Simulation methods for conveyor belt based on virtual prototyping

Belt simulation is the key point of virtual prototyping (VP) technology for belt conveyor. ADAMS can carry on the simple conveyor belt simulation. For its low precision and heavy work, ADAMS is not suitable for belt conveyer VP modeling and simulation. A new simulation method based on RecurDyn is introduced in this paper. The conveyor belt is divided into finite discrete micro belt segments. With the connecting force, the adjacent belt segments are connected to simulate the continuous belt. The results show the correctness of this method and the feasibility of belt conveyor VP, and there are also some limitations in this method. Further, the simulation method of conveyor belt has important guiding significance for simulation of flexible cable, such as the steel rope.