Research on the pressure field and loading characteristics of air film of air cushion belt conveyor.

The power loss generated by the air cushion belt conveyor when transporting materials mainly depends on the diameter of the orifice, the form of arrangement, and the thickness of the air film. A mathematical model of an air cushion belt conveyor is established through mechanical analysis, and the relationship between load distribution, air film thickness, air film carrying capacity, and power consumption is found. Numerical simulations of orifices of different diameters on the disk groove and the formed air film are carried out, and the loading capacity of the air film was analyzed by observing the stress and deformation of the wire rope core. The results show that the air film formed by the selected type of orifice arrangement in this paper carries the load, which causes the least amount of deformation and stress change in the wire rope core, and the stability of the air film loading capacity is also verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]