THE TRANSFER CHUTE DESIGN MANUAL FOR CONVEYOR BELT SYSTEMS By C Benjamin, PyDonecker, S Huque &J Rozentals:The Transfer Chute Design Manual For Conveyor Belt Systems By C Benjamin, P Donecker, § Huque & J Rozentals ‘A Review by Em Prof Peter Arnold and Dr David Hastie, Centre for Bulk Solids and Particulate Technologies Faculty of Engineering, University of Wollongong, nece is no doubt that transfer chutes in conveying systems DPesent operating problems far too frequently. Being a series ink in the overall conveying system means that when the transfer chute fl to perform then the whole conveying system saflers. AS stated by the authors, this book sets out to bring together the way transfer chute design has evolved and to relate this evolution to the “underiying design principles that must be applied if the transfer isto ‘operate with the minimum of maintenance consequences. The text also examines how conflicting outcomes ean be accommodated And howto assess the compromises that may have tobe made ‘The authors are well experienced practical chute designers and ‘operators and the book reflects theie wealth of experience. They frequently point out that an effective chute design requires + Accurate calculation ofthe trajectory + Maintaining conteol over the bulk materia ow + Controlling the bulk material stceam velocities and dust sencration + Ensuring that the presentation of the material to the receiving beleis correct. ‘Like many similar design manuals, this book has its strengths and its weaknesses. Is strengths include + Its coverage ofthe various types of transfer chute that may need ‘consideration, pointing out their advantages and disadvantages + Extensive practical design guidance relating to the various chute types. + "The wealth of practical information relating to such aspects 28 ‘chute liners, maintenance issues, dust control and sealing issues. weaknesses include: ‘+ The lack of comprehensive detail that would allow the user ofthe ‘mama fo actually curry out the calculations that are required as, part of the design process, The authors continually emphasise the importance of accurate trajectory calculations and they pro- vide a wealth of references relating to the topic but in the end they rely on in house’ software that the manual user would need toacquire, for thei calculations, + Similar lack of detail exists for other calculations, for example calculating the velocities through hoods and spoons, The manual user would be foreed to go (othe work of others (ey AW Roberts) tocarry out such calculations +The chapter on trajectories and their comparisons is lacking any ‘comparison to experimentally measured values, tis unforeunate that with all authors having widespread background in the area ‘of conveyor design, none has been able to supply data for com ‘parative purposes to better gauge the accurscy (ot lick thereof) ofthe trajectory models, + Being self published the book has some presentation shortcom: ‘ngs, for exurmple: References that are in error or missing (Powell (1995) isrefered to ona number of occasions but not referenced = it happens to be an Undergraduate Thesis from the University of Wollongong); trajectory methods by BF Goodrich, BTR, Cok. and Connors and S-A.66 are referred toon several ocassions but ose Bus orang Row: Satara 2010 the references are not provided; photographs that ae indistinct figures that are hard to comprehend; drawings that are reduced to suctan extent that they ate illegible; and the inevieabe typos, Despite the above weaknesses this manual provides a valuable insight into the vagaries of chute design and emphasises that the design must not be treated as trivial. In fact there is an underlying philosophy that emphasises that it is generally very cost effective to entrust the design to a well experienced designer. ‘While the authors acknowledge that it has taken them some time to bring the book to fruition, i is a pity that they have not kept up to date with the research and developments that have tak ‘en place during that time. The book contains an extensive range of references and a comprehensive bibliography, however, there are {ew references less than 10 years old. lwo examples are: the 6th edition of the CEMA guide 2006) contains some minor changes to the way trajectories are determined but is not covered; and the use of Golka’s method (1993) of determining trajectories originally lacked the detall on how to determine the divergent cocfficients but a subsequent publication by Golka et al. 2007) has clarified these issues. (One area where its fle that the manual is seriously lacking is inthe application of DEM techniques to chute design. The authors ‘concide their brief coverage of the DEM technique by saying that they ‘believe that using DEM to look at the flow properties of a ‘chute can assist in the design process but itis nota very strong, tool. They state that a more rellable method of testing the design ‘of transfer is using scale model testing. In the last 10 years great strides have been made in the devel: ‘opment of DEM software and the application of ealbration tech ‘niques to enable reliable material parameters tobe incorporated in the DEM models. While DEM analysis can still be expensive so is scale model testing, With the advances made in recent years, DEM. {s proving to be a very valuable too! for chute design, especially ‘when retrofit designs need to be developed, Despite the above weaknesses this manual provides a valuable Insight into the vagaries of chute design and emphasises that the design must not be treated as trivial. Infact there is an underying, philosophy that emphasises that itis generally very cost effective to entrust the design to a well experienced designer. . ‘Contact: Peter Amol, ema = parnld@vowedu.nuTABLE OF CONTENTS 1 1" INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND = Transfer Types and their Evolution MATERIAL TRAJECTORY PREDICTION = The Key to Modern Chute Design BASIC DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS DESIGNING AND DRAWING TRANSFERS DESIGN AIDS AND THEIR APPLICATION MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF TRANSFERS DESIGNING TRANSFERS FOR COHESIVE OR WET ORES DESIGNING TRANSFERS ‘TO MANAGE DUST WORKED EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT TRANSFERS APPENDICES 12 BIBLIOGRAPHYIn today’s conveyor systems, the majority of maintenance and maintenance related delays to production have a common root cause, the design and functionality of the transfer chutes feeding the conveyors. The problems encountered range from catastrophic belt failures (rip or damage), spillage, dust, poor conveyor belt alignment and impact idler failures to fires. It is not surprising therefore that a lot of engineering effort has been focused on transfer chute design. Much of this effort does focus on product solutions and much of the information used to develop these products is proprietary or difficult to access or apply. The consequence in the authors’ opinion is that at many operations where conveyor systems are relied upon, there is inadequate understanding of how a transfer should and does operate. This text sets out to bring together the way transfer chute design has evolved and to relate this evolution to the underlying design principles that must be applied if the transfer is to operate with, the minimum of maintenance consequences. it also explains how conflicting outcomes can be accommodated and how to assess the compromises that must be made in such circumstances. It explains the theory of transfer design, how to apply the theory and also gives background (on techniques that can assist in the design process. Finally it explores more advanced transfer chute design applications and works through some transfer design issues and their solution. This text is addressed to the materials handling design engineer, the maintenance manager and the new mechenical engineer seeking direction when confronted with a conveyor transfer problem, In writing this text the authors have acknowledged the research of others. However we do need to make specific mention of Alan Huth for the pioneering work he managed and directed at the Gladstone Port Authority in Central Queensland, Australia during the mid 1980s. His, lateral application of fuid flow principles to the transfer and handling of washed coal opened up the minds of many engineers to a different approach to transfer chute design. We also acknowledge the Universities of Wollongong and Newcastle and in particular Professor Peter ‘Amold and Professor Alan Roberts for their tireless and persistent research in materials handling and the contribution these institutions have made to the theoreticat understanding of material properties and their low and handling ability characteristics. It is the marriage of the practical with the theory that translates today into the possibilty of meeting most transfer chute design challenges. In concluding this general introduction we acknowledge that transfer chute design remains a vexatious problem within the materials handling industry. We however see the problem as lack of knowledge and poor understanding of the design principles that need to be applied It is compounded by some over zealous application of design software that is promoted as a solution rather than an ald. The aim of this text is to address these issues by comprehensively drawing together the collective expertise and experience of the authors, who together have well ‘over 100 man years experience in the materials handling industry covering academic research, system design and maintenance management. Stated in anather way this text covers the theoretical to the very practical and everything in between.4.1. Introduction to Conveyor Transfers nnects a conveyor belt to a feed source 0 screen, a crusher or a belt feeder. The heigh to as high as 10 metres or more. Mos ight. The basic function of all transfers is to channel | being transferred onto a receiving belt such that th: ‘A conveyor transfer is any static interface that cor material. The feed source can be another conveyor, @ of the transfer operation can be very low, less than a metre, transfers range from 1.5 to 3.0 metres in hei through their geometric design, the material material can be transported to another location. ‘The range of materials handled by transfers Is as broad as that hancled by conveyor systems and cov materials that can be: Wet material that may also flow very poorly salve water content. fatal with e» Powders Very fluid, that is it flows very well Dusty material that is easily aorated 1m Containing lumps that can weigh individually up to a tonne or more Highly abrasive and/or corrosive materia! im Very friable material that will break down under any impact {Sized material that isin its final product form and needs to remain so im Material that has high clay or of similar composition that flows poorly . . . There may also be combinations ofthe above that complicates the process of designing a transfer that rrandle the material. Another basic consideration isthe capacity of the conveyor system. The design and bra conveyor bel is based! on the peak tonnage that needs to be handled in volumetric terms. nother Wet She bate density of the material must be allowed for and itis important to note that this can be very much i than tho specific gravity as some materials are very porous and/or easily aerated. A transfer chute need Te designed that reflects these peak tonnage considerations. It is of no use ifthe system is designed f¢ certain igure based on the sizing ofthe conveyors only to find thatthe transfer system cannot relably Nan such volumes. Typically in such circumstances chute blockages occur and in many cases abnormal < rapid conveyor belt weer also occurs along the skirt fines. of wear on the face of be managed the consequi In any design where material flow i 6 shuts must be considered. The design process is usually augmented by allowing for the inclusion of su Selected wear resistant ining material to be fixed to the structural members of the ‘contact with the material as it lows through the transter. In considering the basics the po: and dust that could be generated through the transfer process rust also be acicress Jone using a combination of a wear reslatant liner and some form of sealing system, usually made of ru Ifall of the above are diligently considered, the transfer cht if not, there wi aintensnee problems that can easily translate to production problems through capacity constraint time or system damage. 6 > CONVEYOR TRANSFER DESIGN PTY LTD > MATQuality engineering that comprehensively considers all aspects of a design before committing the design to fabrication can be very expensive and time consuming. Time and money drives our industry so it is not surprising that something as banal as a transfer point in a conveyor system can be overlooked or poorly considered during any initial designing of a materials handling facility. This oversight is supplemented by the fact that very few project engineers understand the basics of transfer chute design and very few engineers, unless they are maintenance engineers, understand the consequences of these oversights. Not all demand a rigorous design process, All demand that the person responsible for their design has a good understanding of transfer chute design so that any design decisions are made with foresight as to the possible consequences to the functionality ofthe plant of which they willbe part. There are compelling y this should be the case and this is best llustrated by detailing a variety of examples of wivat can .nd has happened with unfortunate frequency. 28075 ¥ ‘The photo (Figure 1.1) shows the problem when the chute geometry is poor. The consequences to maintenance and production become obvious but the rectification can be most difficult as any re- build is far more expensive than designing a transfer correctly in the first place. Figure 1.1 ~ Standard short term approach is to patch the chuteOther than the environmental issues and the problems this may cause, particularly the health risk to operators, there is the possibilty of an explosion if the dust level of a suitably combus material builds up within the transfer and is ignited through some build up of static electricity. Figure 1.2 - Serious Dust Hazard created at the Transfer 1.23 Fire ‘Most transfer points use some form of impact mitigation. If oversize or randomly shaped material is being handled and the chute geometry is poor material can get trapped in a manner such that a friction fire can occur. ‘A further possibilty is it combustible (coal) material is being handled the ‘riction developed to create the fre may not require material getting jammed but simply build up around the sealing system. {8 > CONVEYOR TRANSFER DESIGN PTY LTD ? MATERIAL FLOW CONTROLFigure 1.3 - The rubber in this disc had reverted suggesting temperatures had reached over 250 degrees centigrade, enough to ignite coal or grain dust and eventually the rubber itself This is usually caused by material getting trapped between the inner wear liner in a transfer and the ‘outer sealing system or under the skirt system itself. tis usually caused by the belt being overloaded, loaded in a very uncontrolled manner such that material impacts or is deflected against the skirting system or the belt is being loaded at a reverse angle to its inclination creating material ‘boil’ as the belt has to re-accolorate the load. Figure 1.4 - Severe wear is through the layers of fabric along the skirt lines. This will see the belt changed out well before it should have been necessary through normal wear1.25 Spillage This is usually created by not at the correct inclination ro-accelorated at the load point. not loading the belt centrally, very poorly, in an uncontrolled manner o1 ‘when loading an inclined conveyor such that the material has to be is causes either material to spill out the back of the cc It tracks off constant cleaning up, there is produc means that the con the pr of its dri Figure 1.5 - Typical spillage from a poorly designed transferConveyor systems are capital intensive. If the transfer cannot handle the tonnage then a great deal of money has been wasted not to mention maintenance down time when chutes block up and require cleaning out. The following illustration is an actual case that required the chute to be dug out using shovels when it blocked. The chute capacity was less than half the theoretical belt capacity. 9t illustrates what happens If the system capacity is greater than the transfer capacity The illustrations above are not isolated instances but unfortunately typical issues that confront maintenance ‘and production engineers every day. Many of the issues occur in combination, many are addressed in a manner that means the consequences are poor system reliability and regular maintenance that cou! eliminated. Itis usually not dificult to identify the real costs associated with the above problems and transiate this to a justification for action. The key is ensuring that these types of potential problems are avoided. The above also clearly illustrates the benefits of good design at the conceptual stage of any system developmen gen avoided. as all these problems could haveBASIC TRANSFER TYPES ‘THE BASH OR IMPACT PLATE THE DEFLECTOR THE ROCK BOX ‘THE SPIRAL CHUTE ‘THE CASCADE CHUTE ‘THE ‘HOOD AND SPOON’ CHUTESe 2 BACKGROUND ~ BASIC TRANSFER TYPES | In the bulk materials handling industry the importance of transfer chutes in the design and operation of conveyor systems was not initially generally recognised as most early conveyors operated at very modest speeds and their duties were not challenging. Early challenges came with the large material handling systems installed by Rheinbraun in the lignite mines in Germany and it was here that a lot of the early work on different transfer designs was initiated. Most designs however evolved from fundamental concepts and this is why looking at the basic transfer types and their i evolution is important. 2.4 The Bash or Impact Plate ‘The Bash Piate, of Impact Plate, is a surface introduced into the flow stream of product to cause it to impact and flow in a different direction. It is the crudest and earliest form of transfer causing direction change. This is a brute force approach. On Impact the component of velocity perpendi ct plate is predominately dissipated, The primary function is to drop the material vertically or close to vertically down onto the receiving belt. The use of impact plates may causo degradation of some products. They also generally create and liberate dust, generate nolse and lead to spillage and problems around the skirt line o t! wving conveyor. The impact plate is subjec ‘and impact wear by lumps and the product (with some mineral the fines component can be very abrasive). Spocial care needs to be taken to choose a suitable ial for lining the surface of the impact plate and even with care the life eyo'e of the plate can be very ‘The advantages of this type of transfer are obvious, they are cheap and easy to design and inexpensive to build and install, The problems are however numerous and include; Dust Product deg Spillage Chute blockages (when wet, sticky material is being handled) Transter capacity less than belt capac High Poor be intenance ife (receiving trophic failure of the receiving belt through belt ri. Possibility of cata When are such devices used given the abo. 1 I thore is a slow moving belt system, low transfer height and capacity is not an issue but some form of basic flow control is required, ther. an impact plate may be the solution. There are also applications where the material being transferred is so aggressive in torms of impact oF wear that more sophisticated designs cannot be justified. It must be remembered that there are large number of chutes currently in existence that use impact plates as the basic flow control ms the following chapters there are a number of concepts that could be applied to improve the performance of these existing transfers if the issues above represent operational problems. 14 > CONVEVOR TRANSFER DESIGN PTY LTO > NATERIAL FLOW CONTROL