CHAPTER SEVEN

CONVEYORS

7. 1 Belt Conveyor 7.2 Oscillating Conveyor

7.3 Wheel Conveyors 7.4 Bucket Conveyors
7.5 Chain conveyors 7.6 Screw Conveyors
 Conveying and elevating equipment serve a wide variety of
purposes in practically every industry where bulk materials
are handled
 Primarily, conveyors and elevators provide transportation
with a uniform flow from one operation to another, but they
also provide the means for performing many other
functions, such as distributing the material to bins or
machines for weighing, mixing, filling, etc.
 The common objective is to design and/or select a conveyor that will
deliver maximum performance at minimum cost per ton of material
handled. To do so, it is necessary to obtain answers to the following key
questions and to develop the facts necessary to determine the types of
conveyor that will suit the purpose for which it is to be designed and
arranged.
1. What is the horizontal distance over which the material is to be
conveyed?
2. What is the vertical height that the material is to be lifted or lowered?
3. What kind of material is to be handled and what is its weight per cubic
meter?
4. What is the average required capacity in tons per hour?
5. What is the maximum required capacity in tons per hour?
6. How will the flow of material be controlled?
7. What are the dimensions of the largest lumps?
8. What percentage of the total volume to be handled will consist of this
maximum size lump?
9. Is the material hot, wet, dry, sticky, oily, abrasive, or corrosive? To what
degree?
10. How many loading points are there and where are they located?
11. How is the material to be discharged from the conveyor: over the head
pulley or through a tripper?
12. How many discharge points are there and where are they located?
13. What would be the most convenient location for the drive?
14. What is the prime mover, an electric motor or an internal combustion
engine?
15. If an electric motor, what are the current characteristics?
16. What is its output speed, and what is the size and key-seat of the output
shaft of the prime mover?
17. Is the material to be weighed in transit on the conveyor?
18. Do you wish to remove tramp iron from the material as it passes over
discharged pulley?
19. Do you wish to sample the material asit is being conveyed or discharged?
20. What safety devices should beapplied to the conveyor?
 7.1 BELT CONVEYORS
 Belt conveyors occupy an outstanding position in the
field of bulk materials handling
 They are the most versatile and widely used of all
conveyors
 They are suitable for handling a wide variety of
materials.
• The range of sizes , which may be handled, is limited
only by the width of the belt
• Materials may vary from extremely fine chemicals to
lump ore, stone, coal or pulpwood logs.
 Cont..
• They can handle a wide range of capacities over
longer distance than possible with other types of
conveyor systems.
• In addition to their dependable and economic use
as means of transporting bulk materials, they are
adaptable for performing numerous other functions
such as weighing, blending sampling and stock
piling
 Belt Conveyor Components
• The belt conveyor is composed of the belt, the
idlers, the pulleys, the drive equipment, the take-up
and the supporting structure.
• The belt is an endless moving rubber-covered
conveyor for transporting materials and is made up
of fibers having longitudinal strength for pulling
the load, transverse strength for supporting the
load.
 Belt conveyor Cont..

 The idlers, which carry and train the belt; idlers must be selected to
properly protect and support the belt and load to be carried
 The pulleys, with their shafts and bearings, which propel/ push/drive the
belt and change its direction of travel; Pulleys for belt conveyors are
usually welded steel, drum types, for maximum strength, minimum
weight, and for resistance to shook during handling and operation.
• The shaft and the pulley are treated as a single structure. The resultant
force on the bearing (shaft) is the vector sum of belt tensions, pulley
weight, and weight of the shaft.
 The drive equipment for transmitting power from the motor to the
driving pulley or pulleys; Practically all belt conveyors are driven by an
electric motor directly connected to a speed reducer unit through a
flexible coupling
 Belt conveyor cont.….
 The take-up to maintain the slack side tension. Every belt conveyor must be equipped with
a take-up to allow for stretch, and shrinkage of the belt due to variation of temperature and
atmospheric pressure. Insure that the maximum tension in the belt is sufficient to prevent undue sag
between idlers
 The structure which supports and maintains alignment of idlers, pulleys and the
drive
 Discharging Materials from the Belt
• Belt conveyors can discharge material over end or at intermediate points.
Some of the arrangements are illustrated here.
7.2 Oscillating Conveyor
 Introduction
A vibrating conveyor consists of a trough supported
by tined springs and/or hinged links having a drive
system. Thus these conveyors are sometimes called
oscillating conveyors.
The vibrating conveyor consists of the following
elements:
a) Watertight/waterproof stainless steel tray riveted to a
rigid mild steel frame
b) Swinging arms
c) drive
 Oscillating Conveyors
Classification of vibratory conveyor
Vibratory conveyors may be classified on the basis of
3 considerations:
1) The pattern of motions of the trough/rack/holder
or load
2) Drive mechanism
3) Frequency of excitation
 Pattern of motion of the trough or load
1. Reciprocating or inertia-type conveyors
As the trough moves forward during its forward
motion, it carries the material with it
2. Vibrating or oscillating conveyors
The load is periodically thrown above the trough
(jumps) with the vertical component of the trough
acceleration greater than the acceleration due to
gravity
 Drive Mechanism

1. Direct mechanical type, use crank and

connecting rod
2.Single or double eccentric weight on a
rotating shaft
3.Electromagnetic exciter using pulsed
single-phase AC supply
 Frequency of Excitation
According to the range of frequency of excitation of
the trough, the vibratory conveyor can be classified as
1. Sub-resonant
2. Resonant
3. Super-resonant system
 Oscillating Conveyors
Oscillating conveyors move materials in a uniform,
continuous flow by the upward and forward oscillating
motion of a continuous metal trough, mounted on sturdy
inclined reactor legs. The angle of inclination of the
conveyor arm may vary from 25 to 30 degree.

Where S = the magnitude of the

movement of the conveyor in time t.
A = maximum amplitude of the where k = rigidity and m = mass
vibration
 Vibrating/oscillating conveyor Cont’d…
• This conveyor is used for handling:-
– All granular free flowing materials

– Hot, abrasive, fine, dusty, lumpy, stringy and other materials

which are difficult to handle or where contamination or corrosion
is a problem.

• In addition to conveying, it is used for

– cooling, heating and drying
Basic Designs
Basic elements
1. A trough supporting system.
2. The source of the controlled
vibrating.
Reviewing of the elements:
1. The trough is the only portion of the
vibrating conveyor that comes in
contact with the material being
conveyed.
2. The base is primarily a means of
mounting the conveyor and is usually of
a simple design incorporating structural
steel members.
 7.3 Bucket Elevator

• The typical bucket elevator consists of an endless chain or belt to

which are attached
• buckets for elevating pulverized, granular, or lumpy materials along
a vertical or a steeply inclined path.
• The driving traction /power element is a chain or a belt. The choice
depends on the desired performance of the elevator and the type of
the load intended for handling.
• So free-flowing materials can be conveniently handled with belt
affording speeds up to 3.5 m/s.
 Types of Bucket Elevators
1. Centrifugal Discharge
• Materials enter by flowing along the floor of the boot from which it is scooped up
by the digging action of the bucket as they round the foot wheel. The materials are
discharged by centrifugal action as the buckets pass over the head wheel.
2. Perfect Discharge
• The buckets are carried between two strands of chain snubbed under the head
wheels to bring them into an inverted position above the discharge chute. This is a
slow
speed machine for fragile, sticky or slow flowing materials.
3. Continuous Bucket
• This is also a slow speed machine the buckets are mounted continuously along the
chain. At the head the discharge from each bucket is over the front of the
preceding bucket which forms a chute or guide to the fixed discharge.
 Cont..
4. Gravity Discharge
• This is the name given to the double-
strandelevator conveyor with spaced V-section
• buckets. It may follow almost any path in a vertical
plane. Its principal advantage is
• with fragile materials since it eliminates a transfer
from one unit toanother. It is a
• slow speed machine. Material isloaded as in type
1, but discharge is through gates in
• a trough is in flight conveyors.
 Bucket Elevator

Method of Loading and Unloading of a Bucket Elevator; a) loading through a chute;

b) loading by digging from the boot; c) positive discharge; d) central discharge
 3.4 SCREW CONVEYORS
• The screw conveyor, one of the oldest and simplest
methods used for the movement of bulk materials,
consists of a long-pitch plate-steel helix mounted on a
shaft or spindle carried in bearings within a U-shaped
trough.
• As the element rotates , the material fed to it is moved
forward by the thrust of the lower part of the helix and
is discharged through openings in the trough bottom or
at the end.
 Cont..

The movement of the materials is forced through the trough by a rotating

screw , which is formed by a helical blade attached to the drive shaft 8 which
is coupled to a drive 1 and supported by end bearings 2,6 and by inner
bearings 4. The trough 7 of the round-bottom shape is topped by a cover plate
3 with an opening 5 for loading the conveyor. A similar unloading opening 9
is provided in the bottom of the trough. The loading and unloading points can
be located anywhere along the trough
 The Conveyor Screw
• This is the rotating part of the screw conveyor
which imparts smooth and positive motion to the
bulk material being conveyed. It consists of spiral
flying mounted on a pipe and is made either right
or left hand to suit the screw rotation and the
desired direction of material travel.

Typical Screw Configurations: (a)

Helical Spiral (b) Ribbon Spiral
(c) Cut Flights
 The Drive Shaft, End Shaft and Coupling
The drive shaft supports the conveyor screw section and
keeps it in alignment.
• The end shaft is located at the end opposite the drive
shaft. Couplings are used to connect successive conveyors
screw section when more than one section is necessary to
make up the total length of conveyor.
• The shaft and coupling are secured in the conveyor screw
by coupling bolts

Installing Screw Section in

Trough and Fitting it onto
Coupling
 The End Seals
• The plate seal is an economical, effective sealing device, designed
for exterior mounting between the end bearing and the trough end.
• Standard units employ lip type seals to contact the shaft but other
types of commercial seal cartridges also may be used.
• The seal plate and the end bearing are bolted to the trough end by one
set of bolts.
• Split gland seals are designed for interior or exterior mounting. They
• provide a seal which is effective for many applications.
• The universal type of seal is arranged for use with waste packing or
with cartridge type lip or felt seals.
• An opening at the top of the seal housing facilitates waste repacking,
and exposes the waste for oiling.
• The packing seal housing is mounted outside the trough and between
it and the end bearing.
 Cont..
• Packing gland seals (Fig.10.4d) are effective means for
sealing the conveyor both internally and externally. This
seal also is sometimes suitable for pressure or vacuum
service.
• The packing pressure is adjusted by the gland bolts. Air
purge shaft seals are arranged for attaching to standard
or special trough ends.
• A constant air pressure is maintained to prevent
material from escaping from the trough along the shaft.
• The air purge seal is desirable for sealing highly abrasive
materials.
 The Conveyor Complete with the Trough and the
Drive
• The trough is the enclosure in which the material is
confined and guided in its movement. A shaft
mounted speed reducer makes a simple and compact
drive combination.

• Screw conveyors are not limited to conveying

horizontally. With specialized design the unit may
operate at a slope or in the vertical position.
• There could be many drive arrangements to meet the
practical limitation like space, type of drive, etc.
Some of the drive arrangements are presented
 3.5 CHAIN CONVEYORS

 A well-designed chain conveyor made up of high-

quality material is an excellent means of conveying
abrasive and high temperature materials, or
withstanding the effects of impact when handling
large lumps.
 3.6 Pneumatic - Conveyors

• Introduction
• Pneumatic conveying is a method of transporting bulk
materials
• in the form of powder, short fiber and granules over
a pipeline as a mixture with air or due to pressure of
air.
• There are three basic system .
• Suction or Vacuum System utilizes a vacuum created in
the pipeline to draw the material with the surrounding air.
• These systems are particularly suited to moving material from
multiple pickup points to a single location.
 Cont’d
• the reason being that the bulk of the system's
expense is in the terminal end where the
receiver, rotary valves, and vacuum source are
located.
• The system operates at 0.5-0.6atm and is
utilized mainly in conveying light free flowing
materials over short distances.
 Cont’d

1 – nozzle, 2- duct, 3-cyclone collector ,4 -

rotary air lock feeders, 5-a filter collector, 6
- positive pressure exhauster.
Pneumatic Conveyor - Vacuum System
• Pressure-type System is ideally suited for
conveying from one pickup location to many
discharge locations.
• Generally, this type of system is more economical
when going from one point to several.
• A pressure system of this type generally conveys
with a product-to-air ratio of about 20kg of
material per kg of air, or approximately 24kg of
material/m3 of air .
 Cont’d

Pneumatic Conveyor -Pressure System

Combination System (Push-Pull System)
This is a system in which a suction
system is used to convey material form a
number of loading points and pressure
system is employed to deliver it to a
number of unloading points. Such
installations are utilized when conveying
over a long distance is required.

Applications and Limitations

Pneumatic conveyors have many
advantages:
• delivery of materials over a path capable
of changing its direction in any plane,