BELTSTAT
A design tool and a computational aid to competent and experienced conveyor design engineers. Using good engineering judgment and conveyor design experience, users can quickly arrive at the following conveyor design results: belt width and speed; belt tension rating; counterweight tension; horsepower rating of drive motors; drive motor starting characteristics; idler specifications and spacing; pulley and shaft design; vertical curve radii and required special idler spacing; brake size (if required); flywheel requirements (if applicable). Code development was commercialized in 1968. For more information on BELTSTAT, click here.

BELTFLEX
A computer program used to model the elasto-mechanical time transient behavior of a belt conveyor during starting and stopping. Its value is in predicting excessive transient forces in the conveyor system (e.g., shock waves analogous to hydraulic "water hammering"), which can: overload mechanical and structural components; cause material instability on inclines and declines; cause abnormal vertical curve behavior, such as lifting of the belt off the idler bed or festooning of the belt at regions remote to the control locations; cause unwanted take-up excitation or validate the take-up response capabilities to meet the design requirements; cause excessive belt sag resulting in spillage, mal-tracking and large take-up motion. It is used primarily as a final step in refining or validating the design of conveyors in which the effects of the chosen starting or stopping methods are not certain. BELTFLEX simulates the transient behavior of the conveyor as explicitly set forth by the conveyor designer, and will not make any design selection or decision. Code development was commercialized in 1980. For more information on BELTFLEX, click here.

BELTCURV
A program used in the design of horizontal and vertical curves for conventional belt constructions and idler sets. The program determines the longitudinal and transverse forces acting on the belt as the horizontal and vertical curves are negotiated. Methods of controlling the lateral shifting of the belt are provided to assure acceptable guidance for all possible operating states. Belt constructions are analyzed for edge and center stresses, and for transverse stability.

PSTRESS
The CDI program used to predict the triaxial stresses in the pulley hub, end disk and shell. The surface stress imposed on the shaft by the locking mechanism is also considered. The radial, axial, tangential and shear stresses are separately analyzed on the metal's inside and outside surfaces. The end disk shape can be of straight plate, tapered or contoured. The stress influences from the locking mechanism pressure, the direct belt force, the shaft bending moment flexing the end disk, and drive shear stresses are all considered. The combined stresses are analyzed according to maximum shear stress and maximum distortion energy theory. A fatigue stress criterion can be derived from the identification of the maximum stress range fluctuation for each principle stress at any of the 1440 element points evaluated in the end disk or the associated critical points in the shell.