Solar PV Application in Industrial Conveyor System

Abstract

This research focuses on converting a conventional electromechanical motor into a solar powered electromechanical motor for the application in material handling systems in industries. As conveyors are the prime movers for in handling raw materials from mines covering a major area, an effort has been made in incorporating this advantage of open entity to solar energy application. With research considered, the upper cover of the conveyer system has been replaced by implementing standalone solar panels with suitable capacity which can assist and propel the conveyor motor. The results portray a positive output in terms of energy efficiency and cost analysis.

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Solar PV Application in Industrial Conveyor System
To cite this article: Pedapati Prithvi Raj et al 2020 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 573 012046
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SESBT 2020
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 573 (2020) 012046
IOP Publishing
doi:10.1088/1755-1315/573/1/012046
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Solar PV Application in Industrial Conveyor System
Pedapati Prithvi Raj1*, Nitin R Pochont2, K. M. V. Ravi Teja3, G. Deepak Kumar4
1,2,3,4Department of Mechanical Engineering, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, INDIA
*Pedapati Prithvi Raj
E- Mail Address: prithvikluniversity@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This research focuses on converting a conventional electromechanical motor into a solar
powered electromechanical motor for the application in material handling systems in industries. As
conveyors are the prime movers for in handling raw materials from mines covering a major area,
an effort has been made in incorporating this advantage of open entity to solar energy application.
With research considered, the upper cover of the conveyer system has been replaced by
implementing standalone solar panels with suitable capacity which can assist and propel the
conveyor motor. The results portray a positive output in terms of energy efficiency and cost
analysis.
1. Introduction
At present conveyor systems plays a vital role in any mining industry the effort of preliminary step
of conveyor design is majorly focused on lower energy and reducing the pollution to the
atmosphere. Many researches have contributed to lower the resistances in the belt for improving
the energy efficiency [1]. A basic design of the conveyor system is based on the calculation and its
real time experiments, which are the base knowledge of source, without a verified theory one
cannot develop an optimally designed belt conveyor system. For developing a conveyor line which
could efficiently carry the material from one location to the other all the forces which occur along
the route of the conveyor system are different zones of contact between the belt and its several
supporting component which will efficiently carry the material without loss. Knowledge in
different resistance forces on the conveyor system like idlers resistance, belt on idler rolling
resistance, belt skirt boards resistance, belt bending resistance, flexure resistance, sliding
resistance, scrappers, pulley etc., of the belt on idlers, in this regard is essential for designing and
operating for long terms with in the design range [2]. The major concern while designing the
conveyor system is to calculate the driving forces on the driving pulley which could determine the
choice of drive system and construction of the belt. Followed by the deciding on the power
requirements for the driving the forces. Other calculations related to belt construction like width
and length of the conveyor line is depend on the source and the destination of the material to be
carried, particle size, maximum capacity and density of the material. International standard of 5048
provided a clear approach on considering all the set of resistances which intended to provide a

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better method of conveyor design calculations [3]. Annually more than 2.5 million conveyor system
are in operation in the world, for which the conveyor system is the major energy consumer of the
industries, several smart solutions are introduced to optimize the operating modes and reduce the
energy needs which could limit the exploitation costs. For the betterment several handling
techniques are introduced like lifting, belt conveyor or roller tables, overhead conveyor with or
without trolley, AGV’s. all these systems are categorized into manually operated conveyor system
and automated conveyor system. Several components are associated with belt conveying system is
show in the Figure 1. Improvement of the energy consumption of the belt conveyor system will be
achieved only by the optimizing the equipment and operation level. Shirong Zhang and Xiaohua
Xia provided several techniques for improving the efficiency by optimizing the equipment
associated with belt conveying system [4]. As per the Indian statistics the state of Meghalaya in
India holds the longest single-belt international conveyor system, about 17 km long conveyor line
conveys limestone and Jindal Power uses longest pipeline conveyor transporting coal for 7 Km
stretch which is also a second largest conveyor line in the world [11]. In the Figure 2 shows the
length of the conveyor system which can be an open source of solar energy helps in driving the
motor.
Figure 1: Typical Outline of conveyor system
Figure 2: Longest conveyor lines in India (Meghalaya and Jindal Pipeline conveyor) [11]
Under the expenses point of view companies contribute nearly 70% for the maintenance and power
consumption categorized into direct and indirect cost as show in the Table 1 [5]. A clear application
analysis in optimizing energy efficiency of conveyor system by Schneider electric a French
multinational company gave some milestones in reducing the cost in conveyor system. An analysis
of comparison between the power and consumption carries four modes work in production,

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standby unit, Stop- Safety mode for maintenance and Off- breakdown. In the handbook by
Schneider electric provided solutions for reducing the energy consumption and improving the
material handling capabilities, this also validated the operating condition of the conveyor system in
different modes of operation plotted in the graph as shown in the Figure 3 [5]. Utilizing the smart
technicians and roofs of the conveyor system by implementing solar PV system could provide a
solution for reducing the power consumption cost to the mining industries.
Table 1: Expenses for an industry on Conveyor System
Variable Expenses
Constant Expenses
Direct cost
-Raw products
-Manpower
-Third party cont
ractors
-Power consumption of the
conveyor system and
supporting equipment.
-Renting equipment for
cleaning activities
-Spare parts and maintenance
cost
-Replacement and repair.
Indirect cost
-Power consumption for
maintenance activities and
workshop
-Mi
scellaneous supplies
-Fire hydrant systems.
-R&D on solutions for problem
associated with RCA.
-Investments
Figure 3: Graph Differentiating the Power and Energy consumption of Conveyor line.
With the growing impact on the environment caused due to the usage of fossil fuel, the alternative
sources of energy such as solar, wind and bio energy has seen the picture to have been utilized to a
potential extent. The forecast for reliability on fossil fuels predicts a clear downfall in the next few

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decades. A research carried out by Swami [6] predicts the permanent drop in the oil production in
10-20 years. Combustion of fossil fuels contributes to the nearly three fourth of the energy supply
in the world, while equally contributing to greenhouse gases and climate change [7]. Utilizing the
inevitable source of solar energy has shown a tremendous response in domestic and industrial
application world-wide. Solar energy is considered to be one of the substantial sources of energy
[8]. Solar power has been utilized for more than half a century in small scale applications like
electrification of rural areas, standalone solar homes, heating purpose in industries and space
applications [9].
The utility of solar energy in the industries has a shown high demand for both heating and
electrical applications [10]. With marginal application, it is considered that it could broaden in
future with a major usage of photovoltaic applications. The PV applications in industries
effectively contribute towards both the electrical and thermal loads.
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2. Methodology
2.1 Conveyor Design Calculations
Considering all the smart techniques for material movement from source to destinations is
derived by considering all the resistant forces was given by ISO 5048 international
standards [3]. The overall resistance to the motion of the conveyor line is given by several
resistances which are classified as
FM Main Resistance
FS Secondary Resistance
FSpl 1 Special Primary Resistance
FSpl 2 Special Secondary Resistance
FSlo Slop Resistance
These resistances have to overcome by the driving system to move the conveyor line to
accelerate the material up to belt speed at the loading point. The required driving force FD
is the practical sum of all the resistances, which is given by.
FD= FM + FS + FSpl 1 + FSpl 2 + FSlo ----------(1)
Our proposed ideology of conveyor system in the industrial application for transporting
material has been taken into consideration with reference literature survey. An assumption
on the conveyor has been mentioned in the given Table 2, based on the driving forces by
considering all the resistances of the system from equation (1) four transfer lines with three
transfer towers from the source to destination with a distance of 523m covering a total roof
area of 2,624.7 m2 and transfer tower roof area of 376 m2 having two way conveyor line for

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IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 573 (2020) 012046
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doi:10.1088/1755-1315/573/1/012046
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which material can be unloaded from the ship to the recliners and vice versa, assuming all
the conveyor lines are on the flat bed.
Table 2: Belt Specification details
Conveyor
line
Length (m)
Belt Width
(m)
Belt Length
(m)
Design
capacity
Conveyor 1.1
161.46
1.6
322.928
3400 TPH
Conveyor 1.2
Conveyor 2.1
62.33
1.6
124.672
3400 TPH
Conveyor 2.2
Conveyor 3.1
192.53
1.6
385.07
3400 TPH
Conveyor 3.2
Conveyor 4.1
108.12
1.6
216.25
3400 TPH
Conveyor 4.2
Table 3: Driven Motor Specifications
TT
Power
Peak Current
RPM
Capacity
Belt Speed
TT 1
400 kW
27 A
1485
3000 TPH
4.5 m/sec
TT 2
400 kW
27A
1485
3000 TPH
4.5 m/sec
TT 3
400 kW
27A
1485
3000 TPH
4.5 m/sec
Note: Each TT- Transfer Tower has two motors for loading and unloading of material
2.2 Solar PV sizing and Output factors:
In order to electrify or propel an area with solar power, the sizing of the photovoltaic cells
is an essential aspect to be achieved. The sizing focusses on improved efficiency and
minimal costing on the system. The required parameters include the energy demand by the
system, area of the space, incoming solar radiation, the wattage and relative efficiency of
the solar PV cell which has been chosen. This research focusses on integrating solar
photovoltaic modules on the roof of the conveyor belts in the industries. The output in
terms of electricity can be utilized to propel the conveyor belt motors thereby reducing the
load on the grid.
2.3 Load Characterization:
The conveyor belts are driven by heavy duty 3-phase motors with a capacity of 400 kW
and 27A and run at nearly 1485 RPM. The power of the motor comprises of 27 Amp at
peak load conditions and 12 Amp at no-load conditions with a driving torque of 2500 Nm.
The consumption of electricity from the gird is dependent on the loading capacity dumped
on the conveyor belt. With reference to Table 2 the entire systems consist of 6 motors
incorporated in to the three transfer towers for loading and unloading conveyor lines. The
total capacity of energy consumed by the motors either loading line or the unloading line is
1200 kW.

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IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 573 (2020) 012046
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3. Results and Discussions
3.1 Area and PV Cell Characterization:
The total available roof space of approximately 3,726 m2 to set-up the PV modules. In-
order to supplement the grid connection with the solar panels installed on the roof of the
transfer towers and the conveyor belts, the sizing of the panels have to be carried out with a
high output 325 Watts, 72 cell Polycrystalline PV modules.. The panels characteristics are;
Vmp: 35.9 V, Imp: 8.36 A, Voc: 44.50 V and Isc: 8.83 A. The panel area comprises of 6.4
ft in length and 3.2 ft in width. Each panel cover an area of 1.9 m2 which can be spread out
in the prescribed area. As the power generated by using solar PV in the available area
accounts to 630KW, which comprises of 50% of total power required for either the loading
or unloading line of the conveyor system with 3000 TPH capacity using ST1600 steel cord
belt.
3.2 Cost Analysis of PV in Conveyor system:
Considering the prescribed area of 3726 m2 which can be utilised to implement 325 W PV
modules on the roof of the conveyor system, this system requires 1940 numbers of solar
panels.
x The total cost of the PV panels- 2,42,50,000 INR [12].
x Accessories to install the system- 57,50,000 INR.
x Expected total cost of the entire system is approximately- 3,00,00,000 INR.
According to the motor specifications and load conditions, the motors consume 2,40,000
units/day for 20 hours of continuous operation either in loading/unloading condition is grid
dependent. By considering the functionality of solar PV with 8 hour of active radiation can
produce 5000 units/day, which is equivalent to 20% of the energy consumed by the motors
from the grid. In regard to the cost analysis and considering the industrial unit price,
application of solar energy can save 55,000 units of grid power a day is equivalent to
2,00,75,000 INR per year. Considering the cost analysis, it can be assumed that the ROI
(return on investment) can be expected with in a span of 20 months.
3.3 During Diffused Radiation:
With the geographical conditions, the diffused radiation is the most considerable factor
which varies with respective to weather conditions. On a diffused radiation day, the
contribution of energy from the PV system is minimal; conveyor system can be driven by
the energy source from the grid.

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4. Conclusion:
This research concludes the optimum usage of PV modules to supplement the grid
connected electrical energy. With the analysis carried out, it shows that nearly 1940 solar
panels can be implemented in the prescribed area which is capable of producing 630 kW of
energy which is nearly 50% of the grid energy. In case of lower conveyor capacity where
1500THP is required, belt of ST1250 can be utilised for which 200KW motor can be used
where entire loading or unloading line of the conveyor system can be driven by Solar PV
panels.
References:
[1] Lech Gładysiewicz, Robert Król, Waldemar Kisielewski: Measurements of loads on belt
conveyor idlers operated in real conditions, S0263-2241(18)31004-2 (2018).
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resistances in an integrated software environment. [Obliczenia przenośników taśmowych metodą
podstawową oraz oporów jednostkowych w zintegrowanym środowisku programowym] Transport
przemysłowy nr 1(6)/-11. ISSN: 1640-5455(2007).
[3] International Standard ISO 5048: Continuous mechanical handling equipment- belt conveyors
with carrying idlers- Calculation of operating power and tensile forces.
[4] Shirong Zhang , Xiaohua Xia: “Modelling and energy efficiency optimization of belt
conveyors”, Applied energy 88, Elsevier publication, 3061-3071 (2011)
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[6] Swami, R., 2012. “Solar cell”, IJSRP 2 (7), 1–5.
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[12] https://www.loomsolar.com/products/luminous-solar-panel-300-watt-24v-poly-crys.
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