Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 491–494

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Mining Science and Technology (China)

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mstc

Control strategy of disc braking systems for downward belt conveyors

Hou Youfu a, Xie Fangwei b,⇑, Huang Fei a
a
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221008, China
b
School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Reliability of braking systems is a key requirement to ensure the safety of in using downward belt con-
Received 15 November 2010 veyor brakes. By analyzing and comparing three commonly used braking velocity curves, we conclude
Received in revised form 10 December 2010 that the Harrison curve is the best. Given the characteristics of a downward belt conveyor, we studied
Accepted 4 January 2011
the control in a closed-loop velocity, a conventional PID method and an optimal PID control method.
Available online 13 July 2011
We used MATLAB/Simulink to simulate the three control methods. Our simulation results show that opti-
mal PID control is especially suitable for disc braking systems. To verify the results from theoretical anal-
Keywords:
ysis and simulation, a multifunctional test-bed was developed to simulate the braking process of a disc
Downward belt conveyor
Disc braking system
brake system. Our experimental results demonstrate that the optimal PID control can make the output
Harrison velocity curve velocity to follow a preset velocity correctly with only small fluctuations, meeting the requirements of
Optimal PID a flexible brake for a belt conveyor.
Control strategy Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.

1. Introduction
Towards the end of the 1980s a downward belt conveyor was
used, for the first time, on an inclined coal seam in our country. Gi-
ven our progress in science and technology as well as the increase
in production at inclined coal seams, coal mines need more and
more long-distance, large-capacity, large dip angle downward belt
conveyors. The use of conveyors can decrease the workload in
mines considerably, reduce investment in capital construction,
shorten construction periods and generate marked social and eco-
nomic benefits [1,2]. The principle of a downward belt conveyor
transmission scheme is shown in Fig. 1 [3].
At present, the braking system of a downward belt conveyor
used domestically, largely consists of hydraulic pressure, hydraulic
power and a disc braking system [4–6]. Such disc braking systems
have been widely used, due to their outstanding advantages of a
single-stage brake, simple structure, mature technology and low
cost [7–10]. We will show that control of such a disc braking sys-
tem is the key technology to guarantee reliability in its operation,
but also suggest that this issue requires an urgent solution.
reduce the dynamic load on the belt, drum, roller and frame of
the conveyor. The ideal braking process of a downward belt
conveyor should have the following characteristics [11,12]:
(1) avoid braking for too long when the deceleration of the
brake is less than the stipulated deceleration;
(2) make the maximum braking deceleration as small as possible;
(3) avoid sudden changes in braking deceleration.
Current commonly used braking velocity curves are shown in
Fig. 2. It is seen that the linear curve has a sudden change in decel-
eration both at the starting and the end points of the curve, where
the derivative of deceleration approaches infinity. The Nordell
curve has a sudden change in deceleration at point T/2, where
the derivative of deceleration is discontinuous. The Harrison curve
is continuous without a sudden change in deceleration. The impact
of tension within a conveyor, caused by a sudden change of decel-
eration, shortens its service life and is not good for braking control.
Therefore, we have used a Harrison curve to analyze the brake
process of a downward belt conveyor.

2. Braking velocity curves 3. Disc braking device

Because a conveyor belt is a visco-elastic body, fluctuations in
stress should be avoided in the process of braking in order to
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 15262925872.
E-mail address: cumtxfw@126.com (F. Xie).
A disc braking device, composed of a disc brake, a brake disc and
a frame is shown in Fig. 3, where 1 the is the cylinder and piston, 2
the disc spring, 3 the brake lining and 4 the brake disc; P is the oil
pressure and S the gap between brake lining and brake disc. The
disc braking device has a normal closed hydraulic control, i.e.,

1674-5264/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
doi:10.1016/j.mstc.2011.06.005
492 Y. Hou et al. / Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 491–494

Fig. 1. Principle of downward belt conveyor transmission. (1) Tail bend pulley; (2)
idler pulley; (3) bend pulley; (4) progressive drum; (5) driving drum and (6) head
bend drum.

Fig. 3. Structural scheme of disc braking device.

the brake lining is pressed to the brake disc by the disc spring
when there is no oil pressure, producing a maximum braking mo-
ment. Regulating the input voltage (or current) of the proportional
electro-hydraulic valve, the output oil pressure P can continuously Proportional
adjust the braking moment. In this way, the braking velocity of a Preset vΔ U Conventional / p Disc M z Downward v
electro -
optimal PID braking belt
downward belt conveyor can be controlled in a flexible manner. hydraulic
U0 + controller system conveyor
− valve
4. Control strategy of disc braking system U
4.1. Closed-loop velocity control Velocity feedback

The disc braking system studied by us is a closed-loop velocity Fig. 4. Flow chart of disc braking control system.
control system, its flow chart described in Fig. 4. In this system the
proportional electro-hydraulic valve is a core element; the quality
of this valve has an important effect on the performance of the
Conventional PID control
system. The output oil pressure and the braking moment can be 1.2
adjusted by changing the input voltage (or current) of the propor-
tional electro-hydraulic valve, in order to control the braking
0.8
velocity of the downward belt conveyor. Using a step function as Velocity closed- loop control
y

an input signal, the dynamic performance of the system can be

simulated by MATLAB/Simulink [13–15]. The velocity curve of a 0.4 Optimal PID control
closed-loop control is shown in Fig. 5. It is seen that the response
is too slow and the steady-state error too large with a closed-loop
velocity control. Therefore, measures must be taken to correct the 0 1 2 3 4 5
control system.
Time (s)

4.2. Conventional PID control Fig. 5. Step response of control system.

To obtain a more ideal dynamic performance of the disc braking
control system, a PID (Proportion Integration Differentiation)
controller should first be designed and installed for correcting the
system. The adjustment of its parameters is very important in the
use of the PID controller. Because of its simple operation and out-
standing effect, we used the Ziegler–Nichols method to adjust the
PID parameters. The adjusted results show that the proportional
coefficient kp ¼ 208:044, the integral coefficient ki ¼ 889:077 and
the differential coefficient kd ¼ 12:191. Using a step function as
an input signal, the velocity curve of a conventional PID control is
shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that this conventional PID control
is characterized by a quick response with a small steady-state error,
while the overshoot increased by 24%. The increase in the overshoot
may cause fluctuations in braking velocity, which impacts the con-
veyor belt, implying that the requirements for flexible control of the
downward belt conveyor are not met. Therefore, the parameters of
the PID controller must be further optimized in order to decrease
the overshoot and reduce the impact on the braking system.

. .
v, v v, v v, v
.

v0 Velocity curve v0
v0 Velocity curve Velocity curve

T T/2 T T/2 T

t t
Deceleration curves
Deceleration curves Deceleration curves

(a) Linear curve (b) Harrison curve (c) Nordell curve

Fig. 2. Braking velocity and deceleration curves.

 Y. Hou et al. / Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 491–494 493

2.0 PID control are clearly reduced, where the overshoot is reduced
from 24% to 4%. Reducing the overshoot causes the output velocity
1.6 to follow the preset velocity quickly, while reducing the fluctuation
Ve locity (m /s) Simulated curve and impact on the conveyor belt in its braking process.
1.2 The velocity curve of the downward belt conveyor was
simulated by MATLAB and is shown in Fig. 6, where the initial belt
0.8
velocity was v 0 = 2 m/s and the braking time t = 20 s. In this figure,
Preset curve the preset curve is a Harrison curve and the simulation curve the
0.4
velocity curve controlled by an optimal PID. It can be seen that
there is a certain lag between the simulation and preset curves,
0 4 8 12 16 20
but the lag is quite small. In general, the output velocity can
Time (s)
correctly follow the preset velocity; the control method can actual-
Fig. 6. Velocity curve of optimal PID control. ize flexible control of the downward belt conveyor.

5. Experiments

To verify the simulation and control strategy of the optimal PID,

a multifunctional test-bed (shown in Fig. 7) was developed to
simulate the braking process of the disc brake system. We only sim-
ulated the braking process under overload conditions, which is the
most incident prone and serious condition. In the experiments, the
overload of the downward belt conveyor was simulated by a
hydraulic winch.
The time for the simulation experiments was set at 40 s. The
system was controlled by a closed-loop velocity control without
correction. The experimental velocity curve obtained is shown in
Fig. 8a. There is a large lag between the measured and preset veloc-
ity curves with wide fluctuations, although the measured velocity
Fig. 7. Experimental equipment.
curve is similar to a Harrison curve. Because the system was only
controlled by the closed-loop velocity without correction, a good
4.3. Optimal PID control braking control performance could not be obtained. Fig. 8b is the
velocity curve of a conventional PID control, in which the mea-
There are two major parameter optimization technologies for sured velocity tracks the preset velocity better; the response veloc-
PID control systems, i.e., a multivariable optimization technology ity is faster and fluctuation smaller than with the closed-loop
and a random optimization technology. Both optimization technol- control. Fig. 8c is the velocity curve of the optimal PID control, in
ogies are based on complex calculations, requiring complex which the measured velocity correctly tracks the preset velocity
programming. The PID parameters were optimized by the Signal and the fluctuation is relatively small. This meets the requirement
Constraint module in MATLAB/Simulink. This method can obtain for flexible control of a disc braking system.
good optimization results.
The PID parameters adjusted by Signal Constraint are bound up
with the initial ranges of kp , ki and kd . After repeated trials, their 6. Conclusions
ranges were established with the ‘Tuned Parameters window’,
where kp =5 6 kp 6 kp ; ki =20 6 ki 6 5ki ; kd =5 6 kd 6 5kd : The opti- (1) By analyzing and comparing three commonly used braking
mized initial values (kp ¼ 208:044, ki ¼ 889:077, kd ¼ 12:191) were velocity curves, i.e., a linear curve, a Harrison curve and a
our PID parameters adjusted by the Ziegler–Nichols method and Nordell curve, we found the Harrison curve to be the best.
entered into the Command Window of MATLAB. In our simulation, (2) Considering the characteristics of the disk brake system, i.e.,
the size of the step was variable, the time 5 s. The optimal results of a closed-loop velocity control, a conventional PID control
our simulation were kp ¼ 207:805, ki ¼ 44:454, kd ¼ 19:423. The and an optimal PID control were simulated by MATLAB/Sim-
velocity curve of the optimal PID control is shown in Fig. 5. It can ulink. By analysis and a comparison, we established the con-
be seen that the overshoot and adjustment time of the optimal trol strategy of the optimal PID for the disc brake system.

100 100 100

80 Measured 80 Measured 80 Measured

V (r/min)

V (r/min)

V (r/min)

60 60 60

40 40 40
Preset velocity
Preset velocity Preset velocity
20 20 20

0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
t (s) t (s) t (s)
(a) Velocity curve of closed-loop control (b) Velocity curve of conventional PID control (c) Velocity curve of optimal PID control

Fig. 8. Velocity curves of three control methods.

494 Y. Hou et al. / Mining Science and Technology (China) 21 (2011) 491–494
(3) Experiments were carried out on a multifunctional test-bed.
The experimental results demonstrate that the optimal PID
control can make the measured velocity correctly track the
preset velocity and satisfy flexible control requirements of
a downward belt conveyor. Our experimental results also
prove that the theoretical analysis is correct and the control
strategy effective.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance and valuable
suggestions provided by Prof. Zhang Yongzhong and Prof. Guo
Chuwen.
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