Conveyor Belt Tension Calculation The purpose of this section is to provide a simple and efficient method to select the

best conveyor belt for many common applications. It may provide a way to quickly double check a given design. If there are doubts or discrepancies, get a recommendation from a reliable conveyor belt manufacturer. The best selection will usually result in the lowest total cost -per-ton over the service life of the conveyor belt.

The best selection depends on acquiring complete operating and environmental information. It is best to get this information immediately and before any calculations are attempted. This information should include: 1. Carrying Surface. State if load surface of belt is supported by flat or troughed idlers or type of flat slider bed surface. State angle of troughed idlers. 2. Drive Data. a. Motor nameplate horsepower b. Identify if single or multiple drive pulleys c. Are drive pulleys bare or lagged? d. Total belt wrap (degrees) on drive pulley(s) e. Location of drive 3. Environment. Temperature, chemicals, oils, and any special conditions. 4. Height. Vertical difference of head and tail (terminal) pulleys, elevation (ft.). 5. Length. Distance (ft.) between head and tail pulley. 6. Loading Rate. Tons/hour. 7. Material. Type, temperature, weight per cu. ft., size and percentage of maximum lumps. 8. Pulley Diameter. In addition to tail and head pulley, and carry idlers, any pulley that changes belt direction (identify each -include in system sketch). 9. Speed. (Ft./minute) of belt. 10. Take-up. Type (mechanical screw or automat ic), location, and total amount of movement (included in sketch).

11. Width of Belt. (Inches) Include width of pulley face width, if known. First, the Effective Belt Tension (TE) must be calculated. TE is the sum of the tension required to move the empty belt (TC), the tension required to move the load horizontally (TL), and the tension required to lift the load (TH). Example 1.
Calculations TC = F 1 x L x CW TE = TC + TL + TH

F1 = .035" [Normal friction factor for average conditions (over 20F) to move empty belt.] L = Belt length (ft.) CW = Weight of conveyor belt components. See Table A.
TL = F2 x L x MW

F2 = .04" [Normal friction factor to move load horizontally.] L = Belt length (ft.) MW = Material weight (lbs. per lineal foot). MW = 33.3 TPH/Belt Speed (fpm) o rTotal material load in lbs/L.
TH = H x MW

H = Difference in elevation of terminal pulleys (ft.)

TE = TC + TL + TH

(Continue with calculation of TS and then TO .)

Table A Weight of Moving Conveyor Components

Belt Width

12" 18" 24" 30" 36"

CW Factor with Regular 5" Idlers (See Notes) 12 18 24 30 36

42" 48" 54" 60"

42 48 54 60

NOTE: For 4" idlers, multiply by .85 For 6" idlers, multiply by 1.33 For lengths (L) less than 150 gt., multiply by 100 to 150 -- 1.1 75 to 99 -- 1.2 50 to 74 -- 1.3 30 to 49 -- 1.5 15 to 29 -- 3.0
Table B Drive Factor (D)

Screw Take-Up

Gravity or Flexible TakeUp

Angle of Bare Lagged Bare Lagged Belt Type of Drive Pulley Pulley Pulley Pulley Wrap at Drive 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 340 360 Plain Plain Plain Plain Snubbed Snubbed Snubbed Snubbed Snubbed Snubbed Tandem or Dual Tandem or Dual 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .5 .5 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .7 .7 .7 .6 .6 .6 .4 .4 1.08 .99 .91 .84 .77 .72 .67 .62 .58 .54 .29 .26 .67 .60 .55 .50 .45 ..42 .38 .35 .32 .30 .143 .125

380 400 420 440 460 480

Tandem or Dual Tandem or Dual Tandem or Dual Tandem or Dual Tandem or Dual Tandem or Dual

.5 .5 .4 -

.3 .3 .3 -

.23 .21 .19 .17 .15 .14

.108 .095 .084 .074 .064 .056

Additional tension must be added to the Effective Belt Tension to prevent belt slippage on the drive pulley. This is called Slack Side Tension (TS). TS = D x TE Drive Factor - Table B

Total tension herein called Operating Tension (TO), sometimes called Allowable Working Tension , is the value used to select the reinforcement ply combinations.
TO = TE + TS/W

TE = Effective Belt Tension at drive TS = Slack Side Tension W = Belt Width (inches) The next step is to select the proper reinforcement (usually fabric) combinations. A number of alternatives are usually available, and the final selection is narrowed by the following considerations: 1. Flexibility to negotiate the pulleys. The minimum recommended pulley diameters for each fabric -- the number of plies combination must be considered at the percent of rated tension of the combination. If this is disregarded, service life will be shortened by ply delamination, splice failure, and tracking pr oblems. See Table C, page 11 -5. 2. Troughability. Eliminate combinations that will not allow normal belt contact with carrying idlers, including transition areas, while belt is empty. A belt with inadequate transverse flexibility will result in poor

training and tracking which will cause edge wear, spillage, poor loading, and early belt failure. See Tables D1 and D2 on page 11-6. 3. Impact Resistance . The final selection must be rated to handle the lump weights and the weight per lineal foot of the material. Loading conditions will vary and must be considered. Your selection must be rated for the condition or the belt will be beaten into premature failure. See Tables E 1, E2, and E 3 page 11-8. 4. Load Support. The final selection must be capable of resisting the load weight at the juncture of the center support idler and the troughing idlers. The belt carcass will break down and split longitudinally in this area if it is loaded beyond its capacity to support the load. See Table F1 page 11-10. The values of the belt carcass to pass the above consideration should be available in the conveyor belt manufacturer reference manuals or printed information for belt selection. The final selection of the alternate combinations should be made by considering costs and availability from a reliable source.
MOTOR HORSEPOWER (HP)

To determine the required motor horsepower given the calculated Effective Belt Tension (TE) and belt speed (fpm).
HP = TE x fpm/33,000

To determine maximum Total Tension (TO) that a system can generate given the nameplate horsepower of drive, Drive Factor (D), width of belt (inches), and belt speed (fpm).
TO-MAX = .9 HP x 33,000 x (1+D)/W x S

HP = Nameplate HP rating D = Drive Factor (see Table B) W = Belt Width (inches) S = Speed of Belt (ft./min