Development of a mathematical model for electric drive dynamics in belt conveyors: A Simulink-based analysis of transient behavior

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed study of developing a mathematical model and experimental analysis of electric drive processes in belt conveyors. The proposed model simplifies the complex real mechanical system by substituting distributed parameters, such as the transported load's mass and the traction element's elasticity, with concentrated equivalents. A comprehensive investigation of key transient processes including stator currents speed, torque and resistance forces was performed using MATLAB's Simulink environment. The findings reveal significant differences in performance between the initial startup phase and operation under loaded conditions. To validate the model's accuracy, the authors employed numerical analyses utilizing regression metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficients. The results show that the proposed model significantly outperforms similar models in the literature with a notable RMSE of 12.5 A for stator current, reflecting an 18% improvement and 8.7 Nm for torque prediction, indicating a 15% enhancement. Furthermore, the model achieved a correlation coefficient of 0.98, confirming its high accuracy in experimental data fitting. By effectively capturing oscillatory phenomena during both unloaded and loaded startup conditions, this work establishes the model as a reliable representation of belt conveyor dynamics, setting a new benchmark in the field.