CHP (Detail) Gyanendra Sharma NPTI Delhi

.
COAL HANDLING PLANT
Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Introduction
• Coal is the primary fuel for production of

electricity in our country. The importance and
magnitude of the business of coal handling is
emphasized by the fact that more than 60% of
India’s total installed generating capacity
consists of coal fired stations.

Transportation of coal
• Coal is transported from the collieries by the
various methods viz. , by rail, road, aerial rope
way or conveyor belt. After transporting the
coal from coal mines to power station, coal is
required to be fed to the boilers or to be
stored in the storage yard and this is
accomplished with the help of a system of
equipments called coal handling plant.

Stock Yard
• When coal transportation system fails it is
essential that coal should be made available
to boilers continuously so that three may not
be stoppage of power. To meet such situation
it is necessary that sufficient stock of coal is
made at the power station so that there may
not be interruption in coal supply to the
boilers.

Two main functions of CHP
• It is expected to keep a minimum ground stock
of coal to cater to the requirement of the
station for the period of 45 days. Thus besides
unloading the coal received by various mode of
transportation, coal handling plant has to
perform two main functions (I) Stacking and
reclaiming of coal to feed the boilers in case
direct supply from mines fails (ii) To feed the
boilers with the coal directly received from
mines
Classification of coal
• Coal is the main fuel of a thermal power
station. Coal is classified as :
• Peat.
• Light
• Bituminous
• Anthracite

Peat

• It is the first stage in progress of
transformation of buried vegetation into coal.
It contains high percentage of moisture and
small percentage of volatile matter and
carbon.

Lignite

• It is the next stage in the development of
coal. It also contains high percentage of
moisture (30%), but can be dried just by
exposing to air (6%). It can be used as fuel in
pulverized form. Neyveli Power station in
Tamil Nadu is the first power plant in the
country which used lignite as fuel.

Bituminous Coal

• It is the most popular form of coal used for all
purpose. It has low moisture content. Sub-
bituminous coal is similar to lignite. It contains
50% less moisture than lignite It also contain
less ash than lignite but is has no caking
power.

Semi-bituminous coal
• Semi-bituminous coal is intermediate between
anthracite, and bituminous coal. It has low
percentage of moisture, ash, Sulphar and
volatile matter and high percentage of
available hydrogen. It contains 10 to 20 %
volatile matter and 2 to 4 % oxygen.

Anthracite

• It is the last stage in the process of
transformation or buried vegetation into coal
and it contains highest percentage of carbon
and low percentage of V.M. (below 8 %). It
burns only at high temperature. The
pulverization of anthracite is very difficult and
costly.

Consumption of coal
• A 200 MW unit consumes about 2500 tones of
cal everyday
• Average amount of Bituminous coal required
generally varies fro m 0.5 to 0.6 MT/MWH/hr
A 500 MW unit consumes about 280 Tones of
coal every hour.

Rotary type wagon Tippler

Placing wagon on railway track

Feeder

Feeder

Types of Idlers

Gravity take-up arrangement

Magnetic separator

Magnetic separator

Automatic Belt Weighed

Vibrating Screen

Crusher

Crusher

Crusher

Stacker cum Reclaimer

BTPS Coal Handling Plant

General Description
• The main line of the coal handling plant runs
between the coal unloading point and the
boiler house, and for maximum economy this
line should be as short as possible. It is
common practice to provide screening and
crushing plant (should oversize coal arrive
from the colliery) in the bunker

General layout
• conveyor run and it is usually at this point,
after the crusher, that the supply to and return
from the coal store is introduced. Factors
affecting the general layout of coal
• handling plant are :-

Modes of coal transportation
• Rail
• Road
• Aerial rope
• Ship
• Baraga
• Conveyor Belt

Layout of the railway siding
• Wagon Tippler
• Beetle charger
• Locomotive
• Grids
• Water spray
• Weighed

The position where the conveyors join the
land
• If area is less, underground system can also be

used.
• In the power station the railway siding layout
depends on the space available and the
volume of traffic to be handled
The design of the stocking out &
reclaiming plant

The layout & sequence of construction of main boiler plant.
• In designing a system a conveyor belt

inclination should not exceed 12 degree the
horizontal and a height of approximately 3
meters should be allowed at transfer points
for the inclusion of a chute.

What is “loop” system or the “run-round”
system?
• The choice lies between the “loop” system or

the “run-round” system.

Machineries commonly employed
• Rail track and line side equipment

• Weighing machine
• Wagon tipplers
• Car puller or beetle charger
• Apron, blade or vibrating feeders
• Conveyor belts
• Magnetic separators
• Vibrating screen
• Crushers
• Storing & reclaiming equipments
• Trippers
• Control room

Weighing Machines
• The weighment of coal wagons is established

before the wagons are discharged into the
adjacent ground hopper. This is done by
placing the coupled or un-coupled wagons on
weighing platform one by one.

Weighing Machines
• In case of road transport by trucks, gross &

tare weight of truck is measured with the help
of weigh bridge located near main gate of the
power station.

Weighing Machines
• The other method of coal weighment is by

belt weighing machines. This is used at most
of the stations to ascertain how much of the
incoming coal goes into the boiler house
bunkers, how much goes to the open store
and how much is reclaimed from the store.

Wagon Tipples
• Wagons received from the collieries are

unloaded one by one with the help of wagon
tippler.

Wagon Tipples
Side tippler Rotary tippler

• Side tippler in which the • Rotary tippler in which the
coal in the wagon is coal in the wagon is
discharged into a hopper discharged into a hopper
which is at the side of the situated under the rail track
railway track level.

Car Puller or Beetle charger
• These are provided to receive loaded rail

wagons, to marshal them and to place them
on to the wagon tippler platform, the wagon
so moved pushes the previous wagon, now
empty, off the platform so that it runs down
the main track gradient on the out haul
section of the track.

Placing wagon on railway track

Apron, blade or vibration feeders
• These feeders are used for removing the coal

from unloading hopper and to feed it to the
conveyor belt. Usually two separate feeders
are installed over each belt.

Feeder

Feeder

Conveyor Belts

• A conveyor belt consists basically of an

endless moving belt carrying idlers and
individual rollers with antifriction bearings and
conveys from one transfer point to another.

Types of Idlers

Magnetic Separators
•
• Foreign materials in the coal can cause
blockages in chutes, hoppers, bunkers and
damage to conveyor belts, crushers & P.F.
mills. Magnetic separators are installed at
suitable points in the line of flow of coal to
remove any magnetic foreign material from it.

Magnetic separator

Magnetic separator

Vibrating Screen

• Screen are provided before crusher for sizing

the coal. The screened coal (-100 mm size)
falls on conveyor belt and unscreened coal
(+100 mm size) is fed to primary crusher for
crushing to about 100 size. Thus screens help
in by-passing the undersize coal which avoids
unnecessary over loading of the crusher.

Vibrating Screen

Crusher

• These are installed for crushing the coal to

proper size. The crushers must handle sticky
coal without clogging up and must be of
suitable type to take all the incoming coal
from the conveyors. Where it is certain that
small coal will always be obtained crushers
need not be installed.

Crusher

Crusher

Crusher

Storing & Reclaiming Equipment.

• Because of irregular coal supply from collieries

which may be due to holidays, strikes or break down
in the coal transportation system, coal storage is
necessary. Also there must be an arrangement for
reclaiming the coal . Bulldozers, Tractor shovels,
Drag scraper and stacker-cum-Reclaiming systems
can be used for stacking the coal in the stock yard
and conveying it back to the feed system.


Stacker cum Reclaimer

Trippers

• Trippers are installed on the bunker conveyor

belts f or diverting the coal from belts to
bunkers These can move backward & forward
to feed the coal in individual bunkers.
• According to the plant capacity, trippers may

be fully automatic type or manually operated.

Control Room

• For controlling different equipments of coal

handling plant from one place and maintaining
the sequence of different belts with safety of
the plant, control rooms is essential. In the
control room all conveyors, feeders magnetic
separators, vibrating screens and crushers are
controlled with illuminated diagrams, Where
the position of the flap valves is also indicated.
•
Control Room
• In this way, the control room operator can

know the complete operating condition of the
plant and thereby the equipments of coal
handling plant can be operated efficiently with
a few persons.

Direct supplies
• Some power stations are built so close to a
colliery that it is possible to provide a direct
feed system for the coal. The coal prepared at
the colliery is taken by conveyer belt to the
power station where it enters the coal
handling system at transfer tower.

Direct supplies
• Since the rate at which the coal is

accumulated varies according to station
requirements and colliery out put, the direct
method of obtaining coal is generally
supplemented by rail and road transport

Road Supplies
• In case of road delivery self-tippling Lorries
varying from 10 to 15 tone capacity are used.
Their container bodies, operated by hydraulic
cylinders actuated by the vehicle engine, are
emptied either directly into ground
reclamation hoppers with belt conveyors
running underneath or on to the open coal
store. delivered.

Road Supplies
• Vehicles are weighed (gross weight) on road

weigh bridges as they enter the power station,
and again as they leave (tare weight). The
difference is the net weight of coal

Railway Siding
• For power stations situated far away from
mines, the coal transport is done by Railways
in racks of 60-70 box wagons i.e. about 4000
tones/rack. This, however, requires wagon
tippler of heavy capacity at power discharge
facilities.

For power stations situated nearer to
the coal mines the coal transport is
managed by station authorities with
self owned locomotives and wagons
having bottom or side opening. This
requires an underground unloading
hoper about 100-150 m long with
conveyor belting etc. below the
hopper.

Layout of the railway siding is decided on
the basis of space available & quantum of
mass to be handled. For the Power
station rail system inside the coal yard
“Loop” System or “the run round” system
can be chosen. The growth in size of
boiler & turbine units, and the advent of
Super Thermal Power Stations having unit
size of 200 MW or more with a total plant
capacity 2000 MW & above, has led to
the redesigning of fuel plant to handle the
increased rates of fuel consumed,
delivered, stacked & reclaimed.
A 2000 MW station can consume
over 25000 tones of coal in a day
when operating at full load with
each 200 MW boiler burning
about 105 tones of coal per hour.
To cope up such large demands
“run round” system is found most
suitable.
Loop System
• In this system the train enters the unloading
hopper house from one side and after
unloading leaves it from the other side. A rack
of about 30 wagons is placed over the
unloading hopper having belt conveyor
underneath. Hopper wagons are unloaded by
opening the bottom or side doors,

In case of box wagons each wagon
is uncoupled from rest of the train
and then unloaded by wagon tippler
into a bunker by the side of track or
beneath the track. Presently ‘Loop
systems are employed in most of
the power stations, space available
within the loop is utilized for
stacking the coal.
“Run-round” of “Merry-go-round” system
• In this system, locomotive & wagons remain

coupled and move point slowly round a large
rail track section passing at one point over a
discharge pit. Each wagon is emptied without
stopping the train & remains coupled during
both filling and emptying. This ensures a fast
turn-round at each end of the journey by
eliminating time lost in coupling, uncoupling &
tippling wagons.
Locomotive Wagons
• Wagons are of steel construction. Usually two
types of wagons are used – Box wagons (KC,
Box etc.) & Hopper wagons (Bottom or side
opening doors). Both types of wagons have
two axles.
Capacity of these wagons varies from about

20 tones to 60 tones.

The larger the carrying capacity of the
wagons the more economical they
become, more coal can parked over a
certain length of railway track and a
large capacity wagon can be
discharged with almost the same effort
as the smaller one. To discharge the
coal from box type wagons, each has to
be uncoupled from the train and then
discharged manually or by wagon
tippler.
Hopper type wagons are generally used in permanently coupled
wagon trains. By opening the bottom or side doors, the coal is
discharged into ground hopper. These wagons have a minimum
valley angle, of 450(The valley angle is the inclination towards
the horizontal of the intersection line of two faces).
The larger the valley angle, the better the self-discharging
characteristic.
In permanently coupled wagon trains as in case of merry-go-

round system, hopper wagons are used.

Two types of wagon tipplers are in use, the
side tippler (fig. 2.1 (a) and the rotary tippler
(fig. 2.1 (b)).
With each of these types of tipplers the wagon
is hauled on to a platform, the manual brakes
are applied and the wagon is clamped. The
side tippler platform is then lifted sideways
until the coal falls out of the upside-down
wagon into a bunker at the side of the track.

Rotary tipplers are in use, the wagon is fixed
between two large rings which form a cage-like
structure, the cage is rotated and the coal falls out
into a bunker beneath the track. It is possible to
empty a wagon by side tippler in 40 to 50 seconds.
This includes the weighing & raising to rest in the
highest position.
Side tippler needs little excavations as the
receiving bunker is above the rail track

Rotary type wagon Tippler

In case of rotary
tippler receiving
bunker top is under
rail level and the
rings have to be
made large enough
for a shunting
locomotive to pass
through.
The main constituents of wagon
tippler are as follows
• The tippler structure which supports the wagon

during tippling.
• The hoisting machinery which transmits the motion
from driving motor to the tippler structure including
the balance weight and wire ropes.
• The overhead structure which supports the hoisting
machinery.
• The weighing machinery which, initially, weight and
records the weight of the loaded (Gross weight) and
after tippling weighs recorded the weight of empty
wagons (Tare weight).

Operation of wagon Tippler :
The wagons received from

collieries are placed one by
one on the cradle of the
wagon tippler in the central
position. Then the wagon is
weighed by the weighing
machine and is raised by
energizing the hoisting
motor. The cradle with the
wagon gradually starts
inclining towards the
hopper and the wagon
comes in contact with the
side bolster cushion.

The hoisting being continued, the wagon cradle, arms
and side supporting girder form one unit and revolve
about the trunion until the top of the wagon meets the
top bolster pads and further together with the top
sustaining structure, revolves until the material is fully
discharged. The tippler is brought back to its original
position by reversing the hoisting gear. The operation
can be done on auto or manual as the situation
warrants. The empty wagon is again weighed and a
new wagon can again be placed for repeating the
unloading operations. In the case operation is on
manual, press push button “Lower”, rotation of
hoisting gear will be reversed and empty wagon is
brought back in the original position.
If the operation is on auto, the reversing action will be
automatic after a predetermined time. When weighing is in
progress “red” light on the recorder is “ON” when the light is
“off” empty wagon can be replaced. Mechanical specifications
of the wagon tippler installed at NTPC Badarpur T.P.S. are
given below:
Capacity - 80 tones gross weight, Bogie type wagon
Type - Weighing type with recording on printed tickets.
Operating Cycle
Weight full wagon - 25 sec.
Tip wagon - 65 sec.
Pause - 15-20 sec.
Lower wagon - 65f sec.
Weigh empty wagon- 25 sec.
Changing wagons - 60 sec.
Angle of tip - 1350 giving 450angle at side of
wagons Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi
Transfer system of coal
(From unloading hopper to coal mill Bunker)
If we follow the path of

the coal after it is tipped
from the wagons, we
find that it falls through
coarse grills (installed to
stop bulky objects from
getting into the
conveyer system and
doing damage) into a
hopper.

At the bottom of
the hopper is an
opening running
the full length of
the hopper and
covered by a
continuous line of
flap doors
suspended by
hinges.
These doors retain the coal in the hopper while it is, being discharged
from wagons.

They are opened while feeding coal from hopper to the conveyors
running lengthwise along each side of the hopper and carrying this
coal to the crusher house.

Crushed coal can be fed either to boiler bunkers of each unit called
raw coal bunkers or it can be stacked in the stock yard depending
upon the situations.

It is preferable to feed as much
coal as possible directly to the
raw coal bunkers in order to
reduce double handling.

Transferring the coal from track Hopper House to Raw coal bunker

Apron, Blade or Vibration feeders
Conveyor Belts
Idlers
Pulleys
Driving Unit
Belt Cleaners
Take-ups
Accessories of Conveyor Belts
Magnetic Pulleys
Suspension type electromagnets
Mouth pieces and Isolating gates
Belt weighing Machines
Belt Swayings
Protection system of conveyors
Trippers
Let us discuss all
equipments/Machinery one
by one

Apron, Blade or Vibration feeders
Apron Feeder
It is installed at the bottom of coal

unloading hopper for feeding the coal
uniformly to the conveyor belt running
underneath and all along the length of the
hopper.
Aporn feeder consists of tractor type
chain, driven by motor, which helps in
feeding the coal. See fig. 3.1
Feeder

Blade Feeder
The blade feeder has four blades driven by motor. The
edges of these blades form a circle which drive coal for
feeding to the conveyor belt. There is separate arrangement
for complete shifting of blade housing, so that complete,
unloading hopper is emptied out.
Usually two separate blade feeders are installed over
each belt. The feeders can be adjusted for feeding the coal at
different speeds as per requirement. The feeder blades have
edges of wear resisting material like nickel chromium steel,
which can be replaced easily. Suitable logs are fastened on
to the travel rails to operated reverse or forward switches on
the travel carriage, so that the feeder can operate on any part
of the hopper.
Vibrating Feeder
These are of the vibrating or jugging type and are placed
immediately below the coal receiving hopper. The feeders are
designed to take coal from the hopper and deliver it to their
corresponding conveyors without spilling.
Jigging feeders give the trays on oscillating motion through a
connecting rod via a variable stroke, crank worm reduction and
motor. See fig. 3.2
Vibrating feeders give the trays vibrations caused by the use of
electromagnets. Electrical impulses are passed through the stator
and coils, forming the magnetic circuit to create a sequence of
interrupted magnetic pulls on the armature which is connected to
the vibrating bars through a centre clamp. See fig. 3.3
The length of the stroke or amplitude of vibration is infinitely
variable even while the machine is running up to 1/32 “ for AC and
1/16’’ for DC. The length of stroke of vibration is controlled by
increasing or decreasing the current input which in turn regulates
the strength of pull of electro magnet.
Feeder

Conveyor Belts
Conveyor belt is the basic equipment in any material
handling plant. Smooth and trouble free operation of
this equipment will go a long way in efficient operation
of the entire plant. Conveyor belt is used in coal
handling plant to convey the coal from one transfer
point to another. The belt which is supported and
moves on idlers or individual rollers with antifriction
bearings, carries coal horizontally or on an incline up
or down. The drive pulley is usually at the head end,
some times at the tail end and in few cases at an
intermediate point on the return side of the belt. The
coal is discharged over the head or at any point over
the carrying side. Numbers of conveyor belt stages are
used before the coal is fed to boiler bunkers (raw coal
bunkers).
The various parts/equipments required for conveyor belt
system are as follows –
• Belt
• Idlers
• Pulleys
• Driving unit
• Belt cleaners
• Frame work
• Stringers
• Stands
• Decking plants
• Galleries, walkway
• Trastles
• Belt covering
• Hoods
• Chutes
• Gates and skirts
• Take-up Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi
Apart from these parts/equipments following
accessories are also required for successful
running of conveyor belts-
• Pull wire switches
• Belt sway switches
• Zero speed switches
• De-interlocking switches
• Flap limit switches
• Magnetic pulleys
• Suspension type electromagnets
• Mouthpieces and isolating gates
• Belt weighing machines
Parts/Equipments of conveyor
belt system
Belt: The size and type of belt to be used is decided as per the material
size belts are used (1) P.V.C. and (2) rubber belts. The P.V.C. belt is not
considered suitable for a surface installation continuously exposed to
sunlight, which have a deteriorating effect on the belt cover.
Conveyor belts consist essentially or layers of fabric impregnated with

rubber compound, with a protective cover of abrasion resistant rubber. The
fabric may be cotton of nylon. Thus rubber belts used for coal conveyers
have no. of suitable skim coated plies, of fabric. The rubber and fabric
components in the finished belt are vulcanized at high temp. and pressure.
The rubber covers the reinforcement on all sides and projects it against
abrasion, humidity and chemicals. The reinforcement consisting of fabric or
textile plies (sometimes called ducks)., gives it the necessary strength and
carrying capacity. The basic requirements for belt are (i) Good tensile
strength (2) Good elasticity (3) Low permanent elongation (4) High bending
resilience (5) Sufficient wet strength & (6) Favorable cost.

For installation the conveyor belt is brought to site and the
belting pulled on to the conveyor idlers, after suitable
fastening at the end and ensuring that the carrying side,
which is generally the branded side, is right side up. Then
the belt is cut about 1% less in length than the minimum
tape line measurement around the pulleys., both ends are
joined either by vulcanizing or by fitment of fasteners.
Initial tensions for rubber belts run from 15 to 25
lbs/ply/inch. Max. safe tight-side tensions for rubber belts
are as follows :-
Duck weight OZ 28 32 32.66 34.66 36
Tension Ib/ply/inch width 25 28 30 32 38
Ultimate tensile strength of rubber belts varies from 280 to
500 lbs or more per inch width per ply.
Specifications of Grade “B” belt being supplied by Dunlop/Good
year are given below:-
Capacity 750 to 825 tones per hour
Belt width 1000/1200 mm
Inclination Angle 15-18
Total lift 30 meters
No. of plies 5 to 7 nos.
Duck weight 1360 gms.
Weight of belt 17 – 20 kg/meter
Top cover thickness 2.5 to 5 mm.
Bottoms cover thickness 2 mm
Plies Skim coated
Allowable tension 8.75 tones
Belt speed 160 to 175 meters/min.
Belt material Cotton-duck rubber covered and
toughed.
Idlers
Idlers are required for supporting and carrying

the conveyor belt. These consist of steel tube
troughing idlers, disc impact idlers and return
idlers fitted with antifriction taper roller
bearings and sealing arrangement in cast iron
housing. Antifriction taper roller bearing
provides smooth roll operation with minimum
effort. the bearing are protected from outer
side by multi-labyrinth seals which prevent the
ingress of dust.
The idlers should be of high capacity and heavy duty, suitable for continuous
operation and meant for longer life of the belt. A flat belt carrying large quantities
of coat and operating at velocities up to 175 meters per min. would not be
practicable because coal would spill over the edges of the belt and consequently
make more work for the plant attendant. For this reason “Troughing Idlers” are
used on carrying side of the belt in which the belt rests on angled rollers and
forms a trough to carry the coal. Fig 3.4 (a) & 3.4 (b) depicts a three roll
truoghing idler. Rolls are mounted on brackets which are fixed on the idler base
frame. Side roles have an inclination varying from 200 to 450 towards the
horizontal. More the angle of inclination more is the coal carrying capacity of belt
with less spillage. But pure cotton can no longer be used in higher inclinations s
it lacks the necessary bending resilience; nylon can, however, be used which
provides the necessary fiber elongation in the corners where the side rollers
meet the horizontal roller. The side rollers have also a tilting angle of about 300 in
the direction of belt travel. This angle helps the belt to run true to centre. This
tilting angle should be provided only for belt conveyors which run always in one
direction. No tilt should be provided for reversible belt because the tilt in the
opposite direction of the belt travel is liable to wear the bottom belt cover off
which is very thin. The traveling belt hits the horizontal roller fist and then the
side rollers. Various idlers employed in most of the power stations of our country
consist essentially of rolls made out of seamless steel tube enclosed by pulley
heads at each end and fitted with stationary shaft.
The rubber disc impact idles are of soft rubber. These
are used to absorb heavy impacts at transfer points
where the coal falls from a height on the conveyor belt.
In some other special applications the idlers rolls are
rubber lagged in order to prevent build up of material,
since the resilient surface caused material to crack and
fall off. A rubber disc impact idler is shown is fig. 3.4 (c).
Return idlers support the belt on its reverse travel,
normally these are solid horizontal rollers. The return
idlers brackets are designed to provide max, clearance
to the belt. These are directly mounted on the conveyor
stringers and the pulley roll is supported in the
brackets. It is important for the true running of the belt
that the return rollers should be set carefully at right
angles to the centre line of the length of the belt. Fig
3.4 (d) and 3.4 (e) shows return idlers.
Self aligning carrying and return idlers are
also used and generally placed at about
15 meters from each terminal of bend
pulley and approximately at 24 meters
thereafter. These idlers swivel around a
vertical centre line at a central pivot and
thereby facilitate central running of the
belt. The carrying trainers used are of
positive action type which automatically
train the belt and project belt edges from
injury caused by misalignment.
Pulleys
These are used basically to drive the belt and impart necessary
tension to it. An endless moving belt requires at least two pulleys
one each at head and tail ends. Pulleys are of welded steel
construction and normally made of mild steel. The pulleys shall is
connected to the two hubs, one at each end with the help of two
diaphragms. For bigger pulleys a third diaphragm in the middle of
the shell is used to stiffen the sheel against buckling., hubs and
diaphragms (discs) are accurately machined to ensure
concentricity. Pulleys are statically balanced. All head and driving
pulleys are crowned to encourage centering of the belt, pulleys
shafts are of shrink fitting/keyed and are designed for strength
and rigidity. Rubber lagged pulleys are used in order to increase
the friction factor between the belt and the pulleys. The lagging
can b plain or having grooves running crosswise or in a herring
bone pattern for better grip between belt and pulley.

Driving Unit
Driving unit generally comprises a squirrel cage motor,
worm reduction gear, fluid coupling with flexible couplings
between the reduction gear & the driving pulley of the
conveyor and between the motor and the reduction gears.
The flexibl couplings are to cope with slight
misalignments. With the provision of fluid coupling on
input side, the motor starts under no load conditions and
conveyor moves only when the motor reaches its full
speed. This also eliminates the starting shock conveyor
components.
Different conveyor stages have different driving units with
motor capacity varying from 30 HP to 150 depending
upon the lengths and inclinations of belt sections. Usually
415 V motors are employed having speed of 110 rpm.
Brakes are fitted to conveyor driving systems
to stop the belt as quickly as possible when
the supply to the driving unit is interrupted;
this avoids build up of coal at transfer points
and prevents the belt from running back. The
brakes also serve to minimize the risk of
injury to personnel if a belt is stopped in an
emergency. A brake is usually located
between the fluid coupling and the gear box,
for inclined conveyors, hold backs are
provide in the gear boxes to prevent the
runback of the conveyor under loaded
condition. Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi
Belt Cleaners
Belt cleaners or scrapers are used on conveyor belts to remove
coal particles from the belt surface after the main coal flow has been
discharged. If this is not done effectively, a deposit of hard coal
could occur in different parts of the conveyor system. The deposit
would cause uneven belt running, increased maintenance work, and
so shorten the life of the belt.
V-type internal belt cleaner made of M-S flats and hard rubber strips
is provided to clear the internal surface of the belt. One type of
scraper had replaceable non-metallic blades which are held by a
spring loaded shaft on to the belt, another type of scraper consists
of a tensioned wire held by adjustable brackets over the top of the
belt. Both type are very effective in removing the hard deposits
which can build up on the coal conveyors. It must be ensured that
scraper is held against the belt with only sufficient pressure to
remove material without causing damage to the belt which is
possible if excess force is exerted by wiper blades.
Take-ups
New belts stretch during their early operating life, so it is necessary to make
allowances for this if the maximum life is to be obtained from a belt. Take up
gears actuate one or more pulleys to adjust the tension.
Take up on a conveyor belt is provided for following purpose –
(a) To maintain a slack side tension necessary for the drive to operate the
belt.
• To keep sag of belt between idlers at a point where required horse power
will be at minimum and load will move with least disturbance over idlers.
• To permit length variation due to belt stretch or shrinkage.
• With the gravity type of take up, some of the starting shock is removed from
the belt. See fig. 3.5
• When possible to provide for extra long take up movements, the additional
belting will be available for resplicing.
These are two general types of take-up:
(a)Manually adjusted (screw type)
(b)Automatic (Gravity type).
On shorter conveyors screw type tension gear is frequently used. This takes
the form of two large bolts which can be screwed in and out to move the head
or tail pulleys horizontally onGyanendra
their pedestals.
Sharma, NPTI Delhi
In automatic take up the theoretically required
minimum amount of belt operating tension can be
continually provided even when belt stretches or
shrinks. Any stretch or shrink is taken up by the use of
gravity take-up towers, especially on long conveyors.
Fig. 3.5 shows the principle of this device; the
downward force of the counterweight on the tension
pulley maintains tension. In one type with 1800 wrap
on take pulley, the take up pulley bearings are
mounted on a yoke which moves vertically along two
post guides, extra weight is added to the take up box
as required. Care should be taken to use just enough
weights to produce proper tension is the belt. Any
dust, spillage or other accumulation on counter weight
should be cleaned periodically.
A part from the above mentioned parts,
substantial fabricated frames, hoods and stands
to support the heavy components like pulleys,
take ups and drive mechanism etc, are required.
Galleries and walkways are provided on both
sides of the conveyor belt run to have access to
the defective parts for maintenance and for
normal checking of its operation. Belt covering is
provided to safeguard the equipment against
weather. Chutes are required at transfer points.
Deck plates between the carrying and return
strand of the belt ensure that spillage do not take
place on the return belt.
Accessories of Conveyor Belts
Various switches
Pull wire switches are mounted on one side of walkway of each
conveyor at approximately 24 meter intervals. The switches are
connected by a pull wire, which is easily accessible along the entire
length of the conveyor. On emergency it can be operated from any point
to stop running of belt. On operation the latch lever on switch remains
in locked position and it has to be put into unlocked position before
starting the conveyor.
Belt away switch is operated when conveyor tends to sway beyond the
permissible limits, there are usually spaced 50 meters apart.
Zero speed switch prevents the motor from burning under stalling
condition in the event of overloading or jamming etc.
De—interlocking, switches are provided to remove the inter-locking of a
particular equipment or auxiliary for running it on trial etc.
Flap valves in bifurcated chutes are motor driven through a suitable
reduction gear and actuated by remotely controlled switches. Flap limit
switches are provided to control the
Gyanendra over
Sharma, NPTItravel
Delhi of flap valves.
Magnetic Pulleys
Belt conveyors before feeding coal to
crusher are provided with high intensity
electro magnetic pulley complete with
spherical roller bearing, pillow blocks for
separating out tramp iron particles/pieces
from the main stream of coal conveyor
an capable of removing from coal size of
300 mm.

Suspension type electromagnets
Suspension type electromagnets of high capacity are
used for separating tramp iron pieces from coal;
Magnetic impurities or tramp iron consist of a great
variety of object; e.g. belts, nuts, bars, angle and
channel sections of mild steel, chains, steel ropes,
springs, railway buffers, sheet metal pieces etc. Steel
attachments of high permeability alloy steel which
may be cobalt alloy, are suspended on to the
conveyor belt at some convenient location, usually
before crusher. After attracting the magnetic
impurities the magnet is moved out of belt stream
and demagnetized thereby discharging the attracted
parties.
Mouth pieces and Isolating gates
A separate direct local telephone system is

employed for coal handling plant is most of the
Power Stations. Mouth pieces are installed on
various locations to pass on message or
instructions to operators and attendants
working on different sections of the plant.
Isolating, gates are provided to isolate or totally
cut off the coal supply from one point to other.

Belt weighing Machines
Belt weighing machines are the only practicable

equipment to weigh the quantity of coal going
either to raw coal bunkers or to stockyard through
a stacking cum reclaiming device. Quantity of
coal being reclaimed from stockyard can also be
weighed. Like other weighing machines they
consist of load reception, load transmission and
load equalizing parts but the load is in motion at
the time of measurement. The subsequent
dynamic disturbances can cause by the weigh
bridge which is loaded by the conveyor, belt
carrying the bulk material. belt weighing
machines can be installed on inclined conveyors
with the usual Gyanendra
shallow inclination
Sharma, NPTI Delhi of 180.
Belt weighers are either the totalizing type or
the integrating type. In the totalizing type the
weights of weighing cycles are added up in
series, whilst the integrating type obtains the
whole weight by integration the individual
cycles of the totalizing type follow each other
and weight of each cycle is added to the sum
of the weights of previous cycles.

Belt Swaying
The sideways vibrations of the belt is called belt

swaying.
Reasons for swaying are :
(a)The conveyor structure not properly fixed and aligned
(b)Eccentric loading of the belt i.e. coal not falling on the
contact of the belt.
(c)Idlers not aligned properly (All should be in one vertical
plane).
(d)Coal defects should be rectified to prevent swaying. Also
self aligning idlers are provided after every 9 rollers.
Belt swaying due to eccentric loading can be prevented by
providing deflectors in the chute or centralizing the fed, Belt
stoppers are also provided to stop swaying. In case swaying
exceeds a certain limit, limit switches give excessive sway
alarm & trips the belt.
Protection system of conveyors
In addition to the conventional protections provided in MCC for
the safety of the motor and the system as a whole, the
conveyors have been equipped with certain protections
against local mishap causing injury to human being working in
the vicinity or the equipment itself.
Pull Card Switches
It is a protection for stopping the conveyor locally by the
operator in case of any emergency or potential damage. These
switches have been provided at approximately 30 feet gap all
along the length of the conveyors and have been fitted on the
structure carrying the conveyor. With will come to immediate
halt tripping concerning interlocked system also. The conveyor
cannot be started unless the switch has been reset. All
conveyors are equipped with this protection which consists of a
normally closed contact in the control circuit.
Belt Sway Switch
It is very important for the safe and smooth running of the conveyor on
the troughing rollers without any side swaying. This will prevent edge wear of
the conveyor as well as spillage of the coal, in addition to the troughing
rollers on which the conveyor travels and the self aligning rollers which the
try to keep the conveyor with belt sway switch in the centre below the
conveyor have been provided at regular span. When the belt sways
abnormally to any side, it hits the special vertical rollers and pushes it
backwards. A limit switch registers the back travel of the complete roller
assembly and operates at a present value to energies the belt sway switch
tripping the conveyor motor.
Before the conveyor is started again, the reason for this abnormal swaying of
the belt are investigated and the needful done for rectification. For resetting
of the belt sway, a red push button has been provided near the conveyor
motor at the head end which is kept pressed while giving starting command
to the motor. This pressing in fact bypass the belt sway switch protection and
the red button is released only after the conveyor has attained normal speed
with no abnormal swaying. In case the swaying still persists the operator is
supposed to release the red push button after a reasonable time allowance
and the motor is allowed again to trip on belt sway protection.
Speed monitoring switch
In the coal handling plant, all interdependent conveyors should

run on equal speed. This is important to avoid build-up of pile of
coal on any conveyor or empty running of the belt. Speed
monitoring switch have been incorporated to provide protection
against reduction in speed of the conveyor due to any reason.
Speed loss may result either in inefficient coal handling, or
damage to the equipment i.e. belt, motor etc.
The protection consists of a monitoring electronic switch fitted
on the conveyor pulley to monitor its speed. As soon as the belt
speed goes down to a present value, the speed monitoring
switch gives tripping command to the conveyor motor. However
for start-up purpose, provision has been made to bypass
monitoring switch through a timer to facilitate initial building up
of speed of the motor.
Interlock de-Interlock Switch
Each conveyor has been
equipped with an interlock
and De-interlock switch fitted
on a panel at the head end of
the conveyor. This comes
handy while running the
conveyor for testing or on non
load trial run without
interfering with the other
running conveyors. This
switch will defeat all plant
permissive of the conveyor
provided the control circuit is
in healthy condition.
Trippers
The coal from the crusher house is transported to the bunker Bay with
the help of conveyors. From the conveyor coal is discharged into the
bunkers with the help of trippers. Conveyor and chute are fitted with it
to carry the coal upto the desired location. The tripper is provided with
wheels which move on rails, parallel to conveyor on each side. It can
be set in one position or be made to travel solely backward or forward
between stops, to discharge the required quantity of coal at desired
location.
Motorized trippers are usually used where continuous and uniform distribution
of coal along the conveyor is required or where frequent forward and reverse
movement of the tripper is required. Trippers have a rigid welded steel frame
to resist shock and minimize distortion. One way or two way discharge chutes
are provided as required, flap dampers on bifurcating chutes permit the flow
and discharge or material to the desired side. The tripper travel is rated at
about 30 ft/min. The wheels and the pulleys on tripper including the trunions
are provided with antifriction bearings and do not require much attention by
way of lubrication except occasional check-up and greasing.

Sizing system of coal
Sizing operations at coal handling plant consist removing larger

impurities by the use of simple grills, sizing of coal with the help of screens
located before crusher and then crushing in crushers to size the coal for
pulverizing. As first step in sizing the coal grills are provided at unloading
hopper where coal lumps of larger size than 200 mm are retained on it and rest
passes on to the conveyor belt underneath, Big lumps are broken manually by
hammers and made to pass through the grills., the grill is fabricated from rolled
steel bars and flats.
Screens
Screens are located before crusher to by-pass from smaller particles

which would otherwise over load the crusher or a large capacity
crusher would be needed unnecessarily. Screened coal of small size
upto 20 mm need not be crushed so it is bypassed from the crusher
and fed directly to conveyor from where it is fed to the bunker.
Vibrating screens are of gravity fed type, the screen being sloped
downward from the feed to the discharge end. A high frequency low
magnitude vibration is given to the screen by an electric vibrator or
other means the purpose of the
Gyanendra Sharma, NPTIvibration
Delhi is to keep the meshes
Screens
Screens are located before crusher to by-pass from smaller particles

which would otherwise over load the crusher or a large capacity
crusher would be needed unnecessarily. Screened coal of small size
up to 20 mm need not be crushed so it is bypassed from the crusher
and fed directly to conveyor from where it is fed to the bunker.
Vibrating screens are of gravity fed type, the screen being sloped
downward from the feed to the discharge end. A high frequency low
magnitude vibration is given to the screen by an electric vibrator or
other means the purpose of the vibration is to keep the meshes
clear of wedged particles and to stratify the coal so that the fine
particles come down in contact with the screen. (In a typical coal
handling plant for 200 MW units two vibrating screens are installed
before each crusher. See fig. 4.1. The upper deck is a trash screen
which rejects large pieces of foreign matter to a chute leading to a
suitable receptacle, while allowing the passage of coal of minus 250
mm size. The lower deck is a sizing screen and the coal of minus
100 mm size passing through it bypass the crusher and joins
conveyor belt on discharge side of the crusher. The coal above 100
mm and up to 250 mm size flows to the primary crusher where it is
crushed to 100 size. Coal of minus
Gyanendra 100Delhi
Sharma, NPTI mm size is sent to secondary
crusher for further crushing to 20 mm size.
storage of coal
Factors necessitate the storage of coal
(i) Complex nature of fuel handling system.
(ii) Difficulties in transportation.
(iii) Probable labor trouble or similar factor.
(iv) Bad weather conditions.

Adverse effects of coal storage
(1) Oxidation of coal
(2) Wind loss
(3) Carpet loss
(4) Pilferage

Oxidation of coal
Coal may undergo various changes with passage of
time. The main reactions taking place due to
combination of carbon and oxygen are the formation of
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other carbon
Oxygen compounds. Formation of these compounds
lead to deterioration of coal quality. The loss of calorific
value of coal due to oxidation may range from 0.5% to
1.5%. This loss can be reduced by using three sided
wall construction for coal storage. The top surface of
the coal should be hardened by bulldozer to reduce
oxidation of coal. The coal may be arranged in
flattened rectangular heaps instead of conical heaps to
reduce oxidation.
Wind Loss
Due to the blowing of wind, a
considerable quantity of coal is blown
away. Usually this factor is not
perceived. But experiments have
revealed that this loss at times amounts
to about 0.5 to 1.0 per cent of the total
stock lying in the yard per year. If
scientific coal storage bays are provided,
it should be possible to reduce the wind
loss considerably on the lines suggested
earlier.
Carpet coal loss
If the ground of the yard is not hardened, a
part of the ground clay and soil may mix with
the bottom layer of coal yard. That very layer
becomes useless due to very high
percentage of inner material. That way a
considerable amount of coal is wasted. At
times it has been seen that approximately
10 c.ms of the bottom layer of the yard is
wasted as the carpet coal loss due to soft
layer of the coal stocking yard. When the
total loss due to this is calculated, it can be
found that such loss amounts to
considerable quantity.
Spontaneous combustion of coal
Spontaneous combustion is a very great hazard
in the coal storage. Due to this incident huge
amount of coal is wasted. At times not only the
coal is wasted, the life of personnel working in
an industry also becomes unsafe. Keeping this
in view, certain factors which lead to safe
certain factors which lead to unsafe storage
should be considered thoroughly and the
storage should be done in a very scientific way,
the following table illustrates the various safe
and unsafe conditions of coal storage.
Factor Favorable for safe not favorable for
Storage safe storage
1. Type of coal Anthracite Other varieties
2. Size o f coal even size excluding Mixed size with

Dust coal more % Dust coal
3. Condition of Heated and cooled freshly mined coal.

Coal after 3 Months of mining
4. Size of coal Storage smaller than 500 more than 500 tones
tones capacity
5. Method of Storage three sided wall Open storage near

storage, with Hardened source of heat.
ground and away from
Source of heat
6. Height of coal Storage Less than 2.5 M. more than 2.5 M.

Spontaneous combustion can be
avoided by regularly monitoring the
temperature at different points of
coal stack. If there are any hot spots,
coal should be removed from these
spots if possible or water should be
sprayed on the hot coal.

Stacker-cum-Re-claimer
The stacker/Re-claimer machines as name

implies serve to stack and reclaim material
along longitudinal pile without discontinuity.
With this system coal is received in wagon
and emptied by wagon tipplers equipped with
out haut teeth into hoppers. The coal is then
regulated and fed to a conveyor system
through vibrating feeders. The conveyor
carries the coal to crushers and then to stock
yard, having stacker-cum-re-claimer capacity
of 750 tones /hr. or more.

CHP (Detail) Gyanendra Sharma NPTI Delhi

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COAL HANDLING PLANT

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• Coal is the primary fuel for production of

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

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Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• If area is less, underground system can also be

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• In designing a system a conveyor belt

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• The choice lies between the “loop” system or

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• Rail track and line side equipment

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• The weighment of coal wagons is established

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• In case of road transport by trucks, gross &

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• The other method of coal weighment is by

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• Wagons received from the collieries are

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Side tippler Rotary tippler

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• These are provided to receive loaded rail

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• These feeders are used for removing the coal

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

• A conveyor belt consists basically of an

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi

Gyanendra Sharma, NPTI Delhi