Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Measurement
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement

Measurement and determination of the absorbed impact energy for

conveyor belts of various structures under impact loading
Anna Grincova a,⇑, Miriam Andrejiova b, Daniela Marasova c, Samer Khouri c
a
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Technical University of Kosice, Letna 9, 042 00 Kosice, Slovak Republic
b
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Kosice, Letna 9, 042 00 Kosice, Slovak Republic
c
Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnology, Technical University of Kosice, Park Komenskeho 14, 042 00 Kosice, Slovak Republic

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The effect of impact loading at the transfer point is often manifested by mechanical damage to a conveyor
Received 25 July 2017 belt. To describe the phenomena related to the conveyor belt damage caused by the impact of the
Received in revised form 17 August 2018 material, it is important to monitor the amount of the absorbed impact energy. Therefore, the focus of
Accepted 1 September 2018
the present article is on the identification of the effect of the conveyor belt’s structure (textile or steel
Available online 6 September 2018
conveyor belt carcass), as well as the strength, the material’s drop height and the drop weight on the rel-
ative amount of impact energy absorbed by a conveyor belt. The result of the article is determining the
Keywords:
capabilities of different conveyer belts through the monitoring and the identification of the relationship
Rubber-textile conveyor belt
Steel-cord conveyor belt
between the relative amount of the absorbed energy and the selected parameters.
Puncture resistance Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Absorbed energy

1. Introduction mined by Mathaba [5], who assessed the optimal scheduling of

A rubber conveyor belt with a textile or steel carcass is the most
vulnerable structural element in a belt conveyor. At the point of
impact of the transported material onto a conveyor belt, the
extreme drop heights and sharp edges of the material may result
in damage to the cover layers and to conveyor belt punctures [1].
In particular, this regards stones and other bulky materials that
cause substantial damage to the machine belts on the excavator
which is not detected, and is then transferred downstream to the
substations of the belt conveyors and the spreader, where they
generate the associated maintenance costs. In a study by Borchart
et al. [2] a sensor-based stone detection system was developed on
the one hand, and an automatic bulk material discharge system
was created on the other hand, with the aim of eliminating such
damage to the conveyor belts.
In addition to causing damage to the most expensive element of
a belt conveyor, the transportation of materials by belt conveyors
is also an energy-intensive industrial application [3,4]. The cost-
efficient operation of belt conveyors, just like any other applica-
tion, requires using accurate plant models with optimised algo-
rithms. When creating such models, the energy model should
indicate the amounts of materials that can be transported by the
belt conveyors to optimise the costs of the energy. This was deter-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: anna.grincova@tuke.sk (A. Grincova).
conveyor belts (CB) under the Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) tariff,
using the Model Predictive Control (MPC) and the effects of the
MPC and the storage size on the load profile, as well as the result-
ing energy cost. Authors Ristić and Jeftenić [6] implemented the
fuzzy control to improve the energy efficiency of variable speed
bulk material transportation. The current energy models include
models by authors [7–9].
Conveyor belt damage generally occurs as a result of a number
of factors. The most important damage results from insufficient
puncture resistance of the conveyor belt due to an inappropriate
conveyor belt structure, a wrongly-selected support system at
the impact site, the wrong chute structure, and primarily from a
too high drop height which means that the conveyor belt is not
able to absorb the impact energy. The effects of various factors
on the likelihood of a conveyor belt puncture have been examined
by several authors [10–12]. For example, Honus [10] analysed the
occurrence of conveyor belt failures at the impact site where the
materials lands. They studied how the number of conveyor carry-
ing the idlers can affect the belt’s compressive stress at the impact
site.
The creation of energy models, or FEM models [13], is only pos-
sible if they are based on laboratory [14] or operational measure-
ments [15]. In many cases, the measurement results are used as
input data for the creation of models, or the results of the models
are often verified with the results obtained by applying various
measurement methods [16–18].

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2018.09.003
0263-2241/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371
The FEM method was also used in the monitoring of conveyor
belt damage and in the determination of the conditions in which
damage to the cover layer of the conveyor belt occurs [13]. Bajda
[14] presented the results of tests which allow defining the influ-
ence of the conveyor belt design on the belt’s wear and tear, in par-
ticular with regard to punctures. In this test, a belt’s puncture
resistance was determined by using a method based on calculating
the mean impact energy and the critical energy. The authors of
another study, Bajda, Blazej and Jurdziak [15], described a new tool
in determining a belt’s resistance to punctures. Their research was
carried out with a newly-developed high resolution magnetic diag-
nostic device intended for the assessment of the condition of steel
cord conveyor belts. In addition to monitoring the belts during
their use on the conveyors, this device can be used as a new tool
in belt puncture investigations. Qiao et al. [16] monitored the lon-
gitudinal tearing of conveyor belts while applying the method of
Integrative Binocular Vision Detection (IBVD). The longitudinal
tears on conveyor belts were also investigated by Binchao et al.
[17]. In order to detect the longitudinal tears, they applied the
method of Dual Band Infrared Detection (DBID) that is based on
a combination of mid-infrared and long infrared vision. The
dynamic deformations of the conveyor belts were tested using a
specifically engineered testing machine, by the authors of the work
and the results were described in their paper [18]. In this case, the
authors compared the experimental approach based on the pho-
togrammetry technique with a model created by the FEM and
DEM methods.
Authors Ilic and Wheeler [11] compared the results of labora-
tory experiments and simulation of interactions between the num-
ber of bulk solid materials and the belt sag ratios, where the
outcomes led to improved methods of calculating the optimal
loads on conveyor idler rolls and increasing the accuracy in pre-
dicting the energy loss due to the bulk solid flexure. Zhang [12]
describe the options for improving the energy efficiency of belt
conveyors that can be achieved at the level of the equipment and
the operation processes. An analytical energy model was designed
in compliance with the ISO 5048 standard. Off-line and an on-line
parameter estimation schemes were also applied to identify the
new energy model. Furthermore, a parametric energy model for
energy management is proposed by Mathaba [5] for long belt
conveyors.
Another group of experts examined the energy losses occurring
during the transportation of materials by belt conveyor systems.
This was determined as a function of: the CB structure [19,20]
and the cover layer category [21], as well as the support system
structure [22,23] and the belt conveyor drive [18]. The authors of
the paper [20] dealt with the foundation and the parameter iden-
tification of a rubber belt non-linear restoration model, while
applying the second-order Fourier series. The results of the neural
network were then tested by experiments. These results may serve
as a theoretical basis for the development of an energy-saving rub-
ber belt. Chen [19] simulated the cores of rubber belts with wire
ropes, where the properties of pressure resistance in the St2000
type of conveyor belt were researched. The authors created a sim-
ulation to serve as the basis for calculating the energy dissipation
of rubber conveyor belts. Qiu and Chai [22] analysed the energy
losses in conveyor systems caused by the indentation of the idler
into the rubber cover of the belt, and they proposed a model which
will be useful for the designing and optimisation of the energy con-
sumption in conveyor systems. In the model, in addition to the
energy losses with respect to the inlet provisions, accelerations
and the intake, as well as the resistance of the pulleys, scrapers
and the bending resistance of the rubber belt, we have to add other
factors, according to Brands [23]. This includes the resistance per
metre, as mentioned below, which has a greater influence the
longer the belt is, and the value of the impact load that runs paral-
363
lel to the results for the double idler configuration (with a slight
deviation) and that is proportional to the length of the product
flight. Halepoto [24] proposed a mathematical model for an
energy-efficient conveyor system with the variable speed drive
(VSD). The proposed system would optimally switch a conveyor
system to the on/idle/off status to minimise the energy consump-
tion of the conveyor belt. An examination of the friction and sur-
face energy properties of belt conveyors was dealt with by [21].
In this case, the friction at the interface of the raw material and
the belt cover layer was tested using the standard inclined-plane
method, and the adhesion and stickiness were evaluated by deter-
mining the surface-free energies of the belt cover layer and the
wood-plastic composites (WPCs) at temperatures of 23 and
100 °C. On the basis of these measurements, the authors investi-
gated the key aspects of selecting the belt cover material and pro-
posed a conveyor belt configuration for a prototype post-extrusion
process line.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Problem formulation
The impact of transported material onto a conveyor belt often
causes damage that is classified as a puncture. This kind of damage
simultaneously affects the top cover layer, the carcass and the bot-
tom cover layer of a conveyor belt. This kind of damage occurs
when a conveyor belt’s capacity to absorb the impact energy of
the material falling onto it is surpassed. In this article, we will
examine how much energy a conveyor belt is able to absorb before
such damage will occur. The amount of the absorbed energy will be
expressed in relative terms, or as a percentage. The absorption of
the impact energy also partially represents some damage to the
internal and external structure of a conveyor belt.
2.2. Conveyor belts
There are several types of belts that are currently used on con-
veyer systems. From a constructional point of view, the belt cate-
gorisation depends on the carcass type, the covering method, the
material covering the carcass, the surface finishing, etc. The basic
structural elements of a conveyor belt include the carcass (textile,
steel) and the cover layers, the thickness of which is affected by the
properties of the material being transported.
The most frequently-used conveyor belts include rubber-textile
(Fig. 1) and steel-cord conveyor belts (Fig. 2). A carcass of a rubber-
textile conveyor belt consists of one or more textile plies while the
carcass is reinforced with various types of natural or synthetic
fibres. The carcass of steel-cord conveyor belt consists of steel
cords in various diameters and strengths.
2.3. Testing device
The experimental measurements were carried out using a test-
ing device intended for testing the puncture resistance of conveyer
Fig. 1. Rubber-textile conveyor belt.
364 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371
Fig. 2. Steel-cord conveyor belt.
belts (Fig. 3). A more detailed specification of the device is
described in the paper [25].
The testing machine comprises the PP065 electronics. It records
the data obtained during the measurement (time, drop hammer
height, and the stretching and impact forces). In this experiment,
we were interested in the time [ms] and the height [mm]. The
object’s impact heights were measured using the Banner LT3 laser
sensor.
The precision of the measurements of the distance from the LT3
laser sensor depended on the measured distance. The maximum
measuring range of the LT3 sensor was 5 m. The lowest measuring
precision, at the refresh frequency of 1 ms (Fast), was determined
by the value of the (resolution/repeatability) of individual mea-
surements, as stated in the technical specification as 5 mm
(Fig. 4). The value of 5 mm can therefore be regarded as the achiev-
able measurement precision.
The accuracy of the measurements of the distance from the LT3
laser sensor was determined by the linearity error (Fig. 5), which
also depended on the measured distance. The worse linearity
defect was approximately 15 mm at a measured distance of
Fig. 3. Testing device scheme (1 – skeleton, 2 – sliding of drop hammer, 3 – drop
hammer, 4 – impactor, 5 – hydraulic jaws).
Fig. 4. LT3 resolution.
1.2 m. The reflection of the object was measured within the mea-
suring range of 4 m, where the maximum linearity error was
±3 mm, which can be regarded as the achievable measurement
accuracy.
The experiment was carried out using a roller support system,
where the impact of the material was directed between the rollers
(Fig. 6). The distance between the roller axes was 0.16 m. During
the experiments, the weights of the falling materials were simu-
lated in trials ranging from 50 to 90 kg, with 10 kg increments.
The drop heights were chosen within heights ranging from 1 to
2.2 m, with 0.2 m increments, while the specimens of rubber-
textile conveyor belts used in the experiment were of P1250 and
P2500 types (with four component textile-polyamide plies) and
the specimens of the steel-cord conveyor belts were of ST1250
and ST2500 types. In the above designations, ‘‘P” means a polya-
mide textile layer; ‘‘ST” means steel cords; and the numbers
2500 and 1250 express the conveyor belt rigidities [N.mm
1].
Every specimen was the same size: 1400  160 mm. The method
of the specimen preparation is described in [26]. All of the speci-
mens were stretched using the force recommended by the con-
veyor belt manufacturer (1/10 of the belt strength for a
millimetre of the width). Measurements of the impact and of the
stretching forces were then carried out for each test specimen.
Fig. 5. LT3 linearity (typical).
 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371
Fig. 6. Support system.
The testing was carried out using a pyramidal impactor (Fig. 7),
which simulated the impact of a sharp-edged material.
3. Theory/calculation
3.1. Physical fundamentals
The amount of impact energy caused by the impact of the mate-
rial onto a conveyor belt may be expressed as the amount of kinetic
energy Ek of an object with the weight m, with the velocity right
before the impact v . If we neglect the impact of the environment
(environmental resistance) and apply the law of the conservation
of mechanical energy, then the amount of kinetic energy Ek of
the object right before the impact
1
Ek ¼ mv 2
2
can be substituted by the amount of the potential energy Ep
Ep ¼ mgh
of the object with the weight m, falling from the height h, where
g ¼ 9:81 m.s
2 is the gravitational acceleration. The following
applies:
1
Ek ¼ mv 2 ¼ mgh ¼ Ep
2
A conveyor belt structure and the properties of the material
from which the conveyor belt is manufactured will result in a sub-
sequent bouncing of the material off the conveyor belt. If we
neglect the impact of the environment and we know the height
Fig. 7. Shape of the impactor used.
365
to which the material bounces, we can use then the difference in
the potential energies of the object before the impact and after
the impact to identify how much energy the conveyor belt was
able to absorb. This principle is represented in Fig. 8.
By applying this method, we can determine the absolute value
of the amount of the absorbed energy Eabsorbed
Eabsorbed ¼ Ep 1
Ep 2 ð4Þ
Considering the number of executed measurements, it is more
beneficial to identify the amount of the absorbed energy in a com-
prehensive manner, by using a relative expression (5) or a percent-
age (6)
Ep1
Ep2
Erelat ¼ ð5Þ
Ep1
Ep1
Ep2
Erelat ¼  100½% ð6Þ
Ep1
When we apply this method, we can determine what portion
(percentage) of the initial impact energy the conveyor belt is able
to absorb. This portion of the initial impact energy can be further
designated as the relative amount of the absorbed energy.
In the relation (2) used for the calculation of the energy Ep ; the
weight m and the gravitational acceleration g are constants. There-
fore, after the modification of the relation (5) we will get
mgh1
mgh2 h1
h2
Erelat ¼ ¼ ð7Þ
mgh1 h1
It is evident that if we express the relative amount of the
absorbed energy using the relation (7) at a random drop height,
we will always reach the theoretical maximum value 1.
ð1Þ 3.2. Model formation
The relation between the explained (dependent) variable andthe
and the k-explanatory (independent) variables X j ; where
ð2Þ j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; k; can be expressed by the following mathematical
model:
Y ¼ f ðX; bÞ þ e; ð8Þ
where Y is the vector of the values of the explained variable Y; X is
ð3Þ the matrix of the values of explanatory variables Xj, where
Fig. 8. Determination of absorbed energy.
366 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371
j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; k; b is the vector of the model parameters, f(X,b) is the
regression function, and e is the vector of the accidental errors.
In our case, we will consider the linear regression model in the
following matrix form:
Y ¼ Xb þ e ð9Þ
The verification of the statistical significance of the model was
carried out using the F-test of the statistical significance. The sta-
tistical significance of the regression model parameters was veri-
fied by applying the test of the statistical significance of the
regression parameter. The measure of strength of the relationship
between the variable Y and the joint effect of the k variables is
expressed by the multiple coefficient of determination R2.
4. Result
The experimental tests were carried out with two types of
rubber-textile conveyor belts, P1250 and P2500, and for two types
of steel-cord conveyor belts, ST1250 and ST2500. The input param-
eters were the weight m of the falling material and the drop height
h. The objectives of the experimental research were to:
 identify the relative amount of the absorbed energy for both
conveyor belt types (P, ST) and to determine the impact of the
parameters (conveyor belt strength, structure, drop weight,
drop height) on the relative amount of the absorbed energy;
and
 determine a model of the relationship between the relative
amount of the absorbed energy and the selected parameters.
The real data of the measured heights with the time when the
drop hammer impacted the conveyor belt (with a certain weight
and at a certain drop height) is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The graphs
were created for all four tested conveyor belt types. In the case of
the steel-cord conveyer belt, a puncture occurred with the drop
hammer of 90 kg and a drop height of 1.8 m or higher.
In the next part, we monitored only the first and the second
impact of the drop hammer onto the conveyor belt.
Fig. 9. Drop hammer’s impact curve (rubber-textile conveyor belt).
4.1. Determination of the relative amount of absorbed energy and the
impact of the selected parameters
Figs. 11 and 12 (resp. Figs. 13 and 14) illustrate examples of the
relative amount of absorbed energy after the first impact (resp. the
second impact) of the drop hammer onto the conveyor belt at all
the tested drop weights, where only four drop heights are used
for the purpose of clarity. The relative amount of absorbed energy
was determined using the relation (7).
At each drop weight, falls from seven different drop heights
were simulated. The differences between the obtained relative
amounts of the absorbed energy were minimal.
The mean values of the relative amounts of absorbed energy
after the first and second impacts of the drop hammer onto the
conveyor belt are indicated in Table 1.
The impact of the strength of the belt on the relative amount of
absorbed impact energy was significant in the case of the rubber-
textile conveyor belts (Fig. 9). At a strength of 2500 N.mm
1, the
rubber-textile conveyor belt was able to absorb after the first
impact of the drop hammer approximately 40–50% of the impact
energy. At a strength of 1250 N.mm
1, the belt was able to absorb
as much as 60–70% of the impact energy. However, the impact of
the strength on the relative amount of absorbed impact energy
in the case of the steel-cord conveyor belts was negligible
(Fig. 10). At a strength of 2500 N.mm
1, the steel-cord conveyor
belt was able to absorb approximately 70–85% of the impact
energy; while at a strength of 1250 N.mm
1, the belt was able to
absorb approximately 73–85% of the impact energy. These values
were comparable for both belts. The results for the second impact
of the drop hammer onto the conveyor belt were similar (Figs. 11
and 12).
The impact of the conveyor belt structure on the relative
amount of the absorbed impact energy is evident: the rubber-
textile conveyor belts with determined properties were able to
absorb a smaller relative amount of impact energy than the
steel-cord conveyor belts with the same properties.
On the basis of an analysis of all the resulting values, we can
state that with a growing drop weight (and also with a growing
 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371 367

Fig. 10. Drop hammer’s impact curve (steel-cord conveyer belt).

Fig. 11. Relative amount of absorbed energy (first impact, rubber-textile conveyor belt).

drop height) the relative amount of the absorbed impact energy where b0 and bj for j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; k are the model parameters, Y is the
decreases in the majority of cases. observed value of the explained variable Y; X j ;j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; k; are the
k-explanatory (independent) variables, and e is the accidental error.
4.2. Creation of a model of the relationship between the relative First, we monitored the impact of the weight of the falling
amount of absorbed energy and the selected parameters material m and the drop height h on the relative amount of the
absorbed energy during the first and the second impact of the
We will consider the following conventional linear regression drop hammer onto the conveyor belt. For all the examined con-
model veyor belts, the point estimate of the regression model was as
X
k follows
Y ¼ b0 þ bj X j þ e; ð10Þ Y ¼ b0 þ b1 X 1 þ b2 X 2 or Erelat ¼ b0 þ b1 h þ b2 m ð11Þ
j¼1
368 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371

Fig. 12. Relative amount of absorbed energy (first impact, steel-cord conveyor belt).

Fig. 13. Relative amount of absorbed energy (second impact, rubber-textile conveyor belt).

where b0 ; b1 and b2 are the point estimates of the model parame- Erelat ¼ b0 þ b1 h þ b2 m þ b3 CB þ b4 S ð12Þ
ters, whereas Y ¼ Erelat ; and X 2 ¼ m. The point estimates of the
The CB variable is a dichotomous qualitative variable, trans-
parameters, their statistical significance, the significance of the
formed into a numerical variable with a permutation of 1 for a
model and the coefficient of determination are listed in Tables 2
rubber-textile conveyor belt and with a permutation of 0 for a
and 3.
steel-cord conveyor belt. The S variable represents the conveyor
The regression models and the model parameters were statisti-
belt strength [N.mm
1].
cally significant in all the cases (p-value < a).
The point estimates of the parameters, the significance of the
The regression model, expressing the relationship between the
model and the coefficient of determination are listed in Table 4.
relative absorption of the potential energy and the drop hammer
It was found that the regression models and the model parameters
weight (m), the drop height (h), the conveyor belt type (rubber-
were statistically significant.
textile, steel-cord), and the conveyor belt strength (S) is as follows:
 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371 369

Fig. 14. Relative amount of absorbed energy (second impact, steel-cord conveyer belt).

Table 1
Relative amount of absorbed energy – Interval within the whole range of the drop hammer heights.

50 kg 60 kg 70 kg 80 kg 90 kg
P2500
First impact 0.51 0.46 0.45 0.42 0.41
Second impact 0.49 0.45 0.43 0.41 0.39
P1250
First impact 0.67 0.67 0.65 0.65 0.64
Second impact 0.71 0.66 0.65 0.63 0.61
ST2500
First impact 0.78 0.75 0.75 0.74 0.74
Second impact 0.83 0.77 0.75 0.72 0.71
ST1250
First impact 0.80 0.79 0.78 0.78 0.78
Second impact 0.90 0.87 0.88 0.78 0.80

Table 2
Point estimate of the model parameters – first impact of the drop hammer (a = 0.05).

b0 b1 b2 R2 p-value
P2500
value 0.611 0.011
0.003 0.911 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 0.018 <0.0001
P1250
value 0.836
0.026
0.002 0.924 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001
ST2500
value 0.986
0.033
0.003 0.933 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001
ST1250
value 1.022
0.046
0.003 0.935 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001

5. Conclusions impact energy by conveyor belts, depending on their basic techni-

The issues related to increasing the technical and economic
levels of belt conveyor systems are associated with increasing
the service life and the operational reliability of the conveyor belts,
as well as improving the technology of the belt conveyor systems.
This article present information regarding the absorption of the
cal parameters – in particular, with regard to the CB strength and
the carcass. The article also points out the optimal chute structures,
with the optimal drop height at which a conveyor belt puncture
does not occur.
Drop hammers were designed to fall onto the conveyor belt
specimens in the experiment, in order to simulate the impact of
370 A. Grincova et al. / Measurement 131 (2019) 362–371

Table 3
Point estimate of the model parameters – Second impact of the drop hammer (a = 0.05).

b0 b1 b2 R2 p-value
P2500
value 0.571 0.014
0.002 0.944 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001
P1250
value 0.827
0.013
0.002 0.890 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 0.014 <0.0001
ST2500
value 0.912 0.020
0.003 0.851 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 0.009 <0.0001
ST1250
value 1.112
0.023
0.003 0.884 <<0.0001
p-value <0.0001 0.027 <0.0001

Table 4
Point estimate of the model parameters (a = 0.05).

b0 b1 b2 b3 b4 R2 p-value
First impact
value 1.121
0.012
0.002
0.216
0.0001 0.887 <<0.0001
Second impact
Value 1.196
0.012
0.002
0.237
0.0001 0.903 <<0.0001

real materials onto the conveyor belts. The experiments simulated
various situations (impacts of materials of various weights, as well
as those dropped from various heights). The objective was to iden-
tify the ability of a conveyor belt to absorb the energy of the falling
material without causing a belt puncture. Within the scope of our
experimental research, we came to the following conclusions:
The results of this experimental research for the purpose of
determining the ability of a conveyor belt to absorb the impact
energy indicate that there is the potential for further research, in
terms of the utilisation of new reinforcement materials resistant
to punctures, which have not yet been subjected to more detailed
research.

 The drop hammer behaviour over time is specific for a particu-

lar conveyor belt type. Steel-cord conveyor belts dampen the
impact of the falling material faster than rubber-textile con-
veyor belts.
 The impact of the strength on the relative amount of the
absorbed impact energy was only observed with rubber-
textile conveyor belts. Belts of this kind are able, at a strength
of 2500 N.mm
1, to absorb approximately 40–50% of the impact
energy after the first impact of the drop hammer, and at a
strength of 1250 N.mm
1 the belts are able to absorb as much
as 60–70% of the impact energy. This means that with belts of
a higher strength, the internal damage is smaller than with belts
of a lower strength.
 In the case of steel-cord conveyor belts, at a strength of 2500 N.
mm
1, the belt is able to absorb approximately 70–85% of the
impact energy after the first impact of the drop hammer; and
at a strength of 1250 N.mm
1 the belt is able to absorb almost
the same amount, i.e. 73–85% of the impact energy. Therefore,
with this type of belt, the strength does not have a strong
impact on the relative amount of the absorbed energy.
 The impact of the conveyor belt structure on the relative
amount of absorbed impact energy is significant. Specifically,
rubber-textile conveyor belts absorb a smaller relative amount
of impact energy than steel-cord conveyor belts.
 In the majority of cases, with a growing drop weight (and also
with a growing drop height), the relative amount of the
absorbed impact energy decreases.
With regard to four various types of conveyor belts that were
used in the experiment we can state the following: in the case of
rubber-textile conveyor belts, the internal damage is smaller; thus,
they are more resistant to serious damage, such as punctures.
Therefore, it can be concluded that rubber-textile conveyor belts
are more appropriate for operations with the increased occurrence
of this particular kind of damage.
Acknowledgements
This article is the result of the projects implementation KEGA
009TUKE-4/2016 Design of the specialized training concept ori-
ented to the development of experimental skills within the frame
of education in the study branch logistics and project VEGA
1/0577/17 Transfer of knowledge from laboratory experiments
and mathematical models in the creation of a knowledge based
system for assessing the quality environmentally friendly conveyor
belts.
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