Chain Conveyors for bulk materials

Design, working principle, construction & maintenance

Presented by Sandeep Gupta AGM-AO, CSC Unit -2

Chain Conveyors
Types En-masse chain conveyors Drag chain conveyors En-masse Conveyors These conveyors convey bulk material in form of a placid, undisturbed column of material moving along with submerged skeleton chain links. Height of moving column is much higher than height of flights. Drag Chain Conveyor These conveyors convey bulk materials by dragging / scraping the material in an enclosed trough casing. Height of moving material column is equal to height of chain flights.

En-Masse Conveyor - History

A Briton called Mr. Arnold Redler began experiments in handling food grains using conveyors which were compact than the designs in available at that time. In 1920, he got patented the design of En-masse Conveyor. He established a company named as Redler Conveyors Redler conveyors was taken over by M/s Stock in 2001. In year 2006, both Stock and Redler merged with M/s Schenck Process.

Arnold Redler Born : 27th May 1875

Redler advertisement in Year 1943

Chain Conveyor Construction

Main parts Drop Forge chain Link Flight Pin Locking ring Trough casing Sprocket assembly Tail wheel assembly Drive train Electric motor Gear Box Chain drive Shearing hub and shear pin

Drop forged chain

Material for chain link
ST 52.3 C45 hardened 16 Mn Cr 5 20 Mn Cr 5 18 Ni Cr Mo 5 42 Cr Mo 4

Pitch of link
102 , 125 ,142, 150,160, 200, 262 mm

Types of Flights used with Chain Conveyors

Types of Pins for Joining Links

Forged Head pin, collar and roll pin

Forged Head pin and one clamp

Plain pins and two clamps

Conveyor Chain Calculations

Conveyor Chain Calculations

Total required Power P at conveyor shaft = Frictional Power + Material Elevation Power Frictional Power = v x 9.81 x (mass1 x 1 + mass2 x 2) / 1000 kW

Material Elevation Power = v tan x 9.81 x w x h x /1000 kW

v = chain linear speed in m/s 1 = coefficient of friction between product and steel ( for industrial application its value could be taken up as 1.15) 2 = coefficient of friction between steel chain and steel bottom (Approx. 0.25) mass1 = material weight on chain in kg mass2 = total chain weight in kg = Angle of inclination of conveyor w= Width of conveyor trough in meter h= Height of flight for drag chain conveyor / height of material column flow for en-masse conveyor in meter = bulk density of material being conveyed in kg /m3

Conveyor Chain Calculations - Worked Examples

Calculate the minimum capacity in t/h and required kW of a drag chain conveyor having following construction details
v = 0.067 m/s ( linear speed of chain) w = 0.500 m ( width of conveyor) h = 80 mm ( height of flight) L = 10 m ( centre to centre distance of conveyor) = 1800 kg/m3 (Bulk density of conveyed material) = 0 (angle of inclination of conveyor) N = 145 (no. of links ) W = 1.8 kg (weight of one link)

Conveyor Chain Calculations - Worked Examples

Chain conveyor capacity in tph = v x w x h x x 3.6 = 0.067 x 0.500 x 0.080 x 1800 x 3.6 = 17.36 tph Weight of chain mass2 = N x W = 145 x 1.8 = 261 kg Weight of material on chain mass1= (conv. cap. in tph x conv. length) / (v x3.6) = (17.36 x 10)/(0.067x3.6) = 719.73 kg Total Power at conveyor shaft = Frictional Power + Material Elevation Power Material Elevation power is ZERO as conveyor is horizontal i.e. = 0 Frictional Power = v x 9.81 x (mass1 x 1 + mass2 x 2) / 1000 kW = 0.067 x 9.81 x (719.73 x 1.15 + 261 x 0.25) / 1000 kW = 0.067 x 9.81 x (827.68 + 65.25) /1000 kW = 0.58 kW