09.04.2021 16:41

BEUMER Group's Thai project for rapid replacement of a conveyor belt

After four years of continuous operation, the system of belt conveyors with a capacity of 2200 t / h supplied by the BEUMER Group to one of the leading cement producers in Thailand - TPI Polene Public Company Ltd. is in a risk of operational failure due to wearout of the 3.5 km long main conveyor belt.

Typically, service engineers replace the belt by sections. Depending on the length of the conveyor, this can be from 8 to 18 segments. Complete consecutive belt replacement is quite extensive and lengthly. During this period, the entire system is idle. Therefore, it was suggested by the customer to replace the conveyor belt gradually, working on separate sections at a time. This would minimize disruption to the production process. However, such method would not completely eliminate the threat of prolonged downtime of the entire trunk conveyor.

To minimize downtime of the equipment, BEUMER has come up with a concept that allows the entire belt to be replaced all together. With this method, coiled belts are placed next to the conveyor and connected to the old belt. Then, using the existing drive equipment and additional aids, the new belt is pulled into the conveyor, while the old one is pulled out.

BEUMER employees have made sure in advance that there is sufficient space for the new belt. The site should be located directly next to the plant, be easily accessible and provide employees with sufficient free space to prepare the belt. This is needed because the tape ends to be joined are usually vulcanized which requires space for both, processing and the required materials. Parts of the tape were laid out in the open air and protected from UV radiation with a special film. As vulcanization can be hampered by both terrain and weather conditions, the work on joining the tapes was carried out in an acclimatized tent. This operation requires not only a lot of heat, but also time, as snow, frost, icing or rain can force employees to interrupt the process.

Based on the preparatory works and experience, BEUMER has been able to reliably estimate the downtime of belt replacement. The work was carried out by the plants staff. At the same time, on-site control was carried out by a commissioning master - an employee of belt supplier.

BEUMER expert described the situation: “If we consider only direct costs, the traditional method is cheaper. The new method however, has a significant reduction in downtime." After assessing total costs incurred by the plant during downtime, this method is more preferential.

“We are thankful to the fact that we were able to replace the belt in one go, the risk of a sudden system failure was reduced to almost zero,” stated Alexander Unru, Project Manager for Transport and Loading Technology at BEUMER Group.
Region: Thailand
Source: BEUMER Group
Tags: production
The use of materials published on the site is allowed only with the reference to the source (the journal «Cement and its application») and a hyperlink to the quoted material.
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The use of materials published on the site is allowed only with reference to the source (the journal «Cement and its application») and a hyperlink to the quoted material.
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