Design of chain link for drag chain conveyor to increase breaking strength

Mechanical Engineering (Design)

A conveyor system is a mechanical handling equipment that moves material from one location to another. Chain conveyors are designed to convey wide variety of powdery, granular & lumpy bulk materials. Forged chain links are used in drag chain conveyors in various industries. The inclination in demand rate requires high quantity of material to be transported in minimum amount of time. Due to this the current installed system has to be redesigned and considered for an increased tonnage carrying capacity, which in turn calls for stronger design of components. In this project, work has been done to increase the chain link breaking strength from 40T to 70T for higher models without changing the pitch, 216 mm. To achieve the target, critical sections of existing 216 mm pitch chain link, in terms of stress are found out and the design is modified in those critical sections. This is carried out in two options. First option is ‘Modified dimensions with existing material’. And in second option, suitability of alternative materials is checked and new material is suggested without changing the dimensions. Best suited material is selected on account of suitability for manufacturing processes, availability, and costs involved. Finite Element Analysis with ANSYS14.0 is used to validate both the solutions. Option I and option II are compared in terms of advantages, disadvantages, manufacturing process, costs involved, time required to implement to find out the best suitable option.

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