Kiln Mechanics – Basic Notions

Pierre TARASSEVITCH
Training “Kiln Mechanics” – Tula (Mexico) – June 2008
 Content

1 Mass, Dimensions, Temperatures

2 Relation tolerances vs. dimensions
3 Thermal bending
4 Mechanical crankshaft
5 Kiln stiffness

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 1 Mass, Dimensions, Temperatures

Kiln Mechanics Tula (Mexico) – 17, 18 & 19th June 2008 3

 Mass

 Different kiln weights (mobile parts only)

 3-pier kiln, 50 m, 620 t (Melon, Chile)
 4-pier kiln, 80 m, 1 220 t (Manresa, Zimbabwe)
 7-pier kiln, 173 m, 2 610 t (Shagamu, Nigeria)

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 Mass

 Consequences
 Support must be very strong (rollers, frame, concrete)
 It is not possible to turn very quickly
 Any part getting between kiln rollers and tyres could
be damaged or broken
 Maintenance is difficult for big mechanical parts
 Replace a tyre or a roller
 Replace a shell
 Replace a girth-gear

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 Dimensions

 Different kiln sizes

 Large diameter: 3 to 6 m
 Long length: 40 to 200 m
 Small shell thickness: 20 mm to 40 mm (standard
shells)
 Thickness/diameter ratio approx. 0.6%

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 Dimensions

 Consequences
 It is difficult
 to have an overview
 to transport spare parts
 to move and rotate
 to make some geometry controls
 to inspect (because of the surface)
 NDT inspection

 Visual inspection

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 Temperatures

 Normal kiln shell temperatures

 40° < T°C < 420°C

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 Temperatures

 Consequences
 Dangerous for people: can burn easily
 Difficult to get close to the kiln
 Mechanical characteristics decrease as the steel
becomes hot,
 At 400°C, steel has lost 50% strength
 At 500°C, steel has lost 60% strength
 At 600°C, steel has passed the elasticity limit (it will not
get back to its original dimension if T°C decreases)
 Dimension can easily increase with T°C

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 Expansion

 Lengths increase
 N’Dola kiln 2 temperature profile: average 250°C
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

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 Expansion

 How to evaluate expansion?

C C
TFinal  TInitial
Expansionmm  1.2  ( )  Lengthinitial( m )
100

 Ex. : NDO K2 length increase in hot conditions

250C  20C
Expansionmm  1.2  ( )  50m  138mm
100

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 Expansion

 Conclusion
 In hot conditions, N’Dola kiln 2 is 138 mm longer than in
cold conditions
 Temperature must always be taken into account on kilns
 On repair/replacement operations
 On adjustments if done in cold conditions

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 Expansion

 Application to tyre/shell installation

 Tyre
 Internal diameter 4.000 m
 Temperature 150°C
 Shell
 External diameter (with shims) 3.990 m
 Temperature 300°C
 Can the shell temperature increase without problem?

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 Expansion

 Calculation
Diameter Temperature Expansion Diameter (mm)
(mm) (°C) (mm) hot conditions
Tyre ID 4000 150 7.2 4007.2
Shell+fix. OD 3990 300 14.4 4004.4

Original clearance 10 Hot conditions clearance 2.8

 Conclusion
 Temperature parameter has a very important impact
of floating tyre and its shell
 For a given initial clearance there is a T°C limit for
expansion

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 Expansion

 What happens in case of shrinkage of tyre on

shell?
 Due to too quick preheating
 Due to too small cold clearance value
 Several consequences
 Shell will be deformed permanently
 Possibly lose some bricks
 Probably have some problems of fixation
 Possibility to initiate shell cracks in the future

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 Expansion

 What happens in case of shrinkage of tyre on

shell ?

Kiln Mechanics Tula (Mexico) – 17, 18 & 19th June 2008 16

 Expansion

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 Expansion

 What happens in case of shrinkage of tyre on

shell ?

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 Expansion

 Application to girth-gear pinion adjustment

 Girth-gear root clearance measured in cold conditions
 7 mm

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 Expansion

 Application to girth-gear pinion adjustment

 Influence on root clearance depends highly on pinion
position on the circumference

High influence Medium influence

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 Expansion
Tire axis,
Hot kiln

Shell axis,
CLEARANCE
Hot kiln

Tire axis,
Cold kiln

Shell axis
move Shell axis,
between cold Cold kiln
and hot
conditions

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 Expansion

 Girth-gear is fixed on the shell

 Conclusion
 The girth-gear root clearance will increase between
cold and hot conditions
 Ex. :
 3-pier 4.6 m diameter kiln with pre-heater
 Root clearance increases about 6 mm
 This value must be discussed with technical center

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 2 Relations tolerances vs. dimensions

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 Tolerances vs. dimensions

 Dimensions are significant

 Dimensions in dozen of m
 Weights in hundreds of tons
 Can a kiln accept any defect?
 In fact not, even it looks big and strong
 The bigger it is, the fewer defects it can accept

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 Tolerances vs. dimensions

 Example of tolerances
 Girth-gear/pinion teeth clearance (contact side)
 Normal < 0.05 mm
 Warning if > 0.1 mm
 Tooth crack or other problems if > 0.2 mm
 Kiln roller position adjustment (skewing)
 Normal < 0.3 mm
 Warning if > 1 mm
 Danger if > 3 mm

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 3 Thermal bending

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 Thermal bending

 Take one beam of 10m, apply 420°C to it

 Expansion = 1.2 x (420-20)/ 100 x 10 = 48 mm

 Take one beam of 10m, apply 220°C

 Expansion = 1.2 x (220-20)/ 100 x 10 = 24 mm

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 Thermal bending

 Now take a shell

 Length 10 m
 Diameter 4 m
 Apply an uneven coating leading to
 420°C on 180° of circumference
 220°C on 180° of circumference

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 Thermal bending

Expansion
420° on this side
+ 48 mm

Difference
24 mm

+ 24 mm
220° on this side

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 Thermal bending

 Differential expansion = 24 mm
 But the kiln is resting on its piers
 What will happen?
 Shell will deform to allow for these extra 24 mm

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 Thermal bending

 Conclusion
 A defect in coating can lead
 To different temperatures on the same circumference
 Then to differential expansion
 Then to kiln thermal bending
 If the thermal bending is really too high (strong
enough to lift the kiln partly), some tyres could even
not touch the rollers!
 Corrective actions
 Modify process parameters
 to get proper equal coating
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 Thermal bending

 Thermal bending can also occur

 When the kiln is not properly rotated
 During start-up
 During kiln stoppage
 When the kiln is not rotated after one incident

 Importance of barring drive!

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 Thermal bending

 Dramatic thermal bending

 If you do not rotate your kiln on incident, thermal
bending will increase and increase, and then will
deform your shell permanently
 This already happened: example Figuil (Cameroon)
 Production incident, no barring during 10 mn
 Tropical rain (which cools only top of shell)
 Kiln bent forever (tyre/roller clearance 25mm)
 Need for cut or shell replacement
 Cost > 100.000 USD

 Stoppage time needed > 10 days

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 Thermal bending

 Conclusion
 Heat is a very important parameter for kiln shell
 Attention should be always given to temperatures
 Maximum temperature
 But also differential
 Barring drive must always be ready to operate
 Mechanical staff must take extreme care in case of
kiln thermal bending

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 4 Mechanical crankshaft

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 What is a mechanical crankshaft?

 As an example on 3 piers, a mechanical bend is one
tube which is deformed so the 2nd section is rotating
when sections 1 and 3 are perfectly set-up in line

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 Mechanical crankshaft

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 How to obtain a mechanical crankshaft?

 First cause of crankshaft in the group (major)
 Brick failure, not followed by stoppage
 Too long run with missing bricks
 Too high temperature on the shell with bricks
 Some indicators
 If the circumference of hot-spot is > 90° of the total, it
becomes dangerous for the kiln shape, otherwise it will
create only local deformations (but still bad)
 Axial hot-spots are less dangerous than radial

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Examples 1

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Examples 1

Kiln Mechanics Tula (Mexico) – 17, 18 & 19th June 2008 40

 Mechanical crankshaft

 Examples 1

Kiln Mechanics Tula (Mexico) – 17, 18 & 19th June 2008 41

 Mechanical crankshaft

 Examples 2

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Examples 2

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Examples 2

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 How to obtain a mechanical crankshaft?

 Second cause of crankshaft (minor)
 Wrong alignment of shell at the erection
 Because of subcontractor’s lack of know-how

 Because new or old shells are deformed

 Because shells to be replaced have not been

properly chosen

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Example

SHELL ECCENTRICITY
OR "CRANKSHAFT"
KILN SHELL
AXIS UNDER
TYRE

POOR
ALIGNMENT
OF SHELLS

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Warning : high danger linked to subcontractor

 In case of shell replacement
 In case of shell cut

SHELL ECCENTRICITY
OR "CRANKSHAFT"
KILN SHELL
AXIS UNDER
TYRE

POOR
ALIGNMENT
OF SHELLS

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 Is it possible to have a mechanical crankshaft

without visual indications?
 YES
 Since kilns are generally very flexible, you may have
a crankshaft but as the kiln deforms during rotation,
the deformation is not visible
 Sometimes kilns are affected by several crankshafts
in opposite phases

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 Mechanical crankshaft

 How to check existence of a crankshaft?

 By looking for
 Periodical noise at the speed of kiln rotation
 Periodical motor amperage fluctuation
 Periodical deflection of roller shaft
 By measuring radial run-out on tyre shell
 If you see a significant radial run-out on kiln seals or
on the shell between two piers
 IMPORTANT : To detect a potential problem you must
wait 5 or 6 rotations !!!

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 5 Kiln stiffness

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 Kiln stiffness

 Kilns are not equal to crankshaft

 According to suppliers and design, kilns can be much
more sensitive than others to crankshaft or
misalignment
 The “Kiln stiffness matrix” allows to link
 The cause: misalignment or crankshaft
 The consequence: periodical overloads on piers

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 Kiln stiffness

 What is the stiffness matrix?

 It is calculated and given by your technical center
 Example:  F1  1.9  4.1 2.9  0.7  d1
F 2   4.1 10.5  10 3.6  d 2
  
 F 3  2.9  10 12.5  5.4  d 3
     
 F 4   0.7 3.6  5.4 2.6  d 4

 The diagonal values show the overload (t)

corresponding to a crankshaft (mm) at one pier

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 Kiln stiffness

 Example
 What is the consequence of a crankshaft of 5mm at
pier 3, from Manresa (this stiffness matrix)?
 F1  1.9  4.1 2.9  0.7  d1 0
F 2   4.1 10.5  10 3.6  d 2 0
   
 F 3  2.9  10 12.5  5.4  d 3 5
      0
F 4  0.7 3.6  5.4 2.6  d 4

 Overload = dF3 = +/- 12.5 x 5 = +/- 62.5 t

 Periodical overload (each rotation) of +/- 62.5 t

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 Kiln stiffness

 Kiln stiffness can be very different

 In general on a 3-pier kiln, stiffness is about 8t/mm on
the 2nd station
 It can go up to 40 t/mm (Russia), long kiln with many
piers

 As a summary
 Small defects can lead very quickly to very significant
overloads

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Materials for
building our world