Active speed control for energy saving purposes on belt conveyor systems

Abstract

Transportation of material has always been of importance to the economy. For long distances, by boat, plane, truck, or for short distances, by conveyors, people, etc. The belt conveyor has been proven to be cost-effective, for transporting large amounts of material, in many scenarios. Improvements have been made in the past decades on energy efficiency as well as environmental impact. One of these improvements is the possibility to save energy by means of speed control. Energy efficiency decreases when the belt conveyor is not loaded to it’s designed potential. Therefore adjusting the speed, to make sure the belt is loaded correctly, could increase the energy efficiency of the system. However as a speed transition costs energy the possibilities of saving energy whilst using speed transitions should be researched. In this thesis the possibilities for saving energy while using this continues speed transition method, known as active speed control, is researched...