Real-time monitoring of the rubber belt tension in an industrial conveyor

The paper presents a novel system for monitoring of the work of industrial belt conveyor. It is based on the strain gauges placed directly on the roller surface that measure pressing force of the belt on the roller. Automatical operation of the measurement system minimizes impact of an operator on the measurement results. Experimental researches included the stability of indications during 5 days, Type A uncertainty estimation and equipment variation EV calculations. Expanded uncertainty calculated for the level of confidence 95% was below 0.1% of the actually measured value, and percentage repeatability %EV = 9.5% was obtained. It can be considered satisfactory, since usually it is required %EV < 10% for new measurement systems.

Real-time monitoring of the rubber belt tension in an industrial conveyor

The paper presents a novel system for monitoring of the work of industrial belt conveyor. It is based on the strain gauges placed directly on the roller surface that measure pressing force of the belt on the roller. Automatical operation of the measurement system minimizes impact of an operator on the measurement results. Experimental researches included the stability of indications during 5 days, Type A uncertainty estimation and equipment variation EV calculations. Expanded uncertainty calculated for the level of confidence 95% was below 0.1% of the actually measured value, and percentage repeatability %EV = 9.5% was obtained. It can be considered satisfactory, since usually it is required %EV < 10% for new measurement systems.

Effects of Field Processing of Sorghum Grain on Popping Traits

Interest in the use of popped sorghum in food products has resulted in a niche market for sorghum hybrids with high popping quality but little work has been done to assess the relative effects of field processing methods of grain on popping quality. This study evaluated the relative effects of harvest moisture and threshing methods on the popping quality of sorghum grain. A grain sorghum hybrid with good popping quality was produced during two different years in Texas wherein it was harvested at two moisture levels (low and high) and grain was removed from panicles using five different threshing methods (hand, rubber belt, metal brushes and two metal concave bar systems). Years, harvest moisture content and threshing method influenced all three popping quality measurements (popping efficacy, expansion ratio and flake size), but threshing method had an order of magnitude larger effect than either moisture level or year. While many of the interactions were significant, they did not influence the general trends observed. As such, the threshing methods with less direct impact force on the grain (hand and rubber belt) had higher popping quality than those samples threshed with greater impact force on the grain (metal-based systems). The popping quality differences between threshing system are likely due to a reduction in kernel integrity caused by the impacts to the kernel that occurred while threshing the grain. The results herein indicate that field processing of the grain, notably threshing method has significant impacts on the popping quality and should be taken into consideration when grain sorghum is harvested for popping purposes.

DETERMINATION OF TECHNICAL-AND-ECONOMIC INDICES OF ROOT CROP CONVEYER-SEPARATOR DURING THEIR MOTION ON CURVED PATH

The results of theoretical and experimental study of the process of root crops carrying by a conveyer-separator of a three-row trailed root crop harvester whose rubber belt with rods is equipped with scrapers and has a sign-variable direction of transportation to minimize the machine length have been described in the article. Some analytical dependencies describing the impact of design and kinematic parameters of the conveyer-separator on the root crops motion pattern have been given and analysed. The results of the research including the key factors identification affecting the process of root crops transportation on the curvilinear path between the conveyer-separator members are presented in the experimental part. The theoretical and experimental studies have been compared and the boundaries of the most efficient design and kinematic parameters choice of the conveyer-separator under discussion have been suggested.

Circumferential Expansion Property of Composite Wrapping System for Main Cable Protection of Suspension Bridge

A composite wrapping system for main cable protection of suspension bridges was designed by using prepreg fiber-reinforced composites and nitrile rubber. The circumferential expansion performance of the system was tested, and the curves of circumferential bearing capacity and radial displacement of the components were obtained. Failure modes of each group of components were compared and analyzed. The results show that most of the components are vertically fractured at the lap transition. The increase of the number of prepreg layers contributed the most to the circumferential bearing capacity of components, with a growth rate of 65.31%~109.01%. The increase of rubber belt layers had the most significant effect on the radial displacement of the components, with a growth rate of 7.06%~23.5%. In the initial stage of the test, the strain of each part of the component was smaller due to the compaction by the loading device, and the strain value of the component was generally linearly increased during the loading process, during which the strain of the overlap was the smallest. The calculated cross-sectional temperature deformation of the main cable is in good agreement with the experimental data. The application of the rubber belt increases the deformation of the main cable; therefore, the protection system for the main cable could have more deformation redundancy and delay the arrival of the ultimate strain of the outer prepreg wrap.