Parameters Calculation and Structure Design of Pipe Belt Conveyer

Zaimei Zhang', Fang Zhou , Jianheng Ji

'School ofMechanical Engineering, University ofJinan, Jinan 250022, Shandong Province,
China
2Departments ofInformation Engineering, Shandong Water Vocational College, Rizhao 276826,
Shandong Province, China

Abstract
Pipe belt conveyor is a new type of special belt
conveyor and it is wildly used in conveying powder
material. In the paper, the advantages of pipe belt
conveyor are introduced. Calculation of pipe belt
conveyor s main parameters is different from that of
conventional belt conveyor s. The parameters such as
throughput, belt speed, belt width, resistance, tension in
belt and power are described. The length of transition
section is analyzed because it is important to the belt
life. Hexagon supporting rollers and tipping device are
necessary parts ofpipe belt conveyor. The structures of
them are also discussed.
Keywords: Pipe Belt Conveyor, Transition Section,
Hexagon Supporting Rollers, Tipping Device

1. Introduction
Pipe belt conveyor is a new type of special belt
conveyor which developed from the conventional belt
conveyor. In this conveyor, flat belt is forced to be
tubular by supporting roller groups and material
conveyed is enveloped in it. Therefore airproof convey
is realized in whole conveyance line. Pipe belt conveyor
was proposed in 1964 by Japan Pipe Conveyor (JPC),
and it went into real use in 1979[11. After that, it was
rapidly developed in Gennany and America and widely
used abroad. But it is not deeply studied and its' use is

special structure comparing with other belt conveyor (II.

(I) Unpolluted conveyance
In pipe belt conveyor, material doesn't come out and
isn't influenced by environment because the belt is
tubular and the two sides lap over each other. When it
conveys powder, food and chemical material etc., this
advantage is obvious.
(2) Big obliquity of conveyance
Obliquity can reach about 18 in the conventional
belt conveyor. But in pipe belt conveyor, material is
enveloped in pipe and friction between material and belt
is greater than before. So obliquity can be increased to
30
The bigger obliquity is, the shorter conveyance
length will be. This can result in lower cost.
(3) Two-way conveyance is convenient
Belt can be tubular in return of pipe belt conveyor
and material can be conveyed in the reverse direction by
special device such as special feeder and tipping device.
(4) Conveyor bed is narrow
In conveyance, bed is narrow because the cross
section is a circle. The required building space and
building steel are reduced. The bed cost is low and it
can be used when space is limited.
0

much limited in China.

2. The characteristics of pipe belt conveyor

Figurel is for the structure of pipe belt conveyor. The
load is putted on by the feeder at the end of conveyor.
The belt is flat when it runs through the driven roller
and it is conducted by a series of supporting rollers to be
tubular gradually. Thus airproof conveyance is realized.
In order to discharge, the pipe is also conducted by a
series of supporting rollers to be flat near the driving
roller. The conveyor discharges at its head. Two-way
conveyance can be realized. But tipping device for belt
must be added. Characteristics are obvious due to its

Figure1. Structure of pipe belt conveyor

3. Main parameters calculation of pipe belt

conveyor
Main parameters in pipe belt conveyor are
throughput, belt width, belt speed and power. But
production throughput is always given.

3.1 Calculation throughput

Throughput of conveyor can be fonnulated as

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Q=3600VF xb
Where V is belt speed, F is the pipe area,
of material conveyed and

per meter along the belt, 1 is the length of conveyance,

r is density

third of pipe diameter,

resistance in supporting rollers, showed in table 1.

J =0.8. If material size is one

J =0.75. If material size is half

Table 1. Coefficient of resistance in supporting

rollers
condition

of pipe diameter, J =0.58. If material size is two thirds

of pipe diameter,

=0.44.

3.2 Belt speed

Belt speed is determined by characteristic of material,
throughput, belt width and the installation method of
conveyor. Generally speaking, quick belt speed is
beneficial because it can reduce belt width and tension
in belt when throughput is constant. This will
economize on investment in belt and power
consumption. Belt speed usually used is 2--5 mlS[3].

3.3 Belt width

Belt width can be calculated according throughput.
The belt diameter can be expressed[2]:

Where d is pipe diameter.

The lap of two sides is about one third or half of pipe
diameter. When belt is tubular, the relationship between
belt width and pipe diameter is as follow:

= (1l' + (1 / 3 ~

1/2 )) d

3.4 Running resistance calculation

The method has no difference in resistance
calculation between pipe belt conveyor and
conventional belt conveyor. Generally, Coefficient of
resistance is usually used in resistance calculation.
Tension in belt is calculated point by point. Extrusion
force is increased because material is enveloped in pipe.
Therefore coefficient of resistance in pipe belt conveyor
is greater than that in conventional belt conveyor.
(1 )Resistance in tangent
Resistance in belt with load[2]:
W

=( q 0 + q 1 + q 2)

wgl cos

clean, dry and

no wearing dust
indoors
few
wearing
dust
under
normal
temperature
lots of wearing
dust outdoors

trough
supporting
rollers

0.018

0.02

0.035-0.045

0.025

0.03

0.045-0.055

0.035

0.04

0.055-0.075

hexagon
supporting
rollers

Si =CSi_1
Si

is the tension in belt at curvature exit, Si-l

is the tension in belt at curvature entrance and C is

coefficient of resistance.

3.5 Tension calculation in belt

After resistance in each section has been calculated,
we can calculate the tension at every point. We can
divide whole path into several tangents and curvatures
and number every joint before we calculate.
Tension at any point is calculated by the formula as
followed[2]:

Si = Si-l + W"ei-D-i
Where Si and Si-l are tension
point (i

in belt at point

and

-1 ), W"ei-D-i is resistance between point i

and point ( i-I) .

The tension at driving roller entrance and driving
roller exit can be obtained. Circumferential force on
driving roller can be described by following expression:

p= Sn -SI

( q 0 + q 1) Hg

Resistance in belt without load:

W = (qo + q3) OJ gl cos f3 =+= qoHg

Where P is circumferential force on driving roller, Sn is

Where W is resistance in running, q0 is the unit mass

of belt per meter, q 2 is the average unit mass of the
upper supporting rollers per meter along the belt, ql is
the unit mass of material per meter along the belt,

parallel
supporting
rollers

(2) Resistance in curvature

Resistance in curvature is caused by belt ossification
and friction in roller bearings. It is proportional to the
tension at curvature entrance. That is[2] :
Where

d = ~414~VJfP

OJ is coefficient of

is coefficient of material

filling, J = 0.44--0.8. If material size is less than one

third of pipe diameter,

fJ is obliquity of conveyance and

q3

is the average unit mass of the below supporting rollers

the tension in belt at driving roller entrance and SI is

the tension in belt at driving roller exit.
The following condition must be satisfied because
the belt do not permitted to slide on driving roller[2].

Sn
Where

f.1

Sl eJ.La

is the coefficient of friction between the belt

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and driving roller,

on the roller.

is angle of the belt enveloping

3.6 Power calculation

Power is mainly consumed in overcoming running
resistance. And some power is used in elevating
material in sloping conveyor. Power on driving roller
shaft can be calculated by the follower expression I2 !:

= PV

1000

So the motor power is:

N=KNo

17

Where K is a factor of safety and 17 is transmission

device efficiency.

material entrance is inevitable, three groups of

cushioning supporting rollers can sever to reduce the
intensity of shock loads and its' spacing is about
300-500mrn I4 !.
Hexagon supporting rollers are widely used after the
flat belt becomes tubular one l5J Rollers can be equipped
on the same side or two sides of the supporting board. It
is easy to positioning rollers precisely and the force in
belt is uniform when the six rollers are equipped on the
same side of supporting board. Generally speaking, the
adjacent rollers spacing should not exceed the belt
thickness, usually 4-Smrn. If the spacing were too big,
the edge of belt would jam in it. There are three rollers
on each side of the supporting board when rollers are
equipped on two sides of it. The length of roller can be
longer than the length of hexagon side and the belt can
not jam in the space of adjacent rollers. On the other
hand, the force in supporting board is uniform. Rollers
on supporting board are shown in fig.3 and fig.4.

4. Structure design of pipe belt conveyor

4.1 The length of transition section

,.
J

l...f'J ~ L

Figure 2. Length of transition section

Figure 3. Rollers on same side of supporting

board

Transition section is shown in figure 2. The belt is

flat at driving roller and driven roller. The belt is turned
from flat belt into tubular one at transition section. The
length of transition depends on the permissible
extension of belt. If transition section is too short,
additional deformation and stress will be great in both
sides of belt. This will result damage to belt. If
transition section is too long, distance of airproof
conveyance in whole line will be shortened. Generally
speaking, the length of transition section equals to 25
diameters in nylon belt while SO diameters in wire rope
belt I3 !.

4.2 Design of supporting rollers

Parallel supporting rollers must be used near driving
roller and driven roller so that the angle of the belt
enveloping on the roller is big enough. But at other
position in transition section trough supporting rollers
are used. Thus the flat belt can become tubular one
gradually and additional stress at edge of belt can be
reduced.
So
trough
angle
is
usually
20,30 ,45 ,60 and 90. Since impact load at

Figure 4. Rollers on two sides of supporting

board
Rigidity is greatly increased after flat belt becomes
tubular. So supporting rollers spacing can also be
increased. Supporting roller groups spacing with load is
about 1.2m or I.Om and it is 3.0m in return in
conventional conveyor, while it varies with the pipe
diameter in pipe belt conveyor. The greater pipe b
diameter is, the greater the spacing is I5 !. The relationship

(il(i

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etween pipe diameter and the spacing is shown in table

2[5].

Table 2. The relationship between pipe diameter

and supporting roller groups spacing
pipe
diameter(mm)
supporting roller
groups spacing(m)

f/J 150

f/J200

f/J300

f/J450

1.5

1.6

1.8

2.7

4.3 Belt tipping device

Remnant material on belt will pollute environment
and adhere to rollers and supporting rollers after
discharge. This will result to belt wear. So the same side
of belt is always used when conveying material. Belt
tipping device severs to overturn the belt [6]. It consists
of several rollers. The belt is hold by two horizontal
rollers and two vertical rollers and tum 90
Then
another two horizontal rollers hold the belt and tum it
90
at the same direction. Thus belt overturn is
realized. The spacing between horizontal rollers and
vertical rollers depends on belt width and operation
conditions.
0

5. Conclusion
Compared with conventional belt conveyor, pipe belt
conveyor has so many advantages that it will be widely
used in the future. When calculating parameters, some

formals in convention belt conveyor can be used in pipe

belt conveyor, but some coefficients must be modified.
The power is greater in pipe belt conveyor than in
conventional belt conveyor because friction is great in
pipe belt conveyor. The transition section length
depends on the belt type and pipe diameter. Parallel
supporting rollers and trough supporting rollers in
conventional belt conveyor can also be used in pipe belt
conveyor, but trough angle varies with the poison where
trough supporting rollers are installed. Hexagon
supporting rollers and tipping device exist only in pipe
belt conveyor and their structure is described in this
paper. Supporting roller groups spacing also varies with
pipe diameter.

References
[1] Kai Liu, "Application and Development of Pipe Belt
Conveyor", Coal Technology, 2006,25(09): 19-21
[2] Maton A E, "Power and Capacity Review of Tubular Pipe
Bulk
Solids
Handing,
and
Trough
Conveyor",
1997,17(1):47-50
[3] Zhiping Li, "Application of Pipe Belt Conveyor in Bulk
Handling", Electric Power Survey & Design,2003,1:48-52
[4] Weigang Song, Ye Yu, "The Development and Critical
Techniques of the Pipe Belt Conveyor", Cement,
2005,04:42-46
[5] Yuefeng An, "Pipe belt conveyor", S P & BMH Related
engineering. 2006,2:39-42
[6] Gregory A Vaka, "Pipe Conveyor---Development and
Advantages", Bulk Solids Handling, 1998,18(3):451-455

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