Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Measurement journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement Examination of the process of damaging the top covering layer of a conveyor belt applying the FEM Daniela Marasová a , Ľubomír Ambriško a, ⁎ , Miriam Andrejiová b , Anna Grinčová c a Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnology, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovak Republic b Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovak Republic c Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Technical University of Košice, Letná 9, 042 00 Košice, Slovak Republic ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Conveyor belt Covering layer Modelling Regression models ABSTRACT Damage to the conveyor belt structure is in many cases caused by the impact of the material on the chutes. The impact energy is initially absorbed by the covering layer. As a result, stress and strain conditions develop in the covering layer. The research presented in this article is focused on the modelling of the conveyor belt covering layer damage induced by the dynamic force, applying the force method. The force method is based on the selection of intensity and direction of the developed dynamic force. The modelling facilitates monitoring of its course, sizes of deformations, and intensity of stress developed in the covering layer. The output of the model is the determination of the covering layer damage limit condition in which the conveyor belt is disrupted. 1. Introduction Belt conveyor is the most economical solution for the long-distance transportation of bulk materials [1–3] at high rates. It is a complex system of mechanical and electrical components [1], widely applied in areas such as mining, coal, ports, chemical industry, electric power, metallurgy, architecture, and food supplies [4]. A conveyor belt is an important element used for carrying and traction. Belt properties greatly affect the functions of the system. It is thus necessary to model and simulate a belt and analyse its dynamic properties. Much attention has recently been paid to mathematical modelling and simulation. Taraba [5] modelled the stress and strain conditions in a steel-cord conveyor belt caused by the impact of the dynamic force. Marasová modelled the conveyor belt resistance to puncture [6]. Bindzár modelled the static and dynamic stress of conveyor belt while applying the Finite Element Method (FEM) [7]. Gondek in his papers [8–10] deals with the modelling of the stress-strain statuses in conveyor belts while applying the force method and the deformation method, including the experimental identification of input material data. The issues regarding the conveyor belt modelling include also the belt joining, attracting the attention as well. The paper [11] identified the stress, distribution thereof along the entire joint length, the place and the value of the highest concentration, as well as determination of the relationship between the stress and particular mechanical properties of the conveyor belt carcass. Song [12] built the mechanical and mathe- matical models of a belt unit, a drive unit, and a take-up unit. By combining those unit models, the dynamic equation of the whole con- veyor system was built. According to the examples, Shi [13,14] ana- lysed the dynamic properties during the start, free stoppage, abnormal loads, belt rupture, emergency stoppage, and lose power in starting, simulated dynamic curves, developed dynamic analysis algorithm that control the starting and the stopping processes and optimal methods. As for a conveyor as an elastic continuum, Wang [15] built a mechanical belt model with inertia, elastic, damping distribution, simulated dy- namic properties of changing load starting. Nuttall [16] presented a simplified approach to modelling the rolling contact phenomena that occur at the surface of a wheel-driven rubber belt. Fiset [17] presents a model of a rigid cylinder rolling on a curved viscoelastic surface re- presented by Maxwell elements to analyse the friction due to hysteresis and the relationship between the traction and the slip in a wheel-driven belt conveyor system. In the last decade, the issues regarding rubber materials, modelling thereof, and modelling of their behaviour in various structures and conditions, have been extensively studied; however, as Diani [18] pointed out, sufficiently accurate modelling of rubber behaviour still remains an open question. As natural rubber is a specific material, its properties are usually rather varied and depend on its composition and the contents of special ingredients [19]. The objective of the article is the analysis of deformations and stresses induced by the dynamic force in the covering layer of a con- veyor belt (CB), developed in real conditions (mining transportation of the sharp-edge material consisting of large pieces) at the material’s http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2017.08.016 Received 24 September 2015; Received in revised form 25 June 2017; Accepted 9 August 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: lubomir.ambrisko@tuke.sk (Ľ. Ambriško). Measurement 112 (2017) 47–52 Available online 10 August 2017 0263-2241/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. MARK