Environmental interference in the conservation of conveyor belts
Conveyor belts represent the arteries of an industrial production system, which is responsible for the transport of the inputs from the extraction or receipt of these to the place of distribution, in the case of mining, generally up to the railway line; in consumer goods, most of the time, to a truck. Therefore, just like the blood system, industrial mats are always working together with other organs, in the case referenced, these would be represented by other machinery or processes, always involving the transport of inputs or finished products.
It is due to this interdependence that the conveyor belt represents within the entire industrial process that it is one of the most prone to the need for preventive maintenance, since any failure related to the transportation of inputs or final products, has a direct impact on the billing, the which obviously weakens the power of profit. Preventive maintenance of the conveyor belt should, therefore, seek to predict the variables that could cause wear. These variables, which are in the environment of the production process.
There are very critical situations that may compromise the proper functioning of industrial conveyors, among which are main factors related to temperature or aerial contamination by particles with corrosive power.
Repair of industrial conveyor belt due to temperature-induced wear
The first scenario would be responsible for varying the weight capacity, due to changes in the volume of the pieces, and increase the tension of the industrial transportation system of the parts as a whole, since each material, according to the physical formula Q = m.c (T-To), has a specific heat, redundantly, itself. That is to say that with each degree increase in the system, a material will vary its temperature and consequently its volume and resistance in different ways from each other.
The variation in temperature usually requires maintenance and replacement, mainly in parts that suffer friction, because the high heat of the environment, added to the heat generated by friction, impacts, even more, those that present in this situation. Generally, a change of belts about to break or of the drive drum is necessary.
Conveyor belt repair due to corrosion
There are several corrosive elements in some industries, with which conveyor belts can constantly interact. In the case of a conveyor belt used in mining, various chemical elements could even melt the steel used in the support systems. Already in a scenario where a conveyor belt is used in a salt factory, for example, the problem would be of the salt eroding the zirconia of the paint, paving the way for the later oxidation of the structural parts, thus compromising the internal industrial transport system as a whole.
Which part of the conveyor belt to repair?
Various components are part of the industrial conveyors. Depending on the cause of the wear, with the consequent report of the responsible engineer, it is known which structure of the conveyor belt to change. Here are some examples of the usual causes of industrial belt maintenance due to temperature wear, corrosive particles or even time of use:
- the breaking of the conveyor belt,
- the breaking of industrial conveyor bearings,
- the breaking of the conveyor belt support structure,
- axes of the industrial conveyor belt
