Basic Parameters of Conveyor Belt Cleaning

摘要

The spillage that accumulates under conveyor belt lines presents a possible fire and explosion hazard to mine personnel, especially to those who must clean up the spillage. The U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted research to reduce this hazard by identifying and investigating the parameters affecting the efficiency of conveyor belt cleaning. The amount of material carried back under the conveyor and the wear rates of metal cleaning blades decreased with increasing blade-to-belt pressure to a limiting value, after which the carryback and wear rates remained essentially constant. The optimum blade-to-belt pressure was found to be 11 to 14 psi for the research conveyor system. Greater pressures increased the blade-belt friction without improving either cleaning or blade life. The modes of blade wear were three-body abrasion and slurry erosion caused by the sand-lime test mixture. Wear rates were reduced by increasing the metal hardness, optimizing the pressure, and removing conveyor belt imperfections. Corrosion was not observed to affect the wear of various steels in tests of less than 34 h. The results of the study should allow mine operators to run their conveyors under conditions that will maximize cleaning and minimize equipment wear.