Accurately calculating conveyor belt tension is crucial for proper system operation. Information about the environment, load rate, pulley diameter, belt speed, and more is needed to calculate TC, TL, TH, TE, and TS. TO can be calculated using TE and TS, and may need to be re-tensioned over time.
Getting the conveyor belt tension right is critical to proper system operation. The belt must conform to the crown of any pulley present and be resistant to slipping even in the most demanding outdoor conditions. To accurately calculate conveyor belt tension, start by gathering all the information you need and putting it into a form. You need to calculate the maximum amount of tension you can apply to your belt system, which you can calculate using several specific formulas.
First, collect information about the working environment and any special conditions under which the system must operate, for example, load rate in tons per hour, pulley diameter and carrier rollers used. Note the belt speed, belt width, and vertical difference between the tail and head sheaves. In addition to the height, the belt length and drive data are also important for calculating the tension of the conveyor belt. It’s easy to calculate the working voltage, or TO, also called the allowable working voltage, once you have all the data at hand.
The first factor to calculate when calculating conveyor belt tension is the tension required to move the empty belt, or TC. You will need to know the weight of the conveyor components, or CW, the length of the belt, or L, and the friction factor for normal empty belt operation, or F1. F1 is normally 0.035 and the formula for calculating TC is TC = F1 x L x CW or TC = 0.035 x L x CW.
The tension required to move materials on the belt horizontally, or TL, is the next step in calculating conveyor belt tension. You’ll need to know the weight of the material in pounds, or MW, and multiply it by the length of the belt and the typical friction factor needed to move a load horizontally, or F2. F2 is normally 0.04 and the formula for calculating TL is TL = MW x L x F2 or MW x L x 0.04.
TH is the voltage required to lift the load, and this is found by multiplying MW by the end sheaves’ elevation difference, or H. The equation for TH is TH = MW x H. Once you have these three factors, you can calculate the effective belt tension, or TE. The formula is TE = TC + TL + TH. You also need to account for the lateral slack tension, or TS, required to prevent belt slippage. Thus, TS = D x TE, where D stands for the actuation factor.
You can finally calculate total operating tension, or TO, by knowing the belt width in inches, or W, TS, and TE. The formula for TO is TO = TE + TS/W. For the lifetime of the conveyor system, it may be necessary to re-tension the belt. A contaminant may get between the pulley surface and the conveyor belt surface and its coefficient of friction may be altered as a result. Cleaning all surfaces usually solves the problem, but if this is impossible due to external conditions, it may be necessary to increase the tension on the conveyor belt.
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