Application of Heavy-duty Apron Feeder in Thermal Power Plants

Introduction

For the conveying equipment used beneath the coal hopper of a coal unloader in a thermal power plant, when dealing with materials with high specific gravity, irregular shapes and high wear resistance, ordinary conveying equipment often falls short. The load-bearing capacity, wide adaptability to various materials and stable operation performance of the Heavy-duty apron feeder have become indispensable conveying equipment in many industrial scenarios.

The structural design of the Apron Feeder used in thermal power plants

The Apron Feeder should be capable of continuous operation and have a sturdy structure. The overall structure of the equipment should be able to absorb the impact loads generated when large-sized coal blocks, metal components and other foreign materials fall from the hopper without causing damage. The chain plate structure should prevent coal dust from leaking during loading and transportation, provide sufficient overlap between the plates to limit overflow, and have a sufficient height side plate to allow the conveyor to be installed under the dump hopper of the coal bunker.

Fixed short plates should be provided to guide the coal from the coal bunker below the dump hopper of the dump machine into the feeder without causing blockage. The plate surface should be structurally reinforced to withstand the impact of several large-sized coal blocks. The thickness of the plates should comply with the customer’s requirements, but the minimum thickness should be 20mm, and the material should be LA-55/boron steel/molded manganese steel.

A cleaning belt conveyor is provided under the Apron Feeder frame to collect the coal dust that may leak through the plate conveyor and return to the main coal flow. The Apron Feeder should adopt low-speed high-torque direct hydraulic drive without any gearbox. The head end should be equipped with an inspection door with a dust-proof sealing device.

An automatic tensioning device is set at the tail end, which can adjust in real time according to the tension of the chain to avoid chain slackening and jumping problems after long-term operation, and reduce the frequency of manual adjustment during daily maintenance. The side guard plates on both sides are made of thick wear-resistant steel plates welded together.

The inner side of the guard plates can be paved with replaceable wear-resistant linings, which not only enhances the overall structural rigidity of the equipment but also facilitates quick replacement after wear and extends the overall service life of the equipment. All connection parts in contact with the materials are treated with sealing and leak-proof processing to prevent coal dust from penetrating the rotating components and causing abnormal wear, ensuring the long-term stable operation of the equipment in the coal conveying environment of a thermal power plant with a lot of dust.

Design parameters of the apron feeder in a thermal power plant

Equipment Name

Heavy-duty apron feeder, specially designed for the coal conveying system of thermal power plants, features high load-bearing capacity and continuous stable feeding characteristics.

Dimensions of the shape

The total length is 17500 millimeters, the width is 4200 millimeters, and the height is 1700 millimeters. The overall structure is compact, meeting the installation space requirements for large coal transportation walkways.

Materials

The conveyed medium is bulk raw coal, which is a typical granular material with characteristics such as fluidity and wear resistance.

Particle size

The maximum particle size of the material does not exceed 350 millimeters. This parameter directly determines the impact resistance and wear resistance design requirements for key components such as the conveyor trough plates and chains.

Specific gravity (bulk density)

The specific gravity of the material is approximately 0.8 tons per cubic meter, which is one of the core basic data for calculating the conveying capacity and driving power of the equipment.

Working capacity (rated)

The rated conveying capacity under standard conditions is 2200 tons per hour, which can meet the continuous and stable supply requirements for coal for boilers.

Working capacity (maximum)

The maximum instantaneous conveying capacity that the equipment can withstand in a short period of time can reach 2500 tons per hour, possessing certain overload buffering capacity to adapt to the fluctuations in upstream material supply.

Conveying angle

The equipment is installed horizontally, with a conveying inclination angle of 0 degrees, suitable for material transfer processes on horizontal or nearly horizontal surfaces.

The core operational advantages of the Heavy-duty apron feeder in thermal power plants

Load-bearing and impact resistance

The apron feeder can withstand high-frequency impacts caused by large volumes of raw coal and even foreign hard objects falling. Its structural strength and impact resistance performance are far superior to those of ordinary conveying equipment. In the complex working conditions of coal unloading by tipping machines in thermal power plants, it is less likely to deform or suffer structural damage, maintaining a stable working state for a long time and significantly reducing the risk of fault shutdowns.

Material adaptability

The equipment has extremely strong adaptability to raw coal materials. Regardless of the size of the raw coal particles or their dryness and wetness, it can achieve continuous and uniform quantitative feeding without any problems such as blockage, clogging, or spillage. This not only ensures the smoothness of the coal conveying process but also reduces the pollution of coal dust to the on-site environment.

Working condition adaptability

The overall design of the apron feeder is fully adapted to the continuous working requirements of thermal power plants with high dust and heavy loads. The automatic tensioning device, replaceable wear-resistant liners, and sealing protection designs not only reduce the daily maintenance workload and maintenance costs but also extend the overall service life of the equipment, lowering the long-term operating costs of the coal conveying system in thermal power plants.

Drive mode

The low-speed high-torque drive mode operates stably with high feeding accuracy. It can well match the coal supply requirements of thermal power plant boilers, ensuring stable boiler combustion conditions and playing an important supporting role in the stable operation of the entire production system of thermal power plants.

Conclusion

The heavy-duty apron feeder features a robust structural design, appropriate parameter matching, and various operational advantages. These features have addressed the issue of insufficient reliability of ordinary conveying equipment in the coal hopper below the tipping machine of thermal power plants, where there is significant impact and high wear during coal transportation. As a result, it can ensure the long-term continuous and stable operation of the coal conveying system and reduce the overall operation and maintenance costs of the thermal power plant.