Material handling

classification

4.4.Chain Conveyors and

Bucket Elevators

By: Gebrewold T. 1
 Introduction
Chain conveyors employ single or double
strands of continuous chains wrapped
around head and tail end sprockets. The
units are generally operated by motor
drives attached to the head/drive shaft.
Material can be carried directly on aprons
or pans or pushed in a trough by flights
attached to the chain(s).
The chain conveyor derives its name from
the type of attachment, that is, apron,
pan, or flight. By: Gebrewold T. 2
Apron Conveyors
• Apron conveyors consist of a series of jointed
overlapping or interlocking apron pans on
which the material is carried. They can
handle abrasive materials that cannot be
scraped along a trough, and as the loading is
readily controlled, it may be used as a feeder.
As an alternative to a rubber belt, it can
handle materials at a temperature higher than
1500C that cannot be handled with rubber.
By: Gebrewold T. 3
Apron Conveyors

By: Gebrewold T. 4
Apron Conveyors

By: Gebrewold T. 5
 Types of Conveyor

Apron Conveyor
Style A Apron Pan

• Style A is used for horizontal and low incline 20-25

deg. Short pitches are used for feeders and pans &
medium or long pitch is used for conveyor
• Suitable for bulk materials, including hot dusty,
abrasive materialsBy: Gebrewold T. 6
 Cont’d

Style B Apron Pan Style C Apron Pan

• Style B provide force and easy discharge and

consequently, low drop of material. Suitable for wide
conveyors and can be used for inclined conveying up
to 30deg. Suited to handle lump material which should
not be broken.
• Style C are used for large capacities of fines and
lumps and inclined up to 30 deg. They are suitable for
use as feeding, picking, sorting and lowering
conveyors By: Gebrewold T. 7
 Cont’d
• Style D are of very strong and rigid construction.
Capable of carrying large quantities of material. They
have good impact resistance under loading point
• Style E are super capacity pans for handling crushed,
fine, or lump materials in a very large quantities. Can
convey as steep as 45 deg.

Style D Apron Pan Style E Apron Pan

By: Gebrewold T. 8
 Cont’d
Recommended Apron
Pan Thickness[mm] Application

4.75 Light mildly abrasive materials

6.00-8.00 Medium-weight materials having some corrosive and

abrasive properties

10.00 Heavy abrasive, corrosive materials; high impact duty

By: Gebrewold T. 9
 Design Considerations of Apron
Conveyors

• In general, designing of an apron

conveyor can be considered as
determining:
– The maximum traction force,
– the pitch of the chain and
– the stress on the shafts and on the
wheels

By: Gebrewold T. 10
 Cont’d…

• The maximum traction force is a

combination of the force required to
move the material, the moving part of
the conveyor and the force required to
overcome the level difference.

• Ft. = Fm + Fc + Fh
By: Gebrewold T. 11
 Traction force of Apron
Conveyor, Ft
• Ft- is the Traction Force
• Fm- is the force required to move the
material
• Fc- is the force due to the moving part of
the conveyor
• Fh- is the force due to the level difference

By: Gebrewold T. 12
1. The force required to move the
materials; Fm
f1  f g q m l m

Where, q m = weight of the material per unit length [kg/m]

l m = the horizontal distance the material is
conveyed [m]
f g = friction coefficient.

2. The force required to move the moving

parts of the conveyor.
Fc  f g qs ls
Where, q s =weight of the moving part of
the conveyors [kg/m]
ls = the horizontal distance that
the conveyor
By: Gebrewold T. is moving [m] 13
 Cont’d
3. The force required to over come the
level difference.
Fh  qm H
Where,
H = the level difference [m]

By: Gebrewold T. 14
Coefficient of Friction as a Function of
Wheel Diameter and Assembly Type
Diameter of Wheel [mm]
Shaft Assembled on
50 75 100 125 150

Non-lubricated 0.30 0.26 0.25 0.24 0.22

Journal Bearing

Lubricated
Journal Bearing 0.20 0.12 0.10 0.09 0.08

Ball Bearings 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03

By: Gebrewold T. 15
 Cont’d
5. After calculating the maximum force
required, maximum tension, T can be
used to find the stress on the shaft.
The traction force R is equal to the
maximum tension T.
T
p
2db
where p = the stress on the shaft[kg/mm2]
d = diameter [mm]
b = width [mm]

T  R  Fm  Fc  Fh 16
By: Gebrewold T.
6. The power Requirement/absorbed [kW]

Tv
N
102

where T = the maximum traction force [kg]

v = velocity [m/s]
 = efficiency (0.7 - 0.8)

By: Gebrewold T. 17
Flight Conveyors

By: Gebrewold T. 18
 Flight Conveyors
A flight conveyor consists of one or more endless
propelling mediums, such as chain or other linkage, to
which properly spaced scrapers or flights for moving
material along the length of a stationary trough. It can
handle granular, lumpy, free flowing, non-abrasive and
mildly corrosive materials.

Construction

Single Strand Flight By: Gebrewold T. Single Strand Flight Conveyor

19
Conveyor with Scraper Flights with shoe-suspended Flights
Single Strand Flight Conveyor with Double Strand Flight Conveyor
roller-suspended Flights with Roller-suspended Flights
By: Gebrewold T. 20
 Flight Conveyor Design Consideration

• Essential factors are:

 Type of material and its

characteristics
 Capacity (maximum in tons per hour)
 Maximum size of lumps and
percentage of maximum lump in total
volume
 Length and incline of unit
 Service requirements By: Gebrewold T. 21
 Flight Conveyor
• Flight spacing is varied to suit the size
of lumps, required capacity and slope of
unit. The table below illustrates a brief
resume of sizes and capacity of
available units and additional data can
be found in the manufacturer’s
catalogue.

By: Gebrewold T. 22
 Cont’d
Approximate Capacity [t/h]
Flight Dimension Lump Size [mm] b at 0.5m/s
(Width  Depth)[mm]

Single Strand Double Strand

300150 87.5 100 55

375150 112.5 125 66

450150 125.0 150 76

600200 - 250 158

750250 - 350 218

900300 - 400 327

By: Gebrewold T. 23
 Cont’d
Flight conveyor power requirement
consists of three factors:
The power required to run empty
conveyor, P1
Plus
The power require to carry load over
horizontal distance, P2
Plus
The power required to lift load, P3
By: Gebrewold T. 24
 Cont’d
• P = P1 + P2+ P3, Where P is Given by

9.7 10 3
P (0.001WC * L * v * FC  q * Ll * Fl  q * h)
Fd
v= speed of conveyor [m/s]
q= material handled [kg/s]
WC = weight of single run of chains and flights [kg/m]
L = horizontal length of loaded run of conveyor [m]
Ll = horizontal length of loaded run of conveyor [m] (total
length of loaded runs of conveyor carrying on both runs)
h = lift, vertical projector [m]
Fl = friction factor for chain and flights
Fd = friction factor for load
FC = friction factor for drive loss
By: Gebrewold T. 25
Chain Friction Factors Fc

By: Gebrewold T. 26
Load Friction Factors Fl

By: Gebrewold T. 27
Drive loss Factor Fd

By: Gebrewold T. 28
 Wide Chain Drag Conveyors
• Wide chain drag conveyors do not have
flights as the open links serve to move
the material.
• These conveyors operate at slow speeds
generally 0.1 m/s or less.
• They are used for conveying abrasive
materials like ashes, coal or sand. In
addition one typical application can be
quenching of materials
By: Gebrewold T. 29
 Cont’d

Wide Chain Drag Conveyor

By: Gebrewold T. 30
Bucket Elevator

By: Gebrewold T. 31
 Bucket Elevator

The typical bucket elevator consists of an endless

chain or belt to which are attached to buckets
for elevating pulverized, granular, or lumpy
materials along a vertical or a steeply inclined
path. The driving traction element is a chain or a
belt. Unit loads are conveyed with the aid of
arms or candles attached to the traction element.
Bucket elevators lifts up to 60 m, with handling
By: Gebrewold T. 32
capacity b/n 5 and 600m3/hr.
Bucket Elevator Components
The principal elements of a bucket elevator
are:
1. Head shaft with pulley for belting or
sprockets for chain
2. The drive, gear reducer, and motor drives,
3. Foot shaft with pulley or sprockets
4. Elevator buckets mounted on belting or
chain
5. The elevator enclosure houses the bucket
and belting or chain assembly and generally
provides mounting and enclosure for the
rotating machinery
Platforms, ladders, and hoist beams arc
frequently mounted on elevator housings for
maintenance access.By: Gebrewold T. 33
Bucket Elevator Components

By: Gebrewold T. 34
 Types of Bucket Elevators
1. Centrifugal Discharge

The materials are discharged by centrifugal action as the buckets

pass over the head wheel. They are comparatively high-speed
elevators, used where the percentage and size of lumps are at a
minimum Traveling speed 1.2 and 1.4 m/s.

It is the most common type.

By: Gebrewold T. 35
 Types of Bucket Elevators
2. Positive Discharge
The buckets at interval are carried between two strands of chain snubbed
under the head wheels to bring them into an inverted position above the
discharge chute. The buckets are completely inverted by snubbing the
chains after they have passed over the head wheels, giving them
opportunity for complete discharge at relatively slow speed. This is a slow
speed machine for fragile, sticky or slow flowing materials.

By: Gebrewold T. 36
 Cont’d…
3. Continuous Bucket

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.

By: Gebrewold T. 37
 Types of Bucket Elevators

4.Gravity Discharge sometimes called a combination elevator

conveyor, can elevate and convey material. Material is loaded

as in type 1 by v-shaped bucket, but discharge is in through
gates as in flight conveyors. Lower travelling speeds (0.5 and 1.0
m/s).

By: Gebrewold T. 38
By: Gebrewold T. 39
Fig. 9.10 Bucket Elevator
Method of Loading and Unloading of a Bucket Elevator;
a) loading through a chute; b) loading by digging from
By: Gebrewold T. 40
the boot; c) positive discharge; d) central discharge
 Design Considerations
The tendency of material to pack in the
elevator boot is one of the factors
deciding bucket choice. Free-flowing
non-packing material as, for example,
grain is handled by high front round-
bottom buckets.

Buckets; a) low-front round-bottom type; b) high-front round-bottom model; c)

flat-front or V-shaped bucket with
By:side guides;
Gebrewold T. d) open flat-bottom 41
configuration for sticky materials
 Cont’d
• In the case of sticky loads more
suitable are open buckets of the flat-
bottom configuration Bucket width b is
adopted taking into account the lump
size, from the relationship.

b  ka
Where a is the maximum lump size and k is a
factor taken at 2-2.5 for unsized
material and at 4-5 for a sized one.
By: Gebrewold T. 42
The method of unloading is adopted
depending on the bucket speed and head
wheel diameter. The material will be
subject to the combined effect of mg =
gravitational force and m2r =
centrifugal force
The resultant R changes in the direction
and magnitude yet its line of action
invariably passes through the pole M a
point located in the vertical axis at a
distant h form the center
By: Gebrewold T. 43
Determination of the Pole Distance
By: Gebrewold T. 44
 Cont’d
• Considering the two similar triangles
OMG and ACG
OM r

mg m 2 r
g g g
OM   
 2
v
2
 2n 
2

   
r  60 

2
gr 3600 g 895
 2   2
v 4 n
2 2
n
Where, n is the rpm.
By: Gebrewold T. 45
 Cont’d

• In other words, the polar distance h is a

function of the head-wheel speed only, n
in rpm, increasing inversely with it.
When the pole distance is equal or
greater than the head wheel radius r,
the centrifugal force is by far
exceeded, resulting in a gravity
discharge

By: Gebrewold T. 46
Cont’d

By: Gebrewold T. 47
 Cont’d

The weight of a bucketful load in kg is

given
G=i 
Where, i = the struck volume of bucket [m3]
 = specific weight [kg/m3]
 = capacity factor ranging between
0.6 and 0.9 depending upon the
nature of the material (lower
values are ascribed to coarsely broken
loads)
By: Gebrewold T. 48
 Cont’d

The hourly capacity of an elevator can be

calculated by the formula
G
Q = 3.6 v
t
Where,
Q = Capacity [tons/hr]
t = Bucket spacing commonly (2 to 3)
h, where h is the bucket height [m]
v = the bucket speed [m/s]

By: Gebrewold T. 49
Chain can be selected knowing tight-
(ascending) side tension only; however,
for belt selection, tight and slack-
(descending) side tension must be known.
In either case, in calculating tensions for
component selection may be taken.

By: Gebrewold T. 50
 Cont’d

T  (WC  Wb  Wl ) H
'
1

T2  (Wc  Wb) H
Where,
'
T1 = tight-side tension [kg]
WC = weight of belt or chain with fasteners and
attachments [kg/m]
Wb = weight buckets [kg/m]
Ll = weight of live load [kg/m]
H = elevator shaft center [m]
T2 = slack-side tension [kg]

By: Gebrewold T. 51
Tight-side tension T must have an
additional factor added to compensate
for digging in the boot.

T1  T1  TD
'

Where, T1 = tight-side tension with digging factor

TD = additional loading for digging in boot

By: Gebrewold T. 52
 Cont’d
The power required to drive bucket
elevators can be estimated, in most
cases, from the following equations:
For spaced-bucket elevators with
digging boot
N  0.0194 Hm' kW

For continuous-bucket elevator with loading

leg
N  0.0176 Hm' kW

Where m’ = material flow rate [kg/s]

By: Gebrewold T.
H = vertical lift [m] 53
 Exercise
1. Determine the traction force, stress on shaft and power requirement
for handling of material in apron conveyor under the following
condition.
- Material weight per unit length is 20kg/m
- Horizontal distance martial is moved = 2m
- Friction coefficient = 0.15
- Weight of moving part of conveyor = 36kg/m
- Horizontal distance conveyor is moving = 2.5m
- Shaft diameter = 200mm
- Shaft width = 150mm
- Level difference = 800mm
- Conveyor velocity = 1.5m/s
- System efficiency =75%
By: Gebrewold T. 54
 Exercise
2. Given the following parameters, determine the
power required to carry load over horizontal distance
and the power required to lift the load.
- material handled = 10kg/s
- horizontal length of the loaded runoff conveyor=
3.5m
- Chain and flight friction factor = 0.25
- Vertical projector = 750mm
- Load friction factor = 0.9

By: Gebrewold T. 55
 Exercise. Cont..
3. From Q#2 if weight of single run of chains
and flights is 5kg/m. horizontal length of loaded
run conveyor is 3m, conveyor speed is 0.75m/s
friction factor for drive lose is 0.4, then
determine the total power requirement for flight
conveyor.

By: Gebrewold T. 56