A SIMULATION MODEL ON THE OPTIMAL DESIGN OF BELT CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

Special Research Report SR-47 The selection of conveyor belts is primarily Lascd on information regarding the expected flow rate of material to bP handled. This para- meter, however, is often obscun'! and djfficult to estimate in operations experiencing intermittent production and parallel belt loading. As a result, an uncertain quantity is obtained upon which management must base decisions. The desirability for an objective means t.o describe material flow rates through a belt network, along with a technique for analyzing flow rate effects, seen1s necessary from the standpoint. of economics. This report is an account of an attempt to develop a simulation model describing the sequ<:>nce of operations for a belt conveying system, from which decision variables can be retrieved. The model. which is based on a Monte Carlo sampling routine, allows management to pre-test. many ideas on paper and compare these before 'final decisions are made. Model output is in the form of operational data to which representative costs are assigned. Since the simulation model reported here involves a multitude of bookkeepine- operations, a program is included for the JBM 7074 Computing System. Jnformat.ion from the computer was st.at:Jst.ically tested against an actual operating system to determine its validity in prPdicting past operating experience. On the basis of this test it was surmised wit.h reasonable certainty that this model, along with the appropriate data, is capable nf simulating any belt conveying system for which operating characte rist.ics are needed. .More f undarnc nL..t.11 y .. 1 ht· bas Jc rno<lcl s houl<l provide theoretical concepts for further research and development concerning the simulation of a fully integrated mining system. Consequently, it is hoped that this report will provide an administrative understanding into · the methods of simulation and the benefits to be derived thereof.