Design of Device for Capturing Conveyor Belts and Calculation Method of Basic Parameters for Catchers
Results of the analysis of scientific, technical and patent literature show that while having a great variety of constructive implementation of the proposed catchers there are no efficient and sufficiently reliable devices for catching conveyor belts at its reverse motion which are relatively simple in design. This is proved by practical activity of enterprises involved in extraction and processing of commercial minerals and other industries. A new design of a conveyor belt catcher that meets most requirements for the given equipment has been developed at the Institute of Mining, Ural of Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and then it has been tested under industrial conditions. The design makes provision for retention of the conveyor belt at its reverse motion beyond free edges from transported material. Catching devices are installed on both sides of the belt. Braking action of the belt at the reverse motion occurs due to its friction interaction with a catcher friction shoe located above the belt, and an eccentric mounted on the frame under the belt. A friction shoe is made with a concave curved surface facing the belt. The paper presents a calculation methodology of main parameters for the proposed design of catcher conveyor belts that permits to determine a force catching a conveyor belt down and for every braking period-distance which has been passed by the belt, value of its compression, value of braking force, braking time and acceleration of belt motion, time and length of the distance passed by the belt to its full stop, parameters of a catcher and supporting structures, and other parameters. The paper also provides results of calculations for main design parameters of catching devices with an inclined conveyor having a belt width of 1400 mm for two catcher design versions: with location of an eccentric under the belt, and a brake shoe over the belt (option I) and with location of the eccentric over the conveyor belt, and the brake friction shoe under the belt (option II).