Steel Belt Research Articles

Quantitative analysis of bond and splice strength of steel cord conveyor belt

Steel cord conveyor belt has the advantages of high tensile strength, high friction resistance and strong impact resistance. It is widely used in coal, mining, port, electric power and other fields. The splice area is the weakest link in the whole steel cord conveyor belt, and the splice deformation often occurs. In order to prevent a serious belt breakage accident, we need know the quantitative relationship between splice deformation and splice strength clearly. In this paper, the finite element simulation analysis is carried out on the relationship between deformation and strength of steel cord conveyor belt splices. The change of the bond strength between steel cord and rubber under the action of external force is mainly studied. The emphasis is on the influence of length, number and diameter of steel cords. In these three different factors, the value of A is different. At the same time, we have also analyzed each situation accordingly. Finally, the quantitative relationship between the splice deformation and the overall strength of the splice was summarized. The research results can provide theoretical basis for safety inspection, splice performance analysis, maintenance and renewal of steel cord conveyor belt.

A Case Study on Gob‐Side Entry Retaining Technology in the Deep Coal Mine of Xinjulong, China

Through the analysis of the project of gob‐side entry retaining in the deep gangue filling 2305S‐2# working face of the Xinjulong coal mine, the principle and technology of surrounding rock control of gob‐side entry retaining along the deep mining face are discussed. It is found that the use of gangue to fill the goaf of the deep mining face can effectively alleviate the occurrence of violent strata pressure, which is the basis for realizing entry retaining along the goaf. In the Xinjulong coal mine, the gangue wall and concrete‐filled steel tube columns are used as roadside support structure. Anchor bolt + W steel belt are used as advance support, monomer column + hinged beam are used as temporary support, and long anchor cable + beam are used as permanent support. Gob‐side entry retaining of deep mining working face is successfully realized. The actual measurement results show that the bearing capacity of gangue wall increases slowly, and the deformation is large. The concrete‐filled steel tube column has a certain drilling bottom, and the roof cable is easily broken on the side of the remaining roadway. It is necessary to strengthen the lateral constraint of the gangue wall, limit the deformation of the gangue wall, and improve the bearing capacity of the gangue wall. The bottom of the concrete‐filled steel tube column needs to be installed with a large backing plate to control the bottom drilling amount, and the roof anchor cable of the roadway must have a certain elongation to realize the coordinated deformation of the anchor cable and the roof.

3D finite element analysis and optimization of cap ply production system in the tire industry

In automotive industry, tires play a key role. They are a composite structure formed by multiple layers of different materials such as rubber compounds, steel and polyamide cords. Between the tread and steel belts, a cap ply layer is used to restrict the growth of the tire, due to centrifugal forces. Cap ply is produced by using a pultrusion process that impregnates polyamide cords with rubber, resulting in a rubberized strip. When the controlling of the process is incorrect, premature vulcanization or lack of impregnation is often observed. To optimize the production process, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations were performed to study the flow of rubber inside the extrusion head channels by modelling the fluid properties and the domain. Laboratory tests were also conducted to determine the physical and cure properties of the rubber compound used. Crossing the results of the simulations with the laboratory tests was found that the temperature control used was inadequate. Simulations were also supported with the results provided by a temperature sensor controlled by an external device (Arduino). By using a proportional integral derivative controller and changing the setpoints for the thermal resistance, the amount of scrap generated by vulcanized rubber and lack of rubber in the cap ply strips was reduced by 100%.

Nutrient Removal Structures Using Locally-Sourced Iron and Aluminum By-Products Reduce Nutrient Runoff from Broiler Production Facilities

A common issue with filters designed to remove nutrients from runoff is their reduced effectiveness in high-flow conditions. To overcome this challenge, it was determined that nutrient removal from broiler-house fan dust could be more effective if nutrient removal was conducted at the nutrient source. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of containment trays (CTs) holding locally sourced by-products installed adjacent to broiler house fans at the University of Arkansas Savoy broiler production facility to capture nutrients released from dust during rainfall over four years (2013 to 2017). By-products used were locally sourced, iron-based red mud (RM) generated during the manufacture of steel belts for tires and alum-based drinking water treatment residual (WTR), where both materials have large phosphorus (P) sorption capacities. Four-year mean annual concentrations of dissolved P of through-flow from RM CTs were consistently below 0.7 mg·L-1 and below 1.6 mg·L-1 for WTR CT through-flow. This equated to an average 11- and 4-fold decrease for RM and WTR, relative to concentrations in runoff from same-sized plots adjacent to sidewall fans, demonstrating their potential to trap P at the source and decrease P runoff to nearby flowing waters. While there was no significant decline in RM or WTR effective-ness over the four-year study, further work needs to be conducted to determine the lifespan of CTs. Use of RM and WTR in CTs at poultry broiler production facilities, along with their subsequent land application, has the potential to reduce the amount of by-product materials that are currently landfilled.

Analysis of Strength Factors of Steel Cord Conveyor Belt Splices Based on the FEM

Conveyor belt is an important element of the conveyor. The strength of the steel cord conveyor belt largely determines the carrying capacity, and it also has a great impact on operational safety. In this paper, the effect of different factors on the strength of the steel cord conveyor belt splices was studied. The FEM was used for simulation analysis, and the corresponding tensile experiments were carried out to verify. Steel cords of different lengths were simulated, and the simulation results agree well with the experimental results. On this basis, the steel cord length, steel cord diameter, rubber thickness, and different number of steel cords were investigated to study the effect on the pullout force of the steel cord conveyor belt splice. The numerical simulation results show that different steel cord diameters have more significant effect on the strength of the conveyor belt splice compared to rubber. The steel cord length and steel cord diameter impact on the steel cord conveyor belt is approximately linear. For the different number of the steel cords, the increase in the number of steel cords does not mean that the tension will increase by the same multiple, and the increase in pullout force is less than the increase in the number of steel cords. It provides guidance for the production of steel cord conveyor belts.

Coulomb dry friction contact in a non‐material shell finite element model for axially moving endless steel belts

AbstractHaving developed a mixed, quasistatic Eulerian–Lagrangian shell finite element model for the simulation of axially moving, endless steel belts, we focus on how to efficiently treat the Coulomb contact between belt and drums. The proposed method relies on the penalty regularization for normal contact and on an augmented Lagrangian strategy for tangential contact. The presented results demonstrate the robustness of the applied scheme.

Supporting problems at an island mining face in shanxi, China. Case study based on field observation

Abstract In this paper, field observation is conducted in Fujiaao Coal Mine, Linfen city in Shanxi province, China, which is unique because of its island-typed mining layout. Firstly, geology, layout of the coal cutting face, supporting pattern are presented and details are also provided. Then the problems are discussed and analyzed based on existing bolting theories. It finds out the length of the cable bolt is too long, which requires long time to drill boreholes, whilst the effectiveness is limited due to the illogical combination between cable bolt function zone and rock bolt function zone. Also, the face place allocated to rock bolt is very likely to cause line contact between its edge and steel belt, thus the bearing force is tremendously weakened and solely determined by strength of belt. Furthermore, field observation proves the low active supporting effects to roof, thus leading obvious roof sink even without the disturbance of mining activity. Eventually, some solutions are proposed with the intention to improve the situation based on the economic and technical considerations, including bolting in humidity environment, rational cable bolt length, wise choice of face plate, and ways to increase pretension force. The viewpoints and comments of this study can be referred by practitioners in coal mines sharing same difficulties.

THE METHOD OF DETECTING INHOMOGENEITIES AND DEFECTS IN MATERIALS USING SENSORS BASED ON THE FIBER BRAGG OPTIC STRUCTURES

The article presents the possibilities of detecting defect in materials using the fiber Bragg gratings (FBG). Steel belts with a thickness of 1 mm were used for the tests: one standard and the others were damaged. The damage was in the form of incisions. The FBG was glued to the sample with epoxy glue along its entire length and elongation by outside force. Based on the transmission spectrum obtained on the Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA) the processing characteristics: the main minimum on the transmission characteristics, total width of the spectrum and the full width at half maximum FWHM depending on the FBG strain was determine.

Non‐material finite element rod model for out‐of‐plane bending of an elastic strip with natural curvature

AbstractA novel finite element formulation for elastic unshearable rods in three‐dimensional space is presented. Looking forward to future implementations of axially moving belts, we use a mixed Eulerian‐Lagrangian kinematic formulation, which has the advantage that the element nodes are fixed in one spatial coordinate and the material points are flowing through the mesh, hence it is possible to discretize the elements in the free spans coarser than the ones in contact with the pulleys. Here, we present the solution of hanging rods with a flat cross‐section including a natural curvature, which causes an out‐of‐plane bending as well as torsion of the rod. For validation purposes we limit ourselves to equilibrium solutions (for which purely Lagrangian elements would be also applicable) with clamped boundary conditions. The results are compared with a shell model of the hanging strip. Preliminary results concerning the frictionless contact problem for a steel belt hanging on two pulleys are discussed.

Parameters Comparison of High Rise RCC Structure with Steel Outrigger and Belt truss by Linear and Non-linear Analysis

Parameters Comparison of High Rise RCC Structure with Steel Outrigger and Belt truss by Linear and Non-linear Analysis

Proper Radial Spokes of Non-Pneumatic Tire for Vertical Load Supporting by Finite Element Analysis

This research aimed to develop the 3D finite element model of non-pneumatic tire (NPT) for designing the proper radial spoke. The NPT was cut using waterjet cutting technique to prepare the appropriate test specimens. The hyperelastic constitutive models were used to model the deformation behavior of these NPT components. The rebar elements were used to model steel belt layers of the non-pneumatic tire, while the tying equation was used to tie the degree of freedom between belt layers and rubber elements. The NPT model was assigned to contact the rigid surface at the load of 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 kN. The deformation analysis result of NPT model was compared with the physical experiment which obtained the average error of 9.29 %. The vertical stiffness of the NPT model was 810.66 N/mm; therefore the error was 6.81 % when it was compared to the experimental result. The validated NPT model was then used to search for the proper spoke thickness. The spoke thickness of 5 mm was found to be the proper thickness which given the identical vertical stiffness as the pneumatic tire.

Magnetic methods in monitoring changes of the technical condition of splices in steel cord conveyor belts

The article focuses on problems related to diagnosing splices in steel-cord conveyor belts. Data used for the analysis was acquired from belt core testing using the HRDS system. The measurement data served to extract and describe several parameters, whose values depend on the geometry and technical condition of the splice. Initial results have shown that evaluation of the technical condition of the splice can be performed using statistical analysis.

Evaluation and synergy of material and energy in the smelting process of ferrochrome pellets in steel belt sintering-submerged arc furnace

The objective of this paper is to investigate the energy conservation and resource utilization in the smelting process of ferrochrome pellets. Based on the laws of mass and energy conservation, the material and energy flows model has been established in the smelting process of steel belt sintering-submerged arc furnace. To better understand the smelting process from disorder state to order state under energy conservation and resource utilization, the synergy model related to the material and energy has been developed. The state change depends on the fluctuations to the energy critical point. The fluctuations are defined as order parameters, which satisfy all the smelting processes. The value of synergy degree is set as the evaluating indicator to assess the smelting process. The results show that the energy efficiencies of three smelting equipments are 42.89%, 66.17% and 61.44%, respectively. Also, the energy efficiency of the smelting process is 49.15%. The value of synergy degree is 0.584. Several suggestions for the smelting process are proposed based on the synergy model. The synergy degree of the suggestions is 0.632. The present work has a potential to improve the smelting process in efficiency.

Forecast of the remaining lifetime of steel cord conveyor belts based on regression methods in damage analysis identified by subsequent DiagBelt scans

Changes of damage to the belt core that are not controlled during the exploitation can lead to dangerous accumulation of the defects (strains) in the cross-section. It can lead to serious weakness and even rupture of the belt. Early detection of the microdamage of the covers and evaluation of the increase speed of the damage allows the user to plan maintenance more precisely. Furthermore, it allows more effective cost management when conveyor belt maintenance is scheduled.This paper is based on the data gathered with the use of the DiagBelt mobile system for non-invasive diagnostics of conveyor belts with steel-cord core. The object of the tests comprised a slow-burning ST 3150 conveyor belt, having width B-1200. The tests were performed on a belt conveyor operated in a Polish underground mine. Four tests were performed at different time intervals in order to monitor the development of conveyor belt core damage. The regression model was based on data gathered from several sections of the inspected belt and on three indicators of defects (the sum, the number and the surface of defects). The analysis was performed not only for the linear regression model, but also for the quadratic regression model, which seems to provide promising results.

An Improved Skewness Decision Tree SVM Algorithm for the Classification of Steel Cord Conveyor Belt Defects

Skewness Decision Tree Support Vector Machine (SDTSVM) algorithm is widely known as a supervised learning model for multi-class classification problems. However, the classification accuracy of the SDTSVM algorithm depends on the perfect selection of its parameters and the classification order. Therefore, an improved SDTSVM (ISDTSVM) algorithm is proposed in order to improve the classification accuracy of steel cord conveyor belt defects. In the proposed model, the classification order is determined by the sum of the Euclidean distances between multi-class sample centers and the parameters are optimized by the inertia weight Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. In order to verify the effectiveness of the ISDTSVM algorithm with different feature space, experiments were conducted on multiple UCI (University of California Irvine) data sets and steel cord conveyor belt defects using the proposed ISDTSVM algorithm and the conventional SDTSVM algorithm respectively. The average classification accuracies of five-fold cross-validation were obtained, based on two kinds of kernel functions respectively. For the Vowel, Zoo, and Wine data sets of the UCI data sets, as well as the steel cord conveyor belt defects, the ISDTSVM algorithm improved the classification accuracy by 3%, 3%, 1% and 4% respectively, compared to the SDTSVM algorithm. The classification accuracy of the radial basis function kernel were higher than the polynomial kernel. The results indicated that the proposed ISDTSVM algorithm improved the classification accuracy significantly, compared to the conventional SDTSVM algorithm.

Stability Control and Support Optimization for a Soft-Rock Roadway in Dipping Layered Strata

Asymmetry and support issues can cause deformation and failure of the rock surrounding a soft-rock roadway in dipping layered strata. This paper evaluates the No. 1301 head gate in a mine as a case study to assess the instability mechanism related to the deformation and failure of the surrounding rock in this site and proposes stability control measures and a support scheme for the surrounding rock. The orthogonal test method is used to optimize the support parameters, and the supporting effect is evaluated based on numerical simulations and a field investigation. The results show that the instability of the surrounding rock is mainly influenced by the weak layer. The support scheme should use a combined support scheme with “full anchor cable (long and short anchor cable) + wire mesh + steel belt” as the primary support and a ladder beam as auxiliary support to strengthen critical areas. The overall deformation of the surrounding rock tends to be symmetrical, and the broken area of the surrounding rock is dramatically reduced; consequently, a large stable load-bearing structure is formed, ensuring the long-term stability of the roadway.

Air Entrainment and Surface Fluctuations in a Turbulent Ship Hull Boundary Layer

The air entrainment due to the turbulence in a free surface boundary layer shear flow created by a horizontally moving vertical surface-piercing wall is studied through experiments and direct numerical simulations. In the experiments, a laboratory-scale device was built that utilizes a surface-piercing stainless steel belt that travels in a loop around two vertical rollers, with one length of the belt between the rollers acting as a horizontally-moving flat wall. To complement the experiments, Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of the two-phase boundary layer problem were carried out with the domain including a streamwise belt section simulated with periodic boundary conditions. Cinematic Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) measurements of water surface profiles in two vertical planes oriented parallel to the belt surface (wall-parallel profiles) are presented and compared to previous measurements of profiles in a vertical plane oriented normal to the belt surface (wall-normal profiles). Additionally, photographic observations of air entrainment and measurements of air bubble size distributions and motions are reported herein. The bubble entrainment mechanisms are studied in detail through the results obtained by the DNS simulations. Free surface features resembling breaking waves and traveling parallel to the belt are observed in the wall-parallel LIF movies. These breaking events are thought to be one of the mechanisms by which the air is entrained into the underlying flow. The bubble size distribution is found to have a characteristic break in slope, similar to the Hinze scale previously observed in breaking waves. Finally, several entrainment mechanisms are found in the simulations and their prevalence in the free surface boundary layer is assessed.

Dynamic analysis of indentation rolling resistance of steel cord rubber conveyor belt

To study the variation trend of the indentation rolling resistance of a rubber conveyor belt under different environmental temperatures, the sinusoidal compression displacement test was first carried out on the rubber matrix at six temperatures between -20 °C and 40 °C by a high and low temperature universal testing machine. Elastic modulus E1, E2 and loss factor tan θ of the rubber matrix were identified using the Fourier series. Then, the dynamic contact characteristics between the idling roller and conveyor belt were analyzed by the viscoelastic mechanics theory. Hence, the calculation equation of the indentation rolling resistance in the full thickness direction of the conveyor belt was deduced. Finally, a practical calculation and experimental verification of the indentation rolling resistance of the steel cord rubber conveyor belt at different temperatures were conducted. The results showed that the drop of the indentation rolling resistance of the conveyor belt was significant when the temperature was increased in the range of -20–10 °C. In the range of 10–40 °C, the influence of the increase of the ambient temperature on the indentation rolling resistance was relatively weak. Additionally, it is found that the contact force in the vertical direction and the idling roller diameter are important factors that affect the indentation rolling resistance of the conveyor belt. The influence of belt speed on the indentation rolling resistance is weak.

The prediction methodology for tire’s high speed durability regulation test using a finite element method

In the tire industry, indoor accelerated life tests as regulations have been performed to ensure tire durability performances instead of outdoor field test. The finite element method has been widely used to minimize real test time and cost, but prediction method for accelerated life test had hardly been made in the past. This study presents a rational methodology to predict the tire’s failure life at the steel belt edge region due to high speed regulation test. Based on the finite element analysis and fatigue characteristic of rubber material, a method to determine exact failure time is proposed. The steady-state rolling analysis by FEM to get strain energy density range(ΔSED) at the steel belt edge region and fatigue test of rubber compound to obtain ΔSED- number of cycle (Nf) curve were used. The reliability of proposed prediction method was verified by real indoor test.

Manganese Ore Thermal Treatment Prior to Smelting

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