Project Standards:

MATERIALS HANDLING AND CONVEYOR BELTING

M13

1.

CANE SUGAR MATERIALS HANDLING: DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS

For materials handling involving sugar products and by- products, density,
temperature and combustive design factors shall be taken into account.
Conveyor belting and conveyors shall be designed as per CEMA or ISO
guidelines. Components shall be manufactured or selected according to
relevant ISO dimensional standards. Materials handling equipment sizing or
design shall be supplied, and where computer programmes are used to do
standard types of calculation, a printout shall be supplied which includes all
parameters used in the programme.
Care shall be taken to design the materials handling equipment with minimum
and maximum product data used where appropriate. I.e. Higher density figure to
be used when calculating power requirements.

1.1

Densities
Data concerning average bulk densities varies widely according to the source,
degree of preparation, moisture / juice percentage as well as cane quality,
therefore the Contractor shall ensure that data used is applicable to the factory
in question.
Product
Sugar Raw/VHP
Sugar Refined White
Final bagasse
Diffuser bagasse
Bagasse
Shredded Cane
Knifed Cane
Whole Cane stalks Tangled
Whole Cane stalks Bundled

1.2

Density range
(kg/m)
850 950
800-900
120 - 180
280 - 380
200 400
300 700
230 480
160 200
130 180

Average density
(kg/m)
900
850
140
300
250
400
320
180
150

Temperature
Where high temperatures (> 60 C), such as megasse, bagasse and furfyl
residue are expected, cover thickness and carcass tension rating shall be
incorporated in the design.

1.3

Spontaneous Combustion
All rubber skirting shall be flame retardant, as per SABS 971.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

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2.

RECOMMENDED CONVEYOR TYPES

The conveyor / carrier types can be determined by the duty of the material to be
handled, and are summarised as follows:
Product

Recommended Type

Whole cane

Heavy duty belt

Knifed cane

Belt

Shredded cane

Belt or chain and slat

Mill inter carrier

Chain and slat, stainless pins & bushes

Diffuser feed & megasse

Chain and slat, stainless side plates, pins

& bushes

Bagasse conveying normal

Belt

Bagasse over boiler feeders

Chain and slat

Filter cake

Belt

Sugar from centrifugals

Screw, belt or grasshopper

Wet sugar into drier

Screw

Dry sugar

Screw or belt

The Contractor shall design the conveyor / carrier according to the product as
above, and shall submit all calculations to the Engineer as stated above.

3.

DESIGN CONVEYOR SPEEDS

Speed
(m/s)
0.5

Conveyor Type
Cane carrier

1.5

Knifed cane belt

1.5

Shredded cane belt

0.8

Shredded cane slat conveyor

0.8

Mill intercarrier

0.8

Diffuser feed slat conveyor

0.8

Diffuser megasse carrier

1.5

Bagasse belt conveyor

0.65

Bagasse slat conveyor

1.5

Sugar Raw and Refined

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

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4.

DESIGN FACTORS

4.1

Safety Factors for Drives

A run back device shall be fitted to any conveyor or carrier gearbox where it
is installed at an inclination, so that the conveyor will not run backwards and
discharge the conveyed product when fully stopped. The gearbox can be
ordered with a hold-back, or retro-fitted to prevent this safety hazardous
occurrence.

4.2

Service Factors for Drives

The required power calculated from standard conveyor design formulae shall
be increased by a factor of 1,2 for belt conveyors and 1,5 for chain
conveyors. In addition, if the motor is to be driven from a variable frequency
controller, the motor size and gearbox ratio shall be chosen so that motor
cooling is still effective at the slowest running speeds of the conveyor. The
suggested operating speed range for such a motor is 35 to 80 Hz. This is in
order to provide adequate cooling at the slower motor speeds.

5.

CHAIN SLAT CONVEYORS

5.1

Chain shall be carefully selected for high strength and with a minimum factor
of safety 1,5 times that recommended by conveyor design handbooks.

5.2

Corrosion resistant stainless steel load bearing components shall be considered

on conveyor chains from the main cane carrier to the final mill for longevity.

5.3

Chain and component type shall match the conveyor duty. The recommend
chain type for cane, megasse and bagasse can be cranked- link rollerless
chain, block link chain or Y block chain. The block links sh a l l be fitted with
replaceable bushes, have a m i n i m u m pitch of 152.4mm, and minimum
breaking load of 60000 kg.

5.4
5.5

Chain slats may be attached by means of slots in the block links, thus
avoiding welding on the chain links or side plates.

5.6

For lighter duties, roller chain of 152,4mm pitch, with appropriate attachments,
with a breaking load of 45000 kg minimum, may be used. In this case the
rollers shall be at least 70mm diameter.

5.7

Comprehensive quality assurance and control shall be applied to every stage

of chain manufacture, and records and test certificates shall be supplied for
all materials and manufacturing processes, including heat treatment. An
independent inspection authority shall be appointed to ensure that these quality
requirements are followed.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

Page 4

5.8

The slats shall be arranged to slide on adequate wear strips on the deck of
the carrier on the conveying run, and on two rails on the return run. In this
way the chains do not carry the weight of the slats.

5.9

Adequate length adjustment shall be provided, and also a sufficiently long

catenary immediately after the drive sprockets, to ensure natural tensioning.

5.10

Slats for cane, and diffuser conveyors shall be fabricated from carbon steel
and approved by the Engineer. In these applications, the use of rake type
slats may be preferred.

5.11

S la ts f o r m ill inter-carriers shall be of hardwood, settl sections, or

extruded aluminium sections.

5.12

In the case of mill intercarriers, typical elevations are between 40 and 60.
Bagasse shall be conveyed onto the lower deck of the carrier.

5.13

Intercarrier speeds shall, where possible, be limited to between 0.8m/s and

1m/s for reasonable life.

5.14

Overall interacrrier dimensions shall be designed such that sufficient cross

section is available to convey bagasse at a usable volume of 60%. Ie, 40% free
space.

5.15

Slats for bagasse carriers are preferably made from well-seasoned hard wood.

5.16

Fabricated aluminium slats have been found to be satisfactory in both

applications, and economical, even though they are more expensive.

5.17

Slat pitch shall be as close as possible without causing bridging and is usually
between six and eight chain pitches.

5.18

Conveyor decks shall be made from 3CR12 for resistance to wear which i s
usually aggravated by corrosion.

5.19

Chain conveyor sprockets shall be as large as possible, preferably having a

minimum number of teeth of 13 for conventional chain or 7 for block link chain.
The sprockets shall be made from plate, and may be accurately flame-cut.
They shall be in two halves, and securely bolted to hubs, which are keyed to
the shafts.

5.20

5.21

If Locking Elements are fitted to hubs in place of keys, then the locking
element design torque for one hub shall be able to transfer the full torque of
the stalled motor. This is required to cater for the scenario of one chain strand
breaking, and the conveyor stalling with broken slats etc., and thus the full
torque being transferred through one hub. This criterion shall also be borne
in mind when sizing the chain. It is also prudent to not over design
motors, since this will exacerbate the required design size of the chain
and hub locking elements, and increase costs unnecessarily.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

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5.22

Adequate deflectors shall be provided at all feed points and immediately ahead
of the drive sprockets, to avoid material being fed onto the chain.

5.23

The bottom deck shall be approximately 150mm lower than the straight in-line
height, so that the chain is lifted from the deck to the sprocket tangent level.
This ensures a smooth transition from the deck to the sprocket and vice versa.

6.

BAGASSE CHAIN SLAT CONVEYORS

Where bagasse conveyors are implemented to feed boiler chutes, the following
shall apply:

6.1

Each boiler feed chute shall be staggered sufficiently across the width of the
carrier.

6.2

The conveyor shall be designed such that the bagasse falls about 100mm
before reaching the mouth of the chute via a generous lead in ramp.

6.3

Recommended boiler feed chain- slat conveyor design feature are a speed of
less than 0.8m/s, the conveyor sliding on slats as opposed to chains, and slat
pitch as close as possible without risking bridging between slats.

6.4

Care should be taken where elevations lower than 23 are considered for this
conveyor type.

7.

BELT CONVEYORS

7.1

All belt conveyors to have high temperature resistant top cover (preferably
neoprene) in order to withstand bagasse temperatures of up to 70.

7.2

Troughing idlers shall be 35 normal, and 20 in loading areas.

7.3

Idler spacing shall be according to belt size and material, 1 to 2m (usually

1,2m), and closer at loading points.

7.4

Impact idler spacing to be 0,5 m, and heavy duty, shock-absorbing idlers for
cane carriers where cane discharging from a feeder table occurs.

7.5

Return idler spacing shall be 2 to 3m.

7.6

Where material is of a sticky nature, e.g. shredded cane, non-clogging idlers

carrying and return shall be used.

7.7

When required, belt training idlers, both carrying and return, shall be
positioned 8 to 15m ahead of each pulley and at intermediate points 30m or
less apart, with a minimum of one per conveyor.

7.8

To ensure belt alignment, the head pulley shall be crowned.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

Page 6

7.9

Where required by design, the angle of wrap shall be increased with a snub
pulley, and/or the head pulley shall be lagged.

7.10

Belt cleaning scrapers of an approved type on inside and outside of the belt
and on the tail pulley, shall be included as standard.
Skirting s e a l i n g a r r a n g e m e n t s s h a l l b e c a r e f u l l y d e s i g n e d
a n d constructed. If a rubber seal is used, it shall be made from soft rubber
sheeting, and conveyor belting shall not be used.

7.11

7.12

Safety guards shall be fitted to the conveyor to prevent any snagging of limbs
at the
head a n d t a i l p u l l e y s . These shall meet applicable safety
standards.

7.13

Pull ropes for emergency stop shall be fitted to both sides of all
conveyors.

7.14

Stainless steel or 3CR12 beater plates shall be provided under belt where
cutting occurs over the belt, to reduce damage by dislodged knives or tramp
iron.

7.15

Adequate adjustment shall be provided at the tail pulley to maintain belt

tension. Alternatively, an appropriate belt tensioning device which maintains
correct tension and alignment under all operating conditions shall be
provided. If space permits, the preferred type is the vertical counter-weighted
pulley enclosed in a safety frame to prevent unauthorised access.

8.

BELT SPECIFICATION
The following table shall be used as a guideline for the belt specification per
product. Food quality belts shall be used where appropriate:

Product
Whole stick/ prepared cane, ash, VHP sugar
Megasse, bagasse, furfyl residue
Combustible bagasse, residue, coal, bagacillo
Food quality products Raw and Refined Sugar
Refined / Raw sugar in bucket elevator

Belt Spec
Plylon EP Polyester Nylon grade N covers
Plylon EP Polyester Nylon style 6740 A
covers
Plylon EP Polyester Nylon style 6075
PVC Type 300/3
PVC Class 800

Maximum recommended belt speeds when conveying bagasse per belt width
are as follows:
Belt width mm
500 - 600
750 - 900
1000 - 1500

Maximum Speed m/s

3.0
3.7
4.2

Recommended Speed m/s

1.2
1.5
1.7

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

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9.

SPLICE SPECIFICATION
Vulcanised splice specifications:

9.1

Hot vulcanised splice applicable to belts conveying materials above 70C.

9.2

Cold vulcanised splice applicable to belts conveying materials below 70C.

10.

SCREW CONVEYORS
Generally, a sugar screw shall meet the following requirements:

10.1

It is of primary importance that the bearings, casing and screw are

accurately aligned, particularly when there are three or more bearings on the
conveyor. Misalignment causes shaft breakages, excessive wear and
unnecessary noise.

10.2

Care must be taken that the shafting is manufactured to a maximum eccentric

run out of no more than 0,5mm and that of the helical flights within 1 to 2 mm.

10.3

This can be ensured by machining of the stub-end shafts and landings true to
each other only after all welding and fabrication is complete. Under no
circumstances will conveyors with shafts out of true be accepted by the
engineer.

10.4

The designspeed shall not exceed the manufacturers recommendation, which

is typ ically, 40rpm for a 600mm diameter screw.

10.5

The normal screw pitch is 1,0 times the screw diameter.

10.6

The design load factor for raw sugar shall be 25% and for refined sugar
30%.These factors shall be reduced for inclined conveyors and approved by
the Engineer.

10.7

The inclination angle shall not exceed 30 for a conventional screw conveyor.
If a steeper angle is required, a fully enclosed screw running in a cylindrical
casing shall be used.

10.8

The shaft shall be made from heavy carbon steel tubing (e.g. ASTM A106
Grade B, Schedule 80).

10.9

For screw diameters of 450mm and greater, the shaft shall be designed
with sufficient rigidity so that no hanger bearing or coupling is required for a
length up to approximately 5m.

10.10

Where this length is exceeded and/or couplings and hanger bearings are
r e q u i r e d , they shall be approved by the Engineer. The coupling shall
consist of a shaft fitted into the ends of the tubular screw shaft, which is bored
accurately to fit the shaft. The shaft is fixed into the tube using two fitted
bolts at right angles to each other, at each end of the shaft.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

Page 8

10.11

Hanger bearings shall be furnished preferably with Diva metal bushes,

(obtainable from Federal Mogul) and adjustable for good alignment. It i s
recommended that the shaft be fitted with a disposable sleeve shrunk onto it,
for the bearing journal.

10.12

External bearings shall be provided at head and tail, housed in foot mounted
plummer blocks on heavy right angle brackets on the end- plates. An opening
must be provided between the seal on the endplate and the bearing in order
to allow for the escape of any leaked material. The drive end bearing shall be
arranged to take axial thrust. The friction grip of a tapered sleeve in the bearing
is not suitable.

10.13

End seals shall be accessible from outside the conveyor housing, and shall be
split so that they can be replaced without removing the bearing.
The trough shall be made of 3CR12 with external carbon steel
stiffeners, flanges and fittings.

10.14

10.15

The flights shall be made of 3CR12.

10.16

Full flights shall be used for normal conveying duties. Where mixing, or load
distribution is required, ribbon flights may be considered. The load factor shall
then be appropriately reduced.

10.17

Where choking of the conveyor is likely, such as at the discharge from a large
batch centrifugal, variable pitch may be preferred. In this case the pitch
variation shall be determined by the load rating of the screw.

10.18

The casing sections must be set up in line before the flanges are welded
to the casing, in order to ensure that the trough is perfectly straight on final
assembly.

10.19

During assembly, the bearings must be accurately lined up using appropriate

equipment.

10.20

The screw conveyor must be supplied with adequate covers and inspection
hatches, arranged to prevent any access to the inside while the conveyor is
running. If removable covers are provided, they shall be interlocked with the
drive motor to prevent the conveyor from being started if the cover is open.

11.

APRON INTERCARRIER
Where a close configuration of three roller mills occurs, apron intercarriers may
be used where there is no enclosed feed chute to the mills. Typically
implemented for relatively light duty applications.

11.1

The conveyor slats around the headshaft may act as a fourth or feeder mill.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

Page 9

11.2

Where this is the case, additional support shall be given to the slats around the
head pulley, comprising metal ringed discs positioned between the head shaft
sprockets.

11.3

Head shaft sprockets shall typically have pitch circle diameters of 600
800mm, depending on the mill configuration.

11.4

Tail shaft sprockets shall have a pitch circle diameter of greater than 500mm to
prevent undue chain wear.

11.5

The speed of the carrier shall typically be set to about 10 15% above the
maximum surface speed of the following mill speed.

11.6

Apron carriers should not be inclined at an angle of more than 25.

12.

AIR CUSHION BELT CONVEYORS

Where appropriate, air cushion belt conveyors may be considered. These
have several advantages over the conventional type.

13.

BELT WEIGHERS
All belt weighers shall have an accuracy of 97.5% or better.

CONFIDENTIAL Any information contained herein is to be treated as confidential and may not be divulged to any other
party without the prior written approval of Bosch Projects (Pty) Ltd.

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