“DESIGN, ANALYSIS & DEVLOPMENT OF ALGORITHM FOR

SCREW CONVEYOR”

By
Tushar Panchal (140800119044)
Chandani Panchal (140800119013)
Rucha Chitroda (130804119001)

Under the guidance of

Hardik K Nakrani
Assistant Professor,
Mechanical Engineering Department,
VIER , Kotambi.

A Project Report Submitted to

Gujarat Technological University
in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for
the Degree Of Bachelor Of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.

2017 - 2018

Department Of Mechanical
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the research work embodied in this thesis entitled “DESIGN,
ANALYSIS & DEVLOPMENT OF ALGORITHM SCREW CONVEYOR” was
presented by Tushar Pancvhal (140800119044) , Chandani Panchal (140800119013) , and
Rucha Chitroda (130804119001) at VADODARA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING,
KOTAMBI for partial fulfillment of B.E. in Mechanical Engineering to be awarded by
Gujarat Technological University. This work has been carried out under my supervision and is
to the satisfaction of department.

Date:
Place: Vadodara Institute Of Engineering

Guide:
Mr. Hardik K Nakrani

Assistant Professor,

VIER, Kotambi.

H.O.D:

Mr. Visvas B Rajyaguru

Head of depart

VIER, Kotambi.

Seal of Institute
 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that neither any part of this thesis
nor the whole of the thesis has been submitted for a degree to any other University or
Institution.

I Certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s
copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any
other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are
fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the
extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing
within the meaning of the Indian Copyright Act.

I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my
thesis review committee.

Date:

Place: Vadodara Institute Of Engineering

Signature of Students:

Name of Students: Tushar Panchal (140800119044)

Chandani Panchal (140800119013)

Rucha Chitroda (130804119001)

Signature of Guide:

Name of Guide: Asst. pro. Hardik K Nakrani

Institute code: 080

 APPROVAL CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that research work embodied in this thesis entitled “DESIGN, ANALYSIS
& DEVLOPMENT OF ALGORITHM SCREW CONVEYOR” was carried out by Tushar
Pancvhal (14080119044) , Chandani Panchal (140800119013) , and Rucha Chitroda
(130804119001) at VADODARA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING, KOTAMBI is
approved for award of the degree of “BACHALOR OF ENGINEERING IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING” by Gujarat Technological University.

Date:

Place: Vadadara Insitute Of Engineering

Examiner(s):

________________ ________________ ________________

( ) ( ) ( )

Engineering

Vadodara Institute Of Engineering, Kotambi.

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It has been a great honor to work, right from the conceptualization of the topic to completion
of the entire work of the dissertation, under the guidance of my honourable and respected
guide, Mr. Hardik Nakrani, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department
(VIER, Kotambi). I sincerely acknowledge them valuable contribution. They are a constant
source of encouragement and momentum that any difficulty becomes simple. They always
supported and tolerated me (including my silly mistakes and lethargy). I gained a lot of
valuable guidance and prompt suggestions from them during the entire work schedule.

It gives me pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Visvas B Rajyaguru

Professor and Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Dr. Jayesh. S. Patel
Principal to provide great opportunity to carry out this dissertation work as a part of the
curriculum.

I am also thankful to all the faculty members of Mechanical Department as they spent their
valuable time in guiding me in my dissertation work.

Thank You ………

Tushar Panchal (140800119044)

Chandani Panchal (140800119013)

Rucha Chitroda (130804119001)

 ABSTRACT

Screw conveyors are widely used for transporting and/or elevating particulates at controlled
and steady rates. They are used in many bulk material applications in industries ranging from
industrial minerals, agriculture (grains), pharmaceuticals, chemicals, pigments, plastics,
cement, sand, salt and food processing. They are also used for metering (measuring the flow
rate) from storage bins and adding small controlled amounts of trace materials such as
pigments to granular materials or powders. Current work deals with the design and analysis of
screw conveyor as per related IS codes. Furthermore a GUI has been prepared, using
Microsoft Visual Basic 2008, which gives the values of diameter and power requirement of
screw. Finite Element Analysis of the screw conveyor has been carried out using Ansys 11.0.

Keyword:- Screw fight, Size of Screw conveyor, Power requirement,

Theoretical modelling of torque requirement.
 INDEX

Chapter 1 Introduction 01
1.1 Introduction to horizontal 03
screw conveyor
1.2 AIM and Objectives 03
1.3 Problem specification 03
Chapter 2 Literature review 04
2.1 Literature review 04
Chapter 3 Methodology & 08
Implementation
3.1 Types of screw conveyor 08
3.2 Design of screw conveyor 11
3.2.1 Capacity of screw conveyor 11
3.2.2 Power requirement of screw 12
conveyor
3.3 Total power necessary for 14
shaft of screw conveyor
3.4 Theoretical modeling of 14
torque requirement
3.4.1 Feeder load 14
3.4.2 Pressure on surface of bulk 15
material
3.5 Axial resisting force 18
3.5.1 Axial resisting force on the 18
shear surface
3.5.2 Axial resisting force on core 19
shaft
3.5.3 Axial resisting force on 19
trailing side of flight
3.5.4 Axial force and stress on the 20
driving side of flight
3.6 Torque requirement on feed 20
section
Chapter 4 Reference 22

APPENDIX 23
Design canvas
PPR
PSAR
 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO HORIZONATL SCREW CONVEYOR

A sc.rew conveyor consists essentially of a shaft-mounted screw rotating in a trough and a

drive unit for running the shaft. The material is moved forward along the axis of the trough by
the thrust of screw thread or flight. The trough is usually of the U-shape. Screw conveyors are
widely used for transporting and/or elevating particulates at controlled and steady rates. They
are used in many bulk material applications in industries ranging from industrial minerals,
agriculture (grains), pharmaceuticals, chemicals, pigments, plastics, cement, sand, salt and
food processing. They are also used for metering (measuring the flow rate) from storage bins
and adding small controlled amounts of trace materials such as pigm-+ents to granular
materials or powders.

Operating Principle of a Screw Conveyor:

Materials (liquid or solid state) are loaded into the conveyor and pushed along by a helical
screw blade ('flighting') mounted onto a rotating shaft. Materials remain entrained between
the screw blade and casing until the point of discharge is reached. The point of discharge is
often (but not always!) a hole into which the material is dropped (storage area or silo etc.),
or, onto another conveyor. Most screw conveyors are driven by electric motors although the
speed does not have to be constant in order for the conveyor to work.

Construction:

A typical screw conveyor will consist of a helical screw blade, bearings for support at either
end and maybe at various places along the shaft depending upon the total shaft length,
gaskets for sealing the case, inspection covers, a drive motor and a drive gearbox. The design
is relatively simple and easy to reproduce. The technological advances have now allowed for
motor speeds to be regulated which sometimes negates the need for a gearbox.

01
Capacity Limiting Factors:

The angle of inclination is a capacity limiting factor; the capacity falls-off sharply as the angle
is increased. Other design factors that limit the screw conveyor capacity include the
rotational speed, clearance between the blades and casing, screw pitch, overall dimensions
of the unit and type of material conveyed. The particle size of the material conveyed is
important as it dictates how much volumetric space between the blades is utilized for
conveying e.g. sand will fill the whole possible volumetric space whilst large lumps of coal will
not.

PLANS
It has become necessary in recent years to give greater attention to reducing the failure of
screw conveyor due to high loaded material in the screw conveyor.

In the screw conveyor to conveying the high amount of the material the screw blades is
coming under the shear stress, more forces acting on the screw conveyor. In generally when
transferring the material through the screw conveyor the screw is working under the bending
loading as well as working under the wearing of the screw. Due to all this condition the screw
conveyor is failed.

In the design of screw conveyor there are many data required to design the screw conveyor,
like as a casing diameter, screw pitch, diameter of screw, pitch diameter of the screw, forces,
factor of safety, etc. are including in the design of the screw conveyor. And this design of
screw conveyor is very difficult, by using the manual calculation of this all data we are not
getting the perfect design and it has not useful for all applications of screw conveyor.

For reducing all this difficulty of the design calculation here we are developing the algorithm
for horizontal screw conveyor. In the algorithm including all the design data of the horizontal
screw conveyor. firstly making the design of the screw conveyor by using the computer
design software. By using design software doing analysis and simulation of the screw
conveyor design. By this analysis and simulation getting data of forces generation, stress,
strength, etc. factors.

The algorithm developing by the analysis and simulation of the screw conveyor design. This
algorithm is suitable for all types application. So it is increasing the capacity of screw
conveyor as well as overall performance of it.

02
1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES :

This investigation is concerned with the material conveying with minimum time as well as
to improve strength screw conveyor for to reduce the failure against the stress and to
increasing material conveying capacity with reducing the power losses of the screw
conveyor. By developing the algorithm of the screw conveyor which give the perfection in
the design of it. By using this algorithm we get all the design data of screw conveyor. This
algorithm developing according to require material conveying quantity. . The algorithm is
developing by the analysis and simulation of the screw conveyor design. The analysis and
simulation is possible by the modelling, analysis and simulation software. After completion
all this procedure making the algorithm according to the analysis and simulation data. The
algorithm making by using the computer coding system language like as a c, c++, etc
language. So by making this algorithm its makes the design easier, it is reducing the design
time, it is reduce the failure of the screw conveyor, it can be increase the life of screw
conveyor and to improve the capacity of the screw conveyor. By using this algorithm we get
directly design data of screw conveyor without any calculation difficulties. This algorithm
is design according to all type application so, it is not only suitable for big manufacture
industries it is also used in small and medium manufacturing industries. By putting the
material conveying quantity and time we get all require design data from this algorithm.
This screw conveyor algorithm very helpful in the continuous production industries as we
as all type of manufacturing industries.

1.3 PROBLEM SPECIFICATIONS :

One of the most important factors which may influence the outcome of any of the screw
conveyor is breaking of conveyor blades. When conveying material the in high speed the
stress is generating in the blades due to this stress breaking or cracks is generated in the
screw conveyor blades. By failing of the screw conveyor stopping the production in
industries. Because of production shuts down the organization leads toward huge loss. Due to
breaking of the blades it increasing the maintenance cost.

The most prevalent screw conveyor problems include:

 Blades breaking


 Loss of power.


 Screw failure.


 Casing damage.

03
 Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Literature Review

(1)

Hemad Zareiforoush1, Mohammad Hasan Komarizadeh1, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh:.

Department of Mechanical Engineering of Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Urmia, P.O. Box 165, Urmia 57135, Iran. In the current research, some
experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of screw diametric
clearance and screw rotational speed on the performance characteristics of a screw conveyor,
during handling process of rough rice grains. The performance specifications were evaluated in
terms of conveyor actual volumetric capacity, volumetric efficiency, specific power and net
power requirements. A screw conveyor with the housing diameter of 15.5 cm, screw diameter of
13 cm and screw shaft diameter 3.5 cm having the length of 150 cm was constructed for
conducting the experiments. The net power requirement of the conveyor increased significantly
(P>0.01) with increasing the screw rotational speed; whilst the value found to be decreased with
increasing the screw clearance (P<0.01). As the rotational speed of the screw conveyor
increased, the actual volumetric capacity increased up to a maximum value and further increases
in speed caused a decrease in capacity. The volumetric efficiency of the screw conveyor
decreased significantly (P<0.01) with increasing the screw diametric clearance and screw
rotational speed. Considering the widely utilization of screw conveyors in agricultural grains
handling processes, the information obtained in this study could be very useful in proper design
and adjustments of this type of implements with respect to conveying materials characteristics..

(2)

Babur Philip j. owen and Paul w. cleary; They research that Screw conveyors are used
extensively in agriculture and processing industries for elevating and/or transporting bulk
materials over short to medium distances. They are very effective for conveying dry particulate
solids, giving good control over the throughput.. In that work, the predicted mass flow rate was
in excellent agreement with experimentally measured values for the horizontal and vertical
configurations across the full range of screw rotation rates. Although the throughput predictions
for the screw conveyor inclined at 30° and 60° followed the same qualitative trend, there were
moderate differences between the DEM and experimental results. In this paper, we use the
Discrete Element Method (DEM) to examine how variations of particle properties (such as:
particle shape, particle-particle and particle-wall friction) influence the performance of the screw
conveyor. The primary focus of our study is comparing predicted mass flow rates with
experimentally measured values. The secondary focus is to study how other performance
measures (such as: particle speeds and power consumption) vary due to changes in the properties
of the particals.

04
 (3)

Jigar Patel*, Sumant Patel**, Snehal Patel: They research that Screw (Auger) conveyors are
widely used for transporting and/or elevating particulates at controlled and steady rates. They are
used in many bulk material applications in industries ranging from industrial minerals,
agriculture, chemicals, pigments, plastics, cement, sand, salt and food processing. They are also
used for metering (measuring the flow rate) from storage bins and adding small controlled
amounts of trace materials such as pigments to granular materials or powders. Many studies on
screw conveyors were conducted to examine performance and to develop new types [1]. Most of
these studies were experimental in nature. The purpose of this paper is to present a critical
review of current explanations on the working concept of a screw conveyor. Although many
experimental and numerical studies on the screw conveyor have been made. In this paper, design
and analysis of screw conveyor for different material is discussed. Some researcher used a DEM
method to predict the performance of screw conveyor is also discussed. This discussion will be
helpful for future research..

(4)

Hemad Zareiforoush, Mohammad Hasan Komarizadeh, Mahdi Masoomi. Mahdi Masoom:

Department of Mechanical Engineering of Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of Agriculture
University of Urmia. The tests reported in this research were conducted to determine the effects
of those parameters believed to have the greatest influence upon horizontal screw conveyors
throughput capacity and power requirement when handling paddy grains. Two screw conveyors
with diameters of 20 and 25 cm were evaluated at four screw clearances (6, 9,12 and 15 mm) and
five screw rotational speeds (200, 300, 400,500 and 600 rpm). The results revealed that for both
the conveyors tested, with increasing the screw rotational speed, the conveyor capacity increased
and reached to a maximum point and after the point, the volumetric capacity decreased.
Increasing the screw speed caused the volumetric efficiency and power requirements of the
conveyors to be decreased and increased, respectively. The throughput capacity and power
requirement of the conveyors increased (P<0.01) with increasing the auger dimensions. As the
screw clearance increased, the throughput capacity and power requirement of the conveyors
decreased (P<0.01).

(5)

NAGESH R. TAMBAKE, Walchand Institute of Technology, Solapur: The screw conveyor

is one of the oldest methods of conveying material known to mankind with the original design
dating back to more than two thousand years. Since the screw conveyor came into general use a
little over a century ago for moving grains, fine coal and other bulk material of the times, it has
came to occupy a unique place in a growing area of material handling processing. Today,
modern technology has made the screw conveyor one of the most efficient and economical
method for moving bulk material. Problem associated with screw conveyer is fatigue failure of
flange during work. Flange joints are common in screw conveyor. Flange connects the gearbox
of motor with casing of screw conveyor. To find the reasons of the fatigue failure a review is to
be taken from the literatures.

05
 (6)

Jigar N. Patel, Sumant P. Patel, Snehal S. Patel : Screw(Auger) conveyors are widely used for
transporting and/or elevating particulates at controlled and steady rates. They are used in many
bulk material applications in industries ranging from industrial minerals, agriculture, chemicals,
pigments, plastics, cement, sand, salt and food processing. They are also used for metering
(measuring the flow rate) from storage bins and adding small controlled amounts of trace
materials such as pigments to granular materials or powders. Here in this paper we represent the
modification of screw conveyor for get same output from modified design with reduced size and
less power consumption. And also given the generalized design of shaftless screw
conveyor(SSC) for 2 tonnes per hour capacity to convey cement. The finite element analysis
(FEA) of both model is given so we can easily find that the design is safe or not for industrial
use.

(7)

Utkarsha Govind Kulkarni, Hemanshu P. Shah, Satyam M. SanasNBN Sinhgad School of

Engineering, Pune: A screw feeder is a device that is mostly used to transport varieties of
materials at a desired and controlled flow rate. Screw feeders are also called as screw augers. In
many studies, there is no distinction between a screw feeder and a screw elevator. The difference
between both of them is that a screw feeder is used to transport material in horizontal or inclined
arrangement whereas in a screw elevator material is handled in a vertical manner. A screw feeder
can transport varieties of particulate matter whether it is a chemical, semi-solid material, plastic,
slurry etc. Apart from transportation screw feeders are used to measure flow rate as well as they
are used to add small traces of materials (i.e. pigments) to powders. In this paper, design
& manufacturing of screw feeder for achieving constant flow rate which is required to supply the
material (in this application it is wheat) to the grinding wheels of the flour mill and hence will
reduce non-uniform wear of grinding wheels and hence will increase its life.

(8)

Alan W. Roberts Emeritus Professor and Director: Centre for Bulk Solids and Particulate
Technologies,The University of Newcastle, Australia. This paper is concerned primarily with
screw conveyors with fully enclosedtubular casings. The throughput, torque and power are
significantly influenced by the vortexmotion of the bulk solid being conveyed. The vortex
motion, together with the degree of fill,govern the volumetric efficiency and, hence, the
throughput. This, in turn, influences thetorque, power and conveying efficiency. A theory is
presented to predict the performance ofscrew conveyors of any specified geometry. The
influence of the flow properties of the bulk material on the conveyor performance is illustrated.

06
 (9)

B. O. Ugwuishiwu, A. P. Onwualu, and C. H. Ugwuishiwu, Agricultural and Bioresources

Engineering Department, U.N.N +Raw Materials Research and Dev.
Council.(RMRDC),Abuja Computer Science Department, U.N.N.: The screw or auger
conveyor is an important conveyor in agricultural and food processing industries. The classical
approach to its analysis and design involve the determination of the type and dimensions of the
pitch, capacity, screw housing, clearance, length and diameter, shaft diameter, speed of
revolution, filling factor, necessary elevation, and power requirements, in addition to the design
of the layout. These are done by a combination of calculation and selection from charts. After
these, the torque requirement is checked against maximum allowable torque given in charts,
which may require the designer to repeat the process in an iterative manner. This can be
frustrating where it is done for different products and where it is necessary to consider alternative
designs in order to achieve design optimization. A computer program was developed for the
above processes to remove the constraints of the classical
approach. The program which is iterative and menu driven, accepts relevant input data
(material to be conveyed, required capacity, elevations involved, etc) and does the required
calculations, selection and optimization. It then gives the user the required dimensions and
parameters of the conveyor. Results of evaluation tests show that the program is efficient in the
design process and saves time, especially where alternative designs are required to be produced.

07
 Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY & IMPLEMENTATION

In the recent past in India, there has been a significant increase in the use of modern material
conveyor techniques. From all material transferring techniques there is one of the most important
material transferring technique is screw conveyor. The screw conveyor widely used in industries.
The use of the screw conveyor about 33% of conveying material by the screw conveyor.

Screw conveyor design calculation is evaluated based on the performance characteristics such as
surface roughness, material conveying rate, blade wear, screw conveyor life, force, screw
diameter, power consumption and are strongly correlated with the applications and material such
as motor speed, material properties, material weight, and blade geometry.

The screw conveyor is chosen by accordingly the application of material transfer like as, cement
transfer, sand transfer, raw material transfer, water transfer, chemical transfer

3.1 Types of screw conveyor

Standar Pitch

Conveyor screws with pitch equal to screw diameter are considered standard. They are
suitable for a whole range of materials in most conventional applications.

Conical Screw Flight, Single Flight

Screw flights increase from 2/3 to full diameter. Used in screw feeders to provide uniform
withdrawal of lumpy materials. Generally equivalent to and more economical than variable
pitch.

08
Half Pitch, Single flight

Similar to short pitch except pitch is reduced to 1/2 standard pitch. Useful for inclined
applications, for screw feeders and for handling extremely fluid materials.

Paddle

Adjustable paddles provide complete mixing action, and controlled material flow.

Variable Pitch, Single Flight

Flights have increasing pitch and are used in screw feeders to provide uniform withdrawal of
fine, free flowing materials over the full length of the inlet opening.

Double Flight Single Pitch

Double flight, standard pitch screws provide smooth regular material flow and uniform
movement of certain types or materials.

09
Single Flight Ribbon

Excellent for conveying sticky or viscous materials. Open space between flighting and pipe
eliminate collection and build-up of material.

Cut anda Folded Flight, Standar pitch

Folded flight segments lift and spill the material. Partially retarded flow provides thorough
mixing action. Excellent for heating, cooling or aerating light substances.

Multiple Screw Ribbon

Excellent for conveying sticky or viscous materials. Open space between flighting and pipe
eliminates collection and buildup of the material.

10
3.2 DESIGN OF SCREW CONVEYOR

Size of Screw Conveyor

The size of screw conveyor depends on two factors

a) The capacity of the conveyor

b) The lump size of the material to be conveyed.

3.2.1 Capacity of Screw Conveyor

The capacity of screw conveyor depends on the screw diameter, screw pitch, speed of the
screw and the loading efficiency of the cross sectional area of the screw. The capacity of a
screw conveyor with a continuous screw may be expressed as:

SCREW PITCH: (S) Commonly the screw pitch is taken equal to the diameter of the screw D.

however; it may range from 0.75 -1.0 times the diameter of the screw.

R.P.M. OF SCREW: (N) The usual range of R.P.M. of screw id 10 to 165. It depends on the diameter
of screw and the type of material.

Screw 150 200 250 300 400 500 600

conveyor

D (mm)
s

LOADING EFFICIENCY Max. 150 150 118 118 95 95 75

N, R.P.M.
Min. 24 24 24 20 20 20 15
The value of loading efficiency
should be taken large for materials which are free flowing and non-abrasive, while for materials
which are not free flowing and, or, are abrasive in nature, the value should be taken low:

Ψ = 0.12 to 0.15 for abrasive material

= 0.25 to 0.30 for mildly abrasive material
= 0.10 to 0.45 for non- abrasive, free flowing materials.

11
INCLINATION FACTOR

The inclination factor C is determined by the angle of screw conveyor with the horizontal.
Approximate values may be obtained from the following table:

Angle of screw with horizontal 0º 5º 10º 15º 20º

Value of factor C 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.65

EFFECT OF LUMP SIZE

The size of lump indicates the maximum dimension of the particle. Usually there are three
types of lump sizes which are considered for selection of screw size. These are:

1. A mixture of lumps and fines in which not more than 10% are lumps ranging from maximum
size to one half of the maximum; and 90% are lumps smaller than one of the maximum size.
2. A mixture of lumps and fines in which not more than 25% are lumps ranging from maximum
size to one half of the maximum; and 75% are lumps smaller than one of the maximum size.
3. A mixture of lump only in which 95% or more are lumps ranging from maximum size to one
half of the maximum size; and 5% or less are lumps less than one tenth of maximum size. The
allowable size of a lump in a screw conveyor is a function of the radial clearance between the
outside diameter of the central pipe and the radius of the inside of the screw trough, as well as
the proportion of the lumps in mixture. Figure shows the relationship.

3.2.1 Power Requirement of Screw Conveyor

3.2.1.1 Factors for power requirement determination

Power requirement of screw conveyor basically depends on the length of screw conveyor,
capacity and a factor for total apparent resistance. This resistance varies with respect to type of
material conveyed that is its nature, abrasiveness, grain size, internal resistance, etc, and many
also depend upon the degree of filling. There are various factors with quite a few variables
involves for determination of power requirement of screw conveyo depends, are as follows:

1. Friction between the casing and the transported material.

2. Friction between the screw and the transported material.
3. Friction in the intermediate and in the end bearing and hence on type of bearings installed.
4. Friction in the axial bearing owing to axial force.

12
5. Additional resistance due to partial compensation of thermal expansion of the screw
supported between the material or when the temperature difference between winter and
summer is too high and the screw conveyor is comparatively long.
6. Additional resistance owing to accumulation of transport material at the intermediate
bearings, mixing and rolling of the transport material.

7. Additional resistance for friction of the screw edge with the transport material when a
grain is wedged between the grain between the screw and the casing.

8. Additional resistance fir upward conveying in case of inclined screw conveyors.

9.The various factors mentioned shall apply basically to horizontal and slightly inclined screw
conveyor. For vertical screw conveyor there may be some other factors also.

3.2.1.2 Power calculation

Drive Power of Loaded Screw

The drive power of the loaded screw is given by the formula:

PH = Power Necessary for the Process of the Material

PN = Drive Power of Screw Feeder at No Load

PSt= Power Due to Inclination

3.2.1.3 Power Necessary for the Process of the Material (PH)

In practice, the capacity of screw conveyor is expressed by the formula:

For a length L of the screw conveyor, the power PH in kilowatts will be the product of the
capacity IM by the length L and an artificial friction coefficient λ also called the process
resistance coefficient

This formula stresses factors that are involved in the power input, which, for a horizontal
screw, is proportional to the mass flow rate and length of conveyance. Power is also
proportional to the process resistance of the material, λ. In addition, it should be noted that
the sliding of the material particles against each gives rise to internal frictions. Finally, other
resistances due to the grading or the shape of the output show up. All this gives the

13
 parameter λ a higher value than that of the friction coefficient μ. Each material has its own
coefficient λ. It is generally in order of 2 to 4.

3.2.1.4 Drive Power of Screw Feeder at No Load (PN)

The power PN is very low to the power required for the process of the material. This value is
proportional to the diameter and the length of the screw. In practice it is given, in kilowatts,
by the formula:

3.2.1.5 Power Due to Inclination

The power, in kilowatts, will be the product of the capacity IM by the height H and by the
acceleration due to gravity g, that is:

3.3 Total power necessary for the shaft of screw conveyor

The total power is necessary is sum of the various powers described above:

3.4 THEORETICAL MODELING OF TORQUE REQUIREMENT

3.4.1 Feeder loads

A typical form of hopper with a screw conveyor is shown in Fig.4.1. The load which is exerted on
a feeder by the bulk solids in a hopper was discussed in refs. [13-16]. There are two main
loading conditions when the bin is filled from the empty state and when discharge has
occurred. The experimental evidence of this study suggests that the feeder load on a screw
conveyor can be considered to be that arising under flow conditions. Carson [17] also noted
that the starting torque is close to the running torque for many bulk materials and situations,
but warned that there adhere to surface at rest (effectively increasing wall friction angles); bulk
materials which gain strength with storage and require increased additional shear forces to
commence flow; bins or hoppers which are vibrated during storage at rest (greatly increasing
the vertical stress, i.e. feeder load).

14
According to Mclean and Arnold [13] the feeder load Q acting at the outlet of the hopper is
given by

q is a non-dimensional surcharge factor; m is a hopper shape factor: m=1 for axisymmetric flow
or a conical hopper,m=0 for plane flow or a wedge-shaped hopper.

Figure 4.1: typical form of a hopper fitted with a screw feeder

3.4.2 Pressure on surfaces of bulk material

3.4.2.1 The five boundary surfaces

Considering the bulk material boundary in a pitch, ‘pressures’ are imposed on five surfaces, as

indicated in Fig.3.2 taking account of the boundary conditions applying to the bulk material

moving within screw flights, two basic regions can be specified: an upper region in which a

‘shear surface’ exists between bulk solid surrounding the screw and the bulk solid propelled by

the screw and a lower region in which the bulk solid is moving within a limited space which

comprises rigid surfaces, as shown in fig.3.2.

The surfaces to which pressure is applied are:

1. The shear surface on the upper region of the screw:

2. The trailing side of the screw flight:
3. The driving side of the screw flight:
4. The outside surface of the core shaft:
5. The inside surface of the trough:

15
Figure 4.2: Bulk Density Surfaces within a Pitch: Five Boundary Surfaces and Two
Basic Regions

3.4.2.2 Pressure distribution on bulk material in the lower region

Consider the bulk material axial cross-section in the lower region in a pitch, as depicted in
Fig.4.3 the bulk material boundary in this region is composed of four sides: the trailing side and
the driving side of the screw flight, the inside surface of trough and the outside surface of the
shaft. The force due to gravity is neglected. Because the speed of rotation is relatively low, the
centrifugal effects are also regulated as negligible.Stress σw is the normal wall pressure acting
perpendicularly to the wall of the trough and the core shaft. σx is the axial compression stress.

The ratio is known as the stress ratio of the bulk material sliding on the confining surfaces (i.e.

trough and core shaft surfaces). A general expression can be obtained:

μd= tan δ and δ is the effective angle of internal friction of the bulk solid.

μw= is the friction coefficient between the bulk solid and confining surface.

The derivation of the above Eq. (3.9) is presented in Appendix. A.

For free flowing materials μd = μ, where μ is the friction coefficient of the bulk solid.

Figure 4.3: Stress on an element at the lower region of the screw

16
When a moving bulk solid reaches steady state, there is equilibrium between the driving force
and resisting force. Assuming the axial stress and the radial stress are functions of x only, as
shown in Fig. the balance of forces acting on the element of length dx results in

A solution to Eq.

Where c1 is an integration constant. For the purposes of this analysis, c1 is determined by

making thefollowing simplifying concerning the boundary condition:

at

is the stress exerted on the screw feeder by the bulk solid in a hopper. The solution to Eq. can
then be written as

To simplify the calculation an average radial stress along a pitch is introduced as

Substituting from Eq.(3.12), the average radial stress may be derived by

3.4.2.3 Force acting on individual surfaces

The analysis of the forces acting upon the bulk solid element on the individual surfaces where
non-cohesive bulk material is transported in a vertical screw conveyor was made by nilsson
[20]. A pitch is used for the calculation of the axial forces acting on the individual surfaces, as
depicted in Fig.

Figure 4.4: A material sector in a pitch.

It is assumed that within the length of a pitch the forces acting on individual surfaces are
uniformly distributed (on the upper shear surface, trailing side of a flight) or these forces can be
represented by average forces (on the outside surface of the core shaft and the inside surface
of the trough).

17
3.5 Axial resisting forces

3.5.1 Axial resisting force on the shear surface

The axial force acting on the element of the bulk solid on the shear surface, as shown in Fig.(), is
given by

Eq. (3.14) can be expressed as

In the actual application the wall friction between the bulk solid and the core shaft and the
trough surface may be the same.

Figure 4.5: Forces on the shear surface.

is the helical angle of the flight at the outside radius. is equivalent friction coefficient.

A ccording to Roberts et al. [14-16]

The total axial force acting over a pitch length of the screw is

After integration and by means of non-dimensional parameters, Eq.(3.17) can be written as

And

18
3.5.2 Axial resisting force on the core shaft
As shown in Fig.6, the axial resisting force acting on element of the bulk solid is

Figure 4.6: Forces on the shaft surface.

is the wall friction coefficient between the bulk solid and the core shaft. is the helical angle
of the flight at the screw shaft.

THE TOTAL AXIAL FORCE ACTING OVER A PITCH LENGTH OF THE SCREW IS

can be obtained from Eq. (15). Integrating Eq. (21) leads to

And

3.5.3 Axial resisting force on the trailing side of a flight

The axial resisting force acting on the trailing side of a flight as

Substituting and

, and integrating for r from Rc to Ro and for θ from 0 to 2π.

and

19
3.5.4 Axial resisting force on the trough surface
From Fig. 5, the axial resisting force on the trough surface is given by

After integrating for r from Rc to Ro and for θ from 0 to π, the total axial force over a pitch is

And

3.5.5 Axial force and stress on the driving side of flight

Figure 4.8: Forces on the driving side of a fight.

The axial force acting on the driving side of a flight is shown in Fig. 8. This force should is
uniformly exerted on the surface of driving side. The force should be equal to total resisting
forces

Fda

It is assumed that the total force is uniformly exerted on the surface of the driving side. The
axial stress can be determined by

Where

20
3.6 Torque requirement in the feed section
Most screw conveyors can be designed with little thought given to thrust force in an
ordinary screw conveyor is moderate and commonly used screw conveyor drives will
accommodate trust in either direction. However, in a screw conveyor, especially with long
inlet openings, axial force can be very severe. Thus, determination of the axial force is
necessary for the design of a screw conveyor. Roberts and Manjunath [12] proposed a
method by which the torque requirement can be calculated based on the axial forces. An
obvious advantage of this method is that both torque and axial force can be obtained from
one calculation process. Referring to Fig. 8, the tangential force on the bulk material
element is

The torque required for turning the screw is

Which becomes

and

An analytical solution to Eq. 36, by means of non-dimensional parameters, is

Substituting from Eq. 31, the torque requirement can be expressed by

Eq.38 is a general expression for the torque required for one pitch in feed section. For pitch
i, Eq.38 can be written as

The torque required for all pitches in the feed is

Where is the number of pitches in the feed section.It can be seen from Eq. 38 that the
required torque is propositional to the stress exerted on the feeder by the bulk solid in the
hopper and to the third power of the screw diameter. An increase of 50% in screw diameter
will result in a 50% increase in opening width of the hopper and a 50% increase in the stress
exerted by bulk solid in hopper (from Eq.7). According to Eq.38 the total increase in torque
will be 500%.

21
 Chapter 4

REFERENCES
[1] Alma Kurjak, "The vertical screw conveyor- powder properties and Screw conveyor
design", SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden,January 2005.

[2] A.W. Roberts, "The inuence of granular vortex motion on the volumetric performance of
enclosed screw conveyors", Callaghan NSW, 2308, January 1999.

[3] Daniel J. Fonseca, Gopal Uppal, Timothy J. Greene, "A knowledge-based system for
conveyor equipment selection", Elsevier 26 , pp. 615-623, 2004.

[4] Jianjun Dai, John R. Grace, "Biomass screw feeding with tapered and extended sections",
Powder Technology 186, Elsevier, pp. 56-64, 2008.

[5] W. McBride, P.W. Cleary, "An investigation and optimization of the `OLDS' elevator
using Discrete Element Modeling", Powder Technology 193,Elsevier, pp. 216-234, 2009

[6] T. K. Ray, Mechanical handling of materials, pp. 92-105, 2004.

[7] IS 5563 :1985, "Screw conveyor for industrial use"
[8] IS 13324 :1982, "Screw Feeders - general requirement"

[9] IS 12960 :1990, "Determination of power requirement of screw feeder – general

requirement"

[10] H. Colin, "Mechanical Conveyors for bulk solids", Elsevier

[11] A.Spivakovosky and V,Dyachkov,"Conveyors and related equipment", peace

publishers, Moscow

[12] A.W.Roberts and K.S.Manjunath, "Volumetric and torque characteristics of screw

feeders", Proc. Power and Bulk Solids conf.Chicago.IL,USA, pp.189-208, 1994.

22
APPENDIX

Design canvas
AEIOU

23
EMPATHY MAPPING
PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT
IDEATION CANVAS