Optimization design of structural parameters of curved sections of belt conveyors with horizontal curves

The structure of the idler pulley set and the layout of curves are important points in the design of belt conveyors with horizontal curves,and has great influences on curved radius of the curved section.Given initial curved radius value,to determine reasonable structural parameters of curved section as well as ensure the non-deviation of belts,the sturcture and the layout parameters of the idler pulley at curved section are optimized.Based on a curved radius equation derived from equilibrium condition of forces,an objective function defined by the minimum difference between initial curved radius value and the optimized one is built,and the optimization is realized by Matlab.The optimization of three sets of structrual parameters shows that optimized curved radius perfectly approximate the initially determined one with relative error being below 0.3%.The proposed optimization design of the structural parameters of the curved section avoids to determine parameters by experiences,and offers an effective way of determining structural parameters.