Traction versus slip in a wheel-driven belt conveyor

This paper presents an extension of existing models, used for flat belt conveyors, to describe the relationship between traction and slip in a wheel-driven belt conveyor with a curved surface. The model includes the viscoelastic properties of the rubber running surface in the form of Maxwell elements. After the application of a correction factor to account for the interaction between adjacent elements, which is initially not modelled, experimental results show that the model generates a satisfactory match and that belt speed has little effect on traction in the feasible speed range.