In order to increase the transport volume of the pipe belt conveyor and reduce lateral pressure of the supporting roller set, this study aims to optimize the pipe diameter of the pipe belt conveyor. A mechanical model of the pipe belt conveyor with six supporting roller sets in the belt bearing section was built based on the infinitesimal method, and the formula for calculating the lateral pressure of each supporting roller was deduced on the basis of reasonable assumption. Simulated analysis was carried out on the operation process of the pipe belt conveyor by using the discrete element method. The result showed that, when the other conditions were certain, as the pipe diameter increased, the average lateral pressure of the supporting roller set increased, with a gradually decreasing increment, which was consistent with the calculated result of the theoretical formula. An optimized pipe diameter under the current conditions was obtained by fitting the curve of the formula for calculating the transport volume of the pipe belt conveyor and its simulation curve. It provided a certain reference value for improving the transport efficiency and prolonging the service life of the pipe belt conveyor.