Power plant and calculation site basically includes the detailed study of power plant operation and maintenance, its related all calculations and thumb rules. It also involves detailed troubleshooting guides for operation and maintenance of power plant system/equipments like Boiler, fans, compressors, belt conveyors, ash handling system, ESP, steam turbine, cooling tower, heat exchangers, steam ejectors, condensers WTP. etc. Heat rate, efficiency
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Belt Conveyor speed calculator
Sunday, 14 June 2026
What are the main Safety Equipment and PPEs used in Coal Handling Plant (CHP)?
Coal Handling Plants (CHP) in thermal power stations involve various hazards such as dust generation, moving machinery, fire risk, high noise levels, and material handling accidents. Therefore, proper safety equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are essential to ensure safe operation and maintenance activities.
Important Safety Equipment Used in CHP
- Fire extinguishers and hydrant systems for fire protection
- Pull cord switches and
- Belt sway switches on conveyors
- Zero speed Switches
- Emergency stop push buttons
- Dust suppression and dust extraction systems
- Gas detectors in confined areas
- Safety guards for rotating and moving equipment
- CCTV surveillance and alarm systems
- Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) systems for maintenance safety
- Adequate lighting and emergency lighting systems
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) plays a vital role in ensuring the safety and health of employees working in Coal Handling Plants (CHP). CHP areas contain several hazards such as coal dust, moving machinery, high noise levels, falling materials, fire risks, and work at height. Proper use of PPE helps reduce the chances of accidents, injuries, and occupational health problems.
Importance of PPEs in CHP Plant
Protection from Coal Dust
Dust masks and respirators protect workers from inhaling coal dust, which may
cause respiratory diseases and breathing problems.
Prevention of Head Injuries
Safety helmets protect workers from falling objects, structural impacts, and
accidental collisions in operational areas.
Foot Protection
Safety shoes prevent injuries caused by slipping, sharp objects, heavy
materials, and hot surfaces.
Eye and Face Safety
Safety goggles and face shields protect against dust particles, sparks, and
flying debris during maintenance work.
Noise Protection
Ear plugs and ear muffs reduce exposure to high noise generated by crushers,
conveyors, and vibrating equipment, preventing hearing damage.
Hand Safety
Hand gloves protect workers from cuts, abrasions, burns, and chemical exposure
during handling and maintenance activities.
Fall Protection
Safety harnesses are essential while working at heights on transfer towers,
galleries, and conveyor structures.
Improved Visibility
Reflective jackets improve visibility of workers in low-light and busy
operational areas, reducing accident risks.
Compliance with Safety Standards
Proper PPE usage helps industries comply with statutory safety regulations and
company safety policies.
Reduction in Workplace Accidents
Regular use of PPE minimizes injuries, improves employee confidence, and
promotes a strong safety culture in the plant.
Common PPEs Used in Coal Handling Plant
- Safety Helmet – Protects the head from falling objects and impacts.
- Safety Shoes – Prevent injuries due to heavy material handling and slipping.
- Dust Mask / Respirator – Protects
against coal dust inhalation.
- Safety Goggles – Protects eyes
from dust particles and flying materials.
- Ear Plugs / Ear Muffs – Reduces
exposure to high noise from crushers, conveyors, and vibrating equipment.
- Hand Gloves – Protect hands
during maintenance and material handling.
- Reflective Safety Jacket – Improves
visibility in operational areas.
- Safety Harness – Used while
working at height on conveyors, transfer towers, and bunkers.
- Face Shield – Used during
grinding, welding, and cutting activities.
- Chemical Resistant PPE – Used when
handling oils, chemicals, or cleaning agents.
Friday, 18 July 2025
How to calculate the belt conveyor speed?
Belt
conveyors have been using in industries like steel, pharmaceutical, food,
textile, sugar, distillery etc. Knowing or deciding the speed of the conveyors is
very vital for designing the capacity of the conveyor.
How belt
speed is related to the capacity of the conveyor?
Higher the
belt speed, more is the conveyor capacity and Vice Versa.
Generally,
the speed of the conveyors is around 0.8 to 2 m/sec.
Actually,
there are two methods followed to calculate the belt speed
In this
case, time taken to travel the belt from head pulley to tail pulley or from
Head to Head.
Belt Speed (m/s)=Time Taken (s) / Distance Travelled (m)
For example: A belt conveyor of length 125 meter takes 4 minutes for complete rotation, the conveyor speed is calculated as
Belt speed
= Distance traveled / Time elapsed in one complete rotation
Belt speed =
Belt speed
= (250) / (4 X 60 sec)
Belt speed = 250 / 240 = 1.04 m/sec.
2-Theoretical method.
In this method Belt conveyor speed is calculated by using theoretical calculation method.
Input
required:
1-Head pulley
(D) in meter
2-Gear box
input and out put speed in RPM or Gear box reduction ratio
3-Motor
speed in RPM
Conveyor
speed / Belt speed in m/sec = π X
D X N / 60
Where, D is
Diameter of Head pulley in meter
N is the
speed of the Pulley in RPM
Speed of
the pulley = Motor speed / Gear box reduction ratio.
Examples:
1-A belt
conveyor of length 350 meter, takes around 740 seconds for complete rotation.
Calculate the speed of the belt.
Belt speed
= Distance traveled / Time elapsed in one complete rotation
Belt speed =
(350 X 2) / 740
Belt speed
= 700 / 740
Belt speed
= 0.95 m/sec.
2-Calculate
the speed of the belt conveyor having following details.
Motor output
speed: 1450 RPM
Gear box
reduction ratio:45: 1
Head Pulley
Diameter D = 500 mm
Now,
calculate the Gear box out put speed = Motor speed / Reduction ratio
Gear box output
speed = 1450/45 = 32.22 RPM
Since gear
box out shaft is directly connected to conveyor pulley. Hence speed of the Gear
box out put shaft and Head pulley are same.
Gear box
out put speed = Head Pulley speed
Therefore, Conveyor
speed V in m/sec = π X D X N
/ 60
Therefore, Conveyor
speed V in m/sec = π X 0.5 X
32.22 / 60
Conveyor
speed V in m/sec = 0.84 m/sec
What are
the factors affecting the belt conveyor speed??
Following
are the major factors, which affect the conveyor speed.
- Head pulley diameter
- Motor speed
- Gear box reduction ratio
- Load on the conveyor
- Friction between rotating idlers and belt
- Conveyor inclination
- Environmental factors like rain, dust etc
Read more>>>>on >>>power plant and calculation
Read more>>>>>Boiler and calculations
Friday, 17 December 2021
Standard operating procedure of CHP & Dust extraction system
SOP
FOR CHP START UP
- Ensure trained CHP operator & helper are available
- Ensure adequate illumination is available
- Ensure Operator has walky-talky for proper communication with control room
- Have field round on entire CHP & ensure all conveyors are empty & no any foreign materials on belt.
- Ensure no any maintenance or inspections are going on by other department
- Ensure all interlocks & local hooters are healthy
- Ensure shuttle conveyor discharge chute is at required position to discharge the coal
- Ensure Coal crusher twin gate is opening is as per our requirement
- Give clearance to control room for starting CHP
- Initially start Dust extraction system
- Then follow the starting sequence of shuttle conveyor & then preceding all conveyors as per system interlocks
- Ensure OBMS & magnetic separator are inline
- After ensuring all the coal handling system is healthy, then fill the grizzly hopper & start vibro-feeder (Do not start vibro-feeders if hopper is empty)
- If coal is dusty, keep ON water sprinklers
- Ensure coal belt weight is within limit by frequently communicating with control room
- During CHP running, have the field rounds for running inspections like coal spillage, gear box/motor abnormal sounds etc
Read reference books for power plant O&M
SOP
FOR CHP SHUTDOWN
- Ensure coal bunker is 90%
- Stop coal feeding
- Keep OFF water sprinkler system
- Ensure coal belt conveyors are empty & there is no any coal on belts, vibro screen & crusher
- Stop CHP as per sequence & wait for 10 minutes then stop dust extraction system
- Have field round & ensure no any coal saturation & no any abnormal observations
- Carryout house keeping
- Note down abnormalities observed during operation & take into the shift in charges & maintenance team
Pre checks:
- Ensure, operators supervising the DE system & coal handling are well trained
- Ensure proper communication of operator with control room
- Ensure coal handling, coal feeding system & DE systems are free from coal & other foreign materials Ensure there is a proper housekeeping near coal crusher, vibro screen & DE system
- Ensure all interlocks & protections systems of conveyors are healthy
- Ensure sprinklers systems provided on coal belt conveyors are healthy & can be used on immediate use Ensure coal dust collecting pipes are jam free i,e free from large size coal particles
- Ensure temperature gauge fitted at DE silo is showing normal temperature
Start up Operation:
- Start coal belt conveyors as per SOP, initially conveyors after DE systems shall be started first
- Then start RAV & vibrators, ensure both are working normal
- Then start air compressor & ensure bag filters purging SOVs are operating sequentially with preset operating & cycle time
- Start air blower & adjust suction damper, initially suction damper is kept 50% to avoid the sucking of larger sized coal particles
- Then set individual dust suction dampers of dust collecting pipes from crusher, vibro screen, and conveyor to 30-50% maximum.
- After coal feeding, check the dust expelling from chimney, if it is more, then control the blower inlet damper.
- Allow to stabilize the system Operation checks:
- Ensure RAV is running continuously
- Ensure electromagnetic vibrator fitted on bag filter housing hopper is working as per timer set
- Ensure bag filter housing temperature is normal
Pre Shutdown & shutdown checks /
activities:
- After shutdown of DE system following safety checks & activities to be carried out
- After stopping the coal feeding, keep ‘ON’ DE system for at least 10-15 minutes to ensure bag filters & housing are free from dust & coal particles
- After ensure there is no more coal falling from RAV & no dust in chimney shutdown the system safely after shutdown, ensure the dust collecting pipes are jam free
- Carryout the water washing of coal crusher house & coal belts (near crusher & DE system)
- During shutdown have a routine field rounds over crusher house, DE system & ensure temperature inside the bag filter housing is normal.
Air Quality Monitor, Handheld PM2.5 Detector Particle Counter Air Quality Monitor Home Indoor Dust Particles Meter 2.8in LCD Display
Thursday, 11 June 2020
40 important question & answers on belt conveyor for power plant engineers & operators
- Coal elevator
- Coal grizzly hopper
- Coal vibro feeder
- Coal conveyors (belt conveyor)
- Coal vibro screen
- Coal crusher
- Coal dust extraction system
- Shuttle conveyor
- Belt
- Carrying idlers
- Return idlers
- Impact idlers
- Transoms
- Pulleys
- Vertical gravity take up system
- Power transmission system (Motor, Gear box, couplings)
- Main structure & trestles
- Its material of composition
- Number of ply
- Belt rating
- Belt width
- Head pulley
- Tail pulley
- Snub pulley
- Bend pulley
- Take up pulley
- Largest pulley : Head pulley
- Smallest pulley : Snub pulley
- 180 degree: For flat belts and low loads
- 45 degree: Higher capacity
- 35 degree: Medium capacity
- 20 degree: Low capacity
- 10 and 15 degrees.
- Pull Cord Switch (PCS): Used for emergency stopping of the belt.
- Belt Sway Switch (BSS): Protects belt from swaying or restricts over side movement
- Zero Speed Switches (ZSS): This arrangement is fitted to tail pulley or snub pulley to protect the belt from further damage during belt cut.
- Carrying idler transom
- Return idler transom
- Self aligning carrying transom
- Self aligning return transom
- Garland idler transom (refer below image)
- Carrying idlers: Fitted on carrying side of the belt (top side of the belt)
- Return idler: Fitted on return side of the conveyor (bottom side). It is the largest idler among all the idlers used in conveyors
- Impact idlers: It is same as carrying idler, it is fitted on carrying side of the conveyor below the discharge chute of preceding conveyor
- Side guide idler: Fitted to the self aligning transoms to avoid the belt swaying at one side
- M Grade: Heavy duty resistant to abrasion, sharp and rugged materials. Work in normal atmosphere temperature. Generally used for coal, bagasse and other biomass fuel applications.
- N Grade: Used for coal, bagasse and biomass, low resistant to abrasion, sharp and rugged materials.
- B (G) Grade: Work in normal temperature used only for low duty.
- HRS: Used for high temperature applications up to 100 °C surface temperature and 200 °C material temperature.
- HRE Grade: Used for high temperature applications up to 150 °C surface temperature and 400 °C material temperature.
- Belt running off at head pulley due to improper alignment of troughing idlers near head pulley.
- Belt running off at tail pulley due to build up of material on return idlers.
- Excessive wear on bottom side of belt.
- Excessive wear on carrying and return side of belt.
- Overstretch of belt due to excessive tension.
- Belt slipping on tail pulley.
- Pulley hub key way damage.
- Belt moving on one side only.
- Fuel leakage and spillage due to improper arrangement of scrapers and skirting.
- Conveyor Drive Problem: Vibrations in gear box and motors, abnormal sound in gear box, coupling bolts loose.
- Belt cut
- Belt slip on head pulley
- Excessive wear out on carrying side of belt is due to:
- Dirt, frozen or misaligned return idlers
- Excessive sag between troughing idlers causing load to move and shift on belt as it passes over idlers
- Abrasive skirt boards
- Poor loading
- Slippage Between Belt and Drive Pulley or Pulleys: Check the wear out of pulley rubber lagging.
- Sticking Troughing Idlers: Check the operation of belt cleaners (scrapers).
- Material Ground Between Pulley and Belt: Arrest fuel leakage and remove the collected fuel regularly.
- Build up of material on return idlers.
- Unequal loading.
- Improper alignment of head pulley.
- Not working of self aligning transums situated near head pulley.
- Install belt-cleaning plows at head end and tail end.
- Clean, repair and align return idlers.
- Increase belt tension if too low.
- Reduce idler spacing.
- Repair and inspect skirt board rubbers regularly.
- Feed load on belt in same direction at same speed.
- Decrease the belt tension by lagging on drive pulleys.
- Increase arc of contact of drive pulley.
- Increase speed, if possible, keeping shift tonnage the same.
- Reduce tonnage at slower speed.
- Tighten screw take-up just enough to keep belt from slipping.
- On a gravity take-up reduce counter weight to minimum amount sufficient to keep belt from slipping.
= 403 m X 1 sec =403 seconds =403/60 = 6.71 minutes.
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