Dear all, thanks for your replies.

In response to Dave Morgan:

The material being handled is Coal at moisture contents of around 25%. It is Coarse (quite bulky) in size, and abrasive. The estimated velocity of the material at that point is 5m/s, the transfer made is conveyor to silo and yes the head conveyor is moving.

In response to Lyle Brown

Does it matter? – Yes, see below

Does it leak dust? – Yes, this is the main issue

Does material impact on the gap? – No, this is not the case

I should elaborate on the design and what the issue is. The head conveyor is a shuttle, that is, it can move up and down rails in order to convey material into a silo or onto another conveyor. A more detailed picture can be seen here:



As you can see, the feed chute is bolted to the ground and the shuttle is free to move on the rails.

The gap between the head chute and the feed chute can be clearly seen. This gap extents all the around We want to bridge this gap, to prevent any dust leakage to the outside. However the “gap filler” needs to be a flexible type as the shuttle needs to be able to move on the rails. ■

thank you all for your replies and help!

johngateley, could you elaborate on the rubber hose?

I am imagening a rubber hose, which is cut open and then attached to the top flange via some small bolts?

Lyle Brown, to ease your mind, guarding will be installed.

Dave Morgan, the dust is due to the falling material.

There's another problem. On the other side of the shuttle, is the service door for a belt cleaner.



What possible dust leak prevention could be used in this scenario? It's not feasible to attach the rubber on the inside of the feed chute, as the wear would be too great.

Thanks for all your help and comments so far. ■

I apologize for not being clear (yet again)

Please see this picture for more clarity:



Lyle Brown you are right, that the black hole and other hole are sealed during operation. However, as you can see from the picture, the belt cleaner assembly plate is attached directly onto the edge of the shuttle chute. Because of this, it's hard to attach a rubber plate to the feed chute to overlap the gap between the two chutes.

The other side of the assembly is exactly the same, except without the large belt cleaner assembly. ■

Thanks for the speedy reply Lyle Brown.

With regards to a solution, I have attached a sketch of what I had in mind.



Like you said, it will be fastened to the "feed chute" and overlap the gap. This is for the OTHER side of the shuttle chute. As for the side which can be seen in my previous post, I am proposing something similar, but making the rubber just long enough to bridge the gap - is this feasible?

For the front gap, as seen in this picture:



I have found some nice brushes, custom made at

http://www.josco.com.au/JSF/brushpr...ipbrushes.htm

which can be welded onto the "feed chute" as well. However, the gap (according to design general arrangement drawings) is only 10 mm - this might be a bit more when the shuttle is installed properly. Is this a feasible solution?

We are in need of something that does not require replacement too often, and since its only dust, this shouldn't be such a bit issue. A deflector plate will be installed into the chute during later stages, this might help reduce dust emissions?

Thanks in advance and for all your kind help and guidance. ■

Lyle, do you know those rubber/foam 'plates' you sticky tape around piping to insulate it? Do you think it would be feasible to stick something like that into that particular gap? What type of adhesive would be suitable to use?

I am considering this option, since the foam would wear away and take the profile of the gap, thus providing an effective seal. ■