Optimization and experimental study of transport section lateral pressure of pipe belt conveyor

Abstract Due to the squeezing action of bulk materials, conveyor belt was expanded and deformed outwards when the pipe belt conveyor was used to transport the materials; lateral pressure borne by this belt also varied in a complex way. In this paper, the condition of lateral pressure borne by conveyor belt of pipe belt conveyor was studied to establish a coupling model for such a lateral pressure. Furthermore, considering the actual sophisticated forces of the conveyor belt, a calculation formula was further derived for relations among lateral pressure of the pipe conveyor belt, material diameter and filling rate. In addition, the discrete element method was also adopted to simulate its lateral pressure and a prototype was developed for the conveyor belt of a pipe belt conveyor to perform experimental verifications. It was found that simulation analysis approximately agreed with test results. Under a circumstance of definite design conditions, the optimization of material diameter and filling rate was beneficial to improvement of forces taken by the conveyor belt of the pipe belt conveyor as well as its service life and reliability.