Tube chain conveyor

A tubular chain conveyor is a mechanical conveyor system and is used exclusively for conveying bulk materials. It belongs to the group of so-called mechanical continuous conveyors with rotating traction means.

Tube chain conveyor standing construction with tubes on top of each other

In contrast to conventional conveyor technology, the tube chain conveyor enables horizontal, vertical or diagonal (and also combinable) conveyance. It can therefore be easily integrated into almost any room. Due to its three-dimensional construction, a tube chain conveyor can be adapted to almost any operational situation.

Structure and functionality

The basic components of the pipe chain conveyor are the tensioning station, a drive station, the pipe housing on the conveying and return side and the revolving conveyor chain with driver disks attached at regular intervals. The conveyor chain is guided through the tubular housing and therefore transports the goods in a particularly gentle manner. The numerous conveyor disks create a so-called capsule system that reduces the overpressure or underpressure. As a rule, an inlet for receiving the product is attached in the conveyor strand pipe near the tensioning station. The outlet for the delivery of the pumped medium is located below the drive station. Thanks to its closed system, the tube chain conveyor is dust, gas and pressure tight. It enables a clean transport of the bulk goods. Any number of outlets and inlets can be integrated into the conveyor line.

Executions

So that the tube chain conveyor can be used for different conveying capacities, five different sizes have been developed. The type designations are derived from the respective pipe diameter. There are 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 type tubular chain conveyors. Thanks to these different sizes, bulk materials up to a grain size of 100 mm, bulk density up to over 7 t / m³ and throughputs up to 80 m³ / h can be conveyed. Other factors that must be taken into account when choosing a suitable tube chain conveyor are product properties (e.g. temperature, bulk density, humidity, grain size and special characteristics such as abrasiveness, stickiness, etc.) as well as the direction and length of the conveyor line.

The tube chain conveyor can be selected and combined in various designs: flat (tubes next to each other), standing (tubes one above the other) and / or vertical arrangement. Under normal conditions, the distance limit of a tube chain conveyor is up to 60 m horizontally or 40 m vertically.

application

Because the tube chain conveyor is designed as a space-saving and cost-effective modular system, it is now used in almost all branches of industry, such as B.

Aluminum works
Building material works
Chemical plants
Fertilizer industry
Farbenwerke

Meat meal industry
Plaster mills
Thermal power stations
Lime factories
Ceramics industry

Sewage treatment plants
Concentrate industry
Power plants
Plastics industry
food industry

Waste incineration plants
Paper mills
Soot works
Steel mills
Carcass recycling

Washing powder industry
Cement industry

Advantages of tube chain conveyor compared to conventional conveyor technology

flexible lines (three-dimensional)
dust, gas and pressure-tight conveyance
Conveying highly abrasive, toxic, explosive, sticky and chemically aggressive products
Food-safe executable
low energy requirement (e.g. 60 m³ / h with 50 m horizontal or 30 m vertical length: only 9.2 kW)
Flameproof
Explosion pressure shock resistance
all designs according to ATEX possible
Pressure shock resistance
low maintenance requirement, long service life , low wear due to low chain speeds

little need for space
low grain destruction, gentle product transport
Forced discharge also possible with sticky products
high degree of self-cleaning (no dead space)
homogeneous silo filling (no segregation)
Restart possible when full
high degree of residual emptying, which means that product changes are possible

While many other conveying units have problems with vertical conveying, the tube chain conveyor can also be used here without any problems. Because the conveyor disks are only a short distance apart (160 to 200 mm), chambers are formed in the vertical pipe which again absorb the product slip from the higher chamber. As a result, the tube chain conveyor achieves up to 100% of its theoretically calculated conveying capacity. Only the drive station, the pipe housing, the pipe bends and the conveyor chain are required for vertical conveyance. No tensioning station is necessary because the chain tensions itself due to its own weight (cost savings). The pear-shaped design of the lines has also proven its worth, for example to empty big bags or to return conveyor belt residues to the belt, etc. A common place of use of vertical tube chain conveyors is the filling of silos. The advantages of the tube chain conveyor are also evident in horizontal conveyance or when changing direction individually. Depending on experience with the media to be conveyed and the mechanical load-bearing capacity of individual components, several changes of direction can be implemented within a conveying line using pipe bends or deflection stations. The maintenance requirement for the basic equipment of the tube chain conveyor is extremely low, so that maintenance in companies is (allegedly) often even forgotten. Only the chain tension and wear parts need to be monitored visually at the maintenance openings - at large intervals.

Literature / specialist media

Trade journal Schüttgut, issue 6/2008
Specialist magazine Entsorga, edition 10/2009
Brewery industry magazine, edition 9/2009