that is like asking "I bought a set of tires for my car - how long will they last?" There are so many undertermined conditions to be able to properly answer that poll. ■

Dear Shri Ganesh,

The life of the vulcanized joint of the fabric belt, for conveyors is subjective to :

1) The quality of the joint.

2) Pulley diameters

3) The chosen fabric belt in relation to the lump weight and its kinetic energy when impacting the belt.

4) The lump and material velocity angle with respect to the belt velocity, when landing on the belt.

5) Reverse bending of the belt at pulleys and distance between such pulleys

6) Inherent belt tensile rating and minimum safety factor occurring during steady state running and during starting, accounting reduction in safety factors at pulleys, at trough transition zone etc.

7) Material temperature.

8) Grade of the rubber say HR, FR, M24, N17, food-grade, etc. may show different life of the joint as a consequence of their susceptibility to degradation and application condition.

The other reader’s experience will add in to this information.

Regards,

Ishwar G Mulani.

Author of Book : Engineering Science and Application Design for Belt Conveyors.

Author of Book : Belt Feeder Design and Hopper Bin Silo

Advisor / Consultant for Bulk Material Handling System & Issues.

Pune, India.

Tel.: 0091 (0)20 25871916

Email: parimul@pn2.vsnl.net.in ■

We specify our fabric belt splices for the life of the belt. Towards that end we reject the typical approx. 20 degrees splice angle and specify a 45 degrees splice angle. This has the affect of reducing the tensile stress component, that must be developed in shearing of the rubber, over the step length, and minimizing the simultaneous splice exposure through the transitions and over the pulleys.

Joe Dos Santos ■