NORTHHEIM, German—ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group, Siemens A.G. Process Industries and Drives Division, and ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions jointly will develop and market a steep-angle tubular belt conveying system, according to ContiTech A.G.
The cooperation agreement revolves on the Chevron Megapipe system that Continental claims “sets a milestone for reduction in conventional heavy-duty traffic in opencast mining.”
Standard trough-shaped conveyor belts, with and without ribbing, as well as smooth pipe belts, allow the transport of bulk material with angles of incline of up to a maximum of 30 degrees, depending on the material properties, the company said.
By contrast, the ribbed Chevron MegaPipe conveyor belt design makes it possible to create systems with angles of incline of up to 50 degrees. It employs a high-performance direct drive that does not require an intermediate gear box, according to Continental.
“Steep-angle conveying for unbroken material in a range of between 50 and 90 degrees can be realized with a skip conveyor from ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and with Flexowell or Pocketlift systems from ContiTech for primary crushed bulk material,” Franz Wolpers, head of the materials handling division at ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions, said in a statement.
“The integration of (the) megawatt drive units on the head pulley of a conveyor system as well as their activation is resolved by Siemens,” he added.
Initial feasibility studies have demonstrated a safe transmission of up to 8 MW, according to the statement.
“Our direct drive system for belt conveyors is (suitable) because on the one hand, the torque transmission can only be operated with a one drive pulley because of the belt profile on the carrying side and, on the other hand, a substantial gradient resistance must be overcome in the steep-angle conveying,” said Norbert Becker, vice president of Siemens Mining and Excavation & Transport, in the news release.