MATERIALS HANDLING
Overland conveying systems can be designed for their specifi c task and topography
CONVEYOR CONSIDERATIONS
Dr Andreas Echelmeyer discusses transporting material effi ciently over long distances with curved belt conveyors
can be perfectly adapted to match the conditions is the effi cient transport of the mined material. Here, overland conveyors that can move large quantities of material over long distances are required. Beumer Group installed its fi rst overland
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conveyor with horizontal curves as early as 1969. Since then, calculation methods and components such as idlers, belts and drives have undergone constant development, resulting in the implementation of increasingly effi cient conveying systems for routes that are often complex. Mine operators can use Beumer curved troughed belt and pipe belt conveyors to transport raw materials over routes with steep inclines and narrow curve radii. “We can exactly match our systems to the required conveying task and topography,” says Dr Kilian Neubert at Beumer Group. “We rely on advanced planning tools to provide our customers with an effi cient, sustainable and cost-eff ective material fl ow.”
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MODERN CONVEYING SYSTEMS No two conveying systems are alike, even if the primary task of transporting bulk material from A to B appears comparable. “We must adapt the components and the system to the material to be conveyed,” says Neubert. “T e mass fl ow to be conveyed and height diff erences that need to be overcome over the length of the conveyor
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ow can mining companies make their operations more sustainable to reduce their environmental footprints? One element that
line are important factors that we must address when designing a system.”
THE RIGHT LAYOUT “We use our Overland Layouting tool to ascertain the ideal layout for the system,” says Neubert. “It generates a digital 3D model of the conveyor in the virtual landscape during project planning, more or less automatically.” T e critical topography data can either be provided by customers, or drones are used to capture terrain data. “T ese 3D visualisations are also ideal for supporting mining companies in their PR relations work,” explains Neubert. Important factors such as ‘cut and fi ll’ volumes, i.e. the necessary excavation work, and the required steel structures for the conveyor can be evaluated and illustrated on this basis. “T is procedure considerably accelerates the project planning process and enables us to provide project-critical data to the customer at an early stage of the project,” says Neubert.
ONGOING DEVELOPMENT T e 1990s saw the company start its development into one of today’s leading suppliers of pipe conveyors. In these systems, the idlers form the belt into a closed pipe that protects the material to be transported against external infl uences and the environment from emissions such as dust and odours. T is conveying solution is therefore ideally suited for fi ne bulk materials such as ore concentrates. Pipe conveyors also allow tighter curve radii and greater angles of inclination
compared with conventional troughed belt conveyors. However, what if bulk material with large grain sizes requires a larger pipe diameter? T e rule of thumb here is that the pipe diameter should be about three times the maximum grain size. To solve this problem, Beumer Group developed the U-shape conveyor. “T is variant combines the advantages of a troughed belt conveyor with those of a pipe conveyor,” says Neubert. T e idlers form the belt into a U-shape rather than a pipe. T e U-shape conveyor enables tighter curve radii than a troughed belt conveyor and higher mass fl ows than a pipe conveyor. It also protects the conveyed material from environmental infl uences and the environment from material loss and emissions.
3D visualisations aid mining fi rms in providing critical data at an early stage
Dr Andreas Echelmeyer is with Beumer Group
www.beumergroup.com
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