System Simulation of Belt Conveyors

System Simulation of Belt Conveyors
M.Sc. Ren Noack, Engineering
Introduction
Belt conveyor systems belong to the category of continuous conveyors and are used all over the
world for bulk material handling over long distances, for example in open-pit mines, such as the
lignite areas in Germany, the copper mines in Chile or in bulk ports, cement plants or power plant
operators.
This paper is an overview of system simulation for belt conveyor systems. After a brief introduction
to system simulation in general, it outlines the requirements for a belt conveyor model and defines
potential analysis objectives. The theoretical modeling approach is concluded with two examples of
selected simulation tasks.
System Simulation
A simulation is an experiment with a model which helps predict the behavior of a system for defined
boundary conditions. The physical simulation model is created in such a way that all technical
aspects in question meet a sufficient degree of realistic behavior. System models consist of several
elements which interact with each other. Complex systems often involve several physical domains
(e.g. electricity, hydraulics, mechanics) or require multi-dimensional model descriptions. CAD
engineers across many industries are still facing great challenges in the attempt to ensure certain
features of drives, equipment and machinery. The often nonlinear behavior of real systems shows
the limits of linear design methods. Moreover, it is vital to take the many interactions between
various physical domains into account, which often required comprehensive prototype testing in
the past. System simulation is thus an efficient way to benefit from virtual development methods.
System simulation using the software SimulationX facilitates exact measuring and analyzes results
while the tool is easy to work with and allows users to apply proved working methods e.g. in Excel.
Analysis Objectives and Application Fields for System Simulation of

Belt Conveyors
For analyzing the dynamic system behavior of belt conveyors, system simulation offers a wide
range of possibilities. It allows for complex belt conveyor systems to be modeled beginning with the
purely mechanical structure (belt, pulleys, head and tail stations) to varying loads to different drive
concepts (electric motors, frequency converters) with the necessary controller layout. Such system
simulations permit the following analyses.
Examination of the Mechanical Load
From a mechanical point of view, the evaluation of occurring mechanical loads is crucial. The belt
conveyor model lets the engineer analyze forces within the belt, the acceleration and deceleration
behavior, belt slip on the drive pulley and the effectiveness of the tension device.
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
Schweriner Strae 1 01067 Dresden Germany T +49 (0) 351.260 50 - 0 F +49 (0) 351.260 50 - 155 sales@simulationx.com
For your local representative please visit www.simulationx.com/global
SimulationX is a registered trademark of ITI GmbH Dresden. ESI ITI GmbH, Dresden, Germany, 2016. All rights reserved.
Power Analysis
The focus on certain operating scenarios and the resulting variation calculations provide the basis
for the identification of the optimal drive power, the energy demand and the power balance of the
belt conveyor.
Testing the Control Strategy
One major area of the analyses of belt conveyors with system simulation is the specification and
the optimization of the speed controls parameters. With the help of the model, it is possible to
determine the robustness of the control strategy for various operating scenarios with respect to
loads, elevation profiles and variable speeds for the optimization of the load or the energy
consumption. Moreover, it is possible to run tests with such a belt conveyor model for newly
designed controller layouts even before the actual conveyor systems is built. It supports the modelbased software development (MiL) during the development process as well as virtual
commissioning of the belt conveyor.
Testing the Controller Hardware
On the basis of such a belt conveyor model, manual and automated tests of the control strategy
can be run within a MiL setup. Besides the pure software test (SiL), it is also possible to test the
controller hardware on a HiL test bench. Alongside a belt conveyors design process, tests can thus
be conducted at early stages of the project reducing the number of necessary tests with real
equipment and the time needed for the commissioning process.
Using Databases and Tables
Standardized belt conveyor models and interfaces with databases or tables as part of a design tool
allow for simulations without extra modeling efforts and make the parameterization of the belt
conveyor model a lot easier. Model parameters include design data of the belt conveyors
components (e.g. for rollers, the conveyor belt, drive and drum pulleys), drive data (number of
motors, nominal torque etc.) and the operating conditions (e.g. elevation profile, maximum flow rate
etc.). The database-related parameterization and the modular structure of the belt conveyor models
allow for quick testing up front (e.g. alternative drive concept by simply adding more motors).
The integration of databases also supports the project oriented workflow for design engineers.
Completed projects including all the models, parameters and results can then be archived and reused as a template for similar projects.
Further system knowledge and insights can be gained through model validation based on measured
data (e.g. drive torque, RPM, tensile force etc.) of new or operating belt conveyors. Such references
help during the conceptual phase of such machinery.
Modeling Concept
Dimensioning and planning a belt conveyors layout are based on an estimation of resisting forces
to be expected for certain operating scenarios as well as of the geometric and material-specific
parameters of such a system. The description of such resisting forces is the result of various
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
research outlined in the German DIN standard 22101 [1]. A detailed description can be found in the
book on construction machinery (Baumaschinen) by Kunze, Ghring and Jacob [2].
The following section gives a brief overview of the occurring forces in a belt conveyor system as
described in [1] and [2]. These resistances form the basis for the simulation model. Based on the
content of [2, p. 294 et sqq.], the resistance to motion of a belt conveyor is described by
( 1 )
where
is the main resistance,
is the secondary resistance,
is the slope resistance and
is the special resistance. The main resistance is basically the sum of the pulleys resistances and the
belts flexing resistance. Determining these resistances, however, is a very complicated and
complex matter as the flexing resistance, for instance, can be broken down into even smaller
resistances, such as indentation rolling resistance, belt flexing resistance and vibration-related
bending resistance [3, p. 43 et seq.]. The main resistance is hence simplified by
( 2 )
cos
while is the length, is the gravitational acceleration, is the total mass relative to the length,
is the inclination angle and is the fictional friction coefficient. We define as
( 3 )
with
(constant for the respective operating condition), (constant for the definition of the
fictional friction coefficient) and (the belt conveyors speed). As shown in [3], the author takes an
advanced approach with an additional component ( ) independent of speed.
For a more complex routing, a detailed examination of the main resistance is performed by dividing
the belt conveyor into several sections as stated in [2, S.296, 3, S.45 ff.], which is in line with the
modeling approach for the simulation model. The inclination angle is determined for each section
separately.
The force of acceleration
of the belt constitutes the largest proportion of the secondary
resistance. It also includes the friction resistance
of the chute,
of the belt cleaner
of the idle drums as well as
for the belts degree of bending [2, S. 295]. The impact of
and
the secondary resistance declines as the belt length increases [2, S295]. It is calculated as follows:
.
The slope resistance
to overcome:
defines the resisting force for the elevation that the belt conveyor needs
#
with # for the conveyors height and
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
( 4 )
$,
( 5 )
the total mass relative to the length.
Resisting forces that only occur occasionally are grouped together under the special resistances .
They include amongst others moving equipment for transferring the material to stackers for
examples.
The forces proportion of the total resistance varies depending on the structural conditions of the
belt conveyor, e.g. the belt length [2 S. 295].
Figure 1: Schematic of the modeling approach [6]
The necessary drive torque is calculated by a controller. Depending on the models level of detail,
which in turn depends on the analysis objectives and evaluation criteria, additional complex model
components can be incorporated in the model. Such components may include electric motors and
frequency converters. Parameterization is based on design data of the belt conveyors components
(drum diameter and number of pulleys), drive data (e.g. nominal torque of the motors) and the
operating conditions (e.g. elevation profile, initial load).
Application Examples
This section deals with two questions in regard to the operation of belt conveyors by means of
system simulation. A model which is customized to the respective objective forms the basis for
these considerations.
Controller Optimization for a Belt Conveyor with an Additional Tail End Drive
The first example involves the optimization of the control strategy for a belt conveyor with the
length of 5,000 m. Besides two drive pulleys at the head station, there is also one drive pulley at the
tail station. Parameters are optimized for the case of a fully loaded belt.
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
Figure 2: SimulationX model for the controller optimization of a planar belt conveyor with additional tail-end drive
The input of the plant model is the drive torque of the motors. The control variable is the revolution
speed of the motor. Both variables are processed as normalized percentage. The controller layout
is based on a conventional PI controller with the transfer function
%& ' (
1
+,
Its parameters are optimized in such a way that the desired value is matched as closely as possible
in order to keep deviations of the controller to a minimum. Figure 3 shows the comparison between
the initial parameterization (light curve) and the optimized parameter (dark curve) of the controller
for one start-up cycle. The diagram illustrates the progression of the variable value, of the desired
value, of the control value and of the controller deviation. Optimization and testing of new
parameters can thus be performed directly in the belt conveyor model.
Figure 3: Diagram for the result of the controller optimization
Power Consumption of a Belt Conveyor with Elevation Profile

This simulation example demonstrates the calculation of the required drive power for a belt
conveyor with a non-planar elevation profile. It includes various load cases of the belt. Figure 4
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
shows the elevation profile. The tail station is located at 0 m where the load is added, while the head
station is located at a distance of 5,000 m where the load is cleared.
Figure 4: Elevation profile of the belt conveyor (head station left, tail station right)
This elevation profile is included in the simulation model shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: SimulationX model of a belt conveyor with elevation profile for the calculation of the required drive power
The first simulation shows a fully loaded belt starting up. At time index t=1,000 s, no further load is
added onto the belt resulting in an empty run. Figure 6 shows the corresponding simulation results.
The top diagram illustrates the progression of the required drive power. The bottom diagram
indicates the progression of the added and cleared loads. The start-up phase requires a peak drive
power of 800 kW dropping to about 750 kW when the machinery runs in steady state. At t=1,000
s, the required drive power decreases gradually until it reaches the idling level of around 300 kW. At
t=2,650 s, the entire belt is cleared.
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
Figure 6: Start-up of a fully loaded belt with empty run afterwards
Figure 7: Start-up of a gradually loaded belt without adding extra load
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX
In the second simulation, only the first three sections of the belt conveyor model are loaded. The
belt conveyor starts to run and operates at the nominal torque without the addition of extra load.
The simulation results are shown in Figure 7. The required drive power during nominal operating
conditions is 400 kW for the load moving along the plane surface. At time index t=350 s, the load
reaches the first model section of the slope, and the required drive power increases. At time index
t=880 s, the entire load now moves up the slope while the required drive power reaches its
maximum value of around 590 kW. Between t=1,220 s and t=1,790 s, the load is cleared. The belt
is now empty and the required drive power reaches its idle state again.
Summary
This paper is an overview of the potential applications of system simulation for belt conveyor
systems. It focusses on various questions from different angles including design engineers, service
providers, commissioning specialists and operators of belt conveyors and also provides an overview
of the latest modeling approaches for belt conveyors and their components demonstrated with two
examples.
Sources
[1]
DIN22101, Stetigfrderer - Gurtfrderer fr Schttgter - Grundlagen fr die Berechnung
und Auslegung, Deutsches Institut fr Normung e.V., 1982
[2]
Kunze G., Ghring H., Jacob K., Baumaschinen - Erdbau- und Tagebaumaschinen,
Vieweg+Teubner Verlag, 2002
[3]
Jeinsch T., Modellgesttzte Verfahren zur berwachung und Fehlerdiagnose sowie deren
Anwendung in einem Informationssystem fr Gurtfrderanlagen, VDI Verlag, 2003
[4]
G. Gerodes, Untersuchung der Dynamik des Elektroantriebssystems fr lange
Stetigfrderbandanlagen, Dissertation TH Magdeburg 1975
[5]
Sader M., Jeinsch T., Noack R., Barber K., Ding S.X., Zhang P., A Model Based Information
System for Simulation, Monitoring and Control of Belt Conveyor Systems, Advanced Process
Control Applications for Industry Workshop, Vancouver, 2003
[6]
Schramm C., Dilefeld M., Modeling Dynamic Behavior of Belt Conveyors for Open Pit
Mining in SimulationX, ITI-Symposium, Dresden, 2012
ESI ITI GmbH

SimulationX

System Simulation of Belt Conveyors

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

System Simulation of Belt Conveyors

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

System Simulation of Belt Conveyors

M.Sc. Ren Noack, Engineering

Analysis Objectives and Application Fields for System Simulation of

ESI ITI GmbH

ESI ITI GmbH

ESI ITI GmbH

the total mass relative to the length.

Figure 1: Schematic of the modeling approach [6]

ESI ITI GmbH

Figure 3: Diagram for the result of the controller optimization

Power Consumption of a Belt Conveyor with Elevation Profile

ESI ITI GmbH

This elevation profile is included in the simulation model shown in Figure 5.

ESI ITI GmbH

Figure 6: Start-up of a fully loaded belt with empty run afterwards

Figure 7: Start-up of a gradually loaded belt without adding extra load

ESI ITI GmbH

ESI ITI GmbH

Anda mungkin juga menyukai