DIN 22101

DIN 22101 (most recently revised in 2011) is the German DIN standard titled 'Continuous conveyors — Belt conveyors for bulk materials — Basis for calculation and design'. Despite being a national standard, it is the de facto global reference for belt conveyor engineering — equipment manufacturers across Europe, Asia, South America and Africa use its method as the primary calculation basis, often in parallel with the U.S. CEMA orange book or ISO 5048.

The standard defines the canonical Te build-up: main resistance from the friction factor f and conveyor length, slope resistance from incline and load mass, secondary resistance from chutes and cleaners, and special resistance from curves, trippers and ploughs. It tabulates recommended values of f for design (0.020 default), idler load factors, splice efficiency factors, recommended safety factors for fabric (S₀ ≈ 8) and steel cord (S₀ ≈ 6.7) belts, minimum pulley diameters as a function of belt rating and utilization, and the maximum permissible belt sag (1 % of idler spacing for normal duty).

Used together with DIN 22102 (textile belts), DIN 22107 (idler dimensions), DIN 22131 (steel cord belts), DIN 22110 (splice testing) and ISO 5048 (international equivalent of the calculation method), DIN 22101 forms the calculation backbone of any modern belt conveyor design package — including the Belt Tension and Motor Power calculators on this site. Engineers should note that DIN 22101 explicitly provides a simplified design method (constant f) and points to more rigorous transient-load analysis for very long, high-power overland systems where starting and stopping forces dominate steady-state Te.