Research on the tension of steel cord conveyor belts based on transverse vibration modelling

Abstract The accurate non-contact tension measurement of steel cord conveyor belt, an important load bearing medium, is critical for long distance belt conveyors. It is necessary to establish the relationship between the conveyor belt transverse vibration and the tension, in order to analyse the conveyor belt tension changes through indirect measurement of transverse vibration. The paper analyses the existing models of transverse vibration in conveyor belts, and finds that these models can hardly directly and accurately calculate the tension of the conveyor belt. Therefore, modifications are needed. Firstly, the paper establishes a dynamic model of the belt conveyor and conducts simulation analysis using RecurDyn software. This allows the authors to obtain the belt tension and transverse vibration displacement of the conveyor belt. Fast Fourier transform is employed to determine the vibration frequency, which is used to evaluate the vibration characteristics of conveyor belts under different operating conditions. Then, the paper conducts simulation analysis on the frequency and tension of the belt conveyor with different idler spacing, and performs nonlinear least squares calculation in MATLAB software to modify the coefficients of the transverse vibration model. This process involves nonlinear fitting, resulting in an improved transverse vibration model. Finally, the modified transverse vibration model is compared with the original model. The modified transverse vibration model can more accurately calculate the tension of the conveyor belt based on its vibration frequency. The validity of the modified model is verified by different types of conveyor belts.