Exposición

I ngeniería I nvestigación y T ecnología
volumen XX (número 3), julio-septiembre 2019 1-11

ISSN 2594-0732 FI-UNAM artículo arbitrado
Información del artículo: Recibido: 14 de marzo de 2018, reevaluado: 1 de marzo de 2019, aceptado: 8 de abril de 2019
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license
http://dx.doi.org/10.22201/fi.25940732e.2019.20n3.031
Stress analysis in a screw conveyor axis under a specific fault condition

Análisis de esfuerzos en eje de tornillo sinfín bajo condición específica de falla
Figueroa-Díaz Rafael Alfonso Cruz-Alcantar Pedro
Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí,
Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica Coordinación Académica
E-mail: rafael.figueroad@itson.edu.mx E-mail: pedro.cruz@uaslp.mx
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-5612 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9363-494X
Balvantín-García Antonio de Jesús Murillo-Verduzco Ismael
Universidad de Guanajuato Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica
E-mail: antonio.balvantin@ugto.mx E-mail: Ismael.murillo@itson.edu.mx
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0781-1549 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2653-4647
Diosdado de la Peña José Ángel Pérez-Olivas Pedro Alberto
Universidad de Guanajuato Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica
E-mail: jose.diosdado@ugtomx.onmicrosoft.com E-mail: p_pedro_alberto@hotmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7644-0454 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9637-0465
Abstract
This work presents an analytical and numerical methodology that allows determining stress distribution during the functioning of a
screw conveyor utilized for conveying granular material. Different operating conditions were studied analytically and numerically.
Initially, the reactions generated when the mechanism was fully braced with four supports along the longitudinal axis of the shaft were
estimated. In addition, the system was analyzed with a typical fault in one of the central supports. The faults studied occur primarily
due to the empirical modifications that companies make to these kinds of mechanisms and to the continuous operation of the con-
veyor system. Finally, a comparative analysis is presented between the analytical and the numerical results in order to validate the
proposed methodology.
Keywords: Screw conveyor, granular material, stress distribution, finite element analysis.
Resumen
En este trabajo se presenta una metodología analítica y numérica que permite determinar el estado de esfuerzos durante el funcio-
namiento de un tornillo sinfín utilizado para el transporte de material granular. Diferentes condiciones de operación fueron estudia-
das analítica y numéricamente. Inicialmente, se estimaron las reacciones que se generan cuando el mecanismo está completamente
sustentado con 4 soportes a lo largo del eje longitudinal de la flecha. Adicionalmente, el sistema fue analizado con una falla típica en
uno de los soportes centrales. Las fallas estudiadas ocurren principalmente debido a las modificaciones empíricas que las empresas
realizan sobre este tipo de mecanismos y a la operación continua del sistema de transporte. Finalmente, se presenta un análisis com-
parativo entre los resultados analíticos y numéricos en función de validar la metodología propuesta.
Descriptores: Tornillo sinfín, material granular, distribución de esfuerzos, análisis por elemento finito.
Introduction conveyor when the feeder size is not negligible, evalua-

ting the results experimentally. Giraldo et al. (2010),
At the industrial level in today’s food industry, it is present the conveyor system design procedure using
common to move granular material (such as salt) to di- the manufacturer’s user manual, including both the
fferent processing areas through the use of screw con- power calculation and the simulation analysis with
veyor systems. Multiple companies, such as Martin commercial software (SolidWorks®) from one of the
S&G, and FMC Technologies, among other suppliers, paddles installed on the screw conveyor shaft. An
have developed these types of conveyor systems based analysis similar to that presented in the literature is
on customer requirements and specifications. Howe- proposed in the user manuals provided by FMC Tech-
ver, due to the apparent simplicity in the components, nologies (2013). The analysis of completely horizontal
small and medium enterprises opt to make modifica- equipment is considered in these manuals, while in Go-
tions to these based on staff experience. Consequently, ytisolo et al. (2001), the skew of the mechanism is also
diverse mechanical, electrical, and other problems are included.
generated, resulting in economic losses for the com- The mechanical analysis of the screw conveyor is
pany. Among the typical problems in equipment insta- shown in this work, considering, in addition to the
lled on site in a regional company from the state of power calculation, the reaction force and stress distri-
Sonora, México, is the periodic rupture (every 5 months) butions in the mechanism under different operating
of internal supports, as well as fractures in specific sec- conditions. The main objective of this development is
tions of the shaft, which cause total production downti- the analytical and numerical classification of the equip-
mes for periods of up to 8 hours, an increase in the ment in order to determine the feasibility of optimizing
number of spare parts necessary in the warehouse, the the conveyor system, or failing that, a redesign of the
machining of critical emergency pieces (increasing axis in fault condition.
fees), and the unnecessary energy expenditure in the
rest of the production line. In the current state of the art, Analytical model of the screw conveyor
different studies can be found for solutions to specific
screw conveyor problems at the industrial level. Such is Test system
the case presented by Goytisolo et al. (2001), where the
constant blockage problem in a recycling company was The test system analyzed consists of a “Salt screw conve-
eliminated based on an analysis of the conveyor capaci- yor,” which includes a screw conveyor 7.10 m in length,
ty of two screw conveyors working together. In addi- with an axis diameter of 0.08890 m and an outside dia-
tion, Goytisolo et al. (2001) performs the calculation of meter of 0.29528 m. The entire system is made of 316
the power necessary to convey the utilized material. food grade stainless steel. It also has two commercial
Chakarborthy & Mthta (2016) presents the design of a (SNR®) flange-mounted bearings at both extremes and
flexible screw that allows coupling screw conveyors at two intermediate supports, custom manufactured by the
different angles through the use of kinematic joints, company in which the conveyor system is located. An
presenting, as in Goytisolo et al. (2001), the power ne- enlarged view of the test system installed in the field is
cessary for the required conveyor capacity. Similar ex- shown in Figure 1.
pressions are used by Gbasouzor & Owuana (2013) for The southern Sonoran and northern Sinaloan valleys
the design and classification of a piece of equipment for are the entities that produce the greatest quantity of gra-
plastics recycling. In addition, due to the configuration ins on a national level, primarily in wheat, maize, and
of the screw conveyor in the system described in Gba- beans; therefore, the region has different companies for
souzor & Owuana (2013), axial forces are generated the transport and processing of these products. In regio-
along the axis, determined for the appropriate selection nal companies, the use of screw conveyors is common
of the bearings. Aguilar (1999) develops a better ap- for transporting the product to the different processing
proximation than that obtained by the method propo- stages, as well as in storage and distribution. The parti-
sed in FMC Technologies (2013) for calculating the cular analysis case was carried out in a salt processing
power necessary to convey material. However, Aguilar company. However, in these regional companies, it is a
(1999) presents no experimental verification or numeri- common practice to carry out adaptions empirically, ma-
cal simulation to corroborate the estimated analytical king trial-and-error corrections, which would generate
results. In contrast with the aforementioned articles, Yu unscheduled downtimes when new faults arise, as well
presents Yu and Arnold’s (1997) mathematical develop- as oversizing in the power and transmission systems,
ment for determining the necessary torque of a screw which would result in reduced efficiency. During the re-
2 I ngeniería I nvestigación y T ecnología , volumen XX (número 3), julio-septiembre 2019: 1-11 ISSN 2594-0732 FI-UNAM
Figueroa-Díaz R.A., Balvantín-García A. de J., Diosdado de la Peña J.Á., Cruz-Alcantar P., Murillo-Verduzco I., Pérez-Olivas P.A.
Power calculation
Based on the screw conveyor design parameters and

the type of material to be conveyed, it is necessary to
compare salt conveyor capacity with the information
from the company. This is done using the expression
presented in Goytisolo et al. (2001):
π
Q = 60 ⋅ ⋅ ( D 2 - d 2 ) ⋅ S ⋅ w ⋅ f ⋅ ρ ⋅ cb (1)
4
where
Figure 1. Enlarged view of the salt screw conveyor Q = conveyor capacity in kg/h
D = outside diameter of the screw conveyor in m
search into the state of the art, different researchers and d = Axis diameter in m
commercial manufacturers focused on analyzing the S = screw conveyor screw thread in m
power capacity necessary for these pieces of equipment, w = rotational speed of the screw conveyor in rpm
considering a negligible feed gradation and not taking f = adimensional coefficient of the system feeder
into account the stress analysis on the main components, ρ = density of the material
such as the screw conveyor, the supports, and the trough. cb = adimensional skew factor of the system
As regards the area of opportunity, due to the regional
power, the need to gain a deeper understanding of the An expression similar to Equation (1) is presented in
analytical development is clear (power and component Chakarborthy & Mthta (2016). Determination of salt
stress calculation) to better understand the phenomenon density was made using the manual presented in FMC
and carry out the redesign of different screw conveyors, Technologies (2013). The field data from Table 1 are
knowing a priori how they will affect the mechanical re- used to calculate the conveyor capacity of the test sys-
design the different parameters of the screw conveyor, tem analyzed.
such as number of supports, separation between sup- The data from Table 1 from Chakarborthy & Mthta
ports, winding pitch of the screw conveyor, external (2016) were used to determine the skew factor, and the
pitch diameter, shaft diameter, support types, materials following expression was obtained through a quadratic
used, and granular material to transport. The first part of polynomial adjustment:
the research is focused exclusively on the analytical stu-
dy of screw conveyor power and stress. As well, even cb = 0.003 b2 - 0.0237 b + 1.0043 (2)
when there is a wide variety of design of shafts using the
Finite Element Method as presented in the research of with which it was determined that the system’s conve-
Xioming & Davis (2001), Engel & Sara (2017) and Kursat yor capacity is Q = 25 Ton/hr, indicating that the equip-
et al. (2018), to name a few, the simulation does not allow ment is underutilized, as the experimental maximum
identifying a priori the degree of affectation in the distri- capacity estimated by the company is 18 Ton/hr.
bution of stresses and transport capacity of the afore- In conjunction with the conveyor capacity analysis,
mentioned parameters. Aguilar (1999) proposes considering the rotational
Table 1. Field data from the test system

Parameter Value Unit
Engine power 7.45 kW
Rotational speed of the screw conveyor 121 rpm
Outside diameter of the screw conveyor 0.29528 m
Axis diameter 0.08890 m
Pitch of the screw conveyor 0.2794 m
Skew 3 Degrees (°)
Filling coefficient 0.25 (Chakarborthy & Mthta, 2016) -
Skew factor 0.9359 (Chakarborthy & Mthta, 2016) -
I ngeniería I nvestigación y T ecnología , volumen XX (número 3), julio-septiembre 2019: 1-11 ISSN 2594-0732 FI-UNAM 3
speed recommended in order for the system to work PN = power of the unloaded screw conveyor
safely. The rotational speed analysis is presented by PST = power necessary due to the skew of the conveyor
Goytisolo et al. (2001), using the following expression: L = length of the axis between bearings
l = friction coefficient (with a value between 2.5 and
30 60 4 for the proposed system)
wmin
= rpm → wmax= rpm (3)
D D
The power calculation performed in FMC Technologies
where it is found that the minimum rotational speed of the (2013) considers that the screw conveyor is completely
system is wmin = 55rpm and the maximum is wmax = 110rpm. horizontal, and thus, the term PST = 0. However, imple-
As presented in Goytisolo et al. (2001), it is not advisa- menting the analytical developments presented in FMC
ble to exceed the maximum rotational speed for conve- Technologies (2013) and Gbasouzor & Owuana (2013),
ying high-density materials (as is the case for sea salt). Equation (7) can be established, where ϕ is the skew
Comparing this result with the information presented angle of the screw conveyor. The parameters utilized
in Table 1, it can be seen that the current rotational for calculating the power of the conveyor system of in-
speed is 10% over the maximum recommended, which terest are included in Table 2.
can produce problems in the conveyor system, such as In this work, the material to be conveyed is salt with
a fault due to twisting and shear stress, detachment of excess humidity, and therefore, λ=4. In addition, the to-
the screw, etc. It is therefore advisable to reduce rotatio- tal length of the axis between bearings is L = 7.10mts.
nal speed to within the estimated range. From Table 2, it can be seen that under the proposed
Once the speed range for safely operating the sys- working conditions, the total conveyor capacity is P =
tem has been determined, an analysis is carried out for 2.0718kW. FMC Technologies (2013) recommends using
the power calculation, implementing the following ex- a power correction factor of 42% of the calculated power
pressions: so that the system can run smoothly P42% = 2.9419kW.
The screw conveyor analyzed has an attached belt
P = PH + PN + PST (4) drive system and a Model TXT 315 gear speed reducer.
Thus, the efficiency of the conveyor system must be
Q Ll considered (hrans) and the calculated power corrected,
PH =
367 (5) resulting in
P
QL P = 42%
PN = (6) req hTrans (8)
20
where it can be seen that hTrans= hRedutor hBandas.
Q (sin(φ ) L)
PST = (7) As the transmission consists of a system of helical
367 gears, belts, and pulleys, an efficiency of hTrans= 98.5% is
estimated, coinciding with that reported by Richard &
where Keith (2012). Thus, a recommended power of Preq= 2.9867kW
is obtained. It is determined from the estimated power
PH = horizontal conveying capacity, with Q expressed that the power implemented in the test system (see Ta-
in Ton/hr ble 1) is more than double the requirement.
Table 2. Test parameters and powers calculated for the analyzed salt conveyor system
Parameter Value Unit
L 7.10 m
l 4 -
φ 3 Degrees (°)
PH 1.9416 kW
PN 0.1048 kW
PST 0.0254 kW
a) b)
Figure 2. a) Salt distribution by sections, b) diagram of a screw conveyor with four supports
Stress analysis on an axis with four supports This is considered a three-degree skew angle. As the to-
tal weight of the screw conveyor is 7.10m, it is clear that
Stress analysis and moment diagram the reaction forces were R1y=667.4817N, R2y=2.1932E3N,
R3y=2.1932IE3N, and R4y=667.4817N.
The free body diagram of the screw conveyor is prepa-
The system shown in Figure 2 was also modeled
red, as its four supports are in good condition. A hollow
using ANSYS® Finite Element software, with the aim
shaft of uniform diameter along its entire length is con-
of validating the analytical process utilized. The So-
sidered for the static analysis, as presented in the Figu-
lid186 and Surf154 elements were used for modeling,
re 2.
with a total number of 28,256 elements and 197,952 no-
As it is a statically indeterminate system, the three-
des. This allowed determining that the reaction forces
moment method is used, as presented by Ferdinand &
were R1y = 712.31N, R2y = 2.166 E3N, R3y = 2.040 E3N and
Andrew (1982), to determine the reaction forces on each
R4y = 802.15N, obtaining a respective difference of
support, where the moments in the internal supports
6.29%, 1.25%, 7.42% ,and 16.00% for each reaction, com-
are given by
pared analytically with the results.
During the operation of the conveyor system, the
 3 3 
-1 - W cosϕ L12 - W cosϕ L22  two most commonly generated faults are 1) the rupture
 M 2   2 ( L1 + L2 ) L2   24 24
M  =    of one or two supports and 2) the rupture of the screw
 3  L2 2 ( L3 + L4 )   3 3 (9)
- W cosϕ L22 - W cosϕ L23  conveyor shaft in the vicinity of the shaft section chan-
 24 24 
ge (the same as are found near the supports). To deter-
mine the moment diagram in each section of the system,
where, L1 = L2 = L3 = L/3 while the reaction forces are gi-
the following expressions are used:
ven by the following expressions:
M AB = R1 y x (14)
M2 W
R=
1y + cos ϕ (10)
L1 6
 W cos ϕ  LW cos ϕ
M BC =
 R1 y - x+ (15)
 3  18
M R ( L + L2 ) W W
R2 y = 3 - 1 y 1 + cos ϕ ( L1 + 2 L2 ) + cos ϕ (11)
L2 L2 6 L2 6  W cos ϕ   R L LW cos ϕ 
M CD
=  R1 y - + R2 y  x +  - 2 y +  (16)
 3   3 18 
R=
3y W cos ϕ - R1 y - R2 y - R4 y (12)
 2 W cos ϕ   R L 6 LW cos ϕ 
M DE
=  R1 y - + R2 y  x +  - 2 y +  (17)
 3   3 27 
M3 W
R=
4y + cos ϕ (13)
L3 6  2 W cos ϕ   R L 2 R3 y L 6 LW cos ϕ 
M EF
=  R1 y + R2 y + R3 y - + R2 y  x +  - 2 y - + 
 3   3 3 27 
(18)
Where W = Wsal + Weje represents the total weight, which
is numerically is W = 5.7291N. This weight represents the
mass of the helix and the shaft (obtained through the use which is used to obtain the moment diagram along the
of a CAD tool), as well as the corresponding weight of screw conveyor, as shown in the following Figure 3.
the salt, considering that the trough has 80% of the capa- In Figure 3, it can be seen that the movement values
city total, as recommended in FMC Technologies (2013). applied to the system are concentrated in the vicinity of
the supports. It is important to consider that a hollow ture in one of the intermediate supports is presented in
constant-diameter shaft is used for the analytical deve- the following section.
lopment.
Stress analysis on an axis with three supports
Stress distributions along the axis
Force analysis, moment diagram, and stress
To know the integrity of the screw conveyor axis, the
stress concentration is determined using rate-distortion According to the information provided by the com-
theory and the von Mises method presented by Richard pany, the equipment has had only one fault in its inter-
& Keith (2012). Considering flat stress-strain and a ho- mediate supports in 25 years of functioning. Therefore,
llow shaft results in the second case study is presented on a fault in one of
the two intermediate supports, considering the dia-
12
 32 d M 2  32 d T 2  gram in Figure 5.
σ '=
 4
E
4 
+ 3 4
E
4 
 (19) Using the double integration method for the deter-
 π ( d - d )
In   π ( d E d In )  
- mination of this statically indeterminate system re-
E 
sults in
The analytical calculation has a power of P=2.0719KW
and an angular speed of 121 rpm, with which a constant F FL L2  F1  L  
R1 =1 - 2 2 +  + F2  1 + 2  - R2  (20)
torque of T=163.5139N-m is determined along the axis. 2 2 L1 L1 + L2  2  2 L1  
The stress-strain diagram is obtained using Equation
(19), as shown in Figure 4.
2 
  2
2  2

From the results obtained analytically, it is clear that =R2
1  2  L1  2  L2 
 F1 ( L1 + L2 ) -   - ( L2 )  + F2 ( L1 + L2 ) -  L1 +  - ( L2 )  
4 L1 L2  2  2 
the maximum vibration amplitude does not occur at  
 
 
 
 

the junction points where the intermediate supports are (21)
located; however, elevated peak stress-strains do occur.
Considering 316 stainless steel for this case analysis, it =  L1   F1  L2  
(22)
R3    + F2  1 +  - R2 
can be seen that the safety factor considering the stress  L1 + L2   2  2 L1  
peak is F.S.=6.80, while through Finite Element,
F.S.=6.94, representing a difference of 2.05% between Considering that F1= W/3 cosφ, F2= 2W/3 cosφ, the skew
the safety factor found analytically and that found angle is 3 degrees, W=5.7291N, and the total length of
through simulation. With these results, it can be seen the screw conveyor is 7.10 m, the reaction forces obtai-
that the shaft in these operating conditions presents no ned are R1=852.30N, R2=3038.92N, R3=1856.50N
problem. Experimentally, however, there are condi- As with the four-support case, the system shown in
tions in which the system reaches the critical fault along Figure 5 was modeled using ANSYS® Finite Element
the axis. In order to know the operating condition that software and Solid 184 and Surface 154 elements, with
causes the experimental fault, the case study for a frac- a total number of 1,027 elements and 6,537 nodes, with
Figure 3. Moment diagram of axis with 4 supports Figure 4. Stress distribution on an axis with four supports
the purpose of revalidating the analytical process. For stress concentration point, which represents a decrease
the numerical study, the estimated reaction forces were of 81.9% with respect to the safety factor when the
R1=729.57N, R2=3109.9N, and R3=1881.8N, obtaining a screw conveyor works with all four supports. The Fini-
respective deviation of 16.82%, 2.28%, and 1.34% in re- te Element simulation analysis generates a F.S. of 2.49,
lation to the results obtained analytically. representing a difference of 102% with respect to the
On the basis of the results obtained during the analytical analysis.
analysis, some interesting observations can be made re- With the rupture of one of the internal supports in
garding what occurs when one of the supports in the the screw conveyor axis, there is a 453.10% increase in
screw conveyor fails, as presented in Figure 5. For the the stress distributions in the region missing the sup-
reaction in support R1y, with respect to the first case, port, considering the results obtained with the analyti-
there is a 27.69% increase in force and the direction has cal expressions. The previous analysis cases consider a
the same effect as the weight exerted by the salt and the constant diameter hollow shaft when the 4 supports
axis. Support R2y shows an increase of 38.56%, while function correctly and the particular case where the
support R3y presents a decrease of 15.35%, considering rupture appears in one of the intermediate supports.
the results obtained analytically. There is no specific documented case of a rupture ap-
The corresponding moment equations for the diffe- pearing at either extreme of the supports.
rent sections presented in Figure 5 are shown below: An analytical solution can be obtained in simple
structures such as uniform section beams or shafts;
M AB = R1 x (23) however, for complex structures, or in shafts with sec-
tion changes, the use of numerical solutions such as the
Finite Element Method is recommended to identify
 W cos ϕ  LW cos ϕ
M BC =
 R1 - x+ (24) stress-concentrator areas. Neupane (2014) presents a
 3  18 comparative analysis between the analytical method
and various Finite Element tools, such as ANSYS Work-
bench 15.0, Creo Simulate 2.0, etc. The results from si-
 W cos ϕ   R L LW cos ϕ 
M CD=  R1 - + R2  x +  - 2 +  (25) mulations under different classic beam examples
 3   3 18  present differences ranging from 4 to 16.6%, depending
on the Finite Element tool used. A similar study was
carried out by Ragbe (2016), which considered a section
R2 L LW cos ϕ 
M DE= ( R1 - W cos ϕ + R2 ) x +  - +  (26) of uniform diameter tubing subjected to an internal
 3 2  pressure. The analytical results and ANSYS results
were compared, obtaining a difference of 2.2%.
The moment diagram along the screw conveyor is obtai- However, for the case of interest, in which there is a
ned using Equations (23) to (26), as shown in Figure 6. fault near a section change, analytical development
In Figure 6, it can be seen that the maximum mo- does not allow knowing the stress concentrations in
ment occurs in the section where the missing support is these concentrator areas necessitating the use of Finite
located. Figure 7 is obtained using Equation (19) to cal- Element. For this reason, the study was carried out ta-
culate the stress distribution. king these changes into consideration, as shown in the
Considering the maximum stress presented in Figu- following Figure 8.
re 7, there is a safety factor of F.S.=1.23 at the maximum
a) b)
Figure 5. a) Salt distribution with a fracture in the intermediate support, b) diagram of a screw conveyor with three supports
Figure 6. Moment diagram on an axis with three supports Figure 7. Stress distribution on an axis with three supports
Figure 8. Section of solid axis in internal supports
Based on the analytical results shown in Figures 4 and rupture of one of the intermediate supports (Figure 5),
7, the maximum stresses are found at the bushings. In as presented below. For the case shown in Figure 9, the
addition, as can be seen in Figure 8, the section view of reaction forces obtained are the following: R1y=685.57N,
the screw conveyor shaft in the field shows a section of R2y=2553.20N, R3y=2128.50N, and R4y=653.99N, which re-
solid shaft coupled by welding to hollow sections. This presents a difference of 2.63%, 2.66%, 3.03%, and 2.06%,
drastic section change presents elevated stress concen- respectively, with respect to the analytical result.
trations, a condition that must be analyzed numerica- From the results obtained in Figure 10, a considera-
lly. Figure 8 shows the stress concentration in the ble increase (315.40%) can be seen in the stress concen-
critical sections identified. tration with respect to the behavior in Figure 9. This
In Figure 9, stress concentrations can be seen in the represents a safety factor of 2.68 - a 77.1% decrease in
vicinity of the section change; however, they are below the F.S. Under this operating condition, there is a possi-
the yield strength of the stainless steel, generating a bility of fault due to fatigue in the vicinity of the stress
safety factor of 11.18. Under these working conditions, concentration. This condition is consistent with the in-
the equipment presents no operational problems. The formation provided by the company’s maintenance
need to redesign for mechanical optimization of the area regarding the shaft rupture when finding one of
equipment can even be established. Likewise, a second the bushings fractured. For the case shown in Figure 10,
operating condition is analyzed numerically when a the reaction forces were the following: R1y=953.35N,
fault occurs during the operation corresponding to the R2y=2851.1N and R3y=1942.7N, representing a difference
Figure 9. Screw conveyor axis with four supports
Figure 10. Screw conveyor axis with fault in one support
from the analytical result of 10.54%, 6.58%, and 4.43%, along its length. For the corresponding four-support
respectively. case, a difference of 2.63%, 2.66%, 3.03%, and 2.06%,
respectively, was obtained in each reaction, while for
Discussions the second case study, there was a difference in reac-
tions between the analytical and Finite Element
The analytical case study of a hollow constant-diameter methods of 10.54%, 6.58%, and 4.43%, respectively.
shaft presented in Figure 2 shows that when the separa-
tion between intermediate supports is the same, the Conclusions
reaction forces at the extremes have the same numerical
value, as do the intermediate supports. A piece of salt conveying equipment with a 25 ton/hr
However, when performing numerical modeling capacity has presented systematic problems for more
with the Finite Element tool, this pattern is not preser- than 20 years of operation on a salt production line in a
ved. For the case analyzed, a difference of between regional company in the southern region of the state of
16.00 and 1.25% was found, which allows validating the Sonora, Mexico, with an annual capacity of 150,000
results obtained through simulation for the four-sup- tons. This critical equipment generates unscheduled
port case. downtimes in the production line for up to 8 hours.
The second case study corresponds to the reaction This work presents a methodology for the analytical
force distribution across the supports when conside- study of a granular material conveyor system. For this,
ring a fracture in one of the intermediate elements in a mechanical study was carried out on the equipment
the ideal screw conveyor. For the simulated case, a di- presenting the greatest problem, conducting an analyti-
fference was found in the range of 16.82-1.34%, valida- cal study that allowed determining both the recom-
ting the procedure utilized for that particular case. mended theoretical conveyor capacity and axis speed,
With the numerical modeling validated, the screw as well as the necessary power. The aforementioned
conveyor axis was analyzed, considering the screw analysis is commonly referenced in bibliographies
along the shaft, as well as the variations in diameter found in the state of the art. However, no study allows
identifying the problem presented in the equipment section change), the stress concentration was increased
under study. Hence, this procedure is proposed to de- by 341.2% with respect to the same simulation with
termine the reaction forces in the supports and the four supports, obtaining a reduction of 77.3% in the
stress distributions along the screw conveyor. The stu- safety factor, which coincides with the fault condition
dy encompasses the functioning of the equipment im- present in the shaft rupture. This allowed finding an
mediately after maintenance and with the four supports elevated correlation between the maximum stress con-
in good condition, as well as the specific case of the centration and element fracture, which in turn allowed
failure of one of the intermediate supports. issuing the recommendation to change the intermedia-
However, the current analytical development pre- te supports to avoid fracture and eliminate the pre-
sents different limitations when considering complex viously occurring fracture.
sections during the analysis of a shaft with a non-uni- Finally, based on the results obtained, it is possible
form section, as is the specific case study. In light of the to establish the feasibility of the methodology presen-
above, a numerical study was carried out, implemented for the analysis of a granular material conveyor sys-
ting the finite element analysis and obtaining the stress tem based on the screw conveyor and have it be
concentration at the critical points along the equipment applicable to the redesign of the different salt conve-
when working with a full load. Validation of the yors when the feeder in these systems is negligible.
analytical results through simulation is presented for
the cases of screw conveyors with three supports and Acknowledgements
with four.
From the power analysis, it was found that the ne- This work was supported by the Technological Institute
cessary power is 60% lower than that currently insta- of Sonora, through the PROFAPI-2018 and PFCE 2018
lled, corresponding to a 7.45 KW electric motor working projects.
at a speed of 1,800 rpm. On the other hand, the stress
analysis along the axis for four supports (without con- References
sidering the screw in the screw conveyor shaft) allowed
estimating a safety factor of 6.8 in the critical points Aguilar P.F. (1999). Análisis de la fuerza axial en un transportador
near the supports. For the numerical case, it was obser- de sinfín. Journal de Ingeniería Mecánica, 1, 51-55.
ved that when taking the screw into account, the sup- Chakarborthy S. and Mthta A. (2016). Product design of semi
port load capacity is increased, achieving a safety factor flexible screw conveyor. Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engi-
of 11.6. This demonstrates that the screw generates a neering, 11(5). 10.9790/1684-11540113
greater bending load capacity for the screw conveyor. FMC Technologies (2013). Link-belt Screw conveyor.
In addition, Finite Element Analysis allows knowing Engel B. and Sara S. H. (2017). Failure analysis and fatigue life es-
the stress concentration at critical points of interest, timation of a shaft of a rotary draw bending manchine. Inter-
such as where the fractures occur, according to infor- national Journal of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering,
mation obtained from the company. Through this 11(11), 1785-1790. https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/ze-
analysis, significant stress concentrations were found in nodo.1132685.svg
the joint sections where the numerical intermediate Ferdinand L.S. and Andrew P. (1982). Resistencia de materiales. Ter-
supports with short sections of solid shaft are located, cera edición, Harla.
as presented in Figures 9 and 10. For the case with four Gbasouzor A.I. and Owuana K.C. (2013). Design and characteriza-
supports, there was no fracture problem, even in the tion of a model polythene recycling machine for economic
critical sections where maximum stress concentrations development and pollution control in Nigeria. Proceedings of
occur. the World Congress on Engineering, London, U.K., july 3-5.
The equipment analyzed contains three salt mills in Giraldo Q.R., Flores G.L., Higuera C.O. (2010). Diseño y construc-
the upper part, located in the central part between sup- ción de un mezclador de tornillo sinfín para mortero seco.
ports; however, a periodic tapping was observed in the Scientia et Technica, Año XVI, 45, 37-42. ISSN 0122-1701.
chute and screw conveyor during the field study, due Goytisolo E.R., Noa A.J., Fernández C.A. (2001). Análisis y solución
to the presence of considerably large rocks. This inter- de avería del acoplamiento del sinfín de fondo de la bañera de
mittent applied force generates sudden elevated stres- una planta de plástico mixto. Journal Mecánica, 3, 79-85.
ses, although a safety factor of this magnitude does not Kursat H., Recep C., Gokhan K., Allan E.W., Mehmet U., Ibrahim
represent a problem. A. (2018). Finite element analysis of a PTO shaft used in an
In the case study that considered a fracture in one of agricultural tractor. Ergonomics International Journal, 2(3),
the intermediate supports (the section with the abrupt ISSN: 2577-2953.
Neupane D. (2014). Comparison of some FEM codes in static Xiaoming C. and David A.W. (2001). Finite element simulation of
analysis. Bachelor thesis of University of Applied Sciences. drive shaft in truck/suv frontal crash. International Technical
Recovered from: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201502092026 Conference on Enhanced Safety of Vehicles. SAE INTERNA-
Ragbe M.A. (2016). Stresses analysis of pretroleum pipe finite ele- TIONAL.
ment under internal pressure. International Journal of Enginee- Yu Y. and Arnold P.C. (1997). Theoretical modelling of torque re-
ring Research and Application, 6(8), ISSN: 2248-9622. quirements for single screw feeders. Journal of Powder Techno-
Richard B.G. and Keith N. (2012). Diseño en ingeniería mecánica. logy, Elsevier, 151-162.
Novena edición, Mc Graw Hill.

Exposición

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Exposición

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Exposición

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

I ngeniería I nvestigación y T ecnología

volumen XX (número 3), julio-septiembre 2019 1-11

Stress analysis in a screw conveyor axis under a specific fault condition

Introduction conveyor when the feeder size is not negligible, evalua-

Based on the screw conveyor design parameters and

Table 1. Field data from the test system

Figure 8. Section of solid axis in internal supports

Figure 9. Screw conveyor axis with four supports

Figure 10. Screw conveyor axis with fault in one support

You might also like