Adhesive mixture to combine gravel, sand, and other grit on Steel belt

[turner91]

I need to create a mixture of sand, gravel, and other grit in an adhesive that will be bonded on a steel hinged conveyor belt. If you have never seen one of these then you can visit this site as a reference:

http://www.steelhingebelt.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

The adhesive mixture will need to be about 1 inch tall and must be able to be molded or formed so that the hinges do not get locked shut in the process of applying it.

The mixture and belt will be under an extreme amount of pressure as the belt is cycling on its track. I will have a small AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) track system running on top of it for an erosion experiment for the military. It will have close to a ton on it at any width of the belt.

I really have no experience with this type of adhesive so any responses are appreciated. Would it be necessary to use two different adhesives? One to make the mixture and another to bond it to the steel of the belt?

 

[btrueblood]

I'd try a 2-part urethane.

Why not just pour a stream of gravel/sand mix on the belt (w/o adhesive) upstream of the tread test section, and recover it as it dumps off the end of the belt? Add another conveyor, and you could continuously replenish the supply.

 

[turner91]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I also thought that the recycling of the grit would be the best option and you would get the most erosion out of it. But the machine will be running in a government building and my boss and his associates think it would be too dangerous to run indoors. I am just a rising sophomore mechanical engineer intern so they overrule my opinions. Nevertheless the machine will only be running at 1.33 mph but they think it will act like a pitching machine except with gravel... Also if this does idea does work then it will be much more cost efficient and save space.

Would you recommend somewhere for this 2-part urethane adhesive?

 

[btrueblood]

Somebody has a signature line on this forum that says "good engineering starts with a Grainger catalog". Good advice there. Maybe add "and/or an MSC catalog and/or a McMaster-Carr catalog". Google them. Good luck!

 

[turner91]

Ok, thanks for the advice @btrueblood!

 

[turner91]

All of the 2-part urethane adhesives that I have seen seem to be used for casting. Will this also bond to the steel of the belt?

 

[btrueblood]

Yes, at least with the right surface prep on the metal. You might want to google for some companies making the adhesives, and start talking to their tech. people. 3M and MasterBond should pop up pretty high in such a search...