Suggestions on the safe operation of the grain bucket elevator

Bob Moser, a mechanical engineer at Inter Systems in Nebraska, USA, often speaks on the safety of bucket elevators at industry lectures. The February 1999 issue of World Grains was introduced in this regard and is summarized as follows:

Moser believes that the bucket elevator is one of the most dust-producing equipment in the grain handling unit and is a potential bomb. As long as there is a fire, it can cause an explosion. An estimated 148 food dust explosions occurred in the last 10 years, resulting in 21 deaths, 122 injuries and a loss of $104 million. Half of the explosions were caused by bucket elevators. In order to keep the bucket elevator safe, regular maintenance and inspections must be performed.

He emphasized that the management of the bucket elevator must know all the regulations regarding the bucket elevator. For example, the regulations of the US Occupational Safety and Health ministratiou require that the bucket lifter of the dead load belt should be equipped with a sight port, an outer bearing housing, a motion detection facility and a tape centering facility. The National Fire Protection Association regulations require that the nose and barrel of an outdoor bucket lift should have an explosive pressure relief vent. Many companies also have custom management requirements or specifications.

He advocates using outdoor bucket lifts as much as possible, but it is not a solution to prevent accidents. He believes that: to avoid dust explosion in the bucket lifter, it is necessary to take careful maintenance, and frequently check the speed of the equipment, whether it is deviation, or whether the temperature is normal; the maintenance plan recommended by the manufacturer must be normal, Faithfully implemented; the safety equipment of modern bucket elevators should include the outer bearing housing, motion detection and tape centering facilities, stall swing switch, anti-side facilities, replaceable lining and machine block quick discharge plate; explosion pressure relief According to common sense, the exhaust duct should be equipped with a 6m2 area light release plate per cubic meter of barrel volume, which can be automatically opened under light pressure.

Moser also proposed 26 proposals to keep the bucket machine safely operating:

1. Maintain the correct discharge angle in the discharge area to prevent the material from accumulating in the nose and the machine base;
2. Use a replaceable inner lining to prevent excessive wear on the casing;
3. Consider using gravity to tension and keep the tape running at the optimum tension at any time;
4. The area of ​​the lower well should be kept dry. Moisture can cause rust, resulting in structural defects that allow dust and materials to escape;
5. Find out that the bucket lifter has indeed set the signage as required, and equipment that does not have a safety signage is potentially dangerous;
6. The two barrels of the bucket lifter should be fixed on the same component to maintain vertical alignment;
7. In the head or bottom wheel, there should be one with a taper and a hub, otherwise the wheel will leave the center line and cause the tape to run off;
8. The machine base should have a discharge board, which should be opened once a week to prevent the materials from accumulating in the machine base; the drop type discharge board is easy to open;
9. Maintain the correct bucket height. An incorrectly positioned bucket cannot clean the base and can cause blockage of the base;
10. The shovel-like cleaning bucket can prevent the worker from disassembling the slip tube or must use a hose to clean it; the observation window should be equipped with a protective net;
11. Install the magnet to prevent the metal piece from floating around in the barrel;
12. On the barrel containing the carrying branch (upstream) and the unloaded branch (downward), a large observation door is respectively set up for checking or replacing the bucket;
13. The double-body case can reduce the internal volume, thus reducing the dust in the air;
14. The hammer joint is used in the blue joint of the barrel. If the barrels are not smooth and correctly straightened, the steel plate should be hammered to avoid hooking the tape or the bucket;
15. The contour of the nose cover must be correct in order to guide the material discharge, and the flat part of the cover will bounce back the material and exert unnecessary pressure on the bucket lifter;
16. It is ascertained that the bucket lifter is indeed equipped with a tape slack observation door and a pressure release damper;
17. The front wheel is equipped with a non-slip sleeve to provide greater traction and easy replacement;
18. Use the open hole bucket to ensure complete discharge;
19. Make sure that the tape is suitable for local temperature and humidity conditions; the width of the tape should be at least 1 inch larger than the nominal width of the bucket to prevent the bucket from hooking the protruding edge;
20. Inspect the cut or crack on the tape and make sure it works reliably;
21. During the first few months of the new bucket lift, the tape can stretch 1% to 2%, and maintaining the correct tension is important for safety;
22. Affirm that the protective cover has been installed and the safety sign is not damaged and can be seen clearly;
23. Arbitrarily selected items include: electrical overload protection, automatic lubrication system, dust suction air inlet, dust suppression facility, tape centering facility, temperature measuring device, socket switch, belt scraper, etc., which can keep the bucket lifter running neatly. Without clogging;
24. Consider using a 200% transmission triangle, it is still possible to operate the bucket lift in the absence of half of the V-belt;
25. Improve the list in the Supplier's “User Manual”;
26. If safety is not achieved within the unit, hire one consultant or safety expert.

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