Strength of conveyor belt splices

The durability of the conveyor belt- the most expensive component of the conveyor- depends to a large measure on the strength of the splice, which is lower than that of the solid belt. Splices in the belt are the areas in which the continuity of plies or steel cords has been disrupted. In such an area, a zone is formed in which the stresses in adjacent plies or cords differ markedly, which results in their different elongation and thus in additional shearing stresses in the layer of rubber. The strength of the splices depends on several factors such as the parameters of the joined belt, on the connecting layer and the technology of splicing, as well as on the materials used to make the splice. The strength of the splice constitutes a criterion for the selection of a belt suitable for the operating conditions. This paper presents the investigations on belts splices which were conducted in the Institute of Mining Engineering of the Wroclaw University of Technology. The investigations determined the strength of the full-length splices of belts and show the effect of geometric and physical parameters of the joined components on the ultimate strength of the splices.