The air supported belt conveyor we are currently using is structured to replace the upper idler of the roller with a gas chamber, and the remaining components are identical to the roller.
After the air supported is supported, the running resistance of the air supported belt conveyor is significantly reduced, which reduces the energy consumption of the driving device, but increases the energy consumption of the fan.
1. Comparison of power consumption
After calculating the power consumption per unit length of the roller and air supported belt conveyor respectively, the following conclusions are drawn:
(1) The energy saving of the air supported belt conveyor increases as the belt speed increases, and decreases as the tape width increases.
(2) Decrease as the dip angle increases, and the energy saving is not obvious if the dip angle is large.
(3) If energy saving is used as an indicator, it is economical to use air supported belt conveyors for horizontal high-speed, narrow-band and long-distance transportation.
2.Comparison of manufacturing, infrastructure installation and maintenance costs
(1) Comparison of manufacturing costs
The manufacturing process of the air supported belt conveyor is much simpler than that of the roller belt conveyor. The manufacturing cost of the foreign air supported belt conveyor is generally 10%-30% lower than that of the roller belt conveyor. At present, the cost of the air supported belt conveyor manufactured in China is about 10% lower than that of the roller belt conveyor. Due to the simple structure of the air supported belt conveyor, the cost will continue to decrease on the basis of continuous improvement of the manufacturing process.
(2) Comparison of maintenance costs
The roller has a large number of rollers, bearings and seals. It requires a lot of spare parts and maintenance costs to maintain normal operation. The air supported air chamber has a small amount of maintenance, and the lower roller is small. The operation is stable and does not run off, and the belt wear is small, and the cost can be reduced by about 50%.
(3) Comparison of installation infrastructure costs
Because the air supported belt conveyor is assembled by the box structure, the capital construction cost is low, and the foreign data shows that it is reduced by about 75% compared with the roller belt conveyor.
3. Application prospects and economic analysis
   China's metallurgical, mining, electric power, chemical, light industry and other departments have a large number of roller belt conveyors in operation. If this part is changed to an air-cushioned belt conveyor, the economic benefits are considerable. The other belts in our fuel room and the coal preparation belt in the gas-making two workshops have the prospect of transformation. After the transformation, the equipment performance will be improved, the cost will be reduced, and the economic benefits will be generated.
3.Several issues to be aware of in the application
(1)Fan and pipeline damping, belt conveyor room noise measures should be designed synchronously with the belt conveyor. The shape of the fan should be changed to an air supported and a matching fan.
(2) When the sectioned conveying is carried out, the drop of the coal hopper and the coal slip tube should not be too large, so as not to affect the belt conveyor with load start.
(3) The unloading part, such as the lower rubber scraper of the unloader, should be made into the same arc shape as the arc surface of the gas chamber, and the parts connected to the coal hopper should be modified accordingly to remove all the coal.