High angle muck removal begins in Paris 24 May 2018

The first of two high angle conveyors supplied to H & E Logistik for muck removal on the Grand Paris Express by Dos Santos International (DSI) is starting operation.

The vertical gently pressed sandwich conveyors will each lift 800 tonne of tunnel muck per hour through the 90° transition to the surface. With the bulk of the take up equipment at the head end, the vertical portion is a hanging structure which can be extended as necessary for higher lifts in future applications. The two conveyors being used in Paris have lifts of 24.6m and 26.3m and can extend to 45m.

Vertical conveyor mucking

Muck lifted between belt sandwich

It is difficult to accomplish the sandwiched, curved transition from the low conventional loading angle, up to the typically vertical high angle while conforming to the vertical radius of curvature constraints of troughed belts. Transition curves can be too tight resulting in premature failure of the belt due to edge overstress and material spillage due to belt relaxation at the middle.

The DSI sandwich high angle conveyors use two standard, smooth-surfaced conveyor belts, face-to-face, to gently but firmly hug the product being carried. This not only makes steep angles possible, but is spillage free and environmentally sound as the material remains contained securely between the belts. Wet muck can be continuously scraped from the belts eliminating carry back.

The DSI conveyor is capable of higher conveying speeds and greater capacity than other high angle conveying methods. The availability of wide belts and hardware makes capacities greater than 10,000 tonne per hour easily achieved with a DSI sandwich conveyor. Transition angles of up to 90° are typical, and lifts of 300m can be accomplished.

The use of conventional conveyor parts ensures high availability and low maintenance costs, interchangeability of components and fast delivery of replacement parts.