Otimização de material e parametrização geométrica de um rolo de esteira transportadora de minério

Abstract

With the aim of facilitate changes in ore conveyor belt rollers and reduce the number of those changes, the present work, derivative from the Master’s Thesis by João Pedro Ceniz “An approach to structural optimization of ore conveyor belt rollers” (2021), had the following aimed optimizations: increasing the life and reducing the mass of these rollers. The tools used to carry out this work were Ansys Workbench® and Ansys Granta®, from which came the methodologies and the results obtained. In a first step, a finite element simulation was carried out within the Ansys Workbench® with standardized steel for the roller cylinder by ABNT NBR 6678.2017, the AISI 1012. The results of this simulation served as entry points for a parametric optimization carried out within the Ansys Workbench® itself. Through the Response Surface methodology, both geometric parameters and properties of the materials used were considered in the optimization of these rolls, respecting the resistance and rigidity restrictions imposed by ABNT NBR 6678.2017. The values then optimized, served as input settings for the selection of a new material in Ansys Granta®, which also took into account cost and manufacturing processes. The results obtained with the aid of these tools were unsatisfactory in relation to the objectives of this work. Life in Fatigue varied little within the results obtained in the optimization, and although the optimization presented candidates with excellent mass reduction, price and resistance restrictions prevented the Ansys Granta® selection of engineering materials that reached the low values of density and Modulus of Elasticity linked to this optimization. As a result of the optimization combined with the selection of materials there was only Carbon Steel with mass properties and life similar to the AISI 1012 steel suggested by the ABNT NBR 6678.2017 standard.