Conveyor Belt Cut and Gouge Depth Measurement: A Literature Review

This report presents a literature review focused on the cut and gouge depth measurement of conveyor belts, crucial for industrial applications. It begins with an introduction to conveyor belts and their widespread use in material transport, highlighting the importance of gouge resistance and scratch damage measurement. The review explores conveyor belt characteristics, including abrasion resistance and factors influencing belt wear such as speed, material type, and incidence angle. It discusses various testing methods for assessing belt performance, emphasizing the significance of cut and gouge tests for evaluating durability. The report also examines the problems associated with conveyor belts, like misalignment and off-center running, along with their respective solutions. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing the importance of appropriate testing parameters, cutting tool selection, and gouge depth to minimize impact damage and enhance conveyor belt performance. References to relevant journals and books are also provided.

Cut and gouge depth
measurement of conveyor belt

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................................1
Conveyor belt ..............................................................................................................................1
Wearing of belt and influencing factors ......................................................................................2
Abrasion resistance of conveyor Belts.........................................................................................3
Problems associated with conveyor belts and their solutions......................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Conveyor belt is known as the carrying medium of belt conveyor which is attached to
turning rotors forming a loop. These belts are widely employed in industrial applications to
convey raw material or products. The material is kept on same place on conveyor while only the
belt is moved. For facilitating the twists or turns cone shaped wheels and rotors are used
(Semenchenko and et.al., 2016). The report will provide a literature review on cut and gouge
depth measurement of a conveyor belt. The testing system measures the gouge resistance and
cutting depth so that for given conveyor belt made up of specific material and impact energy.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Conveyor belt
As per Bajda, (2017) conveyors are defined as the components used for automated
distribution of the material in integration with the computer controlled pallet handling. The most
common type of powered conveyors are belt conveyors which are highly effective in terms of
cost and versatility. It is also possible to change the direction of transport through these belt.
Along with the tensile and material strength it is also very important to measure the gouge
resistance and scratch damage. These aspects can be measured by suitable testing procedures
such as resistance measurements and cut penetration measurement. According to Bedane and
et.al., (2017) there is an association between depth of cut and penetration of tool but for
producing the cut a minimum level of impact energy is required. In order to make the optimum
commercial decisions gouge and cut resistance must be ranked in terms of higher granularity.
As per the view of Martinez-Pedrero and Tierno, (2015) minings and several other
industrial applications require comparative analysis and testing of different conveyor belt
samples for improved performance. The belt testing and characteristic assessment can be
performed by various standard test methods such as tensile and breaking strength, erosion, wear,
tear and abrasion resistance as well as cover rubber elongation. However, it has been emphasized
by Król and et.al., (2017) that performance and durability of conveyor belts is greatly affected by
sharp objects such as metal pieces of jagged rocks. For this purpose the cut and gouge tests are
considered as highly essential. The advanced testers are able to measure cut and gouge resistance
along with reliability and performance of belt. Potter, (2018) stated that the test requires to adjust
and manage variety of parameters such as repeatable impact energy, sample condition and
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cutting tool, cutting depth as variable of impact energy. The evaluation of cutting tool position
and cutting depth serves as the additional functional requirements for gouge depth testing.
Wearing of belt and influencing factors
Semenchenko and et.al., (2016) stated that one of the characteristic property of conveyor
belt is that carcass must be protected from conveyed material. When the material is conveyed
against rubber or thermoplastic cover then it becomes more common and gradual wear of belt.
The belt wear add extra cost and thus various attempts or measures are used to reduce the belt
wear in operations.
According to Molnar and et.al., (2018) the wearing of conveyor belt is influenced by several
factors such as speed, abrasion resistance, incidence angle as well as centre length. When the
drop rate is higher than more damage is caused to carcass and belt cover. In order to reduce the
impact energy and speed of material bars are installed in crusher so that material can be slow
down. The material type also plays an important role in affecting wear. For instance taconite
pelletes and hard rock materials demonstrate extremely fast wearing. With dense material and
fast speeds there is increase in the wearing rate. In the same context Thompson, Fryirs and
Croke, (2016) when relative speed differential is increased then more wear takes place. It has
been also evaluated that wear and centre to centre length of the conveyor belt system are
inversely proportional to each other. Thus, when centre to centre length is short number of
cycles per hour are increased and results in increased wear. Similarly, when the incidence angle
is higher than it becomes hard for material to synchronize with the belt speed and at the loading
point of belt more wear is observed. This is one of the reason that flat conveyor are assumed to
wear faster as compare to a flat conveyor. It has been also elucidated by Król and et.al., (2017)
that when materials are transferred horizontally then chute angle is reduced and wear is also
reduced. When sharp and large materials are conveyed then there is increased possibility of
causing cut and gouge damage. Another factor which affect the wear of conveyor belt is feed
angle and scraper tension. The conveyor belts with inline feeding tends to experience less
amount of wear. For sustaining the quality performance scraper tension must also be balanced.
As extreme loose objects may not remove from cover while excessive tight material may lead to
significant increase in worn.
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Abrasion resistance of conveyor Belts
According to Molnar and et.al., (2018) Cut and gouge resistant compounds provide
provides maximum belt protection for cutting and gouging with good abrasion resistance. High
cut and gouge resistant protect the belt wherever it is used like in mine applications, for crushing
mining minerals etc. Abrasion resistance is one of the most important properties of conveyor belt
covers. It is one of those properties which is focused a lot in order to improve the overall quality
of belt. It is mostly done by better maintenance, rip detection system, alignment, reduction of
premature failures etc. Resistant components for protection of the belt has various benefits such
as: it protects the belt in the toughest application as well, increases the longevity of the belt, also
help in lowering the overall cost per ton which is conveyed and also protects the belt with range
of different lightweight and abrasion resistant conveyor covers. There are mainly three types
abrasion resistant cover compounds. First is monster hide which is an ultimate cut and gouge
resistant cover for belt as it offers quite a good abrasion resistance for the belt. It is quite good
for the belt because it is designed for most aggressive environments as well. Second is M Grade,
it is also known as Global X. It is a superior compound which designed in such a way that it can
be used for tearing, cutting, abrasions, gouging in any aggressive environment. Next is C grade
which is also known as stacker. It is one of the excellent abrasion is one of the excellent cut and
gouge network. There are two different types of abrasion that occurs in belt applications. First is
the wear which is mainly caused by conveyed material rubbed against rubber cover of the belt. It
is one of the most common type of abrasion that occurs most frequently. If conveyed materials
are rubbed more frequently then belt cover can wear evenly and smoothly.
Problems associated with conveyor belts and their solutions
As per the view of Bajda, (2017) There are various problems that are associated with
conveyor belts and causes of each problem is completely different from others. One of the most
common problem associated with Conveyor belts is that conveyor runs to only one side on
structure at given point. There are various causes due to which this problem occurs such as:
when conveyor structure is crooked, structure is not levelled, idlers stands is not centred on belt.
This problem can be solved by levelling structure in affected regions, readjust idlers in affected
regions or by strengthening the affected regions. Many times this problem is extended when a
particular section of belt runs to one side at all the points on the conveyor belt. It is mainly
caused whenever belt is not joint squarely. It can be solved easily be either removing the affected
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joint or by rejoining the belt. Another problem associated with conveyor belt is that many times
belt run off at tail pulley. It is mainly caused because many times idlers of pulley are out of
square with centre line of the belt or when belt is run off-centre around tail pulley through
loading area. This problem is mostly solved by readjusting the idlers in the affected area or by
installing training idlers in return side prior to the tail pulley. There are many more problems
associated with conveyor belts which decreases the abrasion resistance of the conveyor belt. So it
is important to check following requirements before using the conveyor belt such as region
where it will be installed and used, time to time maintenance, cover which is being used for the
belt etc.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded form the above literature review that for the effective performance
and conveying operation of the conveyor belt various testing parameters must be analysed. It has
been analysed that along with the gouge depth measurement and cut penetration abrasion
resistance, material of belt and incidence angle of loading material are also dominating factors in
improving performance of conveyor belts. It can be concluded that selection of appropriate
cutting tool and gouge depth can also minimize the extent of impact damage to a conveyor belt.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bajda, M., 2017. Laboratory tests of conveyor belt parameters affecting its lifetime. International
Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference: SGEM: Surveying Geology & mining
Ecology Management. 17(1.3). pp.495-502.
Bedane, T.F. and et.al., 2017. Experimental study of radio frequency (RF) thawing of foods with
movement on conveyor belt. Journal of food engineering. 201. pp.17-25.
Król, R. and et.al., 2017. Testing belt conveyor resistance to motion in underground mine
conditions. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment. 31(1). pp.78-
90.
Martinez-Pedrero, F. and Tierno, P., 2015. Magnetic propulsion of self-assembled colloidal
carpets: efficient cargo transport via a conveyor-belt effect. Physical Review
Applied. 3(5). p.051003.
Molnar, W., and et.al., 2018. Two and three-body abrasion resistance of rubbers at elevated
temperatures. Wear. 414. pp.174-181.
Potter, D., 2018. A view from the bench: Magistrates courts in Western Australia: Part one-
navigating conveyor-belt justice in the general lists. Brief. 45(6). p.6.
Semenchenko, A. and et.al., 2016. The impact of an uneven loading of a belt conveyor on the
loading of drive motors and energy consumption in transportation. Eastern-European
Journal of Enterprise Technologies. 4(1 (82)). pp.42-51.
Thompson, C.J., Fryirs, K. and Croke, J., 2016. The disconnected sediment conveyor belt:
patterns of longitudinal and lateral erosion and deposition during a catastrophic flood in
the Lockyer Valley, South East Queensland, Australia. River Research and
Applications. 32(4). pp.540-551.
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