SCREW CONVEYOR

In partial fulfilment of the requirements in

ME 417 Computer Applications for ME

Engr. Faradiban Acosta

Instructor

Aces Macmac-ME4A

Aljon Saromines-ME4A

Eljhay Caayupan-ME4C

Idyll Ken Amarillento-ME4A

Ivan Jonathan Polistico-ME4A

Jane Pondulan-ME4B

Mithessa Pamisa-ME4A

Sophia Amor Ayento-ME4A

Januar 2022
 ABSTRACT

This paper reviews designing a screw conveyor that transports material specifically rice
husk/hulls with a capacity of 270 kg/hr. The calculation has been mainly carried out to
determine a range of parameters, such as screw dimension, screw rotational speed, screw
clearance, motor efficiency, selection of screw conveyor parts with given detailed calculation,
conveyor speed in a conveying angle for an inclined screw conveyor with a given length of 3
meters and determining the materials to be used in the designing of screw conveyor. The overall
structure design of the screw conveyor was completed according to the parameters of material
particle characteristics and conveying requirements of the feed. The functional parameters in
the design process of the screw conveyor were calculated.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...........................................................................................................ii
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... v
CHAPTER I ............................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Component Description............................................................................................... 1
1.2. Objectives of the Study ............................................................................................... 2
1.3. Significance of the Study ............................................................................................ 2
1.4. Scope and Limitations ................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER II .............................................................................................................................. 3
SCREW CONVEYOR SPECIFICATION ................................................................................ 3
2.1. Design Parameters ....................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Calculations ................................................................................................................. 4
2.2.1. Screw Conveyor Capacity .................................................................................. 4
2.2.2. Selection Capacity (SC) ..................................................................................... 5
2.2.3. Actual Conveyor Speed ...................................................................................... 6
2.2.4. Horsepower ........................................................................................................ 6
2.2.6. Deflection & shaft End angle ............................................................................. 9
2.2.7. Torque Requirement ......................................................................................... 10
2.2.8. Thermal Expansion .......................................................................................... 11
2.3. Material Selection and Specification......................................................................... 13
2.3.1. Conveyor Screw ............................................................................................... 14
2.3.2. Drive Shaft ....................................................................................................... 15
2.3.3. End (tail) Shaft ................................................................................................. 16
2.3.4. Covers............................................................................................................... 17
2.3.5. End Bearings .................................................................................................... 18
2.3.6. Shaft Seal.......................................................................................................... 18
2.3.7. End Plates ......................................................................................................... 19
2.3.8. Coupling Bolts .................................................................................................. 20
2.3.9. Troughs............................................................................................................. 21
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 22

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Pipe Cross-Sections (4” SCH 40 S.S.) ................................................................. 14

Figure 2.2: Directional Movement of Conveyed Product....................................................... 14
Figure2.3. Drive Shaft............................................................................................................. 15
Figure2.4. 2-Bolt Drive Shaft ................................................................................................. 15
Figure 2.5. End (Tail) Shaft .................................................................................................... 16
Figure 2.6: Hip-Roof (ridged) Cover ...................................................................................... 17
Figure 2.7: Flange Mounted Ball Bearing .............................................................................. 18
Figure 2.8: Shaft Plate Seal..................................................................................................... 19
Figure 2.9: Trough End Plate without Foot ............................................................................ 19
Figure 2.10: Formed Flange U-Trough ................................................................................... 21

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Material Classification based on Martin Sprocket Handbook .................................. 3

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
1.1. Component Description

Screw conveyors are very effective conveying devices for free flowing or relatively
free flowing bulk solids, giving good throughput control and providing environmentally clean
solutions to process handling problems because of their simple structure, high efficiency, low
cost and maintenance requirements. Screw conveyors are a cost effective and reliable method
of conveying bulk materials. Thousands of bulk materials are conveyed and processed daily
utilizing screw conveyors.

An increase in screw speed results in an increase in the conveyor required power.

Increasing the angle of inclination caused the power to increase initially, but a decrease
followed beyond a certain angle. It is indicated that the conveying capacity decreases as the
angle of inclination increases. They showed that there is a limiting value of speed beyond which
the capacity does not increase. The limiting value of speed was independent of the angle of
inclination. Inclined screw conveyors typically operate from slightly above the horizontal
position to 45-degrees from the horizontal position due to the effects of gravity and bulk
material to fall back. In designing a screw conveyor using the lowest possible degree of
inclination for maximum efficiency is encouraged. Hence, 10 degrees of inclination can loss
the conveying efficiency but can be overcome by increasing the speed of the screw conveyor,
the diameter of the screw conveyor or reducing the pitch of screw.

According to Bloome et al., the capacity of a screw conveyor is affected by its diameter,
intake length, angle of elevation, rotational speed, and moisture content of grain. The
parameters used in the model were related to the conveyor geometry, properties of the material
being conveyed, and the conveyor operating condition. There are many design parameters, the
characteristics of the materials conveyed in different industries are different, and the
requirements for transportation and installation are very different. Especially for some key
parameters, improper selection and combination will seriously affect the efficiency and
performance of screw conveyor. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, calculate, and design
a screw conveyor for a rice husk particle characteristics and its conveying requirements to
maximize the potential used of its parameters.

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1.2. Objectives of the Study

This paper primarily focuses on designing a screw conveyor with a 60 kg/hr capacity
for transporting materials made of rice husks and hulls. Considering this, the paper seeks to:

 Provide a fully conceptual design of a screw conveyor.

 Determine the parameters needed for a screw conveyor in terms of the auger
dimension, screw rotational speed, screw clearance, motor efficiency, and conveyor
speed at a conveying angle for an inclined screw conveyor with a 3-meter length.
 Provide an accurate motor and other machine part sizing calculation.
 Determine the cost and manpower of the proper material selection, as these factors
will affect the screw conveyor's effectiveness and performance.

1.3. Significance of the Study

Previously, the material transport are done manually or by non-electrically powered

mechanical equipment’s. This study will save labor cost, improve feed conveying speed and
serve the feed production industry. This study’s design of a screw conveyor in material
transport will be directly beneficial to the agricultural industry, specifically to the rice husk/hull
handlers as the scope of this paper.

1.4. Scope and Limitations

This study focuses on designing a screw conveyor that transport material specifically
rice husk/hulls with a capacity of 60 kg/hr. Our work is only limited to calculations of the auger
dimension, screw rotational speed, screw clearance, motor efficiency, and conveyor speed in a
conveying angle for inclined screw conveyor with a given length of 3 meters. This study will
not produce a prototype and will only focus on design development and calculations.

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 CHAPTER II

SCREW CONVEYOR SPECIFICATION

2.1. Design Parameters

Material to Transport: Rice Husk/Hulls

Capacity: 270 kg/hr. =600 lbs/hr

Screw Conveyor Length: 3 meters = 9.84 ft

General used: Transfer Materials to an elevation (10 degrees from horizontal axis)

Table 1.1: Material Classification based on Martin Sprocket Handbook

Bulk Material Rice Husk

1
Maximum Particle Size (inches) −
8

𝒍𝒃𝒔
Bulk Density (𝒇𝒕𝟑 ) 20-21

% Trough Loading 30%

Material Factor (𝑭𝒎 ) 0.4

Component/ Bearing Series Bronze, Hard Iron

Abrasiveness Mildly Abrasive

Corrosiveness Not Corrosive

Flowability Average Flowability

Special Notes Very light and fluffy

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2.2. Calculations

Given that the material to transport was Rice Husk/Hulls, the material characteristics is
as follows:

2.2.1. Screw Conveyor Capacity

Capacity is defined as the weight or volume per hour of a bulk material that can be
safely and feasibly conveyed using a screw conveyor and can be calculated as follows:

𝑙𝑏𝑠
𝑓𝑡 3 𝐶( )
ℎ𝑟
𝐶𝑅 ( )= 𝑙𝑏𝑠 Eq. 1
ℎ𝑟 𝑟 ( 3)
𝑓𝑡

𝑙𝑏𝑠
𝑓𝑡 3 600 ( ) 𝑓𝑡 3
ℎ𝑟
𝐶𝑅 ( ℎ𝑟 ) = 𝑙𝑏𝑠 = 30
20 ( 3) ℎ𝑟.
𝑓𝑡

Where;

CR = Require Capacity, ft3/hr

C = Capacity, lbs/hr

 r = bulk density, lbs/ ft3

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2.2.2. Selection Capacity (SC)

Selection Capacity (SC) is the capacity adjusted for special pitch or modified flights
used in the process of selecting the screw conveyor diameter for the application.

𝑆𝐶 = 𝐶𝑅 × 𝐶𝐹 Eq. 2

𝑓𝑡 3 𝑓𝑡 3
𝑆𝐶 = 30 × 1.00 × 1.00 × 1.00 = 30
ℎ𝑟 ℎ𝑟.

Where;

SC= Selection Capacity, ft3/hr

CR = Required Capacity, ft3/hr

CF = Capacity Factor

Hence, the selection capacity will be used to select the proper screw conveyor diameter
and the actual speed of conveyor from the capacity table below. With a recommended trough
loading of 30%, the Selection capacity must be less than the maximum capacity given in the
Capacity Table.

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2.2.3. Actual Conveyor Speed
Eq. 3
𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝑁 = 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 @ 1 𝑟𝑝𝑚

𝑓𝑡3
30
ℎ𝑟
𝑁= = 20 𝑟𝑝𝑚
1.5

Where;

N = Conveyor Speed, rpm

SC= Selection Capacity, ft3/hr

C = Capacity, ft3/hr

2.2.4. Horsepower

The horsepower required to operate a horizontal screw conveyor is based on proper

installation, uniform and regular feed rate to the conveyor and other design criteria. The
horsepower requirement is the total of the horsepower to overcome the friction (𝑯𝑷𝒇 ) of the
conveyor components and the horsepower to transport the material (𝑯𝑷𝒎 ) multiplied by the
overload factor (𝑭𝒐 ) and divided by the total drive efficiency (𝒆).

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 2.2.4.1. Friction Horsepower

𝐿𝑁𝐹 𝐹
𝑑 𝑏
𝐻𝑃𝑓 = 1,000,000 Eq. 4

(118.11)(20)(18)(1.7)
𝐻𝑃𝑓 = = 0.0723 𝐻𝑃
1,000,000

Where;

HPf = Friction Horsepower, HP

L = Total length of conveyor, in

N = Operating speed, rpm

Fd = Conveyor diameter HP factor

Fb = Hanger bearing HP factor

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 2.2.4.2. Material Horsepower

𝐶𝐿𝐷𝐹𝑚 𝐶𝐹2 𝐶𝐹3

𝐻𝑃𝑚 = Eq. 5
1,000,000

(600)(118.11)(20)(0.4)(1)(1)
𝐻𝑃𝑚 = = 0.567 𝐻𝑃
1,000,000

Where;

HPm = Material Horsepower, HP

C = Capacity required, cubic feet per hour

L = Total length of conveyor, in

D = Density of material as conveyed*, lb/CF

Fm = Material factor

Ff = Flighting modification HP factor

Fp = Paddle HP factor

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 2.2.4.3. Total Horsepower

𝐻𝑃𝑚 +𝐻𝑃𝑓
𝐻𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = Eq. 6
𝑒

0.0723+ 0.567
𝐻𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = = 0.7265𝐻𝑃
0.88

Where;

HPtotal = Total Horesepower, HP

HPm = Material Horsepower, HP

HPf = Friction Horsepower, HP

e = Drive efficiency

2.2.6. Deflection & shaft End angle

The amount of deflection the screw pipe experiences due to the screw weight is directly
proportional to its useful life. Deflection of a standard-length screw is rarely a problem.
However, if longer than standard screw sections are to be used without intermediate hanger
bearings, care should be taken to prevent the screw flights from contacting the trough.
Deflection should be held to a minimum to increase the useful life of the screw.

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 𝑊𝐿3
𝐷= 76.8𝐸𝐼 Eq. 7
(62)(9.4+2)3
𝐷 = 76.8 (28.5×106 )(0.667) = 0.00007 𝑖𝑛

Where;

D = Deflection at mid-span, in (horizontal screw)

W = Total screw weight in pounds

L = Screw length in inches + "H"

E = Modulus of Elasticity (28.5 x 10^6 psi for Stainless Steel 309)

I = Moment of Inertia of pipe

183𝐷
𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝐸𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 (deg 𝑟 𝑒𝑒𝑠) = Eq. 8
𝐿

183(0.00007)
𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 𝐸𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 (deg 𝑟 𝑒𝑒𝑠) = = 0.0011°
9.84+2

2.2.7. Torque Requirement

Screw conveyors are limited in overall length and size by the amount of torque that can
be safely transmitted through the components selected. The shafts, bolts and pipe all need to
be sized appropriately for the drive horsepower and rpm.

63,025 ×𝐻𝑃
𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝑟𝑝𝑚 Eq. 9
63,025 ×1
𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 = = 3151.25 𝑖𝑛 ∙ 𝑙𝑏𝑠
20

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 Assuming 1 HP per revolution is operated.

Since, the torque rating of the drive shaft, coupling shafts, coupling bolts and conveyor
screw must be greater than Full Motor Torque for proper design.

Therefore, the Maximum Component Torque is shown on the table below:

2.2.8. Thermal Expansion

When the longer screw conveyors are required to convey hot or cold materials, thermal
expansion must be properly accounted for. The recommended general practice is to provide
trough end supports which will allow expansion or contraction movement. The drive end of
the conveyor is typically fixed allowing the remainder of the trough to move. If fixed
intermediate inlets or discharge spouts are required, expansion type troughs should be used.
The screw and the trough may expand or contract at different rates. In this case
expansion hangers are generally recommended. The trough end opposite the drive should
incorporate an expansion type ball or roller bearing which will safely provide sufficient
movement.

The change in screw conveyor length is calculated as

∆𝐿 = 𝐿(𝑡1 − 𝑡2 )𝐶 Eq. 10

∆𝐿 = 9.84(850 − 450)(9.6 × 10−6 ) = 0.038 𝑖𝑛

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Where;

∆ L = increment of change in length, in

L = Overall conveyor length, in

t1 = Upper limit of temperature, °F

t2 = Lower limit of temperature, °F

C = Coefficient of linear expansion, per °F ( 9.6 x 10-6/°F)

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 2.3. Material Selection and Specification

The group was able to set standard specifications for the components of the proposed
design for the screw conveyor based on the calculated parameters.

The proposed screw conveyor is made up of the following mechanical components:

 Conveyor Screw
 Drive Shaft
 End (Tail) Shaft
 Covers
 Hanger
 Hanger Bearing
 End Bearings
 Shaft Seal
 End Plates
 Coupling Bolts
 Cover Clamps
 Troughs

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2.3.1. Conveyor Screw

The Conveyor Screw imparts a smooth positive motion to the material as it rotates
within the trough. The specified pipe cross-section was 4” SCH 40 S.S.

Figure 2.1. Pipe Cross-Sections (4” SCH 40 S.S.)

The directional movement of conveyed product is showed below. The helix of a right-
hand screw is wrapped around the pipe in a clockwise direction, or to the right. The
selected screw type for the proposed design was the Short Pitch Screw, which is the finest
choice for moving materials via an inclined position, including rice hulls. Since the proposed
design has a 35° inclination. Moreover, the screw is made up of sectional flights which are
formed from individual round plates then welded end to end to form a continuous helix.

Figure 2.2: Directional Movement of Conveyed Product

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2.3.2. Drive Shaft

The drive shaft also called propeller shaft or prop shaft, is a mechanical part designed
to transmit rotation and torque between individual conveyor screw sections. The drive shaft
used is the Standard Drive Shaft, its primary function is to keep bearing away from heat and/or
product contamination. Applies a 2-bolt drive shaft.

Figure2.3. Drive Shaft Figure2.4. 2-Bolt Drive Shaft

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2.3.3. End (tail) Shaft

The tail shaft is used to provide radial support at the trough ends. The tail shaft used is
the Standard End Shaft, its primary function is to keep bearing away from heat and/or product
contamination.

Figure 2.5. End (Tail) Shaft

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2.3.4. Covers

The selected cover was the Hip-Roof (ridged) Cover Type. Recommended for outdoor
applications to help shed rain or snow. Both Sides of the cover are flanged to aid in weather-
proofing. The design is selected while considering the outdoor condition.

Figure 2.6: Hip-Roof (ridged) Cover

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2.3.5. End Bearings

The end bearing used for the proposed design was the Flange mounted Ball Bearing
which is primarily designed for radial loading. It can handle only a minimal amount of thrust
but does allow for expansion so it is typically located at the tail end of a conveyor.

Figure 2.7: Flange Mounted Ball Bearing

2.3.6. Shaft Seal

The shaft Plate Seal is the most common and economical seal. This type of seal is
designed for mounting between the trough end and bearing, but may be used separately on
pedestal type trough ends. It is normally furnished with a lip seal, but other types of commercial
seal inserts may be used.

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 Figure 2.8: Shaft Plate Seal

2.3.7. End Plates

The selected end plat is the Trough End Plate without Foot. It is a U-Trough style which
can be ordered with pedestal bearing mounts which is appropriate for the selected shafts.

Figure 2.9: Trough End Plate without Foot

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2.3.8. Coupling Bolts

A coupling bolt is a mechanical means of holding two halves of a flanged shaft together
to properly transfer the torque while maintaining shaft alignment.

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2.3.9. Troughs

The trough shape used for the proposed design was the Formed Flange U-Trough,
which indicates that the top flanges are formed from the same sheet as the rest of the trough.
Easy to seal. This one-piece construction makes it the most economical and widely used.

Figure 2.10: Formed Flange U-Trough

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 REFERENCES

Zareiforoush, H., Komarizadeh, M. H., & Alizadeh, M. R. (2010). A review on screw conveyor
performance evaluation during handling process. J Sci Rev, 2(1), 55-63.

MARTIN SPROCKET & GEAR, INC.

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