Case Studies

The driving force behind this project was initiated out of a safety issue. The existing bucket design would require 3 to 4 operators to manually flip the buckets which would put the operators in a dangerous position as the buckets are very heavy and could cause an injury during the process of flipping the bucket to change direction. Therefore corrective actions resulting from an incident investigation were to redesign and re-engineer the bucket to enable the bucket wheel to change direction without flipping the buckets. Due to the split design of the new bucket the challenge was to ensure the same tonnage would flow thru the bucket without any restriction.

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This coal mine facility faced many challenges, as all bulk handling facilities do. Overcoming obstacles in improving the safety of their conveyor system was a top priority. These type of conveyor systems have a tendency to mis-track causing the belt to cut into the hanging metal brackets holding the return roller in place. If and when the bracket gives way the large return roller will be sent tumbling downward creating a dangerous safety hazard.

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The customer is a larger coal burning power plant that has had FGD Scrubber Conveyors in service for many years to help control the plants emissions.  The product that is being conveyed is a synthetic gypsum product that is either conveyed or shipped to a nearby gypsum board plant.  This product is very sticky and corrosive and builds up on the conventional return idlers and return trainers.  This causes the belt to mis-tracks and rub conveyor structure.

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The #1 refuse belt on the ground level is spilling badly and impact rollers cannot keep up with the seven load zones where the material is being dumped.  A 28’ span needs to be supported and sealed in a manner as to not  increase amperage or draw on the existing belt drive.

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Excessive buildup of material carry-back and dust from inadequate belt cleaners, resulting in housekeeping and safety issues, combined with OSHA's Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) have made things very difficult for this Mid-western coal-fired power plant.  The increased labor for housekeeping issues and the possibility of strict fines added increased emphasis for this power plant to improve its belt cleaner systems.

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This transfer point was a major problem area for the PRB coal yard.  While in reclaiming operation, the chute would build- up and plug when running wet coal or during freezing conditions.  Chute heaters, vibrators and internal baffles were added, but the problem still remained.  Due to the angle of discharge onto the 60” receiving conveyor, off center loading caused serious belt mis-tracking and constant spillage.

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ASGCO Fourthane®. A new synthetic rubber with high tear and impact resistance, is formulated to be applied on conveyor systems that operate under high impact and abrasion conditions, resulting in less downtime.

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To protect workers from all areas of conveyor systems that create a safety hazard, yet allow for easy removal of conveyor guarding, and replacement, when maintenance on the conveyor system is required.

By using various standard sizes of the ASGCO Safe-Guard Modular Conveyor Flat Guards, we were able to protect the hazardous areas and still allow them access as needed by easily removing and replacing the lightweight powder coated panels.

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In today's coal burning power plants, it is essential to keep carryback and dust to a minimum.  With power plants having to cut back on maintenance crews to service these conveyors, belt cleaners get overlooked, and very seldom get cleaned or re-tensioned.

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At this copper mining operation, the return idlers that track the belt on the conveyor system were very hard to access. The only way to change the idlers on this 36” wide conveyor belt, was to clear out all of the material on the ground and rent a 135’ man lift to access the conveyor belt tracking return idlers.

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A ready-mix plant had difficulty properly tracking the vital conveyor belt that feeds the mixer. The problem was essentially that the conveyor belt was difficult to keep in alignment, which caused serious belt edge damage, and in turn de-lamination and spillage in the conveyor load zone.

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A copper mine was experiencing high wear in their "pant-leg" chute liners. A combination of abrasive material and high tonnages was the major factor why the mine was only about to get 4-5 weeks from 1” thick AR500 plates.

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This transfer point was a major problem area for the PRB coal company. While in reclaiming operation, the chute would build up and plug when running wet coal or during freezing conditions. Chute heaters, vibrators and internal baffles were added but the problem still remained. Due to the angle of discharge onto the 60” receiving conveyor, off center loading caused serious belt miss-tracking and constant spillage.

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ASGCO has successfully reduced the carry back to levels that far exceed the expectations of the customer. The customer has now installed several other ASGCO cleaners to attack  carry back
problems throughout the plant.

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While discussing the challenges with key employees, and doing a thorough analysis of the plant, we discovered some of the problems that were occurring, including; issues with conveyor belts not getting cleaned properly as well as tensioning systems on the primary belt cleaners locking up (or taking a set) and causing major material carry-back problems within the plant.

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This area of the coal handling system was a major issue for the plant for several reasons.  Due to the current OSHA NEP combustible dust requirements, has made it mandatory for many PRB coal fired power plants to address any airborne dust issues. 

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Today's aggregate industry is filled with challenges. Foremost, to produce enough aggregate for cement, asphalt and other products for homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and infrastructures. Also, operators must address environmental responsibility concerns that dictate the use of best practices to protect both natural resources and future generations of citizens.

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Problems of continuous misalignment on a short reversing feeder conveyor belt was causing severe damage to the belts. These were replaced monthly at a cost of $741 USD/each belt, however, down time is $73,059 USD per hour and the replacement of this belt needs a time of 4 hours. That is the equivalent to $292,237 USD of downtime related to the conveyor.

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Reduce wear on pulleys and provide effective coefficient of friction between the drive pulley and the conveyor belt within the copper ore transfer – from mine to leaching area.

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