Ismet Ibishi et al.

/ International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST)

CALCULATION OF TENSION FORCE

OF BELT CONVEYOR
Ismet Ibishi1
Department of Mining Engineering, University of Prishtina
Mitrovice, Republic of Kosovo
ismetibishi609@hotmail.com
Ahmet Latifi2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Prishtina
Mitrovice, Republic of Kosovo
ahmetnlatifi@hotmail.com
Gzim Ibishi3
Department of Mining Engineering, University of Prishtina
Mitrovice, Republic of Kosovo
Gzim-Ibishi@hotmail.com
Kadri Sejdiu4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Prishtina
Mitrovice, Republic of Kosovo
kadrimsejdiu@live.com
Melihate Shala-Galica5
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Prishtina
Mitrovice, Republic of Kosovo
Bekim Latifi6
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Prishtina
Mitrovice, Republic of Kosovo
bekimlatifi123@hotmail.com
Abstract:
In this paper is done the explanation on tension fashion of the belt conveyor which is employed in Kosovo
Energy Corporation – KEK, for coal transportation to provide electric power plant. The aim of the paper enables
to recognize tension forces not to pass with deformation of belt so that this problem will damage the working
process. Work principle is based on initial tension and tension during working process. The fact is known that
the tension starts from the carriage on the way to tension mechanization, so forces on the rope passing through
pulley there has to dominate the friction coefficient. All this process is related to economy of transportation
mechanism.
Key words: belt conveyor, tension force, carriage, friction coefficient, mechanism, pulley.
1. Introduction
Belt conveyors can be used for hoisting rock up surface slopes, drifts for inclinations not greater than 18°.
Raghvendra, Arvind, Pratesh [2012], a typical conveyor installation has the following principle components
such as; belt which carries the material, idler which support the carrying, pulleys which support and move the
belt and control its tension as well as change directions, and drive which transmits the motive power to one or
more pulleys to move the belt and its carrying load. Ramlu [1996], as belt conveyors consists of several
components, their careful selection and design have decisive influence on the capital and operating costs and
hence the economy of conveyor transportation as a whole. Lech, Robert, Jędrzej [2011] stated that a good belt
conveyor design is based on
Calculations while a theory is based on experiments, which are an exhaustible source of knowledge. A theory
and calculations are inseparably bound. Without a verified theory taking all the factors into account one cannot
make accurate calculations and so one cannot optimally design a belt conveyor. Tension force is calculated
according to principle scheme of the belt conveyor during the coal transportation which is presented in figure 1.
Peripheral force in the driving drums, which stimulate operating power, is;

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 Ismet Ibishi et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST)

Fig 1 Principle scheme of conveyor

Todd, Larry, Andrew [2002], Baldin, Furlanetto, Turco [1982] Belt conveyors have shown the ability to
transport materials that vary from large, heavy, sharp-edged lumps to fine particles; from wet, sticky slurry to
dry, dusty powders; from foundry sand to potato chips; and from tree-length logs to wood chips. Of all the
material handling systems, belt conveyors typically operate with the lowest transport cost per ton, the lowest
maintenance cost per ton, the lowest power cost per ton, and the lowest labor cost per ton. From the illustrating
above we gain;
(1)
(2)
Whereas the tension force [Ft] that secure the normal work during the movement of belt conveyor is;
(3)
So that if we have . Then;
2 (4)
Substituting the force [F2] in function of [Fp] the tension force is;
(5)
Where are;
µ - Coefficient of sliding friction between the belt and pulley
 - Angle of contact or angle of wrap of the belt around the pulley in radians
Table 1 Friction coefficient

µ - Coefficient of sliding friction between the belt and pulley

Surface of drum Steel Rubber layer Ceramic layer
Dry surface 0.35-0.4 0.4-0.45 0.4-0.45
Wet clean surface 0.1 0.35 0.35-0.4
Wet lubricated surface 0.05-0.1 0.25-0.3 0.35
For our study problem we have [µ = 0.35] and [ = 2000] in table 1 shown friction coefficient [µ] so whether we
substitute in equation 5 we get tension force 0.83332 . Values of tension force [Ft] are given in table 3
whereas in table 2 are presented values of [ .

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Table 2 Values of

Contact Friction coefficients of drive pulley

Angle  0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60
170 2.895 1.784 1.234 0.909 0.697 0.548 0.439 0.357 0.293 0.243 0.203
180 2.709 1.661 1.144 0.838 0.638 0.499 0.398 0.321 0.262 0.216 0.179
190 2.543 1.552 1.063 0.775 0.587 0.456 0.361 0.290 0.235 0.192 0.158
200 2.394 1.453 0.990 0.718 0.541 0.418 0.329 0.262 0.212 0.172 0.140
210 2.259 1.364 0.925 0.667 0.499 0.384 0.300 0.238 0.190 0.154 0.125
220 2.136 1.284 0.866 0.621 0.462 0.353 0.274 0.216 0.172 0.138 0.111
230 2.024 1.211 0.812 0.579 0.428 0.325 0.251 0.197 0.155 0.124 0.099
240 1.922 1.144 0.763 0.541 0.398 0.300 0.230 0.179 0.140 0.111 0.088
250 1.828 1.082 0.718 0.506 0.370 0.277 0.212 0.163 0.127 0.100 0.079
360 1.144 0.638 0.398 0.262 0.179 0.125 0.088 0.063 0.045 0.033 0.024
370 1.102 0.612 0.379 0.248 0.168 0.116 0.082 0.058 0.041 0.030 0.021
380 1.063 0.587 0.361 0.235 0.158 0.109 0.076 0.053 0.038 0.027 0.019
390 1.025 0.563 0.345 0.223 0.149 0.102 0.070 0.049 0.034 0.024 0.017
400 0.990 0.541 0.329 0.212 0.140 0.095 0.065 0.045 0.031 0.022 0.015
410 0.957 0.519 0.314 0.201 0.132 0.089 0.061 0.042 0.029 0.020 0.014
430 0.894 0.480 0.287 0.181 0.118 0.078 0.052 0.035 0.024 0.016 0.011
450 0.838 0.445 0.262 0.163 0.105 0.068 0.045 0.030 0.020 0.013 0.009
Table 3 Values of tension force [Ft]

Floor Conveyor
V-1 Z-1 ZTU-1 KTU-1 KTU-2 ITU-1 ITU-2 STU-1 STU-2
15386.72 69479.7 36939.7 33243.66 23593.43 249653. 106408.0 18116.24 46132.52
8 9 8 9 8 6 3 9
Main Conveyor
GTU-1 XIII-a XIII GTU-3 GTU-4 XII XIII-a XIV XV
71241.32 6980.62 2037.52 42395.7 81134.92 72444.9 39318.92 89977.35 83434.13
6 5 2 9
2. Materials and Methods
According to principle scheme of mechanism for tension of belt which is shown in figure 2, is consisted by
driving drum, weight, infinite rope, carriage for tension, moveable pulley, and unmovable pulley. The working
principle is done into two steps, first one is initial tension and the second step is tension during work. During
initial tension the weight is placed on the floor whereas belt conveyor is loose. When the mechanism of driving
drum activates, the rope is wrapped on drum whereas the tension carriage starts gradually to move, when the
tension force in tension carriage is based on weight, then the weight start to lift up. If the weight is lift up until to
an unexpected height, then the driving mechanism is determined and the brakes will activate so that the drum
cannot move further. After the initial tension is done, then the conveyor may start working. During the working
process the loads may change on belt conveyor and also the tension force will change which is necessary to
secure normal work. The balance of these loads makes it possible to lift up and down different weights
according to how loads vary respectively how the length of the belt varies.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Calculation of loads for tension with two- pulley
From the principle scheme 2, for the initial tension we have;
, , (6)
Whether we substitute by [Gt] we have;
(7)
In the same fashion for tension force [Ft] we have;
2 (8)
If we substitute previous equation by [Gt];
(9)
For [ = 0.95] we have 0.464819 . Number of rings is; /

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From the principle scheme 2, for tension during the working we have;
, , , (10)
If we substitute [Fz] we have;
(11)
If we substitute [F], in the same fashion for weight we get;
(12)
For [ = 0.95] we have 0.3014153 . Number of disks is; / . Results of the calculation of
loads for tension with two pulleys are presented in table 4;

Fig 2 Principle work with two-pulley

Table 4 Results of tension with two pulleys

Conveyor ZTU-I KTU-I KTU-2 STU-I STU-2

Fp (N) 44328.35 35898.04 28318.5 21739.84 57759.96
Initial 0.4648 20603.817 18543.04 13160.2 10510.09 26847.92
tension
/ 3.4339 3.09 2.1933 1.68418 4.4747
Tension 0.2511 11133.907 10019.89 7111.35 5460.373 14507.51
during / 1.8556 1.6699 1.1852 0.691 2.4179
work
No of rings 5 5 5 5 7
Avg. no of /2 2.6447 2.3799 1.689 1.297 3.4459
rings
3.2 Calculation of loads for tension with four-pulley
According to principle scheme of tension we have tension force [Ft] and weight [G].
2 (13)
(14)
Initial tension has to dominate friction resistances of pulley from driving drum up to carriage tension. The
friction has to be considered through utilization scale [ = 0.95].

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Fig 3 Principle work with four-pulley

From the principle scheme in figure 3, the initial tension is;

, , (15)
If [Gt] is substituted we have;
(16)

The force in the drum is given;

(17)
If we substitute in [Gt];
(18)
For [ = 0.95] we have 1.242448 . If we substitute [Fsh] into [Gt] we have 1.035 , its
weight makes safety work without slipping in the beginning. The number of rings is given;
(19)
We understand that the tension during the work starts from the carriage tension towards to tension mechanism.
During this time forces which come up on the rope while they pass through pulleys have to dominate the friction
coefficient. This friction factor we consider through utilization coefficient [ = 0.95]. From the principle scheme
in figure 3 we gain formulations of tension during working;
, , , , (20)
From the above expressions we gain;
, , (21)
If we substitute into [Ft] we gain;

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 Ismet Ibishi et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST)

(22)
Whereas the weight is given as;
(23)
If we substitute [F] we gain;
(24)
For [ = 0.95] we have 0.5195 . If we substitute [Ft] into [Gt] we have 0.43295
This is the minimal force of tension during the work, when the forces are in balance. If the loads are smaller
then it cannot secure the normal work of driving mechanism. The weights are composed of rings, and their total
weight is 600 . The number of rings is given;

Results of the calculation of loads for tension with four pulleys are presented in table 5;
Table 5 Results of tension with four pulleys

ITU-1 ITU-2 GTU-1 XII XIII-a XIII GTU-3 XIV XV GTU-1

 
127981.72

107975.57

100170.57
29589.37

85490.84

86933.79

67021.32

50875.12

97362.37
47812.9
 
30624.997

132160.99

88483.019

89976.472

103676.53

100770.05
69367.06

52655.74

111574.4
Initial Tightening

48834.3

0.4648
22.026

14.747

17.279

16.795
5.104

14.99

11.56

8.775

18.62
8.13
12809.238

55277.745

37008.884

36733.637

20425.477

29013.529

46742.494

43363.838

42148.169
Tightening during

22023.83

0.4648
7.227
work

2.13

6.27

4.83

3.67

7.79

7.03
9.2

6.2

3.4
Numb
er of

10

10

11

12

11

13

11

11

12

12
measures of
Number of

10.457

13.205

12.253
3.617

15.62

10.63

5.765

5.198

6.222

11.9

After the calculation we have concluded the final scheme of the conveyor system in Bellaçeva Open pit mine.

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Fig 4 Coal System in BELLAÇEVA

3. Conclusion
In this paper are realized calculations of weights of loads in rubber belt of conveyor which at the same time are
done according to tension force of belt that relates with the force of rope of pulleys. We have done the
calculations of forces during the tension of system with tow and four pulleys, these calculations have its
technical and economical importance because is know the duration of belt and tension rope and enable to know
the time of replacement of belts and their maintenance.
References
[1] Baldin, A., Furlanetto, L., Turco, F. (1982). Priručnik za održavanje industrijskih postrojenja, OMO Beograd
[2] Lech G., Robert K., Jędrzej B. (2011). Tests of belt conveyor resistance to motion; Eksploatacja i Niezawodność - Maintenance and
Reliability, 3: 17-25.
[3] Raghvendra, S.G., Arvind, Y., Pratesh, J. (2012). Failure analysis of belt conveyor system in a thermal power plant, IJATER, 2(3)
pp.204-210.
[4] R. Todd Swinderman., Larry J. Goldbeck., Andrew D. Marti. (2002). Foundations 3: The Practical Resource for Total Dust & Material
Control, Neponset, Illinois, USA.
[5] Ramlu, M.A. (1996). Mine Hoisting, 1st ed. A.A. Balkema, USA

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