System Simulation of Belt Conveyors

M.Sc. René Noack, Engineering

1. Introduction
Belt conveyor systems belong to the category of continuous conveyors and are used all
over the world for bulk material handling over long distances, for example in open-pit
mines, such as the lignite areas in Germany, the copper mines in Chile or in bulk ports,
cement plants or power plant operators.

This paper is an overview of system simulation for belt conveyor systems. After a brief
introduction to system simulation in general, it outlines the requirements for a belt
conveyor model and defines potential analysis objectives. The theoretical modeling
approach is concluded with two examples of selected simulation tasks.

System Simulation
A simulation is an experiment with a model which helps predict the behavior of a system
for defined boundary conditions. The physical simulation model is created in such a way
that all technical aspects in question meet a sufficient degree of realistic behavior. System
models consist of several elements which interact with each other. Complex systems
often involve several physical domains (e.g. electricity, hydraulics, mechanics) or require
multi-dimensional model descriptions. CAD engineers across many industries are still
facing great challenges in the attempt to ensure certain features of drives, equipment and
machinery. The often nonlinear behavior of real systems shows the limits of linear design
methods. Moreover, it is vital to take the many interactions between various physical
domains into account, which often required comprehensive prototype testing in the past.
System simulation is thus an efficient way to benefit from virtual development methods.
System simulation using the software SimulationX facilitates exact measuring and
analyzes results while the tool is easy to work with and allows users to apply proved
working methods e.g. in Excel.

2. Analysis Objectives and Application Fields for System

Simulation of Belt Conveyors
For analyzing the dynamic system behavior of belt conveyors, system simulation offers a
wide range of possibilities. It allows for complex belt conveyor systems to be modeled
beginning with the purely mechanical structure (belt, pulleys, head and tail stations) to
varying loads to different drive concepts (electric motors, frequency converters) with the
necessary controller layout. Such system simulations permit the following analyses.

Examination of the Mechanical Load

From a mechanical point of view, the evaluation of occurring mechanical loads is crucial.
The belt conveyor model lets the engineer analyze forces within the belt, the acceleration
and deceleration behavior, belt slip on the drive pulley and the effectiveness of the
tension device.

Power Analysis
The focus on certain operating scenarios and the resulting variation calculations provide
the basis for the identification of the optimal drive power, the energy demand and the
power balance of the belt conveyor.

Testing the Control Strategy

One major area of the analyses of belt conveyors with system simulation is the
specification and the optimization of the speed control’s parameters. With the help of the
model, it is possible to determine the robustness of the control strategy for various
operating scenarios with respect to loads, elevation profiles and variable speeds for the
optimization of the load or the energy consumption. Moreover, it is possible to run tests
with such a belt conveyor model for newly designed controller layouts even before the
actual conveyor systems is built. It supports the model-based software development (MiL)
during the development process as well as virtual commissioning of the belt conveyor.

Testing the Controller Hardware

On the basis of such a belt conveyor model, manual and automated tests of the control
strategy can be run within a MiL setup. Besides the pure software test (SiL), it is also
possible to test the controller hardware on a HiL test bench. Alongside a belt conveyor’s
design process, tests can thus be conducted at early stages of the project reducing the
number of necessary tests with real equipment and the time needed for the
commissioning process.

Using Databases and Tables

Standardized belt conveyor models and interfaces with databases or tables as part of a
design tool allow for simulations without extra modeling efforts and make the
parameterization of the belt conveyor model a lot easier. Model parameters include
design data of the belt conveyor’s components (e.g. for rollers, the conveyor belt, drive
and drum pulleys), drive data (number of motors, nominal torque etc.) and the operating
conditions (e.g. elevation profile, maximum flow rate etc.). The database-related
parameterization and the modular structure of the belt conveyor models allow for quick
testing up front (e.g. alternative drive concept by simply adding more motors).

The integration of databases also supports the project oriented workflow for design
engineers. Completed projects including all the models, parameters and results can then
be archived and re-used as a template for similar projects.

Further system knowledge and insights can be gained through model validation based on
measured data (e.g. drive torque, RPM, tensile force etc.) of new or operating belt
conveyors. Such references help during the conceptual phase of such machinery.
3. Modeling Concept
Dimensioning and planning a belt conveyor’s layout are based on an estimation of
resisting forces to be expected for certain operating scenarios as well as of the geometric
and material-specific parameters of such a system. The description of such resisting
forces is the result of various research outlined in the German DIN standard 22101 [1]. A
detailed description can be found in the book on construction machinery
(„Baumaschinen“) by Kunze, Göhring and Jacob [2].

The following section gives a brief overview of the occurring forces in a belt conveyor
system as described in [1] and [2]. These resistances form the basis for the simulation
model. Based on the content of [2, p. 294 et sqq.], the resistance to motion of a belt
conveyor is described by

( 1 )

where is the main resistance, is the secondary resistance, is the slope resistance
and is the special resistance. The main resistance is basically the sum of the pulleys’
resistances and the belt’s flexing resistance. Determining these resistances, however, is a
very complicated and complex matter as the flexing resistance, for instance, can be
broken down into even smaller resistances, such as indentation rolling resistance, belt
flexing resistance and vibration-related bending resistance [3, p. 43 et seq.]. The main
resistance is hence simplified by

∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ cos ( 2 )

while is the length, is the gravitational acceleration, is the total mass relative to the
length, is the inclination angle and is the fictional friction coefficient. We define as

∙ ∙ ( 3 )

with (constant for the respective operating condition), (constant for the definition of
the fictional friction coefficient) and (the belt conveyor’s speed). As shown in [3], the
author takes an advanced approach with an additional component ( ∙ ) independent
of speed.

For a more complex routing, a detailed examination of the main resistance is performed
by dividing the belt conveyor into several sections as stated in [2, S.296, 3, S.45 ff.], which
is in line with the modeling approach for the simulation model. The inclination angle is
determined for each section separately.

The force of acceleration of the belt constitutes the largest proportion of the secondary
resistance. It also includes the friction resistance of the chute, of the belt
cleaner and of the idle drums as well as for the belt’s degree of bending [2, S. 295].
The impact of the secondary resistance declines as the belt length increases [2, S295]. It
is calculated as follows:

. ( 4 )

The slope resistance defines the resisting force for the elevation that the belt conveyor
needs to overcome:

∆# ∙ $ ∙ ( 5 )

with ∆# for the conveyor’s height and $, the total mass relative to the length.

Resisting forces that only occur occasionally are grouped together under the special
resistances . They include amongst others moving equipment for transferring the
material to stackers for examples.

The forces’ proportion of the total resistance varies depending on the structural
conditions of the belt conveyor, e.g. the belt length [2 S. 295].

Figure 1: Schematic of the modeling approach [6]

The necessary drive torque is calculated by a controller. Depending on the model’s level
of detail, which in turn depends on the analysis objectives and evaluation criteria,
additional complex model components can be incorporated in the model. Such
components may include electric motors and frequency converters. Parameterization is
based on design data of the belt conveyor’s components (drum diameter and number of
pulleys), drive data (e.g. nominal torque of the motors) and the operating conditions (e.g.
elevation profile, initial load).
4. Application Examples
This section deals with two questions in regard to the operation of belt conveyors by
means of system simulation. A model which is customized to the respective objective
forms the basis for these considerations.

Controller Optimization for a Belt Conveyor with an Additional Tail End Drive
The first example involves the optimization of the control strategy for a belt conveyor with
the length of 5,000 m. Besides two drive pulleys at the head station, there is also one drive
pulley at the tail station. Parameters are optimized for the case of a fully loaded belt.

Figure 2: SimulationX model for the controller optimization of a planar belt conveyor with additional tail-end
drive

The input of the plant model is the drive torque of the motors. The control variable is the
revolution speed of the motor. Both variables are processed as normalized percentage.
The controller layout is based on a conventional PI controller with the transfer function

1
%& ' ( )
+,

Its parameters are optimized in such a way that the desired value is matched as closely
as possible in order to keep deviations of the controller to a minimum. Figure 3 shows the
comparison between the initial parameterization (light curve) and the optimized
parameter (dark curve) of the controller for one start-up cycle. The diagram illustrates the
progression of the variable value, of the desired value, of the control value and of the
controller deviation. Optimization and testing of new parameters can thus be performed
directly in the belt conveyor model.
 Figure 3: Diagram for the result of the controller optimization

Power Consumption of a Belt Conveyor with Elevation Profile

This simulation example demonstrates the calculation of the required drive power for a
belt conveyor with a non-planar elevation profile. It includes various load cases of the belt.
Figure 4 shows the elevation profile. The tail station is located at 0 m where the load is
added, while the head station is located at a distance of 5,000 m where the load is cleared.

Figure 4: Elevation profile of the belt conveyor (head station left, tail station right)

This elevation profile is included in the simulation model shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: SimulationX model of a belt conveyor with elevation profile for the calculation of the required drive
power

The first simulation shows a fully loaded belt starting up. At time index t=1,000 s, no
further load is added onto the belt resulting in an empty run. Figure 6 shows the
corresponding simulation results. The top diagram illustrates the progression of the
required drive power. The bottom diagram indicates the progression of the added and
cleared loads. The start-up phase requires a peak drive power of 800 kW dropping to
about 750 kW when the machinery runs in steady state. At t=1,000 s, the required drive
power decreases gradually until it reaches the idling level of around 300 kW. At t=2,650 s,
the entire belt is cleared.

Figure 6: Start-up of a fully loaded belt with empty run afterwards

 Figure 7: Start-up of a gradually loaded belt without adding extra load

In the second simulation, only the first three sections of the belt conveyor model are
loaded. The belt conveyor starts to run and operates at the nominal torque without the
addition of extra load. The simulation results are shown in Figure 7. The required drive
power during nominal operating conditions is 400 kW for the load moving along the
plane surface. At time index t=350 s, the load reaches the first model section of the
slope, and the required drive power increases. At time index t=880 s, the entire load
now moves up the slope while the required drive power reaches its maximum value of
around 590 kW. Between t=1,220 s and t=1,790 s, the load is cleared. The belt is now
empty and the required drive power reaches its idle state again.

5. Summary
This paper is an overview of the potential applications of system simulation for belt
conveyor systems. It focusses on various questions from different angles including design
engineers, service providers, commissioning specialists and operators of belt conveyors
and also provides an overview of the latest modeling approaches for belt conveyors and
their components demonstrated with two examples.
6. Sources
[1] DIN22101, „Stetigförderer - Gurtförderer für Schüttgüter - Grundlagen für die
Berechnung und Auslegung“, Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V., 1982

[2] Kunze G., Göhring H., Jacob K., „Baumaschinen - Erdbau- und Tagebaumaschinen“,
Vieweg+Teubner Verlag, 2002

[3] Jeinsch T., „Modellgestützte Verfahren zur Überwachung und Fehlerdiagnose

sowie deren Anwendung in einem Informationssystem für Gurtförderanlagen“, VDI
Verlag, 2003

[4] G. Gerodes, „Untersuchung der Dynamik des Elektroantriebssystems für lange

Stetigförderbandanlagen“, Dissertation TH Magdeburg 1975

[5] Sader M., Jeinsch T., Noack R., Barber K., Ding S.X., Zhang P., “A Model Based
Information System for Simulation, Monitoring and Control of Belt Conveyor Systems”,
Advanced Process Control Applications for Industry Workshop, Vancouver, 2003

[6] Schramm C., Dilefeld M., “Modeling Dynamic Behavior of Belt Conveyors for Open
Pit Mining in SimulationX”, ITI-Symposium, Dresden, 2012