Chemical Engineering April 2020 - 37

of a transfer chute is a pressurized area, so when the
access door is opened, air movement will carry the dust
directly into the face of the person performing an inspection
or service, providing an unwanted and unpleasant
demonstration of what the bulk material tastes like.
To assist engineers when designing conveyor systems,
the seventh edition of the CEMA (Conveyor Equipment
Manufacturers Association; Naples, Fla.; www.cemanet.
org) handbook Belt Conveyors for Bulk Materials [1] provides
recommended clearances for servicing components,
such as belt cleaners and impact cradles, based
on minimum requirements and belt width.
Maintenance access is a cascading issue: improper
access leads to poor maintenance practices, resulting
in emergency outages and diminishing the operation's
productivity and safety. From an ownership and management
perspective, downtime and injuries affect profitability
through loss of production, capital expenditures
for new equipment and ongoing insurance implications.
In the past, managers often decided against the expense
of adding safer and easier access points to a conveyor
system beyond what is required by code. However,
over the system's lifetime, conveyor maintenance
professionals estimate that poor access increases maintenance
and cleaning costs by 65%.
When designing proper access into a conveyor system,
there are three objectives:
* Make components easy to see. If equipment cannot
be seen, neither can problems
* Make components easy to reach. Equipment maintenance
is likely to be postponed if it is awkward or
dangerous to access
* Make components easy to replace. Failing equipment
can remain without service for a long period if it is
complicated and time-consuming to access
Loading-zone innovations
Across virtually all industries that handle bulk solids,
conveyors are increasingly being required to handle
higher loads at greater speeds, often rendering original
system designs inadequate. Many conveyor transfer
points still have an outdated roller system tasked
with absorbing impact and centering the material being
carried. As a result, components can break and seize,
causing friction and creating a potential fire hazard. To
replace them, workers must remove the skirtboard and
break the plane of the conveyor as they reach across
the stringer with heavy tools to assess and repair
equipment. Further, traditional skirtboards and wear liners
can limit access, with some designs welded to the
inside of the chute structure, involving confined space
entry with a grinder or blow torch to perform maintenance,
repair or replacement. To avoid these complications,
specifiers would be well served to consider external
wear liners, skirtboards and seals that can be safely
serviced from outside the structure, reducing service
time and risks.
To reduce maintenance time and labor, improve
safety and extend equipment life, operators should
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Chemical Engineering April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering April 2020
