Torque on the Drive Shaft of a Screw Conveyor

[gufuf]

My work has a drive shaft that has been breaking on a U-trough screw conveyor. I am looking for some helpful equations to find the torque on the shaft so I can accurately model and optimize the shaft in SolidWorks.

 

[DScheuf]

Numerous companies list screw conveyor design guides that cover everything about screws. Here is one of them: http://www.conveyusa.com/Screw-Conveyor-Catalog.pdf.

 

[Travis_King]

That, and how has it been breaking? It may be torque, but it may also be alignment, temperature issues, bearing problems, etc. Drive shafts are pretty robust, what size motor is it and what's the throughput on the conveyor? Have operating conditions changed since it's original installation?

 

[256bits]

If the actual shaft is breaking, instead of a shear pin, then solids works at the moment is not going to solve the problem.