plastic buckets. Pulleys

several feet in diameter are used at the top and bottom. The top pulley is driven

by an electric motor. The bucket elevator is the enabling technology that

permitted the construction of grain elevators. A diverter at the top of the elevator

allows the grain to be sent to the chosen bin (Patel, 2012).

2.2.3 Screw Conveyor

A screw conveyor consists essentially of a shaftmounted screw rotating in

a trough and a drive unit for running the shaft. The material is moved forward

along the axis of the trough by the thrust of screw thread or flight. The trough is

usually of the U-shape. The basic principles of operation may be explained with

reference to Fig.1.1. A helical blade is attached to a drive shaft which is coupled

to a drive unit. The shaft is supported by end bearings, and intermediate bearing.

The U-shaped trough has a cover plate with an opening for loading the conveyor.

A discharge opening is provided at bottom of the rough. The loading and

discharge points can be located anywhere along the trough. More than one feed

hopper and discharge hopper may be fitted according to the necessity.

The basic principle of material along the trough is similar to the sliding

motion of a nut along a rotating screw when the nut is not allowed to rotate. The

weight of material and the friction of the material against the wall present the load

from rotating with the screw (Patel J. , 2012).

Screw conveyors are very effective conveying devices for free flowing or

relatively free flowing bulk solids, giving good throughput control and providing

16
environmentally clean solutions to process handling problems because of their

simple structure, high efficiency, low cost and maintenance requirements. A

helical screw rotating within a stationary cylindrical casing is widely use for both

conveying and compacting a variety of materials, both granular and free‐flowing

or long and fibrous. Today, grain augers vary in size from 7.5 to 40 cm in

diameter and from less than 1 m to more than 30 m in length. They are available

as independent mobile items or as a part of other grain handling systems such as

harvesters, field bins, dryers, storage or silo systems, and feed mixing and

distribution systems. Nowadays, screw augers are widely being used in

harvesting and post‐ harvesting equipments. For example, in a grain combine,

augers are used to move cut crop on the platform to the feeder housing, clean

grain from the bottom of the cleaning shoe to the grain tank, and to unload the

grain tank onto a wagon or a truck. Augers are also used at grain elevators and

farmsteads to load grain storage bins and on feedlots for feed distribution. To

assist in the effective utilization of helical auger conveyors in agricultural

applications, we have recently carried out a comprehensive review of published

results on screw augers performance evaluation. This paper deals with screw

conveying of granular particles, mainly involving agricultural grains (e.g., corn,

wheat, oats, and barley). Screw conveying, in which particles are transported by

auger rotation in vertical, horizontal and inclined conveying systems, has found

wide agricultural applications. In general, conveying takes place in horizontal or

inclined spouts and casings. In this paper, both experimental and modeling

efforts are reviewed, related to screw conveyor parameters, e.g., auger

dimension, screw rotational speed, conveyor intake length, conveying angle; and

the conveying materials characteristics such as size, shape, coefficient of friction,

bulk density and etc., leading to recommendations for needed future works.

17
 The screw conveyor consists of a shaft that carries helicoids flightings on

its outer surface. These flightings are enclosed either in a trough for horizontal

augers or in a tube for elevating augers. The tube or the trough is held stationary

while the rotation of the flightings causes the material to move longitudinally.

Figure 1 shows the essential components of a screw conveyor. At the inlet side,

the auger flightings extend beyond the tube. Generally, a hopper is provided to

hold the material while it is conveyed into the tube. Augers can be permanently

installed in a machine, or at a site, or they can be portable. The augers are driven

either at the intake side or the discharge side. There are some center‐drive

augers but they are not common in agricultural

applications

Figure 1. A schematic diagram of a screw conveyor.

The auger length is defined as the length of the tube assembly including

any intake but not including the intake hopper and/or the head drive. The intake

length is the visible flighting at the intake of the auger. The intake shall be

guarded or otherwise designed to provide a deterrent from accidental contact

with the rotating flighting. The outside diameter of the tube is referred to as the

auger size. A standard pitch auger is the one whose pitch is approximately equal

to the outside diameter of the helicoidal flighting. Generally, the pitch is not less

than 0.9 and not more than 1.5 times the outside diameter. Standard pitch

augers are used for horizontal and up to 20° inclination angles. For inclination

18
angles greater than 20°, half‐standard pitch screws are used. Double‐ and triple‐

flight, variable‐pitch, and stepped‐diameter screws are available for moving

difficult materials and controlling feed rates (Zareiforoush, Komarizadeh, &

Alizadeh, 2010).

19
 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

This chapter presented the measures taken in developing the design; with

utilizing design considerations and criteria as its main purpose. Also, the

mechanical drawing for the belt, screw, and bucket conveyor systems are

presented herein.

3.1 Design Considerations

Nomenclature:

b, belt width, cm or bucket pitch, in.

H, S × sin of the angle of inclination of the conveyor

K, horsepower constant

L, conveyor length, ft

N, driveshaft speed, rpm

Dm, pulley diameter in motor, in.

Dp, pulley/shaft diameter in belt, in.

S, linear speed of the conveyor, ft/min

T, conveyor capacity, tonnes of coal per hour

Wb, individual bucket load, lb

From F.T. Morse, “Power Plant Engineering,” the following equations and

tables are to be used:

Table 12-1 Belt Conveyor Practice, BG units (BG – British Gravitational)

Weight of Materials per Minimum pulley diameters, in.

ply/in. width/rt (Plain drive)
28-oz duck, 0.021 lb Number of plies
32-oz duck, 0.024 lb 4 6 8
36-oz duck, 0.026 lb 28-oz 24 30 42
42-oz duck, 0.029 lb 36-oz 24 36 48
1/16-oz rubber cover, 42-oz - 42 54
0.018 lb.

20
 Carrier spacing
Belt width, in. Spacing, ft.

12 – 18 4

20 – 30 3.5

36 – 60 3

Idlers 10

Table 12-2 Conveyor Capacity and Power

Conveyor Type Maximum Capacity HP required to driveshaft

Tons per hr

𝐿 + 45.72
Belt conveyor* 0.000404 Sb2 (0.06𝐾𝑆 + 𝑇)↕
9000
Bucket elevator 0.07 W bS/b 1.8 × Theo. hoisting power

Screw conveyor* kg per rev vs. dia 0.001L(1.331 N + 7.333T)

Dia, in 4 6 8 10

Lb/rev 0.3 1.2 3.3 8

12 14 16

13 21 27

* For horizontal conveyors. Add TH/273.7 hp for rise on inclined conveyors. Belt
conveyors can be used up to 20˚ slope with little loss in capacity
↕ Add tripper power where pertinent.

Table 12-3 Horsepower Constant for Belt Conveyors

Belt width, in. K Tripper hp Belt type

14 15 0.60 + 0.0035T 5-ply, 28-oz duck
16 16 0.60 + 0.0035T 5-ply, 28-oz duck
18 19 0.78 + 0.0035T 5-ply, 28-oz duck
20 21 0.87 + 0.0040T 5-ply, 28-oz duck
24 25 1.02 + 0.0040T 5-ply, 32-oz duck
30 34 1.41 + 0.0050T 5-ply, 36-oz duck
36 44 1.80 + 0.0050T 6-ply, 32-oz duck
42 50 2.07 + 0.0055T 6-ply, 32-oz duck
48 60 2.46 + 0.0060T 6-ply, 42-oz duck
54 69 3.00 + 0.0070T 6-ply, 42-oz duck
60 77 3.80 + 0.0080T 8-ply, 42-oz duck

21
3.2 Design Criteria

3.2.1 Belt Conveyor

Given:

T = 50 tph

S = 300 fpm (91.4 m/min); standard value taken from F.T. Morse, “Power
Plant Engineering”

𝑇
𝑏= √
0.000875𝑆

50 𝑡𝑝ℎ
𝑏= √
0.000875 × 300 𝑓𝑝𝑚

𝑏 = 9.76 𝑖𝑛 ≈ 10 𝑖𝑛.

Spacing: 4 ft.

𝐿𝑐 + 150 𝑘𝑆
𝐻𝑃𝑏 = [ + 𝑇]
33 000 33
20 + 150 15(300)
𝐻𝑃𝑏 = [ + 25]
33 000 33

𝐻𝑃𝑏 = 0.831 ℎ𝑝

𝐻𝑃𝑇 = [0.60 + 0.0035(25)]ℎ𝑝

𝐻𝑃𝑇 = 0.6875 ℎ𝑝

Total hp:

𝐻𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡 = (0.831 + 0.6875)ℎ𝑝 = 1.52ℎ𝑝

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 𝐻𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡 × 𝑆. 𝐹.

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 1.52 ℎ𝑝 × 1.5

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 2.28 ℎ𝑝 ≈ 2.5 ℎ𝑝

From Table 12-3:

𝐹𝑜𝑟 5 𝑝𝑙𝑦, 28 − 𝑜𝑧 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑘: 𝐷 = 27 𝑖𝑛. 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑

Weight of belt:

𝑊𝑜 = (𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑦 × 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛.× 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ)

+ (𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛. × 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
× 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟)

22
 1
𝑊𝑜 = (5 × 0.021 × 10) + (0.018 × × 2)
16
𝑙𝑏
𝑊𝑜 = 1.05
𝑓𝑡

𝑙𝑏
𝑊𝑜 = 1.05 (𝐿 )(2)
𝑓𝑡 𝑐

𝑙𝑏
𝑊𝑜 = 1.05 (20)(2)
𝑓𝑡

𝑊𝑜 = 42 𝑙𝑏

Speed of the pulley or shaft of the belt conveyor:

𝑉 = 𝜋𝐷𝑝 𝑁

300 × 12 = 𝜋(27)(𝑁)

𝑁 = 42.44 𝑟𝑝𝑚

1750
𝐺𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 =
42.44
𝐺𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = 41.23 ∶ 1

Shaft diameter of motor:

𝑉 = 𝜋𝐷𝑚 𝑁𝑚

300 × 12 = 𝜋(𝐷𝑚 )(1750)

𝐷𝑚 = 2.1 𝑖𝑛.

No. of carriers and idlers

40
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 =
4
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 = 10

40
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑠 =
10
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑠 = 4

Length of belt conveyor:

𝜋(𝐷1 + 𝐷2 ) (𝐷2 − 𝐷1 )2
𝐿𝐵 = 2𝑐 + +
2 4𝐶
𝐿𝐵 = 2(20) + 27𝜋

𝐿𝐵 = 47.07 𝑓𝑡 ≈ 47 𝑓𝑡

Belt Conveyor Design Specifications:

Capacity: 25 tph

23
 Belt width: 10 in. *5-ply; 32-oz duck

HPm: 2.5 hp

No. of carriers: 10

No. of idlers: 40

Overall weight of belt: 42 lb

Length of Belt: 47 ft

Shaft/Pulley Diameter: 27 in

3.2.2 Bucket Conveyor

Bucket Load weight:

0.03𝑊𝑏 𝑆
𝑇𝑃𝐻 =
𝑏
25(14)
𝑊𝑏 =
0.03(300)

𝑊𝑏 = 38.89 𝑙𝑏

Shaft diameter:

𝑉 = 𝜋𝐷𝑁

300 × 12 = 𝜋(𝐷)(60)

𝐷 = 19.1 𝑖𝑛. ≈ 20 𝑖𝑛.

Theoretical power:

𝑃𝐵 = 𝑚𝑔𝐻

Where: H = total height; Lc + D in which L = 50 ft

20
𝐻 = 10 + 12 = 21.67 𝑓𝑡

𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 2 000 𝑙𝑏 1 ℎ𝑟 1 ℎ𝑝
𝑃𝐵 = (25 )( )( ) (21.67 𝑓𝑡) ( )
ℎ𝑟 1 𝑡𝑜𝑛 3600𝑠 𝑓𝑡 − 𝑙𝑏
550 𝑠

𝑃𝐵 = 0.55 ℎ𝑝

Solving for bucket conveyor power. Formula taken from Power Plant
Engineering by Morse.

𝐻𝑃𝑠 = 1.8 × 𝑃𝐵

𝐻𝑃𝑠 = 1.8 × 0.55 𝐻𝑃

24
 𝐻𝑃𝑠 = 0.99 ℎ𝑝

Motor power:

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 𝐻𝑃𝑠 × 𝑆. 𝐹.

Service factor: 1.5

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 0.9 ℎ𝑝 × 1.5

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 1.485 ℎ𝑝 ≈ 1.5 ℎ𝑝

Length of the bucket conveyor:

19.1 𝑖𝑛.
𝐿𝐵 = 2(20) + 𝜋 ( )
12 𝑖𝑛

𝐿𝐵 = 45 𝑓𝑡

Bucket volume:

𝑊𝐵
𝑉𝐵 =
𝜌

38.89 𝑙𝑏𝑠
𝑉𝐵 =
𝑙𝑏𝑠
45.34 3
𝑓𝑡

1728 𝑖𝑛3
𝑉𝐵 = 0.8577 𝑓𝑡 3 ×
𝑓𝑡 3

𝑉𝐵 = 1482.177 𝑖𝑛3

Cross sectional area of the bucket:

1482.177 𝑖𝑛3
𝐴𝐵 =
14 𝑖𝑛.
𝐴𝐵 = 105.87 𝑖𝑛2

Height of the bucket:

(𝑏1 + 𝑏2 )
𝐴𝐵 = ℎ
2
(7 + 11)
105.87 𝑖𝑛2 = ℎ
2
ℎ = 11.76 𝑖𝑛. ≅ 1.0 𝑓𝑡

No. of buckets:

𝐿𝐵
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠 =
ℎ𝐵 + 𝑝

45 𝑓𝑡
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠 =
1.0 𝑓𝑡 + 1.17 𝑓𝑡

𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠 = 21 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠

25
Bucket Elevator Design Specifications:

Capacity: 25 tph

Bucket load: 38.89 lbs

Belt Width: 14 in.

Bucket height: 1.0 ft

Bucket pitch: 1.17 ft

HPm: 1.5 hp

No. of buckets: 21

Length of belt: 45 ft

Shaft Diameter: 20 in

3.2.3 Screw Conveyor

Solving for the HP of the screw, the following formula was used:

𝐻𝑃 = 0.001𝐿(0.4𝑁 + 2𝑇)

Where:

L = length of the screw conveyor in ft

N = driveshaft speed (usually 60 rpm)

T = capacity in TPH

Using shaft rpm: 60 rpm, solve for the lb/rev to get the diameter of the
screw conveyor in accordance to Table 12-3

25(2000)
𝑙𝑏 60
= = 13.88, 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒 21
𝑟𝑒𝑣 60
∴ 𝐷𝑠 = 14"

Screw conveyor HP:

𝐻𝑃𝑠 = 0.001(20)[0.4(60) + 2(50)]

𝐻𝑃𝑠 = 1.48 ℎ𝑝

Motor Power:

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 1.48 (1.5)

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = 2.22 ℎ𝑝 ≅ 2.5 ℎ𝑝

26
 Gear Ratio:

1750
𝐺𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = = 29.17: 1
60
𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ = 𝐷𝑠 = 14"

𝜋𝐷2 𝜋𝐷3
D3 D2 𝜋𝐷1 𝜋𝐷4

𝑃 𝑃

√(𝜋𝐷2 )2 = √𝑃2 + (𝜋𝐷2 )2

𝜋𝐷2 = √142 + (14𝜋)2

𝐷2 = 14.70 𝑖𝑛.

(𝜋𝐷3 )2 = 𝑃2 + (𝜋𝐷4 )2

𝜋𝐷3 = √72 + (7𝜋)2

𝐷3 = 7.35 𝑖𝑛.

Number of threads:

𝐿
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 =
𝑃
20 × 12
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 = = 17.14 ≈ 18
14

Shaft diameter value is taken from Chart 6 from Continental Screw

Conveyor Catalogue and Engineering Manual.

27
Screw Conveyor Design Specifications:

Capacity: 25 Tons/hr

HPm: 2.5 hp

Length: 20 ft

Screw Diameter: 14 in.

Shaft Diameter: 3 in (from Chart 6)

No. of screws: 15

Pitch: 14 in.

28
MECHANICAL PLANS

29
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