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Experimental investigation on maximizing conveying efficiency of belt

conveyors used in series application and estimation of power consumption
through statistical analysis

Article in Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy · November 2022

DOI: 10.1002/ep.14031

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DOI: 10.1002/ep.14031

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Sustainable Energy

Experimental investigation on maximizing conveying

efficiency of belt conveyors used in series application
and estimation of power consumption through
statistical analysis

Madhab Chandra Jena 1 | Sarat Kumar Mishra 2 | Himanshu Sekhar Moharana 3

1
Mechanical Engineering, BPUT, Rourkela,
India Abstract
2
BCET, BPUT, Rourkela, India In this research work, different parameters have been studied which affect the
3
GIFT, BPUT, Rourkela, India
energy consumption of belt conveyors. The effect of conveying distance and vertical
Correspondence lift on energy consumption was studied in detail by collecting energy consumption
Madhab Chandra Jena, BPUT, Ishanpur, Jajpur,
and other associated data of belt conveyors from different cement plants and ana-
Odisha 755005, India.
Email: madhab_jena@rediffmail.com lyzed with the help of different statistical analysis. The highest specific energy con-
sumption was found to be 0.0011 kWh/Ton-m in the smallest belt conveyor of 15 m
and the lowest specific energy consumption was found to be 0.0007 kWh/Ton-m in
the longest belt conveyor of 100 m. Specific energy consumption is reduced up to
36% per ton-meter of material conveying in the longest belt conveyor compared with
the smallest belt conveyor. On the contrary, the specific energy consumption for dif-
ferent vertical lifts is found almost the same. Hence, it can be suggested that for hori-
zontal conveying, the series of belt conveyors should be replaced with a single long
conveyor to achieve maximum conveying efficiency and to lower specific energy
consumption. The above study will be helpful for heavy industries such as cement
plants, steel plants, and so forth to reduce their energy consumption on belt con-
veyors and achieve the environmental sustainability goals. At the last part of the
study an equation is derived for estimating energy consumption in belt conveyors by
applying multiple regression analysis. The proposed equation will be helpful for esti-
mation of energy consumption of belt conveyors according to which the decision for
conveyor length can be taken.

KEYWORDS
belt conveyor, conveying distance, conveying efficiency, power consumption, power estimation,
vertical lift

1 | INTRODUCTION

All coauthors have agreed to submit the manuscript to the journal. The negative impact of industrialization on environment is on the rise
The findings have not been published elsewhere. day by day which includes burning of fossil fuel to meet the increasing
The manuscript is not currently under consideration by another journal. energy demand of industries and individuals. To mitigate this impact,

Environ Prog Sustainable Energy. 2022;e14031. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ep © 2022 American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 1 of 11
https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.14031
2 of 11
every industry and every individual needs to be sensitive towards use
of energy in an effective way. Another concern for the industries is
the rising electricity prices and changing tariff structures are compel-
ling factors for efficient and cost-effective use of electricity. Especially
in energy-intensive industrial applications, such as bulk material han-
dling needs to be looked at as a high potential area of energy
1–3
saving. Different studies were also conducted earlier for energy
sustainability and environmental sustainability, some models are pro-
posed by the researchers for viability and its application in the indus-
trial and residential applications.4–7
Conveyor belts are one of the major power consuming equipment
in heavy industries like cement plants and steel plants. It is estimated
that the belt conveyors consume up to 40% of the total electrical
energy consumed in an industrial processing unit.8
Earlier, the focus on energy reduction in the belt conveyors was
more on the mechanical and electrical components deployed on the
conveyor system.9 Different optimized algorithms for energy saving in
belt conveyors have been proposed in the research conducted ear-
3
lier. However, there is also a need for the energy model to capture
the quantities of material transferred by conveyors for the purposes
of energy cost optimization, as demonstrated by Mathaba et al.3 The
research carried out by Zhang and Xia where the researchers pro-
posed an analytical energy model, originating from ISO 5048 which is
based on optimization approach to improve the energy efficiency of
belt conveyors at the operational level.10
Another study was also conducted where different types of belt
conveyor, that is, the single drive belt conveyor, the single-tandem
drive belt conveyor and the multidrive belt conveyor are com-
pared.11 Where it is clarified that the multidrive belt conveyors are
more efficient compared with the other two. It is always important
to consider the factors for energy efficiency at the time of designing.
A study conducted earlier where it is proposed how the effective
design considering different parameters which includes belt speed,
belt width, motor selection, belt specification, shaft diameter, pulley,
gear box selection, with the help of standard model calculation.12
Another study conducted aiming to optimize the critical parts like
FIGURE 1 Belt conveyor with different parts.
JENA ET AL.
Roller, L-channels and support, to minimize the overall weight of
assembly through geometrical and finite element modeling using
CATIA V5R20 and finite Element analysis done in ANSYS14.5.13
From the earlier study it is clarified with one energy consumption
model for belt conveyors with long, troughed belts have been pro-
posed which could be for accurate assessment of the energy con-
sumption and operating cost suitable for conveyors longer than
1 km.14 However, long belts are more technically challenging to con-
trol at high speeds, and so, many are relatively slow with a typical
speed of less than 8 m/s.15
A detailed experiment needs to be conducted to see whether
specific energy consumption comes down or not when conveying dis-
tance increases with similar load conditions. To know the exact effect
of conveying distance the detailed experiment is conducted and infer-
ence drawn in this study. In addition, the study conducted for estima-
tion of specific power consumption in the belt conveyors with
different conveying distance and vertical lift considering similar load
conditions.
The typical belt conveyor is shown in Figure 1 consists of rubber
belt, head pulley, gearbox, electrical motor, tail pulley, carrying idlers,
return idlers, and take-up pulley.16 Conveyors are designed to take
the load on account of moving the own weight and with material,
conveying the material horizontally and conveying the load verti-
cally. For the energy efficient conveyor, the most important parame-
ter is the start-up of the conveyor which takes highest load when
moves from rest position17 according to which the components are
designed.
Power consumption of belt conveyors are well established in dif-
ferent text books and research papers which is given below.18
P ¼ ðT  V Þ=1000, ð1Þ
where P is consumption of conveyor in kW; T, steady state belt ten-
sion in N; V, linear speed of belt conveyor in m/s.18
T ¼ 1:37 f  L g ½2 W i þ ð2 W b þ W m Þ cos ðδÞ þ ðH g W m Þ,
JENA ET AL.
where f, coefficient of friction; L, conveying distance of conveyor in
meter; g, acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2); Wi, load due to the
idlers in kg/m; Wb, load due to belt in kg/m; Wm, load due to the con-
veyed materials in kg/m; δ, angle of inclination of the conveyor in
degree; H, vertical lift of the conveyor in meter.
Hence power consumption equation can also be written as

P ¼ f1:37 f  L g ½2 W i þ ð2 W b þ W m Þ cos ðδÞ þ ðH g W m Þg V=1000:
Similarly specific energy consumption for conveyor belts can be
given as:
Esp ¼ E=C,
where Esp, specific energy consumption; E, total energy consumption
in kWh in a specific time period; C, work done by belt conveyor in
Ton-m in a specific period.
From above equation it is clear that specific power consumption
is directly proportional to total energy consumption in specific period
and inversely proportional to the work done by the conveyor in Ton
meter in a specific period.
Mathematically
Esp / E Esp / 1=C:
Hence to minimize the specific power consumption the aim is to
minimize the energy consumption and/or maximize the work done by
the belt conveyor.
Further energy consumption (E) can be written as
E ¼ P T,
where P, power consumption; T, time.

Or E / f1:37 f  L g ½2 W i þ ð2 W b þ W m Þ cos ðδÞ þ ðH g W m Þg V=1000,
E / f,L,W i ,W b ,W m ,δ,H,and V: ð2Þ
Further it is clear that to minimize the specific energy consump-
tion f, L, Wi, Wb, Wm, δ, H, and V needs to be optimized.
When frictional force (f ) is considered for reducing the energy
consumption, it needs to be explained that frictional force (f ) between
19
rollers and conveyor belt normally ranges from 0.016 to 0.027. As
per expression (2), lower the frictional force obtained the specific
energy consumption will be lower. There are various techniques
which can be implemented for reducing the frictional force.
Some of the important techniques are cleaning of the rollers peri-
odically to avoid deposition of material which leads to increase the
frictional force, old rough belt portions can be replaced by new ones
to reduce the frictional force due to rough surfaces and so forth.
Proper lubrication of roller bearings needs to be done to reduce resis-
tance and frictional loss.
3 of 11
The second parameter that is to be considered for minimization
of energy consumption is conveying distance (L). From expression (2)
it is clear that the energy consumption increases when conveying dis-
tance is increased. But a detailed experiment needs to be conducted
to see whether specific energy consumption comes down or not when
conveying distance increases with similar load conditions. To know
the exact effect of conveying distance on specific energy consump-
tion detailed experiment is being conducted.
The third parameter that is to be considered for minimization of
energy consumption is load due to the idlers (Wi). From expression (2)
it is clear that the energy consumption increases when load due to
idlers increases. So, to decrease the load of idlers the specific weight
of the idlers should be minimized as much as possible by selecting
proper material for the idlers.
The study conducted on design parameters like idle roller mate-
rial, trough angle, idle roller spacing, idle roller diameter, and idle roller
bearing operational conditions and the result summarized for
troughed belt system show high coherency with the theory, where
using larger idle rollers and smaller idle roller spacing resulted in lower
IRR.20
The fourth parameter that is to be considered for minimization of
energy consumption is load due to belt in kg/m (Wb). From expression
(2) it is clear that the energy consumption increases when load due to
belt increases. Hence, to decrease the load of belts the specific weight
of the belts should be minimized as much as possible by selecting
proper grades of material. The study conducted earlier by the
researchers proposed how the belt tension, specific weight, elastic
properties of the belt material and individual types of resistances
affect the energy consumption of belt conveyors.15,21
The fifth parameter to be considered for minimization of energy
consumption is load due to the materials to be conveyed in kg/m
(Wm). Though, as per expression (2) the energy consumption
increases due to the quantity increase in conveying material but it
should be higher to decrease the specific energy consumption with
similar Energy consumption. The loading should be uniform and maxi-
mized to reduce the specific energy consumption. Energy efficiency in
belt conveyors is achieved by matching belt speed to the input mate-
rial feed rate in order to maximize the mass of material conveyed per
unit length and, consequently, per unit of energy consumption.22 The
mismatch between speed and the feed rate exists because, in practice,
conveyors tend to operate at slightly below full capacity. Belt con-
veyors are usually oversized during design to cater to anticipated
capacity expansions and sometimes to standardized component sizes
in an effort to lower maintenance costs.23
In mining applications, conveyors may be loaded by an excavator,
resulting in an uneven loading of the belt, so that the overall material
flow rate is 50%–70% of full capacity.24 The model explained a
steady-state condition with a uniform material mass per unit length
through-out the whole belt.25,26 On very long belts, the effect of vari-
able mass per unit length can be significant, because it takes a signifi-
cant amount of time for material to move from a loading point (at the
tail) to a discharge point (at the head).
4 of 11
The sixth parameter to be considered for minimization of energy
consumption is the angle of inclination of the conveyor in degree (δ).
From expression (2) it is clear that the angle of inclination increases
the power consumption also increases. It is the factor of conveying
distance and height so the ratio of height and conveying distance to
be optimized for minimizing the angle of inclination of conveyor.
The seventh parameter to be considered for minimization of energy
consumption is the vertical lift of the conveyor in meters (H). From
expression (2) it is clear that the conveying height increases the power
consumption also increases. The specific power consumption has been
verified by doing the experiment in detailsin the later part of the study.
The eighth parameter to be considered for minimization of energy
consumption is the velocity of the belt conveyor in meters per second
(V). From expression (2) it is clear that the velocity of belt conveyor
increases the power consumption also increases. The velocity also needs
to increase to maximize the capacity which in turn reduces the specific
power consumption. But the study conducted earlier shows that assign-
ing lower belt speeds at constant belt capacity results in higher IRR due
to higher loads imposed on the belt under these conditions.
This does not match with the generic rule that power demand
increases with increasing belt speed.20 In another work, efficiency of a
conveyor system is evaluated by integrating all the factors that have
an influence on the power consumption. An energy efficient conveyor
system has been developed by using variable speed drive (VSD) mech-
anism resulting energy saving in different running conditions.27 In a
similar study, an optimal switching control and a VSD based system
has been proposed which is suitable to improve the energy efficiency
of belt conveyor systems at the different operational levels, where
benefits are derived after considering time-of-use tariff, ramp rate of
belt speed, and other system constraints.25
A Similar study conducted in another research where soft starters
and VSDs are used to reduce starting torque and load detecting
switching system to reduce number of operating hours. The average
power consumption at the start was reduced down to 47%.28
2 | MATERIALS AND METHODS
Some of the techniques for reducing energy consumption in belt con-
veyors have already been discussed above. Further study will be con-
ducted in detail mainly focusing on conveying distance and vertical lift
of the conveyors. For verifying the theoretical power consumption
compared with actual power consumption the power consumption
data has been collected from different cement plants in Odisha and
other parts of India along with other parameters. The data also
JENA ET AL.
F I G U R E 2 Methodology
adopted for conducting the study.
verified for its correctness on a sample basis by using appropriate cali-
brated measuring tools. The analysis has been done to find how the
power consumption has been changed by changing the various
parameters of belt conveyors like conveying distance, vertical lift, and
so forth by using correlation and regression analysis.
The outcome has been compared with calculated power consump-
tion data and a conclusion was drawn accordingly. At the last part of
the study the belt conveyor power consumption estimation expression
was derived using multiple regression analysis. The Methodology
adopted for conducting the research is given below in Figure 2.
3 | S T U D Y ON P O W E R C O N S U M P T I O N OF
BELT CO NV EY ORS
The study has been conducted on the belt conveyors having different
capacities, that is, 100 Tons per hour (TPH), 200 TPH, 300 TPH, and
400 TPH. The study conducted first on the belt conveyors having a
capacity of 100 TPH and having different lengths of conveyors as
shown in Table 1. The final data is obtained by taking 20 numbers of
readings each and after getting the mean value. It is observed that the
mean load was 9.3 kW in 100 m conveyor and 1.7 kW in 15-m length
conveyor. The relationship of the power consumption with the differ-
ent conveying distance has been depicted by the correlation method
which is shown in Figure 3. The correlation coefficient found to be
0.9906. The governing equation is: y = 0.0907x + 0.5895.The specific
power consumption varies from 0.0009 to 0.0011 kWh/ton-m.
The study conducted on the belt conveyors having capacity of
200 TPH and having different lengths of conveyors as shown in
Table 2. The final data is obtained by taking 20 numbers of readings
each and after getting the mean value.
It is observed that the mean load was 13.9 kW in 100 m conveyor
and 3.2 kW in 15-m length conveyor. The relationship of the power
consumption with the different conveying distance has been depicted
by the correlation method which is shown in Figure 4. The correlation
coefficient found to be 0.9805. The governing equation is:
y = 0.1167x + 1.9467. The specific power consumption varies from
0.0007 to 0.0011 kWh/ton-m.
The study conducted on the belt conveyors having capacity of
300 TPH and having different lengths of conveyors as shown in
Table 3. The final data is obtained by taking 20 readings each and
after getting the mean value. It is observed that the mean load was
19.6 kW in 100 m conveyor 4.5 kW in 15-m length conveyor.
The relationship of the power consumption with the different convey-
ing distance has been depicted by the correlation method which is
JENA ET AL. 5 of 11

TABLE 1 Power consumption in 100 TPH conveyors with different conveying distance

Sl. Belt Capacity of Conveying Vertical Belt Mean Sp. power

no. conveyor no. conveyor (TPH) length (m) lift (m) width (mm) load (kW) (kWh/Ton-m)
1 BC-1 100 15 0 800 1.7 0.0011
2 BC-2 100 30 0 800 3.2 0.0011
3 BC-3 100 45 0 800 4.9 0.0011
4 BC-4 100 60 0 800 6.3 0.0011
5 BC-5 100 75 0 800 7.6 0.0010
6 BC-6 100 100 0 800 9.3 0.0009

FIGURE 3 Correlation analysis power consumption versus conveying distance in 100 TPH conveyor.

TABLE 2 Power consumption in 200 TPH conveyors with different conveying distance

Sl. Belt Capacity of Conveying Vertical Belt Mean Sp. power

no. conveyor no. conveyor (TPH) length (m) lift (m) width (mm) load (kW) (kwh/Ton-m)
1 BC-7 200 15 0 900 3.2 0.0011
2 BC-8 200 30 0 900 6.25 0.0010
3 BC-9 200 45 0 900 7.3 0.0008
4 BC-10 200 60 0 900 8.8 0.0007
5 BC-11 200 75 0 900 10.16 0.0007
6 BC-12 200 100 0 900 13.9 0.0007

shown in Figure 5. The correlation coefficient found to be 0.9473.
The governing equation is: y = 0.1712x + 2.8083. The specific power
consumption varies from 0.0007 to 0.0011 kWh/ton-m.
The study conducted on the belt conveyors having capacity of
400 TPH and having different lengths of conveyors as shown in
Table 4. The final data is obtained by taking 20 readings each and
after getting the mean value. It is observed that the mean load was
27.8 kW in 100 m conveyor 6.3 kW in 15-m length conveyor. The
relationship of the power consumption with the different conveying
distance has been depicted by the correlation method which is shown
in Figure 6. The correlation coefficient found to be 0.9878. The
governing equation is: y = 0.2503x + 1.9066. The specific power con-
sumption varies from 0.0007 to 0.0011 kWh/ton-m.
4 | POWER CONSU MPTI ON WITH
DI FF E R E N T V E R T I C A L L I F T
The study has been conducted on the belt conveyors having capacity
of 100 TPH. The study conducted to find out power consumption
with different vertical heights and the obtained data is given in
Table 5.
6 of 11 JENA ET AL.

FIGURE 4 Correlation analysis power consumption versus conveying distance in 200 TPH conveyors.

TABLE 3 Power consumption in 300 TPH conveyors with different conveying distance

Sl. Belt Capacity of Conveying Vertical Belt Mean Sp. power

no. conveyor no. conveyor (TPH) length (m) lift (m) width (mm) load (kW) (kWh/Ton-m)
1 BC-13 300 15 0 1000 4.5 0.0010
2 BC-14 300 30 0 1000 9.8 0.0011
3 BC-15 300 45 0 1000 9.8 0.0007
4 BC-16 300 60 0 1000 11.9 0.0007
5 BC-17 300 75 0 1000 16.9 0.0008
6 BC-18 300 100 0 1000 19.6 0.0007

FIGURE 5 Correlation analysis power consumption versus conveying distance in 300 TPH conveyors.

The final data is obtained by taking 20 readings each and after 5 | S P E C I F I C P O W E R CO N S U M P T I O N O F

getting the mean value. It is observed that the mean load was 1.3 kW
in 5 m vertical height and 4.8 kW in 20 m vertical lift. The relationship
of the power consumption with the different vertical lift has been
depicted by correlation method which is shown in Figure 7.
The correlation coefficient found to be 0.998. The governing
equation is: y = 0.234x + 0.085. The specific power consumption
found in the range of 0.0024–0.0026 kWh/Ton-m.
C O N V E Y O R S WI T H D I F F E R E N T C O N V E Y I N G
DI STAN C E
The study has been conducted by selecting six numbers of belt
conveyors having different conveying distances. Their specific
power consumption has been calculated in different lengths and
given in Table 6. The specific power consumption trend has been
JENA ET AL. 7 of 11

TABLE 4 Power consumption in 400 TPH conveyors with different conveying distance

Sl. Belt Capacity of Conveying Vertical Belt Mean Sp. power

no. conveyor no. conveyor (TPH) length (m) lift (m) width (mm) load (kW) (kWh/Ton-m)
1 BC-19 400 15 0 1200 6.3 0.0011
2 BC-20 400 30 0 1200 10.1 0.0008
3 BC-21 400 45 0 1200 11.9 0.0007
4 BC-22 400 60 0 1200 16.3 0.0007
5 BC-23 400 75 0 1200 20.4 0.0007
6 BC-24 400 100 0 1200 27.8 0.0007

FIGURE 6 correlation analysis power consumption versus conveying distance in 400 TPH conveyor.

TABLE 5 Power consumption in the conveyors with different vertical lift

Sp. energy
Sl. no. Belt conveyor no. Capacity of conveyor TPH Length (m) Vertical lift (m) Mean power (kW) (kWh/TPH/vertical lift in m)
1 BC-1 100 15 5 1.3 0.0026
2 BC-2 100 15 7 1.7 0.0024
3 BC-3 100 15 10 2.4 0.0024
4 BC-4 100 15 12 2.9 0.0024
5 BC-5 100 15 16 3.8 0.0024
6 BC-6 100 15 20 4.8 0.0024

put in the Minitab software and the graph is given in Figure 8. The
specific power consumption varies from 0.0011 to 0.0007 kWh/
Ton-m.
When we analyze the correlation for all the conveyors following
result was found. For 100-m length belt conveyor, the correlation
equation found to be: y = 2E-06x + 0.0012 and the coefficient of
correlation, R = 0.9081. For 200-m length belt conveyor, the correla-
2
tion equation found to be: y = 5E-06x + 0.0011 and the coefficient
of correlation, R2 = 0.8054. For 300-m length belt conveyor, the cor-
relation equation found to be: y = 5E-06x + 0.0011 and the coeffi-
cient of correlation, R = 0.6307. For 400-m length belt conveyor, the
2
correlation equation found to be: y = 4E-06x + 0.001 and the coef-
ficient of correlation, R2 = 0.5497.
6 | E S T A B LI S H I N G P O W E R
CONSU M PTI ON EQ U ATIO N
It is evident from Equation (1), the main parameters for determining
the power consumption of belt conveyors are capacity of the con-
veyor, conveying distance, and vertical lift. These three main parame-
ters have been collected from the field for different conveyors with
their corresponding power consumption which is given in Table 7. By
using this data, one equation will be deduced to find out the power
consumption by using multiple regression analysis.
Applying multiple linear regression equation:
y ¼ a1 x1 þ a2 x2 þ a3 x3 þ … þ an  1xn  1 þ an xn þ b:
8 of 11 JENA ET AL.

FIGURE 7 Correlation analysis power consumption versus vertical lift.

TABLE 6 Power consumption in 400 TPH conveyors with different conveying distance

Conveying Sp. power kWh/Ton-m in Sp. power Kwh/Ton-m in Sp. power Kwh/Ton-m in Sp. power Kwh/Ton-m in
length (m) 100 m belt conveyor 200 m belt conveyor 300 m belt conveyor 400 m belt conveyor
15 0.0011 0.0011 0.0010 0.0011
30 0.0011 0.0010 0.0011 0.0008
45 0.0011 0.0008 0.0007 0.0007
60 0.0011 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007
75 0.0010 0.0007 0.0008 0.0007
100 0.0009 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007

FIGURE 8 Specific power consumption of conveyors in different conveying distance.

where Y, power consumption; conveying capacity (TPH), X1; vertical
lift (m), X2; conveying length (m), X3; a1, 0.073; a2, 0.868; a3, 0.016; b,
221,211.694.
y ¼ 0:073X1 þ 0:868X2 þ 0:016X3  11:694:
Residual sum of squares: rss = 42.4329; coefficient of determina-
tion: R2 = 0.964.
To know the validity of the derived equation the theo-
retical power calculated by using the derived equation and
actual power consumption given in Table 7 has been compared
JENA ET AL. 9 of 11

TABLE 7 Power consumption in 400 TPH conveyors with different conveying distance

Sl. no. Belt no. Material Capacity (TPH)-X1 Vertical lift (m)-X2 Length (m)-X3 Mean load (kW) Theoretical load (kW)
1 2D1.BC01 Lime stone 220 3.7 10 7.8 7.7
2 2D1.BC02 Lime stone 300 8 60 17.5 18.1
3 2E1.BC01 Lime stone 250 4 141 10.7 12.3
4 2E1.BC03 Lime stone 300 8 67 18.1 18.2
5 2H1.BC01 lime stone 50 13 76 6.7 4.5
6 2H1.BC02 lime stone 72 22 94 13.4 14.2
7 3E1.BC01 Raw mix 155 10 114 12.1 10.1
8 CA1.BC01 coal 25 12 70 1.6 1.7
9 CN1.BC01 coal 30 28 143 14.3 17.1
10 5C1.BC01 clinker 225 3 49 7 8.1
11 5C1.BC02 clinker 225 3 53 7.1 8.2
12 5C1.BC03 clinker 225 3 49 7 8.1
13 5C1.BC04 clinker 350 24 156 39.8 37.2
14 5C1.BC05 clinker 225 3 16 6.5 7.6
15 5E1.BC01 gypsum 140 6.3 85 7.6 5.4
16 5E1.BC02 gypsum 145 2.5 11 3.6 1.2

by using ANOVA method of statistics and the result is given was 9.7 kW. On the other hand the maximum specific energy con-
below. sumption was found to be 0.0011 kWh/Ton-m in smallest belt con-
veyor of 15 m and the minimum specific energy consumption was
found to be 0.0007 kWh/Ton-m in longest belt conveyor of 100 m.
Summary of data
Hence it is found that the specific energy consumption comes down
Treatments by 36% per ton of material conveying when we compared the smallest

1 2 3 4 5 Total to longest conveyor. In correlation analysis there is a strong positive

correlation found between power consumption and conveying length.
N 16 16 32
P In the contrary when we analyze the specific power consumption with
X 180.8 179.7 360.5
conveying distance we found a strong negative correlation and also
Mean 11.3 11.2313 11.266
P 2 from the figure g it is evident that, when length of belt conveyors
X 3232.52 3159.29 6391.81
increases the specific energy consumption comes down. Hence, it is
SD 8.905 8.7218 8.6706 advisable to use longer conveyors to reduce power consumption by
Result details combining series of the conveyors into one rather than using it in a
Source SS df MS tandem arrangement.

Between-treatments 0.0378 1 0.0378 F = 0.00049 It is observed that in 5 m vertical lift, 100 TPH belt conveyor max-
imum load was 1.3 kW and in 20 m vertical lift, 100 TPH belt con-
Within-treatments 2330.514 30 77.6838
veyor the maximum load was 4.8 kW. On the other hand specific
Total 2330.552 31
power consumption varies from 0.024 to 0.026 kWh/Ton-m with dif-
ferent vertical lift. It is found that Power consumption increased for
The F-ratio value is 0.00049. The p-value is 0.982544. The result higher vertical lift but there is no any remarkable difference in specific
is not significant at p < 0.05. Hence the equation derived from the power consumption if the vertical lift of the conveyor increases by
multiple regression analysis can be used for power consumption esti- keeping other variables constant. Therefore, it is suggested that the
mation in belt conveyors. conveyors should be used in different lengths as per the practical
requirement for vertical lifts as there is hardly any difference i specific
power consumption depending on the vertical lift. The power con-
7 | RESULTS AND DISCUSSION sumption equation is also established by using multiple regression
analysis.
It is observed that in 15 m, 100 TPH belt conveyor maximum load The expression is found to be; y = 0.073X1 + 0.868X2
was 2.92 kW and in 100 m, 100 TPH belt conveyor the maximum load + 0.016X3  11.694. Where Y is the power consumption,
10 of 11
X1 = Capacity (TPH), X2 = Vertical lift (m), X3 = Conveying length (m).
As per the equation deduced in introduction section other variables,
that is, frictional force, idle roller load, belt load, angle of inclination,
and speed of the belt conveyor which affect the power consumption
also. But these are having lower impact and also inclusive in the equa-
tion as the equation is derived from the actual power consumption
happened in the field considering effect of all the parameters. During
designing or modifications the main factors considered are conveying
distance, capacity, and vertical lift hence, those parameters
were considered for regression analysis for deducing the equation.
8 | PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
It is not always feasible to increase the length of belt conveyors by
combining small conveyors because of practical implications. The
specific power consumption will be higher if the bulk loading percent-
age is lower or belt conveyor runs empty. Repair and maintenance of
longer belt conveyors are more cumbersome compared with smaller
conveyors. It is more difficult to control the belt sway and material
spillage in longer belt conveyors.
9 | C O N CL U S I O N
In this article, the power consumption of belt conveyors has been
studied with different lengths, vertical lift, and capacity. It is observed
that the power consumption increases with an increase in conveying
distance but specific power consumption comes down when the belt
conveyor is used for larger conveying distance. Similarly, power con-
sumption also increased for higher vertical lift but here specific power
consumption for larger vertical lift remains approximately same.
Hence, it can be suggested that horizontal conveying distance
should be used a single long conveyor instead of splitting into a num-
ber of conveyors and for higher vertical heights it can be chosen as
per convenience. In the last part of the study the expression was
derived for estimating power consumption in belt conveyors by imple-
menting multiple regression analysis. The above study is helpful for
the heavy industries such as cement plants, steel plants, and so forth
to reduce the overall power consumption. The power saving in turn
reduces the carbon foot print of the industry which is a significant
benefit achieved by designing the conveyors keeping this point in
mind. The future scope of this study would be to verify with cost ben-
efit analysis for different type of conveyors and the relationship
between energy consumption and other parameters, that is, coeffi-
cient of friction, load due to the idlers, load due to belt in kg/m, spe-
cific loading due to the conveyed materials, angle of inclination of the
conveyor in degree as these parameters are not being studied in
details in with respect to power consumption in this research work.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Madhab Chandra Jena: Conceptualization (equal); data curation
(equal); formal analysis (equal); investigation (equal); methodology
JENA ET AL.
(equal); project administration (equal); resources (equal); software
(equal); validation (equal); visualization (equal); writing – original draft
(equal); writing – review and editing (equal). Sarat Kumar Mishra:
Supervision (equal); validation (equal). Himanshu Sekhar Moharana:
Supervision (equal); validation (equal).
DATA AVAILABILITY STAT EMEN T
Data openly available in a public repository that issues datasets
with DOIs.
OR CID
Madhab Chandra Jena https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4716-3988
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How to cite this article: Jena MC, Mishra SK, Moharana HS.
Experimental investigation on maximizing conveying efficiency
of belt conveyors used in series application and estimation of
power consumption through statistical analysis. Environ Prog
Sustainable Energy. 2022;e14031. doi:10.1002/ep.14031