World Grain - May 2013 - 70

GRAINOPERATIONS

Figure 5: RopeCon system of 665 meters with only one support, crossing a river in Austria.

Figure 6: RopeCon system of 2,665 meters with only three supports. Photos courtesy of Doppelmayr.

scape, where civil works and supporting
structural requirements are more expensive than the requirements of a ropeway.
Installations achieve capacities of up to
1,500 tph for bulk materials with single
loads of up to 50 tonnes. Rope spans between support towers can be achieved
up to 3,000 meters.
It’s an old technology that becomes
a new solution, with quick loading and
unloading stations.
RopeCon is a new technology developed in recent years by Doppelmayr, of
Austria, a world market leader in ropeways. The RopeCon is a bulk material
and unit load handling conveyor which
combines the beneﬁts of well proven
technologies: the ropeway and the conventional conveyor belt (hence the brand
name RopeCon). A ﬂat belt with cor70

rugated side walls and integrated wheel
sets runs on anchored track ropes guided
over towers. The hauling function is performed by the belt. (See Figures 5 and 6).
Main features of the RopeCon include
conveying length up to 30 kilometers,
conveying capacity up to 25,000 tph,
vertical rise in one section up to 1,000
meters, inclination of more than 60 degrees and belt speed up to 8 meters per
second. The tower spacing can reach up
to 1,500 meters.
The RopeCon operates off the ground,
thus minimizing space requirements and
easily crossing buildings, roads, rivers
or other obstacles. The top of the support
towers is attached to the track ropes, and
at the bottom hinges are mounted. Top
and bottom belts each run on two track
ropes. Full-locked coil ropes act as track

ropes (support function). Drive/tensioning equipment is in the loading or unloading station.
This combination of the technology of
cable transportation with the simplicity
of a conventional conveyor is a merging
of two technologies that result in an incredible system that looks like a “ﬂying
carpet,” having the ability to overcome
rough terrains and difﬁcult obstacles.
The RopeCon system should not be
confused with the ‘Cable Hauled Belt
Conveyor,’ developed in the 1950s. In
this system the belt just sits on steel drive
ropes that move and are supported by regular intervals along the conveyor route by
grooved pulleys or ﬁxed wheels (an equivalent to idlers) that turn but do not move.
The RopeCon system is the opposite:
the cables do not move but are ﬁxed, under tension, working as a rail, and the
wheels, (working as an equivalent to the
idlers), roll on the steel cables.
MANUTUBES
Manutubes are a dustless conveyor
technology, which consists of a belt
conveyor, fully enclosed, transporting
material through a plastic tube. The belt
slides inside the tube with no idlers,
generating a natural airﬂow. It is a dusttight technology that can guarantee less
than 1 mg of dust per cubic meter of air,
for cleaner working area and longer lasting equipment.
They come in different versions with
belt return open with protection grid or
belt return totally closed and return casing with a dust cleaning/reclaiming system. Manutubes are particularly adapted
for applications involving powders or
dust generating materials. Capacities
vary from 10 cubic meters per hour to
3,000 cubic meters per hour.
The conﬁgurations are inﬁnite: selfsupported, curved on a vertical plan,
inﬂected, and with or without walkways
(See Figure 7, page 72).
Main features include a belt conveyor
with no attrition on the product; reliable
transfer for bulk material with proven
sealing capabilities; transfer of dangerous material with no environmental
May 2013 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
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World Grain - May 2013

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