IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482

ANALYSIS OF FAILURE IN BELT OF CONVEYOR SYSTEM BY

PARETO CHART
Ankit Gupta*

ABSTRACT
In this paper an analysis of failure in belt of conveyor system, working in coal handling plant of
thermal power plant is done. The mechanical damage and other defects were distinguished in the
belt and machine components which results in the failure of the belt, and then using the Pareto-
Lorenz diagram - a traditional quality management tool, the causes of each failure were found
and on that grounds the actions were set out aimed at reducing the belt conveyors failure rate.
Keywords: belt, conveyor system, failure, Pareto Lorenz Method.

*Department of Mechanical Engineering, MITS College Gwalior (M.P.) India

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
INTRODUCTION
Belt conveyors are, in most cases, the most cost-effective solution for bulk material handling for
shorter and medium distance. The belt is the key component of these conveyors because its cost
is approx. 25 ~ 50% of the total cost. The major failure occurs in the belt are due to the deviation
of it from its central axis. The failure in belt causes the breakdown of conveyor so an analysis is
done using Pareto-Lorenz diagram, a traditional quality management tool for ensuring the failure
rate to get reduced due to belt failure.
The problems with the belt and the analysis of those problem is done in this paper
PROBLEMS WITH BELTS AND CAUSES
1. All Portions of the Conveyor Belt Run to One Side at a Given Point on the Structure.
Cause
 One or More Idlers Immediately Preceding Trouble Not At Right Angles To The
Direction Of Belt Travel.
 Conveyor Frame Or Structure Crooked.
 One Or More Idler Stands Not Centered Under Belt.
 Sticking Idlers.
 Belt Runs Off Terminal Pulley.
 Buildup of Material on Idlers.
 Structure Not Level And Belt Tends To Shift To Low Side.
2. A Particular Section of the Conveyor Belt Runs to One Side at All Points on the
Conveyor.
Cause
 Belt Not Joined Squarely.
 Bowed Belt
 Worn Edge
3. The Conveyor Belt Runs To One Side For Long Distance Along The Bed.
Cause
 Load Being Placed on Belt off Center.
 Conveyor Frame Or Structure Crooked.
4. Severe Wear on the Pulley Side of the Conveyor Belt.
Cause

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
 Slippage On Drive Pulley
 Material Spills between Belt and Pulley.
 Material Build Up At Loading Point Until Belt Is Dragging
 Sticking Idlers
 Excessive Tilt To Toughing Idlers
 Bolt Heads Protruding Above Lagging
 Bottom Cover Too Thin.
5. Lengthwise Gouging or Stripping Of the Top Cover
Cause
 Skirt Board Seals Too Stiff And Pressed Against Belt
 Excessive Space Between Belt And Skirt Seals
 Metal Sides Of Chute Or Skirts Too Close To Belt And Gap Not Increasing In Direction
Of Belt Travel.
 Belt Is Spanked Down Under Impact At Loading Point Allowing Material To Be Trapped
Under Skirts.
 Material Hanging Under Back Panel of Chute.
 Jamming Of Material in Chute.
6. Breaks in the Carcass Parallel To the Belt Edge
Cause
 Impact Of Lumps Falling On Belt
7. Transverse Breaks in the Center of the Carcass
Cause
 Material Trapped Between Belt And Pulley
 Impact Or Lumps Falling On Belt
8. Transverse Breaks at the Belt Edge
Cause
 Belt Edges Folding Up On Structure Where It Rounds A Pulley Due To Wandering Or
Pressing To Hard Against Side Guide Rollers
 Final Idler Before Head Pulley Located To Close Or Too
 High in Respect to Head Pulley.
 Inadequate Convex Curve Radius.

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
9. Excessive Top Cover Wear Uniformly Around the Belt.
Cause
 Dirty, Stuck Or Misaligned Return Rolls.
 Cover Quality Low.
 Pile Up Of Spilled Material At Tail Pulley
 Side Loading or Poor Loading, Delivery of Material Too Slow.
 Excessive Sag between Idlers Causing Load to Work And Shuffle On Belt As It Passes
Over Idlers.
 Belt Wear Due To Dragging Accumulated Material Out Of Loading Chute.
10. Cover or Sand Blisters
Cause
 Cover Cuts Or Very Small Cover Punctures Allow Fine Particles Of “Sand” To Work
Under Cover And Cut Cover Away From Carcass.
 Oil either In Material or From Outside Source.
11. Conveyor Belt Breaks
Cause
 Belt Overloaded
 Splice Failure
 Belt Wear From Age
12. Vulcanized Splice Peels Apart
Cause
 Improper Cure
 Incompatible Materials
 Moisture In Splice
 Cement Drying Time
 Pulley Diameter To Small
13. Wearing or Fraying Of Belt Edge
Cause
 Improper Tracking Or Training
 Material Build-Up
 Side Loading

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
14. Cover Is Cracking
Cause
 Excessive Heat
 Age Or Weather Cracking
 Undersized Pulleys
 Ozone Attack
FAILURE ANALYSIS
To assess the failure of machinery the Pareto-Lorenz diagram was used, which belongs to the
traditional quality management tools and allows clear, graphical arrangement of the factors
affecting the examined phenomenon, and allows showing the relative and absolute distribution of
errors, problems or their causes. The Pareto diagram can be easily read as to what is the biggest
problem, what types of errors should be reduced to improve the production process [3] Pareto-
Lorenz diagram was constructed as a result of implementing the following steps [4, 5]:
1. Data regarding the downtimes due to failure of the belt is collected
2. The cumulative percentages for each failure were calculated.
3. On the basis of the results the Pareto-Lorenz diagram was drawn up.
4. Interpretation of the drawn up diagram was conducted.
To calculate the cumulative percentage of individual failures the following formulas were used:
PIEj = 100/IE
SPIEj = PIEj + PIEj-1
PIAj= 100* IAj/ Σ IAj
SPIAj= PIAj+ PIAj-1
Where:
PIEj – percentage number of elements,
SPIEj – cumulative percentage number of elements,
IE – number of elements,
PIAj – percentage number of failures,
SPIAj – cumulative percentage number of failures,
IAj – number of failures.

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
In addition to the causes of the failure, a very important factor is the time interval in which the
individual failures occurred.
The following is a summary of the belt conveyor failure, as per the data collected from the
thermal power plant Parichha, Jhansi
An analysis of the data contained in Table 1 shows that the largest failure was observed in the
case of belt deviation along the length, whose number of failure is 54. The comparable failure
was observed in case of others breakdown also; the data shows the failure rate and cause.

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
Cumulative
Number Percentages percentage of
S.No. Cause of failure of failure of failure failure
1 Belt deviation along the length 54 32.72 32.72
2 Particular point belt deviation 24 14.54 47.26
Excessive Top Cover Wear Uniformly
3 Around the Belt. 16 9.69 56.95
Wear on the Pulley Side of the Conveyor
4 Belt 12 7.27 64.22
Lengthwise Gouging or Stripping Of the
5 Top Cover 10 6.06 70.28
Breaks in the Carcass Parallel To the Belt
6 Edge 9 5.4 75.68
Transverse Breaks in the Center of the
7 Carcass 9 5.4 81.08
8 Transverse Breaks at the Belt Edge 9 5.4 86.48
9 Excessive Stretch In The Conveyor Belt 5 3.03 89.51
10 Cover or Sand Blisters 4 2.42 91.93
11 Conveyor Belt Breaks 4 2.42 94.35
12 Vulcanized Splice Peels Apart 4 2.42 96.77
13 Wearing or Fraying Of Belt Edge 3 1.81 98.58
14 Cover Is Cracking 2 1.21 99.79
15 others 1 0.21 100

Based on data contained in Table 1 the Pareto-Lorenz diagram was drawn up (Fig. 1) for the
average failure of the belt conveyors.

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
120

100

80

60 Number of failure
Percentages of failure
40
Cumulative percentage of failure
20

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Cause of failure

Figure 1: Pareto-Lorenz diagram for all failures of the belt in conveyor system
The Pareto-Lorenz diagram, fig.1 shows that the largest failures of belt conveyors were due to
the deviation of belt along its axis, so the work is to be done to reduce the deviation of it from its
axis, other failure can be reduced by proper maintenance of the system. This study is made to
reduce the failure chances in the belt of a belt conveyor by adopting several safety measures and
installing various safety devices available for ensuring the longer life of conveyor belt with
minimum failure possible.
CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis of failure of the belt, it can be concluded that: In the period from 2012-
2013 there were 165 breakdowns in the belt conveyors operating in Parichha thermal power
plant, Jhansi due to the failure of the belt by different causes. Pareto-Lorenz diagram for all
failures of the belt in conveyor system clearly indicate that the work must be done to ensure that
the deviation of the belt from its axis is minimum and the load distribution along the length of
the belt is same, so as to reduce chances of failure.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Authors express his gratitude to the management of Parichha thermal power plant, Jhansi and
to the faculty of MITS for their valuable support and help in my work.
REFERENCES

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IJESS Volume3, Issue4 ISSN: 2249- 9482
[1] Lihua Zhao. Typical failure analysis and processing of belt conveyor [J].Hoisting and
Conveying Machinery; 2003,NO 10.
[2] Lihua Zhao, Yin Lin. Operation and Maintenance of Coal Handling System in Thermal
Power Plant, [J].Colliery Machine; 2011,NO. 02.
[3]Ankit Gupta. SAFETY MEASURES FOR REDUCTION OF FAILURE IN BELT
CONVEYOR FOR THERMAL POWER PLANT [J]. IJMERR, Vol. 2, No. 2, April 2013
[4] Raghvendra Singh Gurjar. Failure analysis of belt conveyor system, [J]. IJESS Volume 2,
Issue 10.2012
[5] Raghvendra Singh Gurjar. FAILURE ANALYSIS OF BELT CONVEYOR SYSTEM BY
PARETO
CHART, [J]. IJESS Volume 2, Issue 10.2012
[6] MAZURKIEWICZ D, Monitoring the condition of adhesive-sealed belt conveyors in
operation, Maintenance and Reliability, No. 3, 2005, p 41-49

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