Designing and optimizing an intelligent self-powered condition monitoring system for mining belt conveyor idlers and its application

doi:10.1007/s10483-025-3291-6

Abstract

Abstract:

Belt conveyors are extensively utilized in mining and power industries. In a typical coal mine conveyor system, coal is transported over distances exceeding 2 km, involving more than 20 000 idlers, which far exceeds a reasonable manual inspection capacity. Given that idlers typically have a lifespan of 1–2 years, there is an urgent need for a rapid, cost-effective, and intelligent safety monitoring system. However, current embedded systems face prohibitive replacement costs, while conventional monitoring technologies suffer from inefficiency at low rotational speeds and lack systematic structural optimization frameworks for diverse idler types and parameters. To address these challenges, this paper introduces an integrated, on-site detachable self-powered idler condition monitoring system (ICMS). This system combines energy harvesting based on the magnetic modulation technology with wireless condition monitoring capabilities. Specifically, it develops a data-driven model integrating convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with genetic algorithms (GAs). The conventional testing results show that the data-driven model not only significantly accelerates the parameter response time, but also achieves a prediction accuracy of 92.95%. The in-situ experiments conducted in coal mines demonstrate the system's reliability and monitoring functionality under both no-load and full-load conditions. This research provides an innovative self-powered condition monitoring solution and develops an efficient data-driven model, offering feasible online monitoring approaches for smart mine construction.

Key words: intelligent safety monitoring, self-powered, magnetic modulation, data-driven model, mining conveyor

2010 MSC Number:

TH222

Xuanbo JIAO, Zhixia WANG, Wei WANG, F. S. GU, S. HEYNS. Designing and optimizing an intelligent self-powered condition monitoring system for mining belt conveyor idlers and its application. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 2025, 46(9): 1679-1698.

TrendMD

Figures/Tables 22

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Table 1

Main parameters of the structure of the magnetic field modulation unit"

Parameter	Value	Parameter	Value
Outer diameter of the rotor/mm	136	Outer diameter of the inner rotor/mm	110
Outer rotor pole pair number $p out$	12	Internal rotor pole pair number $p in$	4
Thickness of the outer rotor permanent magnet/mm	3	Air gap 1/mm	1
Thickness of the inner rotor permanent magnet/mm	3	Air gap 2/mm	1
Thickness of the magnetizing block/mm	4	Number of magnetizing blocks $Z$	16

Table 1

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Table 2

Dimensions and materials of the structural components"

Structural component	Size	Material
Coil base	$d = 45$ mm, $D = 98$ mm, $h = 1.5$ mm	Polylactic acid (PLA)
Three-phase solenoid	$a = 25$ mm, $b = 15$ mm, $h = 8$ mm	Copper
Electromagnetic disk	$d = 58$ mm, $D = 100$ mm, $h = 6$ mm	PLA
Magnet	$R = 10$ mm, $h = 6$ mm	NdFeB magnet
Deep groove ball ceramic bearing	$d = 45$ mm, $D = 58$ mm, $h = 7$ mm	Zirconia ceramics
Inner rotor shell	$d = 100$ mm, $D = 110$ mm, $h = 10$ mm	PLA
Internal rotor magnet	$a = 10$ mm, $b = 10$ mm, $h = 3$ mm	NdFeB magnet
Magnetizing ring	$d = 112$ mm, $D = 122$ mm, $h = 14$ mm	PLA
Magnetizer	$R = 2$ mm, $h = 10$ mm	B35A300
Outer rotor shell	$d = 126$ mm, $D = 136$ mm, $h = 31$ mm	PLA
Outer rotor magnet	$a = 10$ mm, $b = 10$ mm, $h = 3$ mm	NdFeB magnet

Table 2

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