Dynamic analysis of long heavy-duty roller chain for bucket elevator of continuous ship unloader

This study is on the dynamic analysis of long heavy-duty roller chain drive systems, which is used in a bucket elevator of continuous ship unloader. Currently, most dynamic analysis is focused on part of the driving system, such as a chain tight span. However, it is not enough for the practical application. To simulate the unloading process more precisely, the dynamic response of the roller chain during working was simulated used a geometric modeling with Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical System. The major objective of this work is to study the factor analysis of long heavy-duty roller chain system for bucket elevator of continuous ship unloader. The aim of this article is to analyze the dynamic behavior of the complex chain system. The results are expressed in terms of parameters such as angular velocity, angular acceleration, contact force, driving sprocket torque, roller chain tension, and displacement. It shows that as a multi-body model, the roller chain system has a complicated dynamic characteristic. The results from the dynamic simulation can help to better the choice of parameters. Maximum contact force and chain tension positions of the chain system model are determined and can be used in the following finite element method analysis. In addition, influence of the speeds on the kinetic parameters is also simulated and critical speed is deducted through the lateral displacement analysis.