A Study of the Vertical Continuous-Flow Conveyors

Abstract

The authors studied experimentally and theoretically the characteristics of the vertical continuousflow conveyors. In this paper two apparatus were used ; one was small and the other was as large as one used practically. The theoretical formula of the chain tension was obtained from the equation based on the equilibrium of forces acting on materials in a duct having a rectangular section. It is easy to calculate the chain tension by the formula obtained here, and the calculated values are in good agreement with experimental ones for different kinds of materials and sizes of apparatus. From the results of experiments and numerical calculations, it is clear that the chain velocity has some effect on the volumetric efficiency and the chain tension, and there are optimum relations among the sectional dimension of the duct, the size of flight and the pitch.