Development of a Belt Conveyor Cooling System for Concrete Aggregates
Using hot aggregates, in concrete production, results in a drop in compressive strength of the produced concrete. Various methods have been proposed for cooling concrete aggregates. This paper proposes a new design for a conveyor system for cooling the aggregates during hot seasons. Simulation of the heat flow during the cooling process over the conveyor is analyzed with the objective of understanding the effect of the various design parameters and achieving minimum cooling time with the least possible power. A finite element model for the new design is proposed and discussed. Challenges facing numerical simulation are addressed in this paper. The results of the finite element analysis of the new design are presented for various initial conditions and cooling rates.