Search Results (15)

Rubber–textile conveyor belts are an important element of large-scale transport systems, which in many cases are subjected to excessive dynamic loads. Assessing the impact resistance of them is essential for ensuring their reliability and longevity. The article focuses on the use of machine learning methods as one of the approaches to the analysis and prediction of the impact resistance of rubber–textile conveyor belts. Based on the data obtained from the design properties of conveyor belts and experimental testing conditions, four models were created (regression model, decision tree regression model, random forest model, ANN model), which are used to analyze and predict the impact force of the force acting on the conveyor belt during material impact. Each model was trained on training data and validated on test data. The performance of each model was evaluated using standard metrics and model indicators. The results of the model analysis show that the most powerful model, ANN, explains up to 99.6% of the data variability. The second-best model is the random forest model and then the regression model. The least suitable choice for predicting the impact force is the regression tree. Full article

This paper presents the design and implementation of an autonomous robotic facility for textile sorting and recycling, leveraging advanced computer vision and machine learning technologies. The system enables real-time textile classification, localization, and sorting on a dynamically moving conveyor belt. A custom-designed pneumatic gripper is developed for versatile textile handling, optimizing autonomous picking and placing operations. Additionally, digital simulation techniques are utilized to refine robotic motion and enhance overall system reliability before real-world deployment. The multi-threaded architecture facilitates the concurrent and efficient execution of textile classification, robotic manipulation, and conveyor belt operations. Key contributions include (a) dynamic and real-time textile detection and localization, (b) the development and integration of a specialized robotic gripper, (c) real-time autonomous robotic picking from a moving conveyor, and (d) scalability in sorting operations for recycling automation across various industry scales. The system progressively incorporates enhancements, such as queuing management for continuous operation and multi-thread optimization. Advanced material detection techniques are also integrated to ensure compliance with the stringent performance requirements of industrial recycling applications. Full article

This review explores the evolving landscape of sustainable textile manufacturing, with a focus on rubber-based materials for various industrial applications. The textile and rubber industries are shifting towards eco-friendly practices, driven by environmental concerns and the need to reduce carbon footprints. The integration of sustainable textiles in rubber-based products, such as tires, conveyor belts, and defense products, is becoming increasingly prominent. This review discusses the adoption of natural fibers like flax, jute, and hemp, which offer biodegradability and improved mechanical properties. Additionally, it highlights sustainable elastomer sources, including natural rubber from Hevea brasiliensis and alternative plants like Guayule and Russian dandelion, as well as bio-based synthetic rubbers derived from terpenes and biomass. The review also covers sustainable additives, such as silica fillers, nanoclay, and bio-based plasticizers, which enhance performance while reducing environmental impact. Textile–rubber composites offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional fiber-reinforced polymers when high flexibility and impact resistance are needed. Rubber matrices enhance fatigue life under cyclic loading, and sustainable textiles like jute can reduce environmental impact. The manufacturing process involves rubber preparation, composite assembly, consolidation/curing, and post-processing, with precise control over temperature and pressure during curing being critical. These composites are versatile and robust, finding applications in tires, conveyor belts, insulation, and more. The review also highlights the advantages of textile–rubber composites, innovative recycling and upcycling initiatives, addressing current challenges and outlining future perspectives for achieving a circular economy in the textile and rubber sectors. Full article

The emergence of modern robotic technology and artificial intelligence (AI) enables a transformation in the textile sector. Manual fabric defect inspection is time-consuming, error-prone, and labor-intensive. This offers a great possibility for applying more AI-trained automated processes with safe human–robot interaction (HRI) to reduce risks of work accidents and occupational illnesses and enhance the environmental sustainability of the processes. In this experimental study, we developed, implemented, and tested a novel algorithm that detects fabric defects by utilizing enhanced deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs). The proposed method integrates advanced DCNN architectures to automatically classify and detect 13 different types of fabric defects, such as double-ends, holes, broken ends, etc., ensuring high accuracy and efficiency in the inspection process. The dataset is created through augmentation techniques and a model is fine-tuned on a large dataset of annotated images using transfer learning approaches. The experiment was performed using an anthropomorphic robot that was programmed to move above the fabric. The camera attached to the robot detected defects in the fabric and triggered an alarm. A photoelectric sensor was installed on the conveyor belt and linked to the robot to notify it about an impending fabric. The CNN model architecture was enhanced to increase performance. Experimental findings show that the presented system can detect fabric defects with a 97.49% mean Average Precision (mAP). Full article

Gyroid structures are among the most widely used three-dimensional elements produced by various additive manufacturing technologies. This paper focuses on a metrological analysis of Flexfill 92A material specimens with a relative density (25 to 85%) using industrial computer tomography. The results show that for a given structure, the best method is to use surface determination with the closure of internal defects in the material. The analysis implies that the smallest deviations of the specimens’ external dimensions were achieved with respect to the CAD model at the highest relative densities. The wall thickness shows the smallest percentage change of 0.5685 at 45% relative density and the largest at 25% and 85% relative density. The nominal–actual comparison of manufactured specimens to the CAD model shows the smallest cumulative deviation of 0.209 mm at 90% and 25% relative density, while it slightly increases with increasing relative density. All produced specimens have a smaller material volume than their theoretical volume value, while the percentage change in volume is up to 8.6%. The surface of specimens is larger compared with the theoretical values and the percentage change reaches up to 25.3%. The percentage of pores in the specimens increases with increasing relative density and reaches 6%. The acquired knowledge will be applied in the framework of research focused on the possibilities of using additive manufacturing to produce a skeleton of rubber–textile conveyor belts. This paper presents initial research on the possibility of replacing the carcass of rubber–textile belts with an additive technology use. Full article

This article describes a method of obtaining data from the examination of an impact process by capturing it with a TroubleShooter TSHRMM high-speed camera and evaluating the results of a video analysis of the impact of the load on a conveyor belt using MiDAS Player version 5.0.0.3. By using the conveyor belt deflection obtained from the video analysis and the visual damage to the conveyor belt from an impactor, damage classification models were created. This model was created for two groups of experiments that took place without the presence of a support system and with the presence of a support system, respectively. The experimental research included monitoring the deflection of the conveyor belt and the degree of damage to the conveyor belt from the selected parameters. Full article

This paper presents research into the energy balance of stressing conveyor belts by impact processes. Research is described in the areas of measuring the resistance of conveyor belts to puncture, the impact process, and the effect of changes to the impact height on the tensile and impact forces. Measurements were performed on a rubber–textile belt with a polyamide carcass. Hammers with pyramidal and spherical impactors were used to compare the resistance of the examined conveyor. Values were obtained for the maximum energies for the selected impact heights and the residual positional energies for the measured bounce heights. The difference between these energies represents the impact energy. The results confirmed that the impact energy of a hammer with a pyramidal impactor is greater than the impact energy of a hammer with a spherical impactor, while this difference increases with increasing impact height. The shape of the pyramidal impactor simulates sharp-edged materials, which is the cause of greater damage in the tribological interaction with the conveyor belt. This paper provides information for determining the limit conditions for setting appropriate impact heights depending on the weight of the material transported using a given belt conveyor. Full article

The conveyor belt is by its structure a textile composite. As a load-supporting element of the conveyor, the belt withstands variable loads during its operations. In order to investigate the influence of the level and variability of loading on the life of the belt, tests were carried out on specimens in laboratory conditions. A testing device was specially designed and made for these tests that enabled precise control and monitoring of the loading as well as number of loading cycles up to fracture. This research provides an overview of the influence of fatigue loading on the fatigue life of the belt. The methodology of the conducted research is explained with a description of important technical parameters of the testing device. A physical experiment and a corresponding numerical simulation using the FEM method were carried out with multiple loading levels of belt specimens. Based on the obtained results, appropriate conclusions were made; at loads less than 70% of the breaking strength, the lifetime of the belt is very long. Attention was drawn to additional influences that could not be covered by the experiment and possible directions for further research were indicated. Full article

Measurements of the dynamic load of conveyor belts of identical strengths were used to evaluate and compare the data for belts with and without a support system. The goal was to identify the effects of the support system in terms of a relative amount of impact energy absorbed by a conveyor belt. A dynamic model was designed based on selected parameters of the impact process. Damage to conveyor belts, caused by the absorption of impact energy, was evaluated using the applied methods of mathematical statistics. Full article

Textile-reinforced conveyor belts are most widely used in various industries, including in the mining, construction, and manufacturing industries, to transport materials from one place to another. The conveyor belt’s tensile strength, which primarily relies on the property of the carcass, determines the area of application of the belt. The main aim of the current work was to investigate the influence of vulcanization temperature and duration of the vulcanization process on the tensile properties of the carcass part of the conveyor belt. An extensive experiment was carried out on the tensile properties of woven fabrics that were intended to reinforce conveyor belts by aging the fabrics at the temperature of 140 °C, 160 °C, and 220 °C for six and thirty-five minutes of aging durations. Afterward, the textile-reinforced conveyor belts were produced at vulcanization temperatures of 140 °C, 160 °C, and 220 °C for six and thirty-five minutes of vulcanizing durations. The influence of the vulcanization process parameters on the tensile property of fabrics utilized for the reinforcement of the conveyor belt was analyzed. In addition, the effect of the dipping process of woven fabric in resorcinol–formaldehyde–latex on the tensile property of polyester/polyamide 66 woven fabric (EP fabric) was investigated. The investigation results revealed that the tensile strength of the carcass of the conveyor belt was significantly affected by vulcanization temperature. The conveyor belt vulcanized at 160 °C for 35 min has shown the optimum tensile strength, which is 2.22% and 89.06% higher than the samples vulcanized at 140 °C and 220 °C for 35 min, respectively. Furthermore, the tensile strength and percentage elongation at break of conveyor belts vulcanized at 220 °C were almost destroyed regardless of the vulcanization duration. Full article

Breaks in the so-called “continuous” (unspliced) belt sections, and not in the spliced areas, are infrequent but do happen in practice. This article presents some aspects, which may account for such breaks in conveyor belts. It indicates the so-called “sensitive points” in design, especially in the transition section of the conveyor belt and in identifying the actual strength of the belt. The presented results include the influence of the width of a belt specimen on the identified belt tensile strength. An increase in the specimen width entails a decrease in the belt strength. The research involved develops a universal theoretical model of the belt on a transition section of a troughed conveyor in which, in the case of steel-cord belts, the belt is composed of cords and layers of rubber, and in the case of a textile belt, of narrow strips. The article also describes geometrical forces in the transition section of the belt and an illustrative analysis of loads acting on the belt. Attention was also devoted to the influence of the belt type on the non-uniform character of loads in the transition section of the conveyor. A replacement of a conveyor belt with a belt having different elastic properties may increase the non-uniformity of belt loads in the transition section of the conveyor, even by 100%. Full article

The present study proposes a reparation method for designing and optimizing a rubber to rubber and rubber to textile reinforcement. The present application is the conveyor belt used in the transport industry. The tensile behavior of the repaired specimens was studied using experimental results. A bidirectional linear analysis allows us to predict the effect of geometric parameters on the stress concentration zone of the repaired belt under hygro-thermo mechanical loading and its consequence on the integrity of the structure. A tensile test was carried out in order to investigate the behavior of a repaired specimen made with a rubber cover patch and an inner composite patch. Two stacking sequences of an inner composite patch and the material properties are considered in the parametric study in order to reduce the stress concentration in the parent belt. The correlation between the theoretical and experimental results allows us to define a strength tool to understand the load transfer from rubber to a textile rubber patch. Full article

Textile materials produced from a high tenacity industrial polyester fiber are most widely used in the mechanical rubber goods industry to reinforce conveyor belts, tire cords, and hoses. Reinforcement of textile rubber undergoes a vulcanization process to adhere the textile materials with the rubber and to enhance the physio-mechanical properties of the product. The vulcanization process has an influence on the textile material being used as a reinforcement. In this work, the effects of aging temperature and time on the high tenacity polyester yarn’s mechanical and surface structural properties were investigated. An experiment was carried out on a pre-activated high tenacity polyester yarn of different linear densities, by aging the yarn specimens under various aging temperatures of 140, 160, 200, and 220 °C for six, twelve, and thirty-five minutes of aging time. The tensile properties and surface structural change in the yarns pre- and post-aging were studied. The investigation illustrates that aging time and temperature influence the surface structure of the fiber, tenacity, and elongation properties of the yarn. Compared to unaged yarn, an almost five times higher percentage of elongation was obtained for the samples aged at 220 °C for 6 min, while the lowest tenacity was obtained for the sample subjected to aging under 220 °C for 35 min. Full article

Belt conveyors are used for the transportation of bulk materials in a number of different branches of industry, especially in mining and power industries or in shipping ports. The main component of a belt conveyor is its belt, which serves both as a support for the transported material along the conveyor route and as an element in the drive transmission system. Being crucial to the effective and reliable operation of the conveyor, the belt is also its most expensive and the least durable element. A conveyor belt comprises a core, covers and edges. A multiply textile belt, in which the core is constructed of synthetic fibers such as polyamide, polyester or aramid, is the oldest and still the most commonly used conveyor belt type. The plies are joined with a thin layer of rubber or another material (usually the material is the same as the material used in the covers), which provides the required delamination strength to the belt and allows the plies to move relative to each other as the belt is bent. Belts are installed on the conveyors in a closed loop in order to join belt sections, whose number and length depend on the length and type of the belt conveyor. Belts are joined with each other in a splicing procedure. The cutting of the belt core causes belt splices to be prone to concentrated stresses. The discontinued core also causes the belt to be the weakest element in a conveyor belt loop. The article presents the results of strength parameter tests that were performed on laboratory and industrial splices and indicated the reasons for the reduced strength of conveyor belt splices. Splice strength is reduced mainly due to incorrect preparation of the spliced surfaces and to different mechanical parameters of the spliced belts. Full article

An important problem that arises at present refers to the increase in performances in the exploitation of the conveyor belts. Additionally, it is pursued to use some materials, which can be obtained by recycling rubber and PVC waste, in their structure. Thus, the research aimed at creating conveyor belts using materials obtained from the recycling of rubber and PVC waste. Under these conditions, conveyor belts were made that had in their structure two types of rubber and PVC, which was obtained by adding in certain proportions of reclaimed rubber and powder obtained from grinding rubber waste. In order to study the effect of adding PVC on properties, four types of conveyor belts were made, with the structure of rubber, PVC and textile reinforcement. These have been subjected to certain mechanical tests, also being analyzed from the point of view of the behavior of the accelerated aging. The results obtained showed that the addition of PVC lead to a decrease in tensile stress for the strips made, but also an increase in the tensile strain. Additionally, the elasticity tests performed before and after the accelerated aging showed that the presence of PVC in the structure of the conveyor belts determined a substantial reduction of the aging process of the rubber in the conveyor belts. Under these conditions, it has been established that the use of PVC in the structure of rubber matrix conveyor belts is beneficial if conveyor belts are to be produced that are less subject to mechanical stress, but that work in conditions that can cause accelerated aging of materials. An analysis with the finite element method (FEM) of the test samples was also performed. Full article