{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T23:38:06Z","timestamp":1781307486524,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770595200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Council for Scientific and Technological Development\u2014Brazil","award":["150581\/2025-4"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["150581\/2025-4"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Industrial conveyor systems commonly use steel flight bars, which can account for nearly 50% of the total system mass and significantly affect energy consumption. This study investigates epoxy matrix composites reinforced with glass, carbon, and Kevlar fibers as lightweight alternatives to steel flight bars. A multiscale analytical approach combining micromechanics, Classical Laminate Theory (CLT), and ply-level failure criteria is applied to evaluate the structural response under an industrial bending moment of 342.02 N\u00b7m. Tensile tests on vacuum-infused woven glass\/epoxy laminates are used to validate micromechanical assumptions and calibrate elastic properties. Ply-wise analysis shows that carbon\/epoxy laminates exhibit the lowest longitudinal stresses (\u224843 MPa), followed by Kevlar\/epoxy (\u224853 MPa) and glass\/epoxy (\u224895 MPa), all well below their respective strength limits. Replacing steel flight bars (4.64 t) with composite alternatives reduces the moving mass to 0.68\u20130.82 t, corresponding to an 82\u201385% reduction. This mass reduction significantly lowers the required mechanical power, resulting in an estimated annual energy saving of R$ 8812.80 under continuous operation. Overall, the results demonstrate that polymer-matrix composite flight bars are structurally safe and energetically advantageous, with carbon\/epoxy providing the highest mechanical efficiency.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18040433","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T10:45:31Z","timestamp":1770633931000},"page":"433","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Structural Analysis and Mechanical Performance of Industrial Conveyor Flight Bars Manufactured with Epoxy Matrix Composites Reinforced by Glass, Carbon, and Kevlar Fibers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Antonio Henrique da Silva","family":"Bitencourt Junior","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Materials Engineering Program, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Par\u00e1\u2014IFPA, Avenida Almirante Barroso, 1155, Marco, Bel\u00e9m CEP 66093-020, PA, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maur\u00edcio Maia","family":"Ribeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Par\u00e1\u2014IFPA, Estrada do Icu\u00ed Guajar\u00e1, Ananindeua CEP 67125-000, PA, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3897-8381","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Douglas Santos","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering\u2014IME, Pra\u00e7a General Tib\u00farcio, 80, Praia Vermelha, Urca, Rio de Janeiro CEP 22290-270, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0959-0759","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ra\u00ed Felipe Pereira","family":"Junio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering\u2014IME, Pra\u00e7a General Tib\u00farcio, 80, Praia Vermelha, Urca, Rio de Janeiro CEP 22290-270, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1208-1234","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergio Neves","family":"Monteiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Science, Military Institute of Engineering\u2014IME, Pra\u00e7a General Tib\u00farcio, 80, Praia Vermelha, Urca, Rio de Janeiro CEP 22290-270, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9256-4564","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jean da Silva","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Materials Engineering Program, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Par\u00e1\u2014IFPA, Avenida Almirante Barroso, 1155, Marco, Bel\u00e9m CEP 66093-020, PA, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bukvi\u0107, M., Milojevi\u0107, S., Gajevi\u0107, S., \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107, M., and Stojanovi\u0107, B. 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