Energy Saving Strategies in Coal Handling Plant

Done under Guidance of : Internal Guide : Prof. V. K Agarwal Chief Design Engineer Industrial Tribology, I.I.T Delhi External Guide : Shri V.P Singh Joint Manager, Power sector Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

By

Lokesh Kumar Reddy Byrica 2009CEC3519

Objective

Study the existing conditions of a material handling plant. And the modes of power loss in the conveyor system.

Find strategies for energy saving in conveyor system.

Scope
Study of main energy consuming components of the conveyor

system i.e., conveyor belt, idlers and pulleys.

Study the recent advances in conveyor technologies and belt materials. Calculation of power requirement for the conveyor system using CEMA power calculation model for constant speed drive and variable speed drives. Reducing the number of transfer points Minimizing the material flow path by improving conveyor layout design Optimizing the conveyor parameters like idler spacing, belt speed etc.,

Abbreviations used :
Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association Velocity of the belt (m/sec)

CEMA Vb

: :

Wb
Wm tph TP

:
: : :

Weight of belt per unit length (kg/m)

Weight of coal per unit length (kg/m) Tonnes per hour Transfer Point

MATERIAL HANDLING
Handle almost all kinds of materials from soft and fragile flour to hard

and abrasive iron ore. Some of the most commonly used are: 1. Bucket elevators

2. Screw conveyors
3. Belt conveyors BUCKET ELEVATORS Hauls flowable bulk materials (most often grain or fertilizer) vertically. It consists of: Buckets to contain the material A belt to carry the buckets and transmit the pull Means to drive the belt Accessories

SCREW CONVEYORS
Often used horizontally or at a slight incline as an efficient way to

move semi-solid materials, including food waste, wood chips,

aggregates, cereal grains, animal feed, boiler ash, meat and bone meal.

Used as a variable rate feeder to deliver a measured quantity of

material into a process.

BELT CONVEYORS
Operates with the lowest transport cost per ton, the lowest energy cost per ton, and the lowest labor cost per ton. Belt conveyors are suitable to transport materials that vary from large, heavy, sharp-edged lumps to fine particles. Six major elements: 1. Belt: Forms the moving surface upon which material rides. 2. Pulleys: Support and move the belt and control its tension

3. Drive: Imparts power to one or more pulleys to move the belt.

4. Structure: Supports and aligns the rolling components 5. Transfer systems: Loading or discharging of material in conveyor

system.

Typical belt conveyor

Main resistances are Indentation rolling resistance of conveyor belt (main contributor)

Bulk solid flexure resistance (2nd)

Rotational resistance of idler rollers (3rd) Belt flexure resistance (4th)

Active and passive stress states for a loaded conveyor belt.

ENERGY SAVING STRATEGIES

Engineered transfer chutes:
Problems that are encountered due to the poor transfer design :

Oversized systems components required to handle poor material transfer. Additional system components needed to counteract the effects of poor material flow. Maintenance costs and man-hours due to component wear and failure. Costs and man-hours for cleanup of material clogging in transfer chutes, spilling around the transfer area, and dust buildup on equipment and working areas.

Excessive power consumption.

Belt damage and wear costs. Health risks associated with the higher noise level, spillage, and

visible/respirable dust.

 Engineered-flow transfer chutes provide better material control,

continuous flow at higher capacities and reductions in spillage and dust. Removal of friction at the loading point and removing the need to reaccelerate the load results in power savings. When material is discharged from the system it is laid onto the belt rather than vertically dropped onto the belt.

Energy saving belt conveyor idlers:

Utilizes two centre rolls, in a fore

and aft orientation, in place of the single centre roll found in conventional troughing idlers.

Conventional Idler System load distribution

ESIdler design places 35% on each entre roll.

Reduces the overall rolling resistance of the belt and material

over the idler.

Use of variable speed drives: Speed of an AC motor is a function of

frequency and the number of motor poles.

Control loops are used for controlling both the torque and the flux as shown in the figure below.

Direct Torque Control schematic diagram

How is power saved by using variable speed drives? Power is saved as Power required for lifting the belt is reduced as the amount of belt lifted is reduced because of low speed of the belt drive. Idler rotational losses are also reduced because of low rotational speed of the idlers. Also reduced speed of the drive system, Reduces the maintenance cost Improves belt life as wear of the belt and other equipments is reduced. Low noise production by the system

N.T.P.C ltd Simhadri, Phase 1 Coal Handling Plant Conveyor system Layout

When conveyor is operating at below rated load capacity and at rated speed

Designed capacity Rated speed Experimental load

= = =

1700 TPH 3 m/sec 1100 TPH

Various parameters that make up for the total energy requirement are: Idler Friction resistance Belt flexure resistance Load Flexure resistance Slope tension = LNG * KT * KX = LNG * KT * KY * Wb = LNG * KY * Wm = LFT * (Wb+Wm)

Fixed resistances of pulleys , scrappers and other accessories.

Power requirement for constant speed belt drive at various loads for the conveyor system
LOAD (tph) CONVEYOR no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TOTAL 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400

189.802 118.995 100.811 71.898 97.452 221.37 150.479 96.723 63.268 63.268 1174.066

202.352 126.791 106.885 75.538 102.265 238.092 162.166 103.134 66.382 66.382 1249.987

215.213 134.567 112.963 79.184 107.075 254.749 173.778 109.542 69.501 69.501 1326.073

227.827 142.321 119.637 82.831 111.878 271.331 185.307 115.942 72.623 72.623 1402.32

240.441 150.053 125.101 86.476 116.671 287.83 197.198 122.333 75.746 75.746 1477.595

253.056 157.763 131.144 90.114 121.45 304.237 208.596 128.711 78.869 78.869 1552.809

Note: all the values are in KW unless mentioned

When conveyor is operating at below rated load capacity and at minimum speed

Minimum Speed (V) = Capacity x 1000 / (3600 x Bulk Density x Cross sectional area)

Wb (rated load value) is kept constant for maximum cross sectional area usage of the troughed conveyor.

Power requirement for variable speed belt drive at various loads for the conveyor system
LOAD (tph) CONVEYOR no. 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400

1
2 3 4 5 6 7

151.3482
90.34862 71.14872 48.18326 64.74988 168.3986 115.5594

168.1647
100.3874 79.05413 53.53696 71.94432 187.1095 128.3993

184.9812
110.4261 86.95955 58.89065 79.13875 205.8205 141.2392

201.7976
120.4648 94.86496 64.24435 86.33318 224.5314 154.0792

218.6141
130.5036 102.7704 69.59804 93.52761 243.2424 166.9191

235.4306
140.5423 110.6758 74.95174 100.722 261.9533 179.759

8
9 10 SUM

70.51544
42.10308 42.10308 864.46

78.35049
46.7812 46.7812 960.51

86.18554
51.45932 51.45932 1056.56

94.02059
56.13744 56.13744 1152.62

101.8556
60.81556 60.81556 1248.662

109.6907
65.49368 65.49368 1344.713

Note: all the values are in KW unless mentioned

CONVEYOR no.

THEORETICAL (KW)

ACTUAL (KW)

ACCURACY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

215.213 134.567 112.963 79.184 107.075 254.749 173.778 109.542 69.501 69.501

201.65 107.127 89.014 55 83.56 248.64 188.62 93.8 48.52 48.52

0.936979 0.796087 0.787993 0.694585 0.780388 0.97602 1.085408 0.856293 0.698119 0.698119

The above data is for 1100 TPH coal transfer rate

Net power saving at various loads

LOAD (TPH) CONVEYOR no. 1 2 3 4 5 6

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

1400

36.14655 22.9171 23.4332 16.60032 25.50765 51.912

32.13607 21.12291 21.98638 15.40073 23.65013 49.96283

28.41793 19.31272 20.54273 14.20534 21.79028 47.94995

24.46761 17.48494 19.56991 13.01066 19.92496 45.86358

20.51729 15.63955 17.64119 11.81457 18.05184 43.69587

16.56791 13.77656 16.16989 10.61358 16.16781 41.43799

7
8

38.41158
22.5385

37.14336
21.31382

35.79263
20.08656

34.35061
18.85241

33.30678
17.61053

31.72066
16.35747

9
10

14.81544
14.81544

13.72056
13.72056

12.62918
12.62918

11.53989
11.53989

10.45131
10.45131

9.362725
9.362725

SUM

267.0978

250.1574

233.3565

216.6045

199.1802

181.5373

Note: all the above values are in KW unless mentioned

POWER REQUIRED PER UNIT TRANSFER OF COAL (KW/Kg)

constant speed drive 5 4 3 2 1 0

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200

variable speed motors

LOAD (tph)

Calculating the payback period An average value of 220 KW is taken for calculation of payback period (based on site data available). Interest rate = 12% p.a compounded annually 16 hrs per day Conveyor running time = Unit rate is 3 Rs/No. of units saved per day = = 220*3600*16/3600 (KW into Units)

Conveyor works for 350 days a year.

3520 units

Cost saving per day

= Cost saving per month =

3520*3

10560 Rs. 10560*30

=
Payback period =

316,800 Rs.
3 months 7 days

Idler spacing optimization: the sag between idlers should be limited as

y is vertical drop (sag) between idlers,

Wb is belt weight per length, Wm is material weight per length, Si is idler spacing, and T is belt tension.

Effect of idler spacing on power requirement

Power Consumption
Conveyor Idler spacing
1 1.2 1.3 1.5 2 3 5 6

10

151.92 147.663

103.42 136.944 347.873

242.779 241.398 240.844 239.918 238.262 236.272 234.355 234

148.15 147.743 147.633 147.542 147.782 149.264 154.004 156.908

88.734 88.214 88.01 87.681 87.15 86.736 87.217 87.931

88.734 88.214 88.01 87.681 87.15 86.736 87.217 87.931

151.261 145.986 102.684 135.664 348.782 151.185 145.324 102.421 151.354 144.241 135.25 349.657 352.02 102 134.703

152.753 142.404 101.645 134.194 360.425 156.523 140.546 102.136 133.943 384.088 161.12 139.982 105.959 129.975 451.015 165.35 140.692 108.972 125.139 493.291

 Better to have different idler spacing at different sections of the conveyor.

Idler spacing and power requirement matrix for conveyor 2

section 2 (in m) section 1 (in m) 1 1.2 1.3 103.42 102.491 102.065 101.263 103.601 102.684 102.263 101.472 103.751 102.839 102.421 101.635 99.434 99.67 99.848 96.103 96.396 96.601 89.835 90.24 90.502 86.766 87.228 87.518 1 1.2 1.3 1.5 2 3 5 6

1.5
2 3 5 6

104.13 103.229 102.816

102 100.281

97.091
98.595

91.105
92.892 97.004

88.177
90.107 94.505

105.355 104.481 104.082 103.335 101.645

108.336 107.516 107.144 106.452 104.903 102.136 118.475 117.821 117.533 117.011

114.997 114.287 113.971 113.392 112.126 109.935 105.959 104.039 115.89 113.989 110.599 108.972

Idler spacing depends upon Horizontal length of each section of the conveyor Vertical lift of each section of the conveyor the conveyor.

Idler spacing should never be assumed to be constant (1.2 m) as practiced by the designers.

Redesigning the conveyor system layout to reduce energy requirement

Original Layout design

Stockyard system consider for redesigning

552 m

Drawbacks in initial layout

More number of transfer points

than actually required Power requirement is more
552 m

Conveyor 3 requires multiple drives.

552 m

Redesigned layout

Proposed stockyard layout

Changes in the system Transfer point 13 is eliminated . Transfer points 10, 11, 12 are relocated. Conveyor 3 is changed from multiple drive system to single drive unit.

Conveyor 2 & 3

Conveyor 13

Power requirements of the conveyors in the two conveyor layouts

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly 10-25% of energy requirement is reduced for the simhadri coal handling plant conveyors by going for variable speed belt drives. Idler spacing should be designed taking into consideration the conveyor profile , not the empirical values suggested. Conveyor design should also have energy consumption as a main parameter while designing.

Transfer points number should be as minimum as possible.

Latest technologies like LRR covers, ESIdlers should be used to reduce the power consumption.

FUTURE WORK Reducing the belt weight without compromising on other properties
like tensile strength, wear resistance etc. Impact of filler material of the belt on power requirement of the conveyors.

Advantages of shuttle head over conventional transfer chutes.

Optimizing the working of auxiliaries of the conveyor system.

References
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Wheeler, C. A., (2004), Calculating the Flexure Resistance of Bulk Solids

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