Belt width optimization for tire durability enhancement

Tire burst is one of the hot issues in automobile market. Based on the tire burst problem of all-steel radial tire, the shear strain and strain energy density at the end of the belt layer are analyzed to extend the tire durability. A multi-objective optimization model was established by finite element analysis, and the function constraints conditions were set. The optimization scheme was determined using differential evolution (DE) method. The finite element simulation and the durability test of tire specimen show that tire performance has greatly improved after the optimization. The results show that the combination of the finite element analysis technique and the multi-objective optimization method can effectively reduce a lot of labor, material, and financial resources in the structural optimization of mechanical products.

Parametric Optimization of Belt Conveyors by Energy Efficiency Criterion

Purpose. The purpose of this work is to substantiate the optimal values of the belt conveyor parameters, at which the specific energy consumption for the cargo transportation takes on the lowest value. Methodology. The substantiation of the optimal values of the belt conveyor parameters was carried out by minimizing the function of specific energy consumption, which represents the energy consumption for the transportation of a cargo weighing 1 kg at a distance of 1 m. In the course of research, the drive force was determined using the contour bypass meth-od. In this case, the specific loads from the transported cargo, belt and roller supports were presented as functions of the belt width. To establish the optimal values of the conveyor productivity and belt speed, the belt width was presented as a function of these values, taking into account the physical and mechanical properties of the transported cargo, the design features of the roller supports and the belt angle. Findings. I obtained the dependences of specific energy consumption on the design parameters of the conveyor. Their analysis made it possible to identify the opti-mal values of the belt width, conveyor productivity, belt speed, and the optimal ratio of the last two values for dif-ferent types of transported cargo. It is noted that the results obtained can be supplemented by carrying out calcula-tions according to the formula given in this work. It has been established that the optimal value of the belt width depends only on the belt angle and on the coefficients that determine the energy losses, in particular the movement resistance coefficient of the belt; the influence of the specified coefficient increases with an increase in the belt angle. In addition, the optimal value of the belt width does not depend on the conveyor length, its productivity and belt speed. Originality. The dependences of the specific energy consumption on the design parameters of the belt conveyor were obtained, which made it possible to establish the optimal values of the belt width and the ratio of the conveyor productivity to the belt speed. Practical value. The results of this work can be used in the design of energy-efficient belt conveyors, which are characterized by the lowest specific energy consumption for cargo transportation.

Non-reloading coal transportation in the eastern inclined shaft of “Raspadskaya” mine

The planned increase in the mine output from 6.5 to 13.6 million tons per year has set the task of reconstructing a conveyor transport in the eastern inclined shaft of the Raspadskaya mine. The roadway length is 4100 m; the reduced inclination angle is +7°40´. An attempt was made to combine all the positive global practices in one project: the distribution of drive power along the length of a conveyor belt, minimizing the capital cost of implementation. Within the framework of this article, an approach to choosing the speed of a con-veyor belt is discussed, a comparative analysis of the two most com-mon types of intermediate “tripper-type” and “belt-to-belt” drives is given; calculation of a belt conveyor with intermediate “belt-to-belt” drives providing non-reloading conveying in the eastern inclined shaft. Pull force calculations showed that a conveyor belt with four interme-diate “belt-to-belt” drives can be implemented as follows: belt width – 1400 mm, belt speed – 4.0 m/s, mono-material load-carrying belt – PVG-4000, mono-material drive belt – PVG-1400, 2-pulley drive units when mounted on one side: head drive power – 2×1000 = 2000 kW, intermediate drive power – 2×1600 = 3200 kW. Thus, the use of a conveyor belt with four intermediate “belt-to-belt” drives in the in-clined shaft will give the following results: non-reloading transporta-tion over the entire length of the shaft, reducing the additional degra-dation of transported coal due to the exclusion of reloading points, minimizing costs through the use of less durable belts, minimizing costs of sinking an inclined shaft of a smaller cross-section.

Study on the gas emission width of coal seam pressure released by goaf in the deep mine

The technology of driving along goaf has been widely used in the prevention of high ground stress and coal-gasoutburst in coal mining in our country. In this paper, the 11-2 Coal Seam of zhujixi coal mine is taken as the research object. Based on the test of drilling cuttings and residual gas content at different depths of solid coal at the goaf side and the research on the distribution law, it is concluded that the effective pressure relief drainage belt width at the goaf side of 11-2 Coal Seam after mining is 29m. Field practice has been carried out in the adjacent working face. The results show that the predicted indexes measured during the coal roadway driving period do not exceed the specified critical value, which verifies the rationality of the width of the discharge zone. The results provide a theoretical support for the reasonable layout of the continuous working face, improve the driving speed of the coal roadway, reduce the cost of gas control, improve the economic benefits of the mine, and ensure the safety production of the mine.

Assessing meander belt width of Bhagirathi-Jalangi river system in lower Ganga delta, India

The present work is an attempt to assess the meander belt width of the river Bhagirathi (frequently oscillating) and river Jalangi (relatively stable) in West Bengal, India based on geospatial data and field data (lithological composition and flow characteristics). Belt width has been computed using four major considerations in increasing order of scale- (i) individual loops of the present channel (MBw1), (ii) maximum loop width of the present channel (MBw2), (iii) palaeo channel characteristics identified through normalized difference water index and pixel-based classification coupled with field observation (MBw3) and (iv) future channel based on the factor of safety which is a space-time averaged safe belt width (MBw4). The study found MBw4 of 11.76 km for Bhagirathi and 6.64 km for Jalangi considering the 100-year factor of safety. The higher meander belt width of Bhagirathi in comparison to Jalangi was found to be correlated with higher monsoon discharge, bed slope, stream power, shear stress, suspended surface sediment concentration, D50, and lower relative bed stability.

Seasonal and Annual Changes of the Regional Tropical Belt in GPS-RO Measurements and Reanalysis Datasets

The width of the tropical belt has been analyzed with a variety of metrics, often based on zonal-mean data from reanalyses. However, constraining the global and regional tropical width requires both a global spatial-resolving observational dataset and an appropriate metric to take advantage of such data. The tropical tropopause break is arguably such a metric. This study aims to evaluate the performance of different reanalyses and metrics with a focus on depicting regional tropical belt width. We choose four distinct tropopause-break metrics derived from global positioning system radio occultation (GPS-RO) satellite data and four modern reanalyses (ERA-Interim, MERRA-2, JRA-55, and CFSR). We show that reanalyses generally reproduce the regional tropical tropopause break to within 10° of that in GPS-RO data—but that the tropical width is somewhat sensitive (within 4°) to how data are averaged zonally, moderately sensitive (within 10°) to the dataset resolution, and more sensitive (20° over the Northern Hemisphere Atlantic Ocean during June–August) to the choice of metric. Reanalyses capture the poleward displacement of the tropical tropopause break over land and equatorward displacement over ocean during summertime, and the reverse during the wintertime. Reanalysis-based tropopause breaks are also generally well correlated with those from GPS-RO, although CFSR reproduces 14-yr trends much more closely than others (including ERA-Interim). However, it is hard to say which dataset is the best match of GPS-RO. We further find that the tropical tropopause break is representative of the subtropical jet latitude and the Northern Hemisphere edge of the Hadley circulation in terms of year-to-year variations.

Analysis of Devices to Detect Longitudinal Tear on Conveyor Belts

Currently mining enterprises more and more often use belt conveyors for mining operations. The length of transporting rock mass could be several kilometers, so in most cases conveyor are used. The transported rock mass is rather heterogeneous, as a rule, it has inclusions in a form of large pieces with sharp edges and, in some cases, metal objects, which might cause longitudinal tears of various lengths on conveyor belts. They lead to significant repair costs or replacement of expensive conveyor belt, loss of transported material, and downtime of the major enterprise equipment. In the world practice various devices and systems to detect longitudinal tears on conveyor belts have been developed for their successful operation. In this paper, there is analysis of existing devices to detect longitudinal tears on conveyor belts based on the use of mechanical (detection of the transported cargo on the lower the conveyor section and measuring the belt width), ultrasonic and electro-magnetic energy, evaluation of changes in the magnetic field configuration, computer vision, infrared laser and x-ray radiation, image recognition software and embedded transponder chips.