VOCATIONAL TRAINING REPORT

PIPE CONVEYOR

PROJECT REPORT ON
TAPAN KUMAR
18/11
Mechanical Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur

DEVELOPMENT OF
SMP
FOR PIPE CONVEYOR

Under the Guidance of

Mr. KAUSHAL KUMAR SINGH

MANAGER , PELLET

Submitted By

TAPAN KUMAR
18/11
Mechanical Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled DEVELOPMENT OF

STANDARD

MAINTAINANCE

PRACTICES

(SMP)

FOR

PIPE

CONVEYOR being submitted by TAPAN KUMAR , 18/11 department of

Mechanical Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur as a part of summer training
course of B.Tech curriculum is a bona fide record of work carried out by
him under my supervision and guidance. The sincerity and sense of
dedication shown by him during the project is commendable.

(Mr. Kaushal Kumar Singh)

MANAGER , Pellet Plant

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First I would like to thank TATA STEEL for giving me an opportunity as a

summer trainee in their esteemed, a state-of-art steel plant. I surely have learnt a
lot from here. It encouraged brilliant practical learning which is impossible to
achieve through books. I hope for everything I have learnt here will be helpful
in future.
With a great pleasure I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to
Mr. Kaushal Kumar Singh (MANAGER , PELLET PLANT) for his
immense support and guidance .He has helped me throughout and acted as my
guide . I would like to thank him for having immense patience while teaching
me about my project and giving his precious time for me.
I would also like to give a vote of thanks to all the workers , supervisors and
operators and workers on the shop floor who have been highly cooperative.
Last but not the least I would like to thank the officers of SNTI for providing
me a great opportunity to work on such an important project which is of my
interest.

TAPAN KUMAR
18/11
Mechanical engineering
N.I.T Jamshedpur

CONTENT

PIPE CONVEYOR : AN INTRODUCTION

ABSTRACT
COMPONENTS
a) GEAR BOX
b) PULLEY
c) PLUMMER BOX AND BEARINGS
d) IDLER
e) BELT
f) CHUTE
g) TAKE UP UNIT
h) PROTECTION MEASURES
i) PAINTING SPECIFICATION

SMP
a) RUNNING INSPECTION GUIDELINES
b) PERIODIC/CONDITION BASED MAINTENANCE

CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

PIPE CONVEYOR :AN INTRODUCTION

Pipe Conveyor belts are used where bulk materials have to be
conveyed along horizontal and vertical curves in restricted
spaces. The belt in this system flattens itself at the loading and
discharge stages after it takes a pipe shape during its forward /
return runs. The idlers are arranged in a hexagonal array with
three rolls on either side. Pipe conveyor is designed to handle
ecologically materials that cause severe pollution to the
environment and working area.

PIPE CONVEYOR CHARACTERISTICS

Totally Enclosed Conveying
Material being transported by a pipe conveyor is completely
enclosed by the conveyor belt for the major portion of its travel.
This has several benefits, including
environmental pollution is minimised as dust generation and
en route spillage are eliminated,
the product is protected from outside contamination, and
valuable product is protected from theft along the conveyors
path.
Steep Inclined Conveying
Increased friction between the material and the pipe shape of
pipe conveyors makes steep inclines possible,
generally 50 % steeper than a conventional belt conveyor. This
means that
the overall length of the conveyor system may be reduced,
and
plant footprints can be smaller with further cost savings.
Minimal Space Requirements
The pipe conveyor is narrower than a conventional conveyor of
the same capacity and uses less floor space.

Return Belt Conveying

The return belt is also formed into a pipe shape and can, in
special circumstances, transport material. This offers cost
advantages.
Curved Transport
The pipe shape of the belt permits the conveyor to curve
horizontally as well as vertically. A single pipe conveyor can
thus replace several conventional belt conveyors, reducing
the need for multiple transfer points and drives that require
more space and cost,
power required to lift the product at repeated transfer points,
degradation of the product and dust generation at transfer
points, and
costly chute liner replacements.

The above figure clearly shows the amount of horizontal as well

as lateral curvature which could be given to the conveyor if it is
a pipe conveyor.

ABSTRACT
Development of Standard Maintainance Practices (SMPs)
consists of all the processes that are involved in
formulating a set of rules and duration for checking and
replacing various components so that efficiency as well as
durability of the machine could be increased . We know
that in machines even small damages , if ignored , can
cause catastrophic results with loss of life and property . So
, a governing set of rules based on the past history of
machine and its working condition is needed to avoid any
such mishappening . SMPs gives us a concise and lucid
overview of details of checking point , frequency of
checking , checking procedure , inspection criteria
and relevent action taken .
We are concerned with developing SMPs for Pipe
conveyor . As discussed above , pipe conveyors are
different from conventional conveyors and need thorough
and regular checking because of its length , curvature ,
complexity and volume of material handled . The proposed
SMP consists both running inspection
(Daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly etc.) , Periodical
Inspection/ Maintenance (During Equipment Shutdown),
Inspection formats (Daily, Weekly & Monthly) . Electrical
Motor is not covered under this SMP.

VARIOUS COMPONENTS AND PROTECTION

DEVICES

RUNNING INSPECTION GUIDELINES

PERIODIC/CONDITION BASED MAINTENANCE

CONCLUSION

Due to the nature of stresses under which a pipe

conveyor is working , regular maintenance and
inspection is necessary as evident from the SMP
chart . Many protection devices and controlling
mechanisms have been installed there and
further improvement is being done . Utilising
laser sensors and magnetic scanner are found to
be very useful . Efforts are being made to
increase the carrying capacity as well as the
utility of the pipe conveyor . The proposed SMP is
based both on the equipment history and
standard norms . These SMPs are found to be a
very important tool in cost reduction and
increased efficacy . With these chances of
failures are minimised to a great extent . So
balancing between the economy and the extent
of importance of a particular maintenance
procedure is very necessary . Too frequent
replacements can be burden to economy .

REFERENCES
Operation and maintenance instructions manual for pipe
conveyor
www.google.com
Wikipedia.com
www.tatasteel.com