Trends in the Growth of Damage Extents in a Steel Conveyor Belt’s Core

Abstract

The initial set of four measurements (scans) captures the failures occurring in the core of steel cable conveyor belt segments used in a lignite coal mine in Poland. These measurements utilize the DiagBelt+ magnetic system, enabling the analysis of averaged damage sizes. The scanning results allowed the analysis of complete changes in the failure sizes to a maximum of six different time intervals from 1 to 19 months. The cumulative increase in the length and width of the failure (their total extent in both directions) is a linear function of time. However, the inclination of the selected lines (growth speed) depends on the age of the belt segment at the time of its first scan. It is possible to find the best regression function of slope coefficients for the age of the belt segment. The obtained results are crucial for rational belt management, including reliable short-term forecasts of belt needs with the flow of time, indications of the best moments for belt segment replacements, and estimating the budget of the belting department.