Stress Analysis in Structural Components of the Koepe Pulley in Hoisting Installations

Hoisting installations in mines have been constructed and operated for many years, yet
they still merit a rigorous research to identify all factors that would enable us to improve
their performance parameters. A Koepe pulley in a winding system is a complex structural
component, made of plates, shells, discs, membranes, radial or circumferential fin elements
varying in their actual layout, depending on the design.
The strength analysis of a Koepe pulley in a hoisting system is carried out to get a better
insight into the state of stress experienced by pulley components under the operational loads
and to find the extreme values of the stress components, which underlies the fatigue endurance
and life assessments.
Accordingly, the stress analysis of pulley elements is performed by the numerical methods,
utilising the FEM approach. Models are developed using the program “FEMAP” and the stress
analysis uses the package “NE”/“Nastran for Windows’.
The numerical data are then verified through strain (stress) measurements taken on a real
object, under the typical operating conditions.