Materials handling

Perry pp. 21-4 to 21-22, 7th ed

 Conveying of solids
• Use of a designed equipment to transfer of bulk
solid materials over relatively short distances
• Factors to be considered:
– Capacity requirement - prime factor in conveyor
selection
– Length of travel - limited for certain types of
conveyors. With high-tensile-strength belting, the
length limit on belt conveyors can be a matter of
miles. Air conveyors are limited to 305 m (1000 ft);
vibrating conveyors, to hundreds of meters or feet. In
general, as length of travel increases, the choice
among alternatives becomes narrower.
– Lift can usually be handled most economically by
vertical or inclined bucket elevators, but when lift and
horizontal travel are combined, other conveyors
should be considered.
– Material characteristics, both chemical and physical,
should be considered, especially flowability.
Abrasiveness, friability, and lump size are also
important. Chemical effects (e.g., the effect of oil on
rubber or of acids on metal) may dictate the structural
materials out of which conveyor components are
fabricated. Moisture or oxidation effects from
exposure to the atmosphere may be harmful to the
material being conveyed and require total enclosure
of the conveyor or even an artificial atmosphere.
– Processing requirements can be met by some
conveyors with little or no change in design. For
example, a continuous-flow conveyor may provide
a desired cooling of the solids simply because it
puts the conveyed material into direct contact
with heat-conducting metals. Screen decks can be
readily attached to vibrating conveyors for simple
sizing and scalping operations, and special flights
or casings on screw conveyors are available for a
wide variety of processing operations such as
mixing, dewatering, heating, and cooling.
 Screw conveyor
• The screw conveyor is one of the oldest and most
versatile conveyor types.
• It consists of a helicoid flight (helix rolled from flat steel
bar) or a sectional flight (individual sections blanked
and formed into a helix from flat plate), mounted on a
pipe or shaft and turning in a trough.
• Power to convey must be transmitted through the pipe
or shaft and is limited by the allowable size of this
member.
• Screw-conveyor capacities are generally limited to
around 4.72 m3/min (10,000 ft3/h)
• Hp requirements (general for all conveyors):

• Coefficient: 4.0 if ashes, 2.5 if coal, 1.3 if grain

• Data for screw conveyor are listed in Table 21-6
 Belt conveyors
• The belt conveyor is almost universal in application.
• It can travel for miles at speeds up to 5.08 m/s (1000
ft/min) and handle up to 4539 metric tons/h (5000
tons/h). It can also operate over short distances at
speeds slow enough for manual picking, with a
capacity of only a few kilograms per hour.
• However, it is not normally applicable to processing
operations, except under unusual conditions.
• Belt-conveyor slopes are limited to a maximum of
about 30°, with those in the 18 to 20° range more
common.
• Hp requirements

• W=1.0 lb/in-ft
• ΔZ=0 if horizontal, ΔZ=0= + if going up, ΔZ=- if
going down
• F=friction factor, 0.05 for plain bearing, 0.03 for
anti friction bearing; L=length of conveyor
between terminal pulleys, ft; Lo=100 if plain
bearing, 150 if anti friction bearing; S= s/peed of
belt, fpm; T=matls handled, tons/hr;
• Table 21-7 shows data for belt conveyors
 Flight conveyors
• A type of continuous flow conveyor; either
open or closed type
• Capacity T in tons/hr at 80% efficiency

B=width of flight, in.; D=depth of flight, in.;

S=speed of conveyor, ft/min; = bulk
density, lb/ft3
• Hp requirements of flight conveyors

• T=capacity, tons/hr. a=constant for material,

b=constant for conveyor, S=speed, f/pm,
W=total weight of chain/ft of distance
between centers, usually ¼ of T max
 Bucket conveyors
• Bucket elevators are the simplest and most
dependable units for making vertical lifts.
• They are available in a wide range of capacities
and may operate entirely in the open or be totally
enclosed.
• The trend is toward highly standardized units, but
for special materials and high capacities it is wise
to use specially engineered equipment.
• Main variations in quality are in casing thickness,
bucket thickness, belt or chain quality, and drive
equipment.
Mechanism of bucket conveyors
 Pneumatic conveyors
• One of the most important material-handling techniques in
the chemical industry is the movement of material
suspended in a stream of air over horizontal and vertical
distances ranging from a few to several hundred feet.
• Materials ranging from fine powders through 6.35-mm
(1/4-in) pellets and bulk densities of 16 to more than 3200
kg/m3 (1 to more than 200 lb/ft3) can be handled.
• A large, capable manufacturing industry supplies complete
systems as well as components that users can incorporate
into their own designs.
• Much engineering information is available from this
industry in the form of brochures, data sheets, and
nomographs.
• Monographs 1- 5 on pp. 21-22 to 21-26 are used in
calculations.
 PROBLEMS
14. The pipe size of a pneumatic conveyor to
convey plastic pellets with bulk density of 30
lb/ft3 using a blower with a capacity of 600
ft3/min is approximately ____ inches.
Solution: ρb=30 lb/ft3, T=600 ft3/min
• Air velocity : 5050 ft/min
• pipe diameter = 4.65 in., say 5 in.
• System capacity=600 ft3/min (30 lb/ft3) (60
min/hr) = 1, 080,000 lb/hr
• If the solids ratio exceeds 15, a larger pipe size
is needed. Therefore 6 in. is the diameter of
the pipe
 PROBLEM
Select from among the four types of conveyors
listed below the smallest hp conveyor that can
deliver 100 tons per hour of ashes horizontally
at a distance of 100 ft. Assume plain bearings.
(Use F = 0.05, Lo = 100, a = 0.54, b = 0.004)
a. belt conveyor c. flight conveyor
b. screw conveyor d. bucket elevator
• For belt conveyor,

• from Table 21.7, belt width is 16 in.

• To calculate the belt speed at 100 tons/h,
300 fpm/132 tons/h=S/100 tons/hr
S=228 fpm
• W=1.0 lb/in-ft x 2 runs x 16 in = 32 lb/ft
• Hp= (0.05 (100 +100) (100 +0.03x32x228)
+100 (0) )/990 = 3.22 hp
• Screw conveyor
• Hp=coeff*capacity*length/33000
• =4 *100 tons/hr x 2000 lb/ton x 1hr/60 min
*100 ft/33000 =40.4 hp
• From Table 21.6, there is no available screw
conveyor that can do the job
• Flight conveyor
T=BDSρ/6000, use S=100 fpm
From Table 21.4, ashes ρb=35-40 lbm/ft3, use
ρb=40 lbm/ft3
• 100=BD*100 *40/6000; BD=150 in2; fom
Table 21-10, BD of 24x8 =192 in2
• W=1.0 lb/in-ft x 24 in x 2 runs = 48 lb/ft

• Hp= (0.54 *100 *100 +0.004 *48 *100 *100

+10 *100 )/1000 = 8.32 hp

• Bucket conveyor is not suitable for zero

elevation.
• Select belt conveyor (the lowest hp
requirement )