COAL PULVERISER MAINTENANCE PERFORMANCE

ENHANCEMENT THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF A

COMBINATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

GERHARD HOLTSHAUZEN
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirement for the degree
Magister Ingeneriae
in the
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
(Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering)
(specialisation Maintenance Engineering)

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
September 2008
Registration number: 200838373
Study leader: Dr Jasper L Coetzee
Co-leader: Dr Johann Pretorius

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly I want to thank my Saviour and God who gave me the strength, courage and
perseverance to complete this dissertation. I also wish to thank:

Me. Hanlie Holtshauzen My wife; For all her support and motivation.

Mr. Keith Williams ex. Babcock Design Engineer; Assistance and advice when
needed.

Mr. Kevin Dugdale ex. Mitsui Babcock Design Engineer; Opening a new world
for me.

Mr. Brett King Steinmller Engineering Principal Engineer; Assistance with the
Financial Model.

Mr. Chris Loots Steinmller Engineering Services Continuous Improvement

Manager, Assistance with the English language.

Dr Jasper Coetzee Study Leader.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................ii
LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................................iv
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................ v
LIST OF SYMBOLS ......................................................................................................vi
ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ vii
SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 1
OPSOMMING ................................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM DEFINITION........................................................................... 5
1.1
PROBLEM DEFINITION ..................................................................................... 5
1.2
ROAD MAP FOR THE DISSERTATION ............................................................. 6
1.3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................... 7
1.4
KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS.......................................................................... 8
1.5
SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND...................................................................................... 10
2.1
SA COAL AND ELECTRICITY ......................................................................... 10
2.2
COAL PULVERIZING FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION .............................. 11
2.3
DEFINITION OF A MILL ................................................................................... 12
2.4
COAL PULVERIZATION .................................................................................. 13
2.5
BASIC MILL OPERATION ................................................................................ 16
2.6
SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 17
CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE SURVEY.......................................................................... 18
3.1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 18
3.2
PROFITABILITY OF STRATEGIC MAINTENANCE ......................................... 18
3.3
THE EVOLVEMENT OF MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES ................................. 19
3.4
PROFITABILITY BY INNOVATIVE MAINTENANCE ........................................ 22
3.5
TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY ................................................... 23
3.6
SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER 4 SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT ................................................................. 26
4.1
TESTING PROCEDURES ................................................................................ 26
4.2
ROTATING THROAT ASSEMBLIES ................................................................ 26
4.2.1
PROCEDURE FOR MILL THROUGHPUT / PERFORMANCE TESTING .. 30
4.2.2
MAINTENANCE INTERVAL TESTING ON RTAS..................................... 31
4.3
MILL SPIDER AND GUIDE WEAR PLATES..................................................... 32
4.3.1
TEST PROCEDURE FOR MILL SPIDER WEAR PLATES ........................ 33
4.3.2
TRITON WEAR MATERIAL ....................................................................... 34
4.4
MILL BALL LOADING CYLINDERS.................................................................. 35
4.4.1
AIRBAGS .................................................................................................. 35
4.5
CLASSIFIER CONE ......................................................................................... 36
4.6
HIGH CHROME MILL GRINDING MEDIA ........................................................ 38
4.7
SUMMARY OF TESTING PROCEDURES/METHODS .................................... 38
CHAPTER 5 SOLUTION TESTING ............................................................................. 39
5.2
TECHNICAL RESULTS .................................................................................... 39
5.2.1
Rotating Throat Assembly.......................................................................... 39
5.2.2
Spider and spider guide wear plates.......................................................... 40
5.2.3
Airbag installation ...................................................................................... 40
5.2.4
Classifier cone modification ....................................................................... 40
5.2.5
High chrome mill grinding media................................................................ 40
5.3
FINANCIAL MODEL ......................................................................................... 41
5.4
MODIFICATIONS ............................................................................................. 42
5.4.1
RTA installations........................................................................................ 42
5.4.1.1
Efficiency ............................................................................................ 42
5.4.1.2

UCLF / PCLF Improvement: ............................................................... 42

5.4.1.3

Project Implementation Cost:.............................................................. 42

5.4.1.4

Project Operating Cost: ...................................................................... 42

5.4.1.5

Project Maintenance Cost:.................................................................. 42

5.4.1.6

Status Quo Replacement Cost: .......................................................... 43

5.4.1.7

Status Quo Operating Cost:................................................................ 43

5.4.1.8

Status Quo Maintenance Cost: ........................................................... 43

5.4.1.9

Financial Results / Parameters from the Model:.................................. 43

5.4.2
Spider and spider guide wear plates.......................................................... 44
5.4.3
Airbag installation ...................................................................................... 44
5.4.3.1
Financial Results (appendix H for full detail): ...................................... 44
5.4.4
Classifier cone ........................................................................................... 44
5.4.4.1
Financial Results (appendix G for full detail): ...................................... 44
5.4.5
High chrome mill grinding media................................................................ 44
5.4.5.1
Financial Results (appendix I for full detail):........................................ 44
5.5
FINANCIAL INDICATORS FOR THE INTRODUCED TECHNOLOGIES .......... 45
5.6
SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL RESULTS AND FINANCIAL INDICATORS ........ 46
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION........................................................................................ 47
6.1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 47
6.2
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................. 47
APPENDIX A KRIEL PERFORMANCE TESTS .......................................................... 53
A1
Coal analysis: ................................................................................................... 53
A.2 Mill differential pressure:................................................................................... 53
A.3 Mill motor power consumption: ......................................................................... 54
A.4 PA fan motor power consumption: .................................................................... 54
A.5 Mill reject rate: .................................................................................................. 54
A.6 Mill rejects density: ........................................................................................... 55
A.7 PF fineness (75 m sieve): ............................................................................... 55
A.8 PF fineness (150 m sieve): ............................................................................. 55
A.9 PF fineness (300 m sieve): ............................................................................. 56
A.10
Recirculation Load: ....................................................................................... 56
APPENDIX B PERFORMANCE TESTS AT ADDITIONAL POWER STATIONS ........ 57
B.1 Performance test at Arnot Power Station .......................................................... 57
B.2 Performance test at Duvha power station ......................................................... 57
B.3 Performance test at Hendrina power station ..................................................... 58
B.4 Performance test at Matla power station........................................................... 58
APPENDIX C FINANCIAL MODEL ............................................................................. 59
APPENDIX D FINANCIAL MODEL GUIDE ................................................................. 60
APPENDIX E RTA FINANCIAL MODEL ..................................................................... 63
APPENDIX F WEAR PLATES..................................................................................... 64
APPENDIX G CLASSIFIER CONE ............................................................................. 66
APPENDIX H BALL LOADING SYSTEM.................................................................... 68
APPENDIX I MILL GRINDING MEDIA ........................................................................ 70
I.1
Steel ball and high chrome ring cycle regime (current philosophy)................... 70
I.1.1
Background on the Current Ball Cycle Regime: ......................................... 70
I.1.2
Calculation:................................................................................................ 70
I.2
High chrome ball and ring cycle regime (proposed ball cycle philosophy)......... 71
I.2.1
Background on the High Chrome Ball Cycle Regime: ................................ 71
I.2.2 Calculation: ...................................................................................................... 71
I.3
Ring Life ........................................................................................................... 71
I.4
Mill Grinding Media Prices ................................................................................ 72
I.5
Financial Model Inputs (Theoretical) Current Steel Ball Cycle Regime........... 72

ii

I.6
I.7

Financial Model Inputs (Theoretical) High Chrome Ball Cycle Regime........... 73

Added Benefits: ................................................................................................ 73

iii

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 - Summary of financial indicator for technologies tested
Table 2 - Mill diff pressure
Table 3 - Mill kWs consumed
Table 4 - PA fan kWs consumed
Table 5 - Reject rate
Table 6 - Reject density
Table 7 - 75 m sieve fineness
Table 8 - 150 m sieve fineness
Table 9 - 300 m sieve fineness
Table 10 - Recirculation load
Table 11 - Financial model
Table 12 - RTA financial model
Table 13 - Wear plates financial model
Table 14 - Classifier cone modification financial model
Table 15 - Airbag financial model
Table 16 - Current grinding media financial inputs
Table 17 - Proposed grinding media financial inputs
Table 18 - High chrome mill grinding media financial model

45
53
54
54
54
55
55
55
56
56
59
63
65
67
69
72
73
74

iv

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 - Alstom Deep Bowl Mill [20]
12
Figure 2 - Basic layout of a Babcock and Wilcox 10.8E mill [15]
13
Figure 3 - Schematic flow of coal in a pulverizing plant
15
Figure 4 - Typical stationary mill throat (throat plate ring) in a Babcock & Wilcox E-Type
Mill
27
Figure 5 - Schematic drawing of a Rotating Throat Assembly (RTA)
27
Figure 6 - Rotating Throat Assembly in a Babcock and Wilcox E-type mill
28
Figure 7 - Schematic representation of the mill cycles
29
Figure 8 - General arrangement drawing of mill spider guide wear plates
33
Figure 9 - Worn spider and guide wear plates
34
Figure 10 - Airbag loading cylinder
36
Figure 11 - General arrangement drawing of new classifier cone design
37

LIST OF SYMBOLS
Symbol

Description

Unit of measure

Density

kg/m3

Diameter

Mm

micron

1 x 106

percentage

Fraction of 100

Temperature

Degrees Celsius

vi

ABBREVIATIONS
B&W

Babcock and Wilcox

BPE

Boiler Plant Engineering at Kriel Power Station (unless otherwise stated)

BS

British Standards

CMMS

Computerised Maintenance Management System

DIN

Deutches Institut fr Normung (German National Standards Organisation)

Dr

Doctor

ERV

Equipment replacement value

ESKOM

Electricity Supply Commission of South Africa

ex.

Previous

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

hrs

hours

IRR
Kg/m

Internal Rate of Return

3

kilogram per cubic meter

kg/s

Kilogram per second

kPa

Kilo Pascal

kW

Kilowatt

M. Eng

Masters Degree in Engineering

M. Ing

Meesters Graad in Ingenieurswese

m/s

meter per second

mm

millimetre

MMS

Maintenance management system

MTTR

Mean time to repair

MW

Mega Watt

MWh

Mega Watt hour

No

Number

NPV

Net Present Value

O&M

Operating and Maintenance

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer

PA

Primary Air

PCD

Pitch Centre Diameter

PCLF

Planned capability loss factor

PF

Pulverised Fuel

PSM

Power Station Manager

R&M

Renovate and Modernisation

R/t

Rands per ton

vii

RSA

Republic of South Africa

RTA

Rotating Throat Assembly

TLC

Tender Loving Care

Tn

Test number n

UCLF

Unplanned capability loss factor

UK

United Kingdom

vs.

Versus (opposed to)

WW II

World War II

WA

Weld Ability

viii

SUMMARY
The dissertation is an investigation on the implementation of new technologies (five off) in a
coal pulverising with main aim to optimise mill maintenance interventions. The technologies
in question are:

Stationary air throat replaced with a rotating throat assembly.

Hydro-pneumatic mill loading cylinders replaced with airbags.

Classifier cone modification.

Introduction of triton material for the mill spider guide plates.

High chrome mill grinding balls.

Every maintenance intervention, even if planned, negatively affects a plants availability and
reliability. A Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) at Kriel power station (ESKOM) was used for the
testing of the mentioned technologies. The mill model/size is a B&W 10.8E mill. The aim of
the introduction of new technology on a mill is to optimise the period between required
maintenance activities. A higher availability will assist in achieving good plant maintenance
performance indicators. It needs to be noted that the dissertation focussed on the financial
and technical parameters of a specific modification. This in an effort to increase uptime and
reduce costs as part of a business drive for bigger profit margins.
The new technologies tested were thus evaluated from a technical and financial point of
view. Each technology was implemented at different time periods and nowhere was any
tests performed in parallel on a single mill. To get approval from an investment committee for
release of money for tests/modifications, technical and financial assumptions need to be
made regarding the performance parameters of the modification/change. Once a
modification is being tested, actual plant data can be used as inputs into the execution
phase of the modification as assumptions can be replaced with test data. A financial model
was developed to test the financial feasibility of the proposed changes/modifications.
With new technology successful implemented in the plant the current maintenance strategies
for maintenance interventions can be re-evaluated as the proposed modifications removed
historic barriers that determined the current used based maintenance intervals. An example
is where a mill is taken from service to replace or repair the stationary air throat (typically
every 5 000 operating hours). With the newly applied technology (rotating throat

assemblies), there is no need for maintenance interventions every 5 000hrs as a rotating

throat assembly can run without major interventions for 60 000hrs.
The scientific proof that the introduced technology was successfully applied in the case
study plant from a technical and financial point of view yields positive results for full
implementation of the proposed modifications. In conclusion the current indication is the mill
maintenance interventions can be stretched to 8 000hrs without negatively affecting the
performance of the pulverising plant, if all 5 technologies are implemented together. This
60% stretch between mill maintenance interventions however needs to be tested to
determine if there are not other restrictions not thought of that prohibits this action.
Possible future work in this field will be to determine if the plant cannot be run on a condition
based maintenance strategy. Tests in this regard will have to be performed to determine the
impact on plant and personnel with the change from used base to condition based
maintenance. The author is confident that the perfect balance between optimum plant
performance and optimum maintenance cost is within this approach.

OPSOMMING
Die verhandeling handel oor die implementering van 5 nuwe komponente in n kool
vergruisings/meule aanleg en die dienooreenkomstige toetse en afleidings om te bepaal of
die huidige instandhoudings frekwensie die optimum is. Die komponente ter sprake is:

Statiese lugblokke vervang met n roterende lugblok konstruksie.

Hidroliese lug meul ball belastings silnders vervang met lugsak silinders.

Klassifikasie kegel verandering.

Bekendstelling van Triton material vir die spider slytasieplate.

Ho chroom meulballe.

Elke instandhoudings aksie, selfs al is dit beplan, benvloed die beskikbaarheid en

betroubaarheid van n aanleg. n Babcock en Wilcox (B&W) meule by Kriel kragstasie
(ESKOM) was gebruik as toetsmeule vir al die genoemde tegnologie. Die meule grootte is n
B&W 10.8E. The doel vir die nuwe tegnologi is die soeke na die optimum periode tussen
instandhoudingsaksies. n Hor beskikbaarheid op die aanleg sal hulp verleen tot beter
aanleg betroubaarheid en uitsette. Dit is belangrik om daarop te let dat dat die verhandeling
sal fokus op die tegniese en finansile implikasies op die komponente getoets.
Die nuwe komponente getoets sal dus gevalueer word uit n tegniese en finansile oogpunt.
Om goedkeuring te kry van n beleggingskommitee, om gelde beskikbaar te stel vir die
toetse/modifikasies, moet talle tegniese en finansile aannames bemaak word rakende die
beoogde verandering/modifikasie. As die fisiese toetse afgehandel is, kan werklike toetsdata
gebruik word om die finale implementering van die verandering/modifikasie te motiveer. n
Finansile model is ontwikkel waarmee die finansile lewensvatbaarheid van veranderinge
getoets kan word. Met nuwe tegnologie suksesvol gemplimenteer in n aanleg kan die
huidige instandhoudings aksies herevalueer word. Hierdie omdat historiese bottelnekke in
die instandhouding en bedryfs omgewings die oorspronklike instandhoudingsfrekwensies
bepaal het. n Voorbeeld is waar statiese lugblokke vervang is met n roterende lugblok
konstruksie. Die oorspronklike komponent kon slegs 5 000 ure bereik voordat dit vervang
moes word in vergeleke met n moontlike 60 000 ure vir die nuwe komponent.

Wetenskaplike bewyse dat die tegnologi gemplementeer suksesvol is uit n tegniese en

finansile oogpunt, is genoeg motivering vir die volle implementering van die veranderinge.
Die huidige aanduiding is dat die instandhoudingsintervalle gerek kan word na 8 000 ure
sonder om die aanleg in n risiko situasie te plaas. Die 60% verlenging in diensinterval sal
egter eers getoets moet word om te bepaal of daar nie ander dele van die aanleg is waar nie
die beoogde 8 000 ure sal bereik nie.
Voorgestelde toekomstige werk in hierdie vakgebied sal wees om te bepaal of die aanleg nie
op n toestandsgebasseerde instandhoudingsstrategie bedryf sal kan word nie. Toetse in
hierdie verband sal die impak bepaal op die aanleg en personeel. Die outeur is egter vol
vertoue dat n perfekte balans tussen aanleg uitsette en aanleg instandhouding sal lei tot die
laagste moontlike instandhoudingskoste.

CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM DEFINITION

1.1

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Coal resources are available commercially in 70 countries of the world. Current supply
shortages are being dictated by transportation costs and logistical problems. Due to the high
demand for coal in China and India, the South African market is benefiting from the
international boom of coal prices. With the high volumes of coal being exported from South
Africa, the pressure on the domestic market is forcing coal prices higher.
ESKOM (Electricity Supply Commission of South Africa), being the biggest user of coal in
South Africa, has been forced to look at lower grade coals to fire their power stations due to
the cost of the typical design coal. The coal the power stations were designed for has
become uneconomical to purchase as the South African Energy regulator is trying to keep
the annual electricity price increases close to the inflation rate. The bulk of the higher grade
coal is being shipped off to the international buyers, paying higher fees for the coal than the
South African economy can afford.
The lower grade coal being utilised at the ESKOM power stations has a big impact on the
pulverizing plants installed, as the pulverization process poses a harsh environment even
with the higher grade coal previously processed, with a high amount of associated
component wear. Lower grade coal equates to higher load factors on the pulverisers and
thus more maintenance is required on the equipment.
For any technical problem there are technical solutions, the problem being that investors
expect a certain return of investment. This implies that the plant can be modified, but it has
to be done in such a manner that the modifications done must guarantee a certain return on
investment.
Most modifications and changes on a pulveriser need to be tested empirically as data are
not readily available, and the coal being pulverised may differ substantially between different
plants. For this reason the implementation of modifications need to be tested financially and
technically before the full implementation of such a project or modification get the green light
for full implementation.

When changes are implemented on a pulveriser plant, the maintenance thereof will also be
influenced. A very careful approach and analysis need to be performed during the concept
phase of any modification or change. Parameters of the modification to consider are:

Efficiency.

Project implementation cost.

Plant availability.

Project operating cost.

Project maintenance cost.

Once the modification is installed the plant can be run and actual performance data can be
compared to:

Status quo replacement cost.

Status quo operating cost.

Status quo maintenance cost.

With actual test data available the modification can be compared to before the modification
was performed. From the parameters that need monitoring it can be gathered that the
modification is being evaluated from a technical and financial perspective. The comparison
between actual performance parameters and the assumptions made in the concept phase of
the modification can now be weighed against each other. This comparison in the end
determines if the modification will be fully implemented.

1.2

ROAD MAP FOR THE DISSERTATION

How plant maintenance strategies have evolved and how important finances are in industry
will be the focus points of chapter 3. The conceptual undertone is that any anticipated
change or modification has to be tested for technical and financial success before it can be
fully implemented. Only a positive outcome in terms of both parameters will ensure the
successful implementation of the proposed change if human safety is not a factor to be
considered.
For the dissertation to be successful, a roadmap will be developed to dictate the manner in
which the research will be undertaken. Section 2.3 will pose research questions that have to
be answered to ensure good feedback on the research undertaken. The word success was

purposefully not used, as negative results do not necessarily indicate the research was in
vain. Negative results should move the strategic direction of the research into the perusal of
alternative routes for positive, less negative or the least cost option/s.

1.3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research undertaken will be technically evaluated industry wide and then tested for
financial success on a single case study. The case study milling plant will be from Kriel
power station.
For mill maintenance to be optimised, the conventional way of practical (empirical) testing
was used as very little, or no performance data was available. Due to the vast differences of
plant hardware, operating philosophies and coal being pulverised, no known plant could be
referenced before the tests were undertaken. The reference mill for the research is a B&W
10.8E vertical spindle mill (Figure 2). The first technological advance that was tested on the
test mill was that of a rotating throat assembly in place of the traditional stationary mill
throat. With this technology being tested, other modifications were also being evaluated in
parallel to move the envelope to be able to determine optimum maintenance intervals to
achieve optimum maintenance costs for the applicable plant. It can thus also be reasoned
that this approach forced the research into a testing phase of additional new technology to
determine the impact on the system and its maintenance interventions.
The key- / research questions posed in this thesis will be used as guideline for the
research undertaken. Once the research questions have been answered, a merged
approach (technical and financial) of the technology introduced will be taken to assess the
impact of the introduction of the new technology on the test mill.
The new technology (more modern components) identified that will be tested for technical
and financial successes are:

Rotating throat assemblies compared to the traditional stationary mill throat slots.

Replacement of the OEM Bennox mill wear plates with a new material type called
Triton.

The introduction of a new generation classifier cone without typical gladiator skirt
fingers.

Replacement of the hydro-pneumatic loading cylinders with the patented Airbags

from Lockhyd Industries.

Replacement of the steel mill balls with high chrome mill balls.

The new technologies being tested were chosen primarily to increase component life
expectancy and thus to stretch maintenance intervals without subjecting the plant to
unnecessary risks in terms of planned or unplanned load losses. The end result of the
research will be a proposed mill maintenance flow chart that indicates how maintenance
interventions should be planned for a specific milling plant for optimum mill availability and
reliability at the least possible cost.

1.4

KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The introduction of the complete complement of technical modifications on the specific mill
will be evaluated technically and financially in this dissertation, as it has a direct impact on
the pulverizing process that has been described. The financial feasibility of each change /
modification will be tested according to the criteria that will be defined in Chapter 4.
As was stated in the previous section, the introduction of a range of new technologies will be
needed to support a change in the mill maintenance frequency and duration. Other
components that are gate-keepers in terms of the time they can last before failure has to be
considered with the RTAs. The areas of plant that will be evaluated for success are
mentioned in section 1.3. A case gap analysis has revealed that the following components
must be upgraded before condition based maintenance principles can be applied with
financial success:

Mill spider wear plates.

A more reliable classifier cone arrangement.

The hydro-pneumatic mill loading cylinders has a very poor life expectancy and
needs to be replaced with new cylinders or an alternative technology that is more
reliable and cost-effective.

The introduction of mill grinding element material that is completely different to the
currently technology being applied in the RSA.

1.5

SUMMARY

From the key questions posed, it is evident that there is a lot of testing involved to determine
the success of the introduced technology. This chapter acts as guide to the research
undertaken. With the key questions in mind and the technical and financial testing of each
technology being considered, a structured approach is given to the complex tests and
results.

The end results will give an indication whether or not the current maintenance strategies
should still be applied. A review of the current maintenance strategy will be done to
determine the optimum levels of maintenance activities and / or interventions. With an
optimum level of maintenance, costs will be at the lowest possible level for the applicable
operating philosophy and this is where any competitive business unit wants to be.

CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND
2.1

SA COAL AND ELECTRICITY

South Africa (RSA) is a country where coal resources are readily available at a relative low
cost compared to international coal prices. For example, the average cost of coal in SA is
R120/ton, whereas prices in Europe is up to 85/ton, which equates to roughly R1 020/t. The
availability of coal biased the decision of the South African Government to build power
stations in the 1960s to 1990s that are of fossil fuel type. ESKOM, a para-statal company,
currently has 11 (eleven) operational fossil fuel power plants, all situated within the borders
of South Africa. Two additional fossil power plants are in a partial mothballed state. These
are currently being rehabilitated for production. The last unit of these two mothballed power
stations has to be available for commercial load by mid 2010. This date is not fixed as South
Africas electricity shortage escalates, and thus the return to service of the mothballed power
plants could happen sooner than indicated if spares and resources could be sourced in time.
The eleven fossil fuel power stations in SA that are in operation are:

Arnot (6 x 350 MW = 2 100 MW total)1.

Camden (8 x 200MW = 1 600 MW total)2.

Duvha (6 x 600 MW = 3 600 MW total).

Hendrina (10 x 200 MW = 2 000 MW total).

Kendal (6 x 686 MW = 4 116 MW total).

Kriel (6 x 500 MW = 3 000 MW total).

Letabo (6 x 618 MW = 3 708 MW total).

Majuba (3 x 657 + 3 x 713 = 4 110 MW total).

Matimba (6 x 657 MW = 3 942 MW total).

Matla (6 x 600 MW = 3 600 MW total).

Tutuka (6 x 609 MW = 3 654 MW total).

Note 1: This power station is in the process of a capacity increase project where the units are upgraded from 350 to 400 MW
per unit. In May 2008 unit 3 was complete with this process with the other 5 units following suite in the next two years.
Note 2: Unit 1 at Camden was not on commercial load in May 2008 as turbine spares delayed the return to service of the plant.
Commercial load was achieved on 31 July 2008.

10

The mothballed power stations in order of being returned to production are:

Grootvlei (6 x 200 MW = 1 200 MW total)3.

Komati (5 x 100 MW + 4 x 125 MW = 1 000 MW total)4.

2.2

COAL PULVERIZING FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION

For a steam boiler to be able to combust fossil fuel, the coal first has to be pulverised to a
certain fineness before flow and burning characteristics are within acceptable parameters.
To achieve the desired fineness the raw coal is processed within a milling plant (also
referred to as crushing or pulverization plant) to get the desired characteristics to ensure
stable and effective combustion of these particles in the furnace of a boiler. The milling plant
will be the focus of this dissertation. The usage of mills is however not unique to the
electricity generating utilities and a large amount of mills are also utilised in the cement and
mineral processing industry. The mills of an electricity generating utility are a big contributor
to the profit or not of the company because:

The work on mills is labour intensive.

The spare parts of a mill are usually expensive as only selected companies can
manufacture the spares to the correct requirements.

A mill is a high wear component and is designed to sacrifice its grinding media to be
able to process the coal.

A milling plant uses an amount of auxiliary power when in operation that has to be
factored into the cost of production for a pulveriser.

If maintenance costs are not kept within acceptable levels, the profitability of a utility can
change from positive to negative. An example of this is when half of Arnot Power Station
(near Middelburg, Mpumalanga) was partially mothballed in the 1990s. This decision was
based on the fact that the characteristics of the coal properties caused the mills to wear so
fast that it was not economically feasible to keep the units in production.
The pulveriser plant at Arnot is installed with redundancy where 5 out of 6 mills need to be in
operation to deliver full boiler load. The wear on the mill components were so high that the
mill maintenance interventions started to overlap and the Maintenance Department could not
finish maintenance activities quick enough before the next mill was due for a service. Due to
the unavailability of the redundant plant, the generating capacity of the unit was negatively
affected. Arnot Power Station could thus not produce at full capacity when needed.
Note 3: In May 2008 Grootvlei Unit 1 was on commercial load with unit 2 being in the commissioning phase.
Note 4: Unit 9 at Komati was being commissioned and tested in May 2008 with commercial load for the unit planned for July
2008.

11

2.3 DEFINITION OF A MILL

The definition of a roller mill as per DIN 24100 [14]: The roller mill is a machine, in which the
grinding path is of a ring form. On this, grinding elements (rollers or bowls) are rolling. Their
own weight presses the grinding elements on the grinding path by centrifugal action, by
springs, by hydraulic or pneumatic system. The driving power can be expected on the
grinding elements as well as the grinding path. The machine is used for grinding, which
means to produce materials in mostly fine grain form. The size of the grains depends on
industrial utilisation. The roller mill is one type of vertical spindle mill. Vertical-spindle
because the mill grinding media rotates around a virtual vertical axis. Typical OEMs
(Original Equipment Manufacturers) of roller mills are: Loesche, MPS, PHI, Lapulco, Alstom,
Steinmller Engineering Services, and Combustion Engineering.

Figure 1 - Alstom Deep Bowl Mill [20]

12

The mill type that will be used as basis of discussion in this document is also of the vertical
spindle mill type, but with different grinding media than that indicated in DIN 24100. The
grinding elements are not rollers or bowls (figure 1), but hollow cast steel balls running in a
top and bottom ring. The OEMs for this type of mill are Babcock and Wilcox (B&W), Mitsui
Babcock and Claudius Peters. Refer to figure 2 for a general arrangement drawing of a B&W
10.8E mill. A Babcock and Wilcox 10.8E coal mill is described as a vertical spindle, low
speed, type E pressurised, ball mill. The 10.8E refers to the PCD (Pitch Centre Diameter)
of the mill being 108 inches.

Spider guide wear plate

Figure 2 - Basic layout of a Babcock and Wilcox 10.8E mill [15]

2.4

COAL PULVERIZATION

Figure 3 schematically shows how coal is processed in a pulverising plant. A coal feeder
feeds the mill with raw coal from the coalbunkers above the mill. The feeder regulates the
quantity of raw coal being supplied to the mill. A typical feeder used to deliver coal to a
10.8E B&W E-type mill is a Stock volumetric or gravimetric feeder. For a volumetric feeder
coal feeder density () is assumed to be of constant nature. A gravimetric feeder weighs the

13

coal delivered to the mill (kg/s) and no assumptions are made in terms of the coal tonnage
delivered to the mill.
After the feeder, raw coal enters the mill through the raw coal pipe from where it falls, with
the assistance of gravity onto the mill table (yoke cover plate). With the mill table that is
rotated by the mill electric motor and mill gearbox, the raw coal migrates, by centrifugal force
to the outside of the mill table. It then enters the grinding zone as a coal bed between the
mill bottom ring and mill balls. The Primary Air (PA) fan blows hot air into the mill through the
mill throat slots. The mill throat slots, which act as a venturi for the air, accelerate the PA to
have enough kinetic energy to transport small coal particles. The primary air aerates the
pulverized coal particles in a process described as primary classification. Pulverised fuel
(PF) with the correct properties then enters the mill classifier and if of correct weight and
quality, is delivered via pipe work mounted on top of the mill, as aerated PF to the boiler for
combustion. Coal particles not fine enough or still too heavy are re-introduced into the mills
grinding zone.
A B&W mill can, for descriptive purposes, be divided into four sections or levels:
(i)

The Mill Housing Support This part of the mill is cylindrical in shape and within it is
the mill gearbox. The housing support is mounted on its own steel foundation frame
and the gearbox is mounted on its own foundation frame. On top of the mill housing
is the wear plate section.

(ii)

The Mill Housing The support plate provides the support for the second level of the
mill. The mill housing is cylindrical in shape and is bolted into the support top plate.
Inside the mill housing are the drive yoke, bottom and top rings, grinding balls and
mill spider.

(iii)

Classifier - The PF is accelerated through the primary classification process and then
the flow path passes into the classifier section of the mill. The PF classifier section is
cylindrical in shape and houses the classifier blades on the top termination point of
the cone.

(iv)

PF Outlet turret PF is graded in the classifier and exits the mill through this outlet
turret. The raw coal pipe passes through the middle of this turret, through the top part
of the cylindrical section of the mill top where the raw coal is fed onto the mill table.

14

Coal Bunker

Coal Gate

Feeder

Mill

Primary Air
Seal Air

Pulverised Fuel

Secondary Air

Burner

Core Air

Boiler

Figure 3 - Schematic flow of coal in a pulverizing plant

15

2.5

BASIC MILL OPERATION

Before the research questions, an overview will be given into the insight of the operating of a
vertical spindle mill. The start-up and pulverizing process in a B&W 8.5E vertical spindle mill
can be summarised to be as follow:

The coal bunker isolating valve (slide gate) above the mills feeder is opened whilst
the mill is being warmed by Primary Air (PA) Figure 3.

Once the mill is at the correct temperature (mill outlet temperature 100oC) the mill
feeder and motor is started.

Raw coal is fed through the raw coal feed pipe to the mill via the mills feeder.

At the bottom of the raw coal chute (pipe), coal is thrown onto the mills table (yoke
cover plate).

The centrifugal force of the rotating ring, throws the coal in the mill grinding zone
(between rings and balls).

The mill balls, as they rotate with the mill bottom rings, crush the coal into finer
particles (Refer to figure 5).

A grinding force is exerted between the mill grinding elements (rings and balls) as
well as by the weight of the components plus an external loading system.

PA enters the mill through stationary throat slots, which act as a venturi and cause
primary pulverised fuel (PF) classification.

The PA blowing through the venturi picks up coal particles and transports those that
are fine enough to the classifier section of the mill.

The particles that are not fine enough are pulled back by gravity and are reintroduced into the grinding zone. This is the primary classification zone of the mill.

The particles that are fine enough to reach the mill classifier section are subjected to
a sudden direction change by the classifier blades.

This causes coal particles that are not of the correct fineness to be re-introduced
through the classifier cone into the grinding zone. This is referenced as secondary
PF classification.

The coal particles of the correct size grading then exit the mill through the pulverised
coal outlet or also called the mill turret.

These particles or PF are transported through PF pipe work to the PF burners of the
boiler where they combust.

16

Figure 4 - General arrangement drawing of an 8.5E B&W mill

Any boiler is designed to accommodate PF within pre-determined parameters. The

pulveriser set-up is of paramount importance for correct and efficient combustion. The milling
plant of a power utility can be regarded as the carburettor of the complete boiler process. If
this piece of plant is not fully optimised, the vehicle will not reach design performance
indicators.

2.6

SUMMARY

The crux of this dissertation is based on the study of the change in maintenance strategy to
improve the life of the above mechanical components. By not changing the process
performance parameters, the components and its maintenance are changed to achieve
optimum performance from the mill. By a change of maintenance, it refers to the type of
maintenance being done, i.e. the maintenance strategy of the components that are reevaluated. Optimum performance equates to expected process parameters at an acceptable
cost.

17

CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE SURVEY

3.1

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 2 gave a basic insight to the application of pulverisers and where these units are
utilised within Industry. The operation of a coal mill was also briefly explained. This chapter
serves as introduction into the anticipated research work that will be undertaken. A
structured approach will be used to test the new technology technically (Chapter 4), followed
by the development of a financial model (Chapter 5) to test the financial feasibility of the
change/s undertaken. The various maintenance philosophies that can be considered in a
maintenance environment will be introduced and discussed in this chapter from a return on
investment point of view. The chosen strategy must typically give a power utility a favourable
return on investment; otherwise the plant will not be competitive and be outperformed by its
competitors.

3.2

PROFITABILITY OF STRATEGIC MAINTENANCE

The maintenance budget of the electricity power generating utilities in the Republic of South
Africa contributes a large portion to the cost of operation of a Business Unit, and is thus
largely decisive regarding its profitability. The maintenance budget in some utilities
contributes up to 25% of a Business Units annual budget [12]. The maintenance budget for
different fossil-fired utilities differs, mainly based on the following considerations:

Age of the plant.

Hardware installed.

Type of coal supply being pulverised.

Maintenance staff complements and experience.

Resources and tools available.

In the above the assumption is made that all the utilities operates at the same load factors.
If the Management of a Business Unit sees the maintenance expenditure as a necessary
evil as quoted by Sherwin [13] and not a contributor to profits, the net profit margins
expected from investors will never be realised. To operate a power utility at acceptable
reliability and availability levels, the correct amount of money spent on maintenance will be
determined by the annual profit margins realised while keeping the hardware in the same
and/or better condition. Coetzee [10] uses the Failure Rate to illustrate how reliability
decreases over time with the plant aging. The more failures experienced, the more proactive money will have to be spent to achieve the desired output requirements from the
plant.

18

Idhammar [26] also encourages a pro-active approach to maintenance where everyone in

the organization is jointly focussed on reliability performance and not on the typical cost
cutting exercises. Idhammar [26] also quotes that increased throughput to sales generate
20% more revenue compared to cost cutting initiatives.

3.3

THE EVOLVEMENT OF MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES

As this dissertation is based on a vertical spindle milling plant, the focus will be on the type
of maintenance strategies applied for such units to achieve optimum performance at the
least possible cost. In any maintenance environment there are various strategies to
consider. Coetzee [10] summarises the different strategies in the figure shown in figure 5.
The indicated strategies evolved over time and were developed and streamlined to achieve
optimum returns from a profitability point of view.
The history of when the different maintenance strategies developed is summarised as follow:

During the latter stages on WWII, the Americans realised the importance of reliability.

Prior to this period in maintenance history, the only maintenance strategy applied
was that of breakdown (corrective maintenance).

In the 1950s the concept of preventative maintenance was applied for the first time
[21].

The Japanese copied the American concepts on preventative maintenance and

developed superior systems for its application.

In the 1960s preventative maintenance became well-known and was utilised

extensively.

During the 1980s the concept of predictive or condition-based maintenance [21] was
introduced.

From then to now the process and strategy applied to maintenance activities were
refined to the diagram of Coetzee [10] (figure 5).

19

Maintenance
Strategies

Design-out
Maintenance

Preventative
Maintenance

Corrective
Maintenance

Used based
Maintenance

Predictive
Maintenance

Scheduled
Overhaul

Scheduled
Replacement

Component
Replacement

Block
Replacement

Routine
Service

Opportunistic
Maintenance

Condition
Monitoring

Inspections

Figure 5 - Maintenance Strategies (Coetzee[10])

Within figure 4 a process or road map is captured to assist in the effective management of
maintenance. With the optimum maintenance philosophy applied, an organisation will
contain maintenance costs and still be able to operate plant at desirable reliability and
availability levels. As can be seen there are 3 (three) basic maintenance philosophies:

Design-out Maintenance: The design is altered to rid the system of the items limiting
expected levels of output. Another option could also be to modify the operating
procedure. The need for maintenance is decreased or eliminated. This philosophy is
chosen

when

you

cannot

increase

reliability

with

additional

preventative

maintenance. MTTR (mean time to repair) cannot be decreased (planned as well as

unplanned activities). When product rate cannot be increased or maintained without
decreasing reliability or availability.

Preventative Maintenance: These maintenance activities are implemented to

maintain the system before unplanned failures occur.

Corrective Maintenance: Traditional breakdown maintenance or wait to failure

strategy.

20

For preventative maintenance 2 (two) sub activities are devised that are:

Used base (Time Based) Maintenance: Statistical analysis of historic failures to

schedule appropriate maintenance activities at the correct intervals. Maintenance
activities could include visual inspections, wear measurements, adjustment of
settings, replacement of parts etc.)

Predictive (Condition Based Maintenance): Condition Base Maintenance to apply

maintenance only when a components condition indicates performance levels
cannot be maintained. There is a risk component coupled to this type of
maintenance.

To ensure the effectiveness of maintenance activities applied and executed, regular audits
on technical performance should be done to measure the condition of the plant vs. designed
outputs. The operating philosophy will always dictate the maintenance philosophy which in
turn will dictate the maintenance strategies used. This implies that maintenance strategy for
a plant could change over time due to the age of the plant, change in plant utilisation and
rate of production output. A Finger on the Pulse approach is applied to immediately
determine deviations from set or desired standards. The maintenance plan should in
essence also be maintained in order to support the various maintenance strategies used.
CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management Systems) will assist with this function. It
should be noted that the CMMS is only as good as the inputs the people operating the
system inputs. WC Worsham [30] quotes in this regard: Like any tool, CMMS must be
maintained and used properly to achieve the greatest possible potential. The old saying of
garbage in, garbage out, applies. D. Mather [31] in an article Fundamentals of Maintenance
planning suggests a review process to ensure data with integrity is gathered, captured and
stored. WC Worsham [30] in the above mentioned article, Criteria for CMMS to satisfy facility
reliability needs, states that although data is not captured in a companys balance sheet, it is
a big asset and must be treated as such.
A CMMS could change an existing maintenance management system (MMS) from a manual
human driven system (hard copy system) to a computerised driven system. If the CMMS is
properly maintained the impact on the maintenance organisation will be less if one or two
key individuals within the maintenance organisation should terminate his / her service with
the relevant company. (Knowledge and plant information will not leave the company along
with those individuals).

21

3.4

PROFITABILITY BY INNOVATIVE MAINTENANCE

Most of the Power Generating Utilities in RSA and worldwide have been designed for a life
expectancy of 20 - 25 years. Since most of the design codes were more conservative in the
designing years (1960s & 1970s for SA) compared to modern day codes, the concept of
renovate and modernisation (R&M) presents major opportunities for Industry. The cost of R
& M is a fraction of that of an investment in a new Plant. Varley [1] quotes R & M costs to be
15 % 25 % of the cost of new capacity. R & M costs also avoid the lengthy and uncertain
approval process for new plant. As coal quality is constantly deteriorating in RSA, the
possible shortfall on performance in Milling Plants can cost an economy millions of Rands. In
India, Varley quoted this loss of income as high as 3% of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP); costing Indias economy tens of billions of dollars due to of un-optimised milling
plants. Note that the R&M cost as quoted by Varley is for renovating and modernizing a plant
that is operational. For the mothballed power stations in South Africa the R & M investment
percentage compared to new plant can be higher than the quoted 15 to 25 % due to the fact
that the plants have not been in operation for quite some time (10 to 15 yrs for some plants).
The electricity demand in South Africa has however grown at such a rate the last three years
that Government is prepared to spend the additional money on the return to service of the
mothballed plants to be able to bridge the gap between capacity installed and available and
system electricity demands.
R & M initiatives must be driven with a strategic innovative approach, as Tidd [11] quotes:
Management research confirms that innovative firms those that are able to use innovation
to improve their processes or to differentiate their products and services outperform their
competitors.. Ferguson [32] re-affirms this thought: Enhanced reliability of assets is a
critical element for the survival of todays organizations. This proves that a strategic plan
needs to be mapped out in an R & M initiative for a company to be able to stay competitive.
Tigges [8] makes it very clear that during the last few years, further development of the firing
technology for hard coal has been governed by keywords more efficient, simpler and
more cost effective. This forces a strategic thinking process for milling plants, some thirty
years after its introduction into power plants, as the milling plants needs to be considered
high-tech units. A milling plant must not only meet actual requirements, but also has to have
a high availability and reliability at a reasonable cost. It must be realised that theoretical
calculations methods have limitations and the practical testing of mills in power plants will
continue to be an essential developmental step / tool. The reason for this testing method is
because mills traditionally were designed, based on empirically developed curves [17] &

22

[18]. Idhammar [26] in an article Current best practices introduces the concept of
maintenance costs compared to estimated replacement cost. In the paper and pulp industry
acceptable cost for maintenance is 4.2% per annum of ERV (equipment replacement value).
Peterson [25] also touches on this concept. International acceptable standards are available
per industry type where the concept of benchmarking can be applied.

3.5

TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY

The technical success of a modification / change to plant does not necessary guarantee the
implementation of the change / modification in question. This statement as the technical
success does not always imply financial success. Financial success is determined by the
type of returns the modification can guarantee. An Investment Committee of a power utility
will set guidelines for the approval of projects to be able to ensure scientifically and
mathematically that they approve projects for the correct reasons. For all projects that are
voluntary and do not involve safety or environmental contraventions and or corrections, the
Committee can set standards such as:

Internal Rate of Return 15%.

Payback period < 5 years.

Cost / Benefit Ratio >2:1.

These parameters are determined by the investors of the company as they expect certain
returns on their money. The more conservative a companys approach, the more difficult it
will be to motivate a technical change. New technology has to be well proven before such a
committee will approve its implementation. The successful implementation of a project is
thus determined by the technical and financial parameters.

Thuesen and Fabrycky [2] addresses the above mentioned very well by quoting as follows:
Engineers are confronted with two important environments, the physical and the economic.
They clearly spell out that the success of a utility is measured in economic terms. The usual
function of engineering is to manipulate the elements of one environment, the physical, to
create value in the second environment, the economical [2]. This concept drives the
initiatives of an engineer to always assess the implications of a project/product from both
posed environments, otherwise the success of the project/product can be doomed, because
the economic parameters were not favourable. In the beginning of every design life cycle
economic feasibility has to be tested before valuable resources are used only to realize
before implementation that the economic parameters will not give positive returns. Hughes
[27] mentions the new concept of designing for life cycle where the entire life cycle of a

23

product needs to be considered. Performance and maintenance must be considered as part

of the original design.
Harrison & White [22] quotes a listing of main financial factors that may be relevant for
projects under consideration as follows:

First cost, installed and ready to run (or net realizable value).

Insurance and property tax.

The life period of the machine until displaced from the proposed job.

The salvage value at the date of disposal.

The degree and pattern of utilization; the percent of capacity at which the machine
will operate on the intended job with allowances for possible future changes in
utilization.

Routine and Maintenance repair costs.

Major repair items or periodic overhauls.

Direct operating costs, including operating labour, fuel or power, scrap material and
rework.

Indirect costs: indirect labour, tooling, supplies, floor space, inventory.

Fringe benefits.

Hazards and losses related to equipment, material and labour time.

Changes in sales volumes or price resulting from choice.

Changes in cost of labour, power, supplies, etc. resulting in changes in operating

costs.

Before the list above is scrutinised an organization goes into a recognition phase that there
is a problem or there exists an opportunity. Once aware of the problem or opportunity,
actions can be taken to solve or take advantage of it [22].
Financial mathematical calculations are necessary to be able to evaluate and accommodate
all the factors listed by Harrison & White. Financial assessment introduces an important
factor in financial calculations, which is interest. The time value of money has to be taken
into account to be able to make sound decisions in a technical environment.

24

In the milling plant specific maintenance environment basically only used based
maintenance is the accepted norm for maintenance to guarantee acceptable levels of
reliability. The aim of the research undertaken would be to investigate the option of a
preventative maintenance strategy to reach high levels of availability and reliability at a cost
that justifies the money spent on maintenance activities.

3.6

SUMMARY

This chapter set the scene for the dissertation to be developed from a technical and financial
point of view. The maintenance impact by the introduction of new technology, assemblies or
parts will be evaluated. It is of paramount importance in the competitive market for a
company to be able to adapt effectively and efficiently to an ever-changing technical and
economic environment. State of the art cost effective equipment as well as up to date
maintenance philosophies will give a utility a competitive advantage in the market.

25

CHAPTER 4 SOLUTION
DEVELOPMENT
4.1

TESTING PROCEDURES

The technology introduced in this chapter must be explained and understood before
technical and financial conclusions are made. The aim of this chapter is to give insight into
the technology and testing methods to determine the technical success of the proposed
modifications/changes. The maintenance philosophy currently being applied to the
components will also be mentioned for the reader to gain insight into the maintenance of a
typical coal pulveriser. Each technology introduced was tested and evaluated individually
and independently.

4.2

ROTATING THROAT ASSEMBLIES

The throat slot (throat plate ring as seen in figure 6) openings in a mill act as a venturi and
produce very high PA velocities (up to 80 m/s), which creates primary pulverised fuel (PF)
classification. This action causes extreme erosion on the throat slots, which in turn leads to
intense maintenance. The maintenance is intensive and very time-consuming, as the throat
slots need to be welded up, cut out and/or replaced. Where throat plates are welded up, the
maintenance (welding inside the mill) also poses a possible health risk to the welding
personnel performing the work.

26

Figure 4 - Typical stationary mill throat (throat plate ring) in a Babcock & Wilcox E-Type Mill

A Rotating Throat Assembly (RTA) in turn is where the rotating throat is fixed to the mill table
by a clamped or bolted arrangement. This throat rotates with the mills table when in
operation and has an air seal on the ledge cover. Refer to figure 7 for a general arrangement
drawing of a RTA.

Figure 5 - Schematic drawing of a Rotating Throat Assembly (RTA)

When rotating throats were first introduced into South Africa, the initial objective was: The
use of Rotating Throats to enhance Milling Plant Performance. This implied that with the

27

introduction of the RTAs there would be a positive performance improvement associated

with the upgrading to a rotating throat assembly. Rotating Throats were tested on the
following power stations for possible performance improvements:

Hendrina.

Arnot.

Duvha.

Kriel.

Matla.

The initial key questions of the research however addressed the final conclusion and focus
of the modified research objectives very well. This is where the research project moved
from a performance (PF fineness) and throughput point of view to a maintenance point of
view. The reason for this was that the performance improvement and throughput of the RTA
were not conclusive on all installations tested.

Mill Ball

Ledge cover
(stationary)

Bottom ring

Throat vanes
(rotating)

Figure 6 - Rotating Throat Assembly in a Babcock and Wilcox E-type mill

The current maintenance philosophy being applied on the B&W mills at Kriel Power Station
is time based (used based maintenance with scheduled interventions), with a mill service
interval of 5 000 hrs. This interval is derived from the level of wear on the throat slots as well
as for the replacement requirement of the mill wear plates. This is however not the only
maintenance intervention needed on the mills, as the mill ball wear rate also impacts on the
time intervals at which the mills are serviced. The mill ball cycle regime is schematically
presented in figure 9.

28

At the start of cycle 0 (zero), the mill is equipped with new grinding rings and 11 off steel
balls. The mill balls are worn down from 768 mm to an intermediate size of 690 mm. This
set of balls is then removed, stored and replaced with a new set of 768 mm balls which will
then be referenced as cycle 1. This is repeated two more times till the end of cycle 3 is
reached at a ball size of 690 mm. Now the 690 mm balls are not removed, but an
additional 690 mm ball added. There are now 12 (twelve) 690 mm balls for cycle 4 (four) that
are worn down to 640 mm which is the ball scrap size. The 640 mm scrap balls are removed
and then replaced with the 10 off balls from cycle 0 plus 2 balls from cycle 1. This process
continues till cycle 6 is reached on the mill. At the end of cycle 6 the ring is usually also at
the end of its life and the mill grinding media (rings and balls) are then replaced with new
rings and balls where the mill cycle starts at cycle zero again. A typical ring life for a Kriel
10.8E B&W mill is 60 000 operating hours. This equates to a wear rate of 980 hrs/mm.
A typical wear rate on a steel cast mill ball on a Kriel 10.8E B&W mill is 105 hrs/mm. This
equates to operating hours for each cycle from 0 to 3 to [(768-690) x 105] 8 190 hrs. A factor
that will override a mill service before the typical 5 000 hrs services will be the ball size. A
mill in cycle 2 for example was serviced at 5 000 hrs, now only (8 190 5 000) 3 190 hrs
later the mill has to be opened for the mill balls to be changed as part of the ball cycle
regime. Usually the maintenance department then does a complete mill service as is
prescribed for every 5 000 hrs. Logically this does not make any sense and the aim should
be to only service the mill the next service interval of 5 000 hrs is reached. Due to the cost of
manpower and the time it takes for an activity like the opening of a mill for a ball change, the
maintenance activity is drawn forward to be performed as part of the ball change/add.
Mill cycles
768-mm (11 off balls)
0

Ball add
690-mm (12 off balls)

640-mm

Figure 7 - Schematic representation of the mill cycles

29

The utopia will be if mill maintenance intervals and ball change/add activities could be
coordinated. This implies a condition-based approach as the wear rate on the mill balls vary
because of changing coal qualities, different mill cycles, various mill conditions, etc.

4.2.1 PROCEDURE FOR MILL THROUGHPUT / PERFORMANCE TESTING

Before the test procedure is discussed, it must be reiterated that there is a definite split
between mill performance and throughput of a mill. A basic definition of the two terms as
follows:

Mill performance is the fineness achieved in the pulverising process.

Mill throughput is the tons of coal pulverised per hour by the mill in question.

By carrying out performance tests a mill would be tested before a rotating throat installation
and the same tests repeated after the RTA installation. This methodology to indicate
performance parameters/figures before and after the modifications. With both sets of results
a proper evaluation can be performed on the modifications impact.

30

Typical tests that were performed as part of the test program are:

Clean Air Curve.

Load Line.

PF Fineness.

Coal Analysis
-

Abrasiveness Index.

Ash Content.

Total Moisture.

Surface Moisture.

Bulk density.

Calorific Value Coal.

Calorific Value Rejects.

Hardgrove Index.

Mill reject rate.

Mill Power Consumption.

PA Fan Power Consumption (only where dedicated PA Fans per mill).

For the analysis of performance and throughput of a mill, two Kriel Power Station mills were
identified for testing after the testing on all the vertical spindle mill power stations were
complete. The reason for this was twofold:
(i) No coal samples were taken during previous tests (if they were taken, they were not
analysed or were not conclusive).
(ii) To be able to compare apples with apples, it is important to look at the complete mill
system. This comment reflects to the system resistance of PF pipe work from the mill outlet
to the PF burner inlet. Two identical mills with the same PF outlet system needs to be
considered for analysis, otherwise false results will be obtained. The ideal situation would be
to test all the performance parameters on a mill with the stationary throats, shut it down,
install a RTA and then re-test. Due to installation pressures the Plant Manager did not have
the luxury of having a mill readily available for testing before and after a RTA installation.

4.2.2 MAINTENANCE INTERVAL TESTING ON RTAS

One of the most important aspects of an RTA installation is the life of the new technology
compared to the original stationary throats. As was shown in section 4.2.1 the stationary
throats needed a preventative maintenance intervention every 5 000 hrs, otherwise the mills
performance becomes unacceptable. With a RTA installed the trend on the performance of

31

the mill as well as the wear on the hardware needs to be tracked. Consistent performance
results over time will indicate a superior product compared to the stationary throats.
The key questions in section 5.4 introduced 4 (four) other technologies to be able to extend
the service life of a mill to be able to go beyond the indicated 5 000 operating hours. These
technologies mentioned are:

Mill spider the wear plates

Mill loading cylinders

Classifier cone

High chrome mill grinding media

These technologies do not impact on the performance or throughput of the mill directly, but
will support longer maintenance times for maintenance activities or interventions. Each of the
new components will be tested and compared to the old/original installed components
lifetime. This to test the technical success of the modification.

4.3

MILL SPIDER AND GUIDE WEAR PLATES

In a vertical spindle Babcock and Wilcox E-type mill, the top ring is held in position by the
mill spider. The spider keeps the top ring stationary by keeping it from rotating by means of 4
spider heads that fit into spider guide plates in the mills casing and spider guides (Figures 7
and 2). The spider guides are situated in the mill casing and the spider heads are bolted
onto the ring spider. The spider heads and spider guide are both fitted with wear plates on
either side. The wear plates keep the spider in position with the mill grinding media going
through its various mill cycles. Because the spider guides are longer wear plates, it
accommodates the up and down movement of the spider heads as the mill grinding media is
running through the various mill cycles. The original mill spider wear plates are
manufactured to material specification BS 4659. These plates are hardened and tempered to
56 RC (Rockwell C).

32

Figure 8 - General arrangement drawing of mill spider guide wear plates

4.3.1 TEST PROCEDURE FOR MILL SPIDER WEAR PLATES

A test was performed at Kriel Power Station where a set of the original material (BS 4659)
wear plates and guides were run to 7 450 hours (Figure 11). At 7 450 hrs the wear plates
were completely worn down. In this condition the wear plate clearances between spider
head and spider guide were very big (40 mm in total). Running a mill in this condition is very
bad practice as the risk of breaking spider heads is high due to the large amplitude of the
resultant oscillating motion of the spider. The thickness of a new wear plate (head and
guide) is 38 mm.

33

The test procedure for an alternative material for the spider wear plates will be to install a
test set, made of the new material and then trending the wear over time. The 7 480 hrs
achieved with the original material should not be regarded as 100% life as at this stage the
clearances between the spider head and guide plates were far greater than OEM maximum
allowable tolerances of 15 mm. 5 000 hrs should be regarded as the 100% life of the wear
plates for a point of reference.

Spider head wear plate

Spider guide wear plate

Figure 9 - Worn spider and guide wear plates

4.3.2 TRITON WEAR MATERIAL

A weld on wear material called Triton was tested on a 10.8E mill. The process of
manufacture is to weld wear resistant material onto a base material on a cylindrical cone.
Typically a 300 WA material is used for the base material and a hard-facing weld material for
the wear resistant material. When the automated welding process is complete, the cylinder is
cut and flattened to a plate that can then be formed and machined into required shapes.
The test procedure of the Triton material was to install the wear plates and then trend the
wear on these over time to see if acceptable results could be obtained. The maximum
allowable wear of the wear plates will be determined by the combined wear on the spider

34

wear plate and the spider guide plate. The maximum allowable gap on any one of the 4
spider wear plate/guide combinations is 15 mm. The installed gap is 6 mm.

4.4

MILL BALL LOADING CYLINDERS

Every E-type B&W mill is fitted with a loading system to apply a force on the top ring to have
a certain grinding force in the grinding media. This external force on the top ring ensures
grinding efficiency and a constant force on the coal bed as the loading systems pressure
can be adjusted to have different forces. A 10.8E mill is fitted with 8 off hydro-pneumatic
loading cylinders. Hydro-pneumatic refers to oil providing the pressure (force) and nitrogen
providing the damping effect required for an effective pulverization process.
For such hydraulic cylinder to be overhauled, the barrel section of the cylinder needs to be
re-chromed and machined to ensure achieving a good sealing surface on the hydraulic
seals. Once the chrome thickness exceeds a certain thickness (after multiple re-chroming
events), the parent material of the cylinder loses its structural integrity and the chrome and
machining cannot ensure a barrel with good tolerances for hydraulic sealing. Refer to figure
2 for the position and geometry of the mill loading cylinders.

4.4.1 AIRBAGS
Due to the age of the hydro-pneumatic system of the mills, alternative solutions needed to
be investigated as the mill reliability and availability was at unacceptable levels due to this
ageing system. A new concept used in Europe for the suspension of trains and busses is by
using an airbag. This design was adjusted and patented for a mill airbag loading system.
This system is only operated with nitrogen and no oil, compared to the original loading
cylinders oil and nitrogen systems.
The test procedure would be to install a set of airbag cylinders and run it for an extended
period of time and then compare the reliability of the system with the original installed hydropneumatic loading cylinders. The neoprene bladder in the airbag has a rolling action and no
moving parts and therefore the OEM claims no maintenance is required for extended periods
of time.

35

Figure 10 - Airbag loading cylinder

4.5

CLASSIFIER CONE

Chapter 2 explained the pulverization process within a mill and the function of the mill
classifier cone was also briefly explained. The reader might ask why the classifier cone is
being evaluated as it is a stationary component with no effect on mill availability. The
reliability of a mill is however affected by the classifier cone as the bottom section of the
cone (outlet section that discharges PF back into the grinding zone of the mill) sometimes
36

get blocked. The root cause of the blocking is blasting wires, rags and foreign material that
get stuck in the flat plate skirt (figure 2). This section is also referred to as the gladiator skirt.
If the gladiator skirt is kept open, a percentage of the PA will take the path of the least
resistance and bypass the classifier blades. This causes excessive amounts of coarse PF to
be fed to the boiler that in turn leads to numerous combustion problems.

Labyrinth sealing in bottom of

classifier

Figure 11 - General arrangement drawing of new classifier cone design

The latest design concept for classifier cones will be tested to establish if the reliability of a
mill cannot be improved in that way. Maintenance intervals for the concept being tested must
also be established. The norm on the gladiator skirt is to replace between 15 to 25% of the
skirt fingers during every 5 000 hrs service.

37

Refer to figure 13 for a general arrangement drawing of the new classifier cone design.
There are no gladiator skirts in this design and the PF/PA seal is established by PF in the
inside of the cone that that form a labyrinth seal in the bottom section of the cone. The
sleeve at the bottom can be adjusted to optimise the level of PF inside the cone.

4.6

HIGH CHROME MILL GRINDING MEDIA

The current mill grinding media installed in a 10.8E B&W mill is as follows:

Cast steel balls.

High chrome rings (top and bottom).

As mentioned in section 4.2, the wear on the mill grinding media is of such a nature that the
5 000 hour service interval and ball change/ball add interventions are not aligned. As was
mentioned the ideal would be to align the ball add or ball change activities with the mill
service activities or to extend the grinding media life so that there are less frequent chances
of service intervals being shortened due to a ball add or ball change activity.
The test performed for this modification will be to introduce grinding media of different
material compositions that will deliver longer service hours between ball change/add
activities. The ball wear rate (hrs/mm) thus needs to be improved. An important
consideration is not to jeopardise the ring life as the norm in tribology wear maps is that two
hard materials in a wear situation will wear quicker than a hard and soft material
combination. The optimum levels of wear on the ball/ ring combination is the main driving
motive for this test.

4.7

SUMMARY OF TESTING PROCEDURES/METHODS

Chapter 1 gave insight into the current mill maintenance being performed for a mill to be able
to operate at acceptable performance levels. For the RTA technology introduced there is a
test program to test the performance of the new technology. If proven successful, the RTA
has to give extended life compared to the traditional stationary throats. Supporting
technologies were also mentioned that need to be tested and implemented, if successful, for
a mills maintenance intervals to be extended to be as far apart as possible with acceptable
levels of reliability and availability.

38

CHAPTER 5 SOLUTION TESTING

5.1

TECHNICAL

AND

FINANCIAL

EVALUATION

OF

TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCED
Applicable test procedures for the technologies in question have been described in Chapter
VI. The financial viability of the technology has however not been evaluated or proven.
Chapter VII will test the introduction of the new technology against a financial model that was
developed for the plant in question. The purpose of the financial model is to supply an
investment committee with financial parameters to be able to determine if the expenditure
can be undertaken. The technical performance results of the 5 different technologies are
also be reviewed and discussed.
The financial impact of the 5 introduced technologies is tested against set financial
parameters. The purpose of this approach is aimed at enabling the business to establish if
the money invested in the technology is a financial success or not. Note that all financial
calculations are for a single mill only. The benefits (positive or negative) can thus be
extrapolated to determine the impact on the full power plant. All calculations done in the
financial model are in 2003 Rands. A detailed explanation of the financial calculations
performed for a rotating throat installation is shown in section 5.4.1. Detail on the financial
results for the other technologies tested, is captured in the appendixes.
Before any financial calculations can be performed, the technical performance results need
to be evaluated, as the results of the technical performance will be used as inputs for the
financial model. This approach limits the amount of assumptions and only actual
performance can be quoted. Any committee that then needs to take a decision in terms of
the release of money for the project in question can do so easily as actual values are used
as inputs to determine the financial success of the technology introduced.

5.2

TECHNICAL RESULTS

5.2.1 Rotating Throat Assembly

Refer to appendix A for the detailed performance results obtained at Kriel power station for
this equipment. Appendix B summarises the tests performed at the other power stations. In
summary it can be concluded that the RTAs delivered a marginal throughput improvement
of not more than 5% on most of the power stations. Some tests however indicate that there
was no performance improvement. For analysis purposes, it will be assumed there was no
efficiency improvement.
39

Life expectancy of a RTA however proved to be far superior to that of the original stationary
throats. The RTA can operate without replacement of any part for at least the ring life in a
B&W 10.8E mill which is in the region of 60 000 hours, compared to the stationary throat
slots that needs major repairs and/or replacement every 5 000 hrs.

5.2.2 Spider and spider guide wear plates

The test result achieved was that the Triton wear plates could last at least 5 (five) times
longer than the OEM Bennox wear plates. A figure of 25 000 running hours is achievable
with these wear plates. The Triton wear plates are however not maintenance free as the
wear plates must be shimmed after 10 000 hours of operation to keep the maximum
allowable gap between the wear plates less than the OEM specified 15 mm.

5.2.3 Airbag installation

The airbags installed performed excellently and at the time that the test was declared
technically successful, the first set of airbags installed in mill 3A had just over 43 000
operating hours without any maintenance intervention. This set was however opened at
about 25 000 hours to inspect the neoprene bladders. These were all in excellent condition.
It is thus safe to state that the airbags can last for at least 50 000 operating hours without
maintenance being required. These running hours equates to replacement every 6 years.
There is a big environmental spin- off from the implementation of this project as the airbags
are operated oil free. Typical incidents of oil spillages cannot occur as it only uses nitrogen.

5.2.4 Classifier cone modification

The new classifier cones purchase price is 18% more expensive than the original OEM
classifier cone. It can be expected that no load losses will be incurred due to the gladiator
skirts being operated in an open position. The mechanical reliability of this design is much
higher compared to the OEM gladiator skirt concept as the new design cannot get any PA or
PF bypass. This limits the possibility of load loss incidents.

5.2.5 High chrome mill grinding media

The high chrome balls wear rates were up to 3 (three) times better, compared against the
original cast steel balls. The ring life was not influenced by the high chrome balls. The test
set of grinding media was run till it reached scrap size. This was done to confirm the
reliability of the high chrome balls close to scrap size. The risk had to be evaluated of

40

running a non ductile casting with a relative thin wall thickness. The high chrome OEMs
claims in terms if the absorption of shock loads by their high chrome cast balls were true and
no incidents were recorded.

5.3

FINANCIAL MODEL

The format of the financial model can be found in Appendix A with the manual / guideline of
its usage in Appendix B. When studying the financial model the logic behind the model can
be explained as follows: The financial indicators of a technology introduced are compared to
the option of keeping the status quo. An imaginary line can be drawn between columns G
& H. Columns C to G are where all financial implications of the new technology (project
as indicated in the model) are inputted. To maintain status quo (keep all as is) are entered in
columns H to J. The model then automatically calculates the financial indicators for
technology introduced. These indicators are found in columns J to M in rows 6 to 9 and
columns N to Q in rows 6 to 8.
The financial return as indicated in the financial model can be explained as follows (the
position of the parameter is indicated [A1]; column A, row 1):

Benefits to improve performance [M6]: This is the additional financial returns because
of either improved efficiency in the Rankine cycle or the additional capacity delivered
due to less load losses or a combination of both returns if both (efficiency and UCLF)
are applicable to a model.

Benefits to reduce O&M (Operating and Maintenance) costs [M7]: This is a

summation of the projects O&M costs compared to the O&M costs to maintain status
quo. With less expenditure (maintenance and operating costs) on a project, for
example, the financial return should be positive.

Cost to implement the project [M8]: This is the actual cost of the project after inflation
has been applied to the costs of each year in the year [S2].

Net Present Value [M9]: The indication if the project / modification will give positive
financial returns.

Payback Period [Q6]: Commonly defined as the period before the investment in
capital is reclaimed.

Note: Discount rate is as per parameter, dictated by the utilitys Investment Committee.

41

5.4

MODIFICATIONS

Each modification will be discussed separately as a merged approach will not indicate which
modification is contributing what to the financial indicators. The rotating throat assemblies
will be handled in full detail whilst only summaries of the other technologies will be
presented. This in an attempt not to add too much detail, but to focus on the results
obtained.

5.4.1 RTA installations

For the financial analysis conventional stationary mill slots will be compared to the proposed
rotating throat installation. The financial impact on each area will be evaluated separately.
The financial model is captured in appendix E.

5.4.1.1

Efficiency:
Because this is a maintenance case study, NO efficiency
improvement is assumed as mentioned in section 5.2.1.

5.4.1.2

UCLF / PCLF Improvement:

The UCLF on a mill will reduce as the six-mill availability factor
will increase where RTAs are installed due to less time
needed to do maintenance. The load losses for 2002 on the
10.8E mills at Kriel P/S equated to 2 217 MWhs lost. This
equates to a UCLF figure of 0.0000068730 for a single mill.

5.4.1.3

Project Implementation Cost:

The cost of a new RTA is R100 000. The installation cost is
R25 000 and total cost thus R125 000.

5.4.1.4

Project Operating Cost:

None as the operating of the mill will not change before and
after the installation.

5.4.1.5

Project Maintenance Cost:

The cost will be for two artisans and 2 artisan aids to do the
ledge cover adjustments, or two welders and 2 artisan aids to
do the restriction ring installation. The work will be completed
in one day. This equates to a cost of R 988.31 (R4 941.56 / 5).
Refer to the status quo maintenance costs (section 5.3.1.8) to
see how this figure is calculated.

42

5.4.1.6

Status Quo Replacement Cost:

The cost of a new set of air blocks for a stationary throat will
amount to R 120 000 and assume the installation costs are the
same as for the RTA installation (R25 000).
Total R 145 000 incurred in 2004.

5.4.1.7

Status Quo Operating Cost:

None.

5.4.1.8

Status Quo Maintenance Cost:

The maintenance cost will be broken down into labour and
consumables.
LABOUR COSTS: The work done by two welders and two
artisan aids in 5 days is mandatory to maintain the stationary
throats to an acceptable condition. This equates to R 4 941.56
(50.01A1.7B8C5D + 22.66E1.7F8G5H) per annum. This
cost will be carried till the end of the life of the power station.
A = Cost for a qualified welder (R/hr)
B = Factor to multiply R/hr to get cost to company
C = 8 hr per day
D = 5 days
E = Cost for a artisan aid
F=B
G=C
H=D
CONSUMABLE COSTS: The welding consumable costs are
R7 000.00 per annum.
Total maintenance cost per annum = R 11 941.56 and will
continue till the end of the life of the power station.

5.4.1.9

Financial Results / Parameters from the Model:

IRR (Internal Rate of Return) = 27.508%.

Payback period = 1 year.

Benefit / Cost Ratio = 1.959.

NPV (Net Present Value) = R 89 000.

43

5.4.2 Spider and spider guide wear plates

7.4.2.1 Financial Results (appendix F for full detail):

IRR (Internal Rate of Return)

= 702.519%

Payback period

= 1 year

Benefit / Cost Ratio

= 3.461

NPV (Net Present Value)

= R107 000

5.4.3 Airbag installation

5.4.3.1

Financial Results (appendix H for full detail):

IRR (Internal Rate of Return)

= 125.056%

Payback period

= 1 year

Benefit / Cost Ratio

= 7.491

NPV (Net Present Value)

= R459 000

5.4.4 Classifier cone

5.4.4.1

Financial Results (appendix G for full detail):

IRR (Internal Rate of Return)

= 96.164%

Payback period

= 1 year

Benefit / Cost Ratio

= 3.487

NPV (Net Present Value)

= R147 000

5.4.5 High chrome mill grinding media

5.4.5.1

Financial Results (appendix I for full detail):

IRR (Internal Rate of Return)

= 151.737%

Payback period

= 1 year

Benefit / Cost Ratio

= 1.314

NPV (Net Present Value)

= R231 000

44

5.5

FINANCIAL INDICATORS FOR THE INTRODUCED

TECHNOLOGIES
Before it can be determined if a modification is successful in financial terms, an investment
committee has to set standard benchmark parameters against which all projects will be
measured. Typical figures used for the 5 modifications tested were:

IRR > 20%.

Payback Period < 4 yrs.

Benefit / Cost > a 1.9 factor.

In table I it can clearly be seen that all modifications evaluated gives a better return of
investment than the minimum requirements of the investment committee, except for the
benefit/cost ration for the high chrome mill grinding media. With the high amount of
maintenance labour cost not factored into the case study, it is felt that the return of
investment is worth spending the money on this technology. This then implies that all
modifications tested is a financial go and can be implemented in a structured program as
and when required. Cash flow as well as plant condition will determine the program and
phasing of implementation.

Financial indicator
IRR (%)
Payback period (yrs)
Benefit / cost

RTA

Wear plates

Airbags

Classifier cone

High chrome

27.508

702.519

125.056

96.164

151.737

1.959

3.461

7.491

3.487

1.314

Table 1 - Summary of financial indicator for technologies tested

A typical observation will be that the rotating throat assembly modification will only be
implemented when a mill is due for a ring change as the rings has to be removed for the
installation methodology of a RTA. The cost of labour and effort to remove a complete mill
top to remove the rings, cannot justify a RTA installation before a set of rings has not
reached end of life. The rings are then replaced as part of the maintenance plan, whilst the
opportunity is utilised to install a RTA.
Implementation of the airbag modification is on the other hand an absolute necessity due to
the poor reliability of the hydro-pneumatic cylinders. The airbags modification can, if planned

45

correctly, be implemented during a normal 5 000 hour mill service. The mill outage plan can
then be used as program for installation of this technology.
By comparing the results with the tested modifications, it is observed that all five fits the
criteria to be successful in financial terms.

5.6

SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL RESULTS AND FINANCIAL

INDICATORS

In chapter 4 the technical performance results of the 5 different technologies introduced

were discussed. As all the tests were done empirically, the results can be deemed to be
extremely accurate. Every technology was first reviewed from a technical point of view to
determine its performance. The costs, maintenance requirements, etc. were recorded for
accurate data.
A financial model was developed and introduced. With this model it is possible to evaluate
the financial success of each technology. Table 1 summarises these results and it is clear
that all indicators have a positive outcome if compared to the requirements set out by the
investment committee (refer to section 5.5).
The 5 000 hrs service intervals can now be challenged as all bottle necks were removed that
warranted the mill to be serviced every 5 000 hrs. How this possible decision to extend
maintenance intervals will impact, the reliability of the mills, need to be evaluated and
captured in the final chapter of this document.

46

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION
6.1

INTRODUCTION

The previous chapter clearly indicated that the 5 technologies tested on the test 10.8E B&W
mill was a technical and financial success. The topic of this dissertation however introduces
the concept of enhanced maintenance performance after successful implementation of
tested and evaluated technologies.
This chapter will conclude the test results of the technologies introduced. An optimised
maintenance strategy, to have the plant available, reliable and operable at acceptable
performance levels with a cost saving will conclude the work for this dissertation. The
conclusion will also pose the question: Is there is still room for improvement from a
performance (reliability & availability) or cost (maintenance complement) point of view. If
applicable, this will be suggested as future work in this field.

6.2

CONCLUSION

The original equipment manufacturer (Babcock and Wilcox) determined a scheduled

maintenance service interval of 5 000 hours. The main components in the mill that
influenced and determined this interval were the stationary throat slots and mill wear plates.
These components were now proven to be improved with the introduction of new
technologies:

Rotating throat assemblies: Original stationary throat slots (5 000 hrs service life)
improved by RTA installations (60 000 hrs service life).

Triton wear plates: OEM wear plates (5 000 hrs service life) improved by Triton
material (15 000 hrs service life).

In view of the successes gained with the introduction of the new technologies, there is an
opportunity for less maintenance required. If a very conservative approach is taken, the mill
services of 5 000 can easily be extended to 8 000 hours without risk to the mill. The mill
auxiliary plants capability to run for an additional 3 000 hrs between services however has to
be tested before this approach can be taken. The carbon seals on the PA fan for instance
are prone to failure and a design out maintenance strategy will need to be adopted to
eliminate this bottle neck out. In hind side, the introduction of new technologies in this
dissertation is nothing else than design out maintenance; evaluating and then eliminating
bottle necks in the maintenance process to achieve better performance results. The

47

advantage of this approach is that there is a cost saving added with maintenance and plant
performance enhancement.
The airbags and classifier cone modification were introduced to improve the mills reliability
and availability. The added benefit is life cycle cost saving with the new technologies. The
high chrome mill grinding media was introduced for the purpose of extending mill grinding
media life. This material change proved to be successful and with longer material life, the
service intervals for ball changes and/or ads are extended. This has the benefit of being able
to coordinate service intervals and ball change/add intervals. Refer back to section 4.2.1
where a 5 000 hour mill service will be done after 3 910 hrs due to the wear ion the mill balls.
This modification poses a big opportunity for future maintenance cost savings due to a
smaller required mill maintenance crew as the amount of required services will be less.
The author would like to suggest future work in this field where a condition based
maintenance strategy needs to be investigated. The plant reliability, plant availability and
then the cost of maintenance must be compared between a used base and predictive
maintenance strategies. The most interesting thing will be to determine the optimum crew
size to support a condition based mill approach as the inspection pillar in this approach will
need to be extremely reliable for predictions, planning and scheduling of maintenance
activities.
The technologies implemented was purposefully first tested for hardware performance and
then only evaluated from a financial point of view. This approach assists the financial
evaluation of a technology as tangible results can be used as inputs. An investment
committee can then easily take a decision for the implementation of a project or not. This
approach can only be taken if good references of the proposed technology are sourced from
industry. Because of plant differences and various different coal qualities being pulverised in
industry, imperial testing is still necessary to determine the actual impact of the technology in
the applicable plant.
Due to the technologies introduced, the plants maintenance budget will benefit, as savings
on maintenance cost will be realised. The NPV for each modification is a saving over time for
the power utility. The saving on maintenance cost due to a possible smaller crew for plant
maintenance was not part of the scope of this thesis. If a condition based maintenance
strategy, as is being suggested, is evaluated, it will be the focus of this research undertaken.
Actual reliability and availability improvements due to the technologies implemented need to

48

be trended to be able to compare the maintenance results achievable by comparing a time

based to a condition based maintenance strategy.

49

REFERENCES
[1]

Varley, J. (April 1999). Looking for Indias lost generation. International

Journal Modern Power Systems.

[2]

Thuesen G.J. & Fabrycky W.J. (2001, ninth edition). Engineering Economy.

[3]

Simon, E., Bischoff, W. & Schuster, H. (August 2000). Recent Findings about
the Use of an Extended Coal Range in a Hard Coal-Fired Steam Generator.
International Journal VGB Power Tech.

[4]

Jacobs, B. (1990). E-Type Mill Ball Reduction in Wall thickness. Report done
by

Engineering

Investigations

Division

of

Eskom,

Project

Number

E89C4405/I.
[5]

Williams,

K.N.

(1984)

Babcock

Mills:

Achievements

&

Future

Developments. Marketing report for Babcock Engineering Contractors (Pty)

Ltd.
[6]

Angleys, M. & Gehrke, B. (September 1998). Development of the Modern

EVT Bowl Mill. International Journal VGB Power Tech.

[7]

Chercea, G., Radulescu, M., Mangu-Totolo, C., Ispas, C. & Belausov, G.

(October 1999). Experiments for Choosing the Optimal Mill Type for Grinding
the Middling Product of Romania. International Journal VGB Power Tech.

[8]

Tigges, K.D., Bischoff, W. & Steinhage, T. (November 1998). Ring-and-Roller

Mills as Components of Modern Firing Technology. International Journal
VGB Power Tech.

[9]

National Fire Protection Association, INC. (1982). Standard for the Installation
and Operation of Pulverized Fuel Systems. U.K. Standard for the Installation
of Pulverised Fuel Systems.

[10]

Coetzee, J.L. (2000, second edition). Maintenance.

[11]

Tidd, J., Bessant, J. & Pavitt, K. (2000, second edition). Managing Innovation.

[12]

Kriel Power Station Income Statement for 2002.

[13]

Sherwin, D. (2000). A review of overall models for maintenance budget.

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering.

[14]

DIN 24100.

[15]

Babcock Engineering Manuals. (Revision 0). Kriel Power Station 10.8E Coal
Mill Maintenance Manual.

[16]

Babcock Engineering Manuals. (Revision 0). Kriel Power Station 12E Coal
Mill Maintenance Manual.

50

[17]

Williams,K. (Various discussions). Ex. Babcock Africa Commissioning

Engineer.

[18]

Dugdale, K. (Various discussions) Ex. Mitsui Babcock Design Engineer.

[19]

International Energy Agency. (1995). Coal Pulverisers Performance and

Safety. Report number IEACR / 79.

[20]

EPRI Technical Report. (Volume 1). Pulveriser Maintenance Guide. Raymond

Mills.

[21]

Nakajima, S. (1998). Introduction to Total Productive Maintenance.

[22]

Harrison & White. (n.d.). Capital Replacement.

[23]

Investec Client securities article for investors. (December 2007). The global
market for coal.

[24]

Scott, D.H. (1995). Coal pulverisers performance and safety. International

Energy Association coal research report.

[25]

Peterson,

B.S.

Creating

successful

maintenance

council,

www.samicorp.com
[26]

Idhammar, C. Current best practices. Available from www.idcon.com.

[27]

Hughes, R. Designing for the life cycle. Available from www.reliability.com.

[28]

Liptrot, D. Achieving maximum equipment reliability. Available from www.mtonlie.com.

[29]

Idhammar, C. What constitutes world-class reliability and maintenance?

Available from www.idcon.com.

[30]

Worsham, W.C. Criteria for CMMS to satisfy facility reliability needs. Available
from www.reliability.com.

[31]

Mather,

D.

Fundamentals

of

maintenance planning.

Available

from

www.maintenanceworld.comidcon.com.
[32]

Ferguson, D. A best process model for asset management. Available from

www.amgplanning.com.

[33]

Thompson, P. Reliability The Journey at Blackwater mine. ICOMS Asset

Management Conference, Melbourne 2007, Paper 022.

51

APPENDIXES

52

APPENDIX A KRIEL PERFORMANCE

TESTS
A1

Coal analysis:

For comparison purposes the following conclusions were made:

Total moisture on Test 4 (T4) for mill 1C cannot be correct; as the mill outlet temp.
during the test was 90C, showing that a grab coal sample is not very accurate.

Hardgrove Index for all the tests is more or less the same and can be assumed to be
constant at 59 for all tests.

The Calorific Value was only taken as a matter of interest.

The ash content of tests 2, 4 & 5 differ by less than a percentage point. The
differences on the other tests are as follow: T1 = 28%, T3 = 10.6% & T6 = 11.1%.
The ash content will influence wear rates more than mill performance and can be
assumed to constant for all tests.

In conclusion the coal can be assumed as a constant for comparison purposes. No major
deviations were noted.

A.2

Mill differential pressure:

Mill

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4

Test 5

Test 6

(T1)

(T2)

(T3)

(T4)

(T5)

(T6)

2C (kPa)

7.15

6.03

5.37

4.94

6.62

5.44

1C (kPa)

4.22

3.69

3.45

2.83

3.80

3.20

Variance (%)

- 41

- 39

- 36

- 43

- 43

- 43

Table 2 - Mill diff pressure

Average drop in mill diff is 40.5% lower for the RTA than for the stationary throats.

53

A.3

Mill motor power consumption:

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (kW)

125

104

98

95

110

101

1C (kW)

131

110

113

104

110

119

Variance (%)

+ 4.8

+ 5.8

+ 15.3

+ 9.5

same

+ 17.8

Table 3 - Mill kWs consumed

The mill motor kWs is on average 8.9% higher with the rotating throat fitted.

A.4

PA fan motor power consumption:

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (kW)

149

137

134

128

151

128

1C (kW)

146

137

131

125

149

125

Variance (%)

-2

Same

-2

-2

- 1.3

-2

Table 4 - PA fan kWs consumed

The PA Fan kWs is 1.6% lower for the RTA installation compared to the stationary throat.

A.5

Mill reject rate:

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (kg/hr)

40

30

32

25

25

32

1C (kg/hr)

15

11

10

10

Variance (%)

- 62.5

- 63

- 68.8

- 72

- 68

- 68.8

Table 5 - Reject rate

Mill 2C with the RTA fitted, rejects 67% less than 1C fitted with the stationary throat.

54

A.6

Mill rejects density:

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

952

1092

1007

1001

1050

986

1C (kg/m )

2102

2176

2121

2143

1996

1990

Variance (%)

220

200

211

214

190

201

2C (kg/m )

Table 6 - Reject density

The RTA fitted mill (2C) rejects only pyrites at an average of 206% more dense product
than mill 1C.

A.7

PF fineness (75 m sieve):

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (%)

66.3

70.2

73.1

77

67.4

73.3

1C (%)

62

68.3

70.6

75.4

67.6

69.2

Variance (%)

- 6.9

- 2.7

- 3.4

- 2.1

- 2.9

-5.6

Table 7 - 75 m sieve fineness

The Stationary Throat (2C) pulverises the coal 3% finer than the RTA installed mill (75
micron sieve).

A.8

PF fineness (150 m sieve):

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (%)

99.6

95.4

96.3

93.9

95.9

1C (%)

99.6

95.9

96.7

97.4

96.2

96.2

Variance (%)

same

+0.5

+0.4

+2.4

+3

Table 8 - 150 m sieve fineness

The RTA mill pulverises 1.3% finer on the 150 micron sieve

55

A.9

PF fineness (300 m sieve):

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (%)

93.2

99.6

99.8

99.5

99.6

1C (%)

92.3

99.7

99.6

99.9

99.7

99.8

Variance (%)

+ 1.7

- 0.1

+ 0.1

+ 0.2

+ 0.2

+ 0.2

Table 9 - 300 m sieve fineness

On the 300 micron sieve the RTA pulverises 0.4% finer than for the stationary throat.

A.10 Recirculation Load:

This calculation is the difference between PA fan outlet pressure & mill differential pressure.

Mill

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

2C (kPa)

1.5

1.2

1.1

1.5

1.5

1C (kPa)

3.5

2.3

2.5

0.9

2.7

Variance (%)

+ 75

+ 53

+ 208

+ 81

+ 44

+ 33

Table 10 - Recirculation load

From the above it can be seen that the RTA mill has a much higher recirculation load than
the normal stationary throat. This can be linked to the higher mill amps drawn for the RTA.

56

APPENDIX B PERFORMANCE TESTS

AT ADDITIONAL POWER STATIONS
B.1

Performance test at Arnot Power Station

South Western Corporation rotating throat (5E) & Standard Loesche stationary throat (5F)
The RTA shows the following:

PF Fineness is marginally better

Mill Differential Pressure is lower

Higher throughput of 10% achieved

Reject Rate is abnormal high

Rejects bulk density is > 1 500 kg/m3

Very little difference in Power Consumption

Loesche test static throat (3D) compared to a standard Loesche stationary throat (3E):

This test stationary throat was not part of the scope of the research of this project,
but it was included as Loesche offered a static throat free of charge for testing
purposes. This test proved no real performance improvement. Due to a lower mill
differential pressure, the mill will have a higher throughput. All test comparisons were
difficult as the controls on Unit 1 - 3 are very old and to get repeatable conditions is
difficult at this power plant.

B.2

Performance test at Duvha power station

At Duvha power station three throat types were tested and compared. It was comparing the
Babcock (3D) and South Western Corporation (1E) Rotating Throats with an original
stationary throat (3D). The findings are summarised as follow:

RTA installed mills showed a higher mill differential pressure than stationary throats

RTA mills showed a higher clean air curve

Mill Power Consumption for the SWC RTA were the same

Mill Power Consumption for the Babcock RTA was 10% less

RTA mills did not reject at all at normal or low loads. At very high loads the mills
rejected, but still less than for the stationary throat

The Babcock RTA showed better PF fineness (is questionable as coal quality was
not linked to test results)

57

B.3

Performance test at Hendrina power station

Because of the test methodology at Hendrina power station, the tests cannot be used with a
great deal of confidence. This as coal qualities were not linked to the results obtained. This
implies that the results obtained can be used for basic trending, but detail conclusions
cannot be made as coal quality would have varied.
Tests were done on Unit 5, mills A to F. At the time of the start of the tests, mill 5F was
already fitted with a RTA. On the other mills on the Unit, tests were done before a RTA and
after a RTA installation.
Summary of the Hendrina power station results:

The mill differential pressure is 33% lower on the RTA fitted mills

PA Fan amps are only 5% lower on the RTA fitted mills

The throughput on the mills increased by at least 5%, depending on the coal quality

PF fineness on the 75-m sieve is on average 10.9% finer with the RTA fitted

Reject density is higher on the RTA mills and only stones (pyrites) are rejected

Reject rate is down by as much as 75% on the RTA mills

Mill amps are slightly higher due to the mills higher recirculation load

B.4

Performance test at Matla power station

At Matla power station 3 (three) throat types were tested and compared. It was comparing
the Babcock (6B) and South Western Corporation (1A) Rotating Throats with an original
stationary throat (1C). The findings are summarised as follow:

RTA installed mills showed a higher mill differential pressure than stationary throats

RTA mills showed a higher clean air curve

Mill Power Consumption for the SWC RTA were the same

Mill Power Consumption for the Babcock RTA was 5% less

Rejects on the RTA fitted mills were less than for the stationary throat

PF Fineness were almost identical in all the tests done

58

APPENDIX C FINANCIAL MODEL

KRIEL POWER STATION
PROJECT ECONOMIC EVALUATION

Data Revision: 0

Nominal Rate: 14.0%

Project 'Year Zero'

2003

Calculation Base Year

2003

Model Revision: 0

PROJECT NO.:

PROJECT TITLE:

ALTERNATIVE:
ECONOMIC PARAMETERS

Sent-out Capability =

BASE :
Year

Efficiency

1991

-12

1992
1993
1994
1995

Discount Rate

1.1400

Escalation Rate

1.0600

NET DISC. RATE

1.0800

475 MW / set

TAX RATE

Project

Project

Improvement %

Implementation

Operating

( Deterioration % )

Cost [ RM ]

PRESENT VALUES

30%

Capital :

5 years

Non-Capital :

1 year

[ RM ] =

Payback Period

Benefit to Reduce O&M Costs

[ RM ] =

Internal Rate of Return

[ RM ] =
[ RM ] =

Benefit / Cost Ratio

Boiler Input =

Status Quo

Status Quo

Status Quo

Replacement

Operating

Maintenance

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

[ Years ] = 0
= #NUM!
= Infinity

34.606%

Project
Maintenance
Cost [ RM ]

EVALUATION RESULTS

Benefit to Improve Performance

Costs to Implement Project
NET PRESENT VALUE

Depreciation Period

Overall Efficiency =

UCLF / PCLF

Improvement %
( Deterioration % )

Cost [ RM ]

TAX PARAMETERS

ERA Approval

Depreciation

Amount

(for Tax purposes)

Cost [ RM ]

Nominal [RM]

[RM]

1372.587734 MW / set

Available Plant Load Factor =

88.00%

Project

Operating

Maintenance

Additional

Additional

Additional

Net Benefit ( Cost )

Net Benefit ( Cost )

Tax

Cost

Cost

Energy

Energy

Energy Operating

in Constant

2003

Savings [RM]

Savings [ RM ]

Savings [ RM ]

[ GWh p.a. ]

Benefit [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Rands [ RM ]

Cumulative
2003

Value [ RM ]

N P V [ RM ]

-11

-10

-9

-8

1996

-7

1997

-6

1998

-5

1999

-4

2000

-3

2001

-2

2002

-1

2003

2004

2005
2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012
2013

10

2014

11

2015

12

2016

13

2017

14

2018

15

2019
2020

16

17

2021

18

2022

19

2023
2024

20

21

2025

22

2026

23

2027

24

2028

25

Rev. No.

Date

2008/08/15

Total Project Cost in Nominal Rands (m) :

Cash Flows Escalation Factors (CPI) - For Period 2003

(ERA Approval Amount)

THIS PROJECT IS A FINANCIAL

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Future

5.00%

4.80%

4.80%

4.80%

4.90%

4.90%

#NUM!

Table 11 - Financial model

59

APPENDIX D FINANCIAL MODEL

GUIDE
PROJECT ECONOMIC EVALUATION MODEL MANUAL
ALWAYS SAVE MASTER DOCUMENT WITH ZERO INPUTS AS REFERENCE SHEET
Notes:
If it is necessary to retain a copy of any case study, please use the Save As function
to save a copy to another folder using some variations of the project title!

All costs in the model are in Rands x 106 and in current Rands.

All money values must be inputted as current Rand values, irrespective of

whether these are historic (actual) or future costs or benefits. Historic costs
must be recalculated to the current year values, using CPI escalation rates from the
Inflation Data spreadsheet, before being inputted on the Main spreadsheet!

No manual changes should under any circumstances be made in any of the cells
other than those shaded blue in this Workbook!

OVERVIEW:
Enter all the relevant data into the blue shaded cells [MAIN worksheet]
FOR THE ANTICIPATED PROJECT
Project title [Cell D4].

Project Year Zero (Y0) [Cell S1] - Ensure that the first year of expenditure becomes
Year 1 [Column B].

Evaluation Base Year [Cell S2] - this will always be the current year (the year in
which the evaluation is carried out).

Project Number [Cell S3] - Enter NKR XXX for R&E projects and GKR YYY for
Capital Projects.

Project Alternative to identify all alternatives considered [Cell C4].

Efficiency Improvement or (Deterioration) [Cell C15:C52] - Anticipated after project

Implementation. Expressed in percentage points in terms of the Rankine Cycle
efficiency.

Unit availability Improvement or (Deterioration) [Cell D15:D52] - Anticipated after

project implementation. In terms of percentage points of the units capacity.

60

Project Implementation Cost [Cell E15:E52] - To include all costs (Project

Management fees for example. The capital needed to realise the project plus all
future costs for replacement/refurbishment.

Project Operating Cost [Cell F15:F52] - Direct Operating Costs relating to this project.
Total operating costs associated with the project.

Project Maintenance Cost [Cell G15:G52] - Capture all maintenance costs for the
lifecycle of the project. Maintenance costs projected for this project, total cash flow to
be considered.

Project Revision Number [Cell C55].

TO MAINTAIN STATUS QUO

Status Quo Replacement Cost [Cell H15:H52] - Cost to replace the current system
on a 1 to 1 basis at the time it cannot be deferred any more (current operating
regime).

Status Quo Operating Cost [Cell I15:I52] - Operating Cost relating to the current
system.

Status Quo Maintenance Cost [Cell K15:K52] - Maintenance Cost relating to the
current system.

61

EXPLANATION ON METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE FINANCIAL MODEL'S

CALCULATIONS
Column
K
L
M

N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U

Output
ERA Project Cost amounts in nominal Rands ("Rands of the year") - The Total
Project approval amount is reflected in Cell K55.
Depreciation on Project expenditure - Capital Projects are depreciated over 5
years Non capital tax benefit in the year of the expenditure
Tax savings due to implementation of the project - calculated on total cash flow
difference between the project (including performance benefits) and maintaining
the status quo.
Operating projected cost savings stemming from the project which will result in a
possible reduction in future budgets. Calculated value Column I Column F.
Maintenance projected cost savings stemming from the project which will result
in a possible reduction in future budgets ( Calculated value, = Column'J' Column'G')
Additional energy produced as a result of improvements in efficiency and/or
UCLF/PCLF stemming from implementation of the project.
Additional cash inflow due to the increased energy output reflected in Column P.
Additional costs incurred to generate the increased output reflected in Column P
Net cash inflow/outflow per annum stemming from the implementation of the
project.
Present Value per annum of the amounts reflected in Column S.
Cumulative NPV of the project based on the amounts reflected in Column T.

62

APPENDIX E RTA FINANCIAL MODEL

KRI EL PO WER STATI O N
PROJECT ECONOMIC EV A LUA TION

Data Revision: 0

Nominal Rate: 14.0%

Project 'Year Zero'

2003

Calculation Base Year

2003

Model Revision: 0

PROJECT NO:

PROJECT TITLE:

Rotating Throat Assembly

ALTERNATIVE:
ECONOMIC PARAMETERS

BASE :

Sent-out Capability =

Year

1991

Efficiency

Discount Rate

1.1400

Escalation Rate

1.0600

NET DISC. RATE

1.0800

PRESENT VALUES

TAX PARAMETERS
TAX RATE

30%

475 MW / set

Capital :

5 years
1 year

Overall Efficiency =

[ RM ] =

0.001

Payback Period

Benefit to Reduce O&M Costs

[ RM ] =

0.181

Internal Rate of Return

[ RM ] =
[ RM ] =

0.093
0.089

Benefit / Cost Ratio

Costs to Implement Project

NET PRESENT VALUE

Depreciation Period

Non-Capital :

EVALUATION RESULTS

Benefit to Improve Performance

[ Years ] = 1
= 27.508%
= 1.959

34.606%

Boiler Input =
Operating

Project

Status Quo

Status Quo

Status Quo

ERA Approval

Depreciation

Additional

Additional

Operating

Maintenance

Replacement

Operating

Maintenance

Amount

(for Tax purposes)

Tax

Cost

Cost

Energy

Energy

Energy Operating

in Constant

2003

2003

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Nominal [RM]

[RM]

Savings [RM]

Savings [ RM ]

Savings [ RM ]

[ GWh p.a. ]

Benefit [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Rands [ RM ]

Value [ RM ]

N P V [ RM ]

-9

1995

-8

1996

-7

1997

-6

1998

-5

-11

-10

-4

Cumulative

1992

-3

Net Benefit ( Cost )

1993

1999

Net Benefit ( Cost )

1994

2000

Additional

88.00%

Project

Implementation

Maintenance

Available Plant Load Factor =

Project

Improvement %
( Deterioration % )

-12

Project

1372.587734 MW / set

UCLF / PCLF

Improvement %
( Deterioration % )

2001

-2

2002

-1

(0.126)

2003

0.000%

2004

0.000%

0.001

2005

0.000%

0.125

0.001
0.001

0.145

0.125

0.000

(0.001)

0.000

0.000

(0.126)

(0.126)

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.153

0.141

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.007

0.022

0.016

2006

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.006

0.028

2007

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.006

0.034

2008

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.005

0.039

2009

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

2010

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.005

0.049

2011

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.004

0.053

2012

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.004

0.057

2013

10

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.011

0.000

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.044

0.004

0.060

2014

11

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

12

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.003

0.067

13

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.003

0.070

2017

14

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

2018

15

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.002

0.075

2019

16

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.002

0.077

2020

17

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.002

0.079

18

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

19

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

20

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.002

0.085

21

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.002

0.086

2025

22

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.001

0.088

2026

23

0.000%

0.001

0.012

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.001

0.089

2027

24

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.001

2028

25

(0.003)

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.001

0.000%

0.001

0.000%

Date

0.012

0.001

2008/12/04

0.012

Total Project Cost in Nominal Rands (m) :

Cash Flows Escalation Factors (CPI) - For Period 2003

0.000

0.125 (ERA Approval Amount)

0.000

0.008

0.072

2021

0.000

0.003

2024

0.011

0.000

0.008

0.064

2023

0.000

0.003

2022

Rev. No.

0.011

0.000

0.008

0.005

2016

0.000

0.008

2015

0.011

0.000

0.000

0.008

0.002

THIS PROJECT IS A FINANCIAL

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Future

5.00%

4.80%

4.80%

4.80%

4.90%

4.90%

0.081

0.002

0.083

0.090
0.091

'GO'

Table 12 - RTA financial model

63

APPENDIX F WEAR PLATES

For the financial analysis original OEM wear plates (spider and guides) are compared to new
Triton material. The financial impact on each area will be evaluated separately. The financial
model is captured in appendix DD.

F.1

Efficiency: Because this is a one to one replacement of a component, no efficiency

gains can be claimed.

F.2

UCLF / PCLF Improvement: As the OEM specified wear plates are changed during

every 5 000 hr service intervals; there is no UCLF or PCLF impact.

F.3

Project Implementation Cost: The cost of a set of Triton wear plates is R 18 500.00

and will only be replaced every 25 000 operating hours. A set of shims will be installed every
3 years at a cost of R2 900.00 per set.
F.4

Project Operating Cost: None as the operating of the mill will not change before and

after the installation.

F.5

Project Maintenance Cost: None

F.6

Status Quo Replacement Cost: R16 400.00 for a set of original Bennox wear plates

very 5 000 operating hrs.

F.7

Status Quo Operating Cost: None.

F.8

Status Quo Maintenance Cost: None

64

KRIEL POWER STATION

PROJECT ECONOMIC EVALUATION

Data Revision: 0

Nominal Rate: 14.0%

Project 'Year Zero'

2003

Calculation Base Year

2003

Model Revision: 0

PROJECT NO:

PROJECT TITLE:

Mill wear plates

ALTERNATIVE:
TAX PARAMETERS

ECONOMIC PARAMETERS

BASE :

Sent-out Capability =

Year

Efficiency

Discount Rate

1.1400

Escalation Rate

1.0600

NET DISC. RATE

1.0800

TAX RATE

PRESENT VALUES

30%

475 MW / set

5 years

Non-Capital :

1 year

Overall Efficiency =

[ RM ] =

Benefit to Reduce O&M Costs

[ RM ] =

0.145

Internal Rate of Return

= 706.476%

[ RM ] =
[ RM ] =

0.038
0.107

Cost / Benefit Ratio

= 3.776

Costs to Implement Project

NET PRESENT VALUE

Depreciation Period
Capital :

EVALUATION RESULTS

Benefit to Improve Performance

Payback Period

[ Years ] = 1

34.606%

Boiler Input =
Project

Operating

1372.587734 MW / set

Maintenance

Additional

Available Plant Load Factor =

Net Benefit ( Cost )

88.00%

UCLF / PCLF

Project

Project

Project

Status Quo

Status Quo

Status Quo

ERA Approval

Depreciation

Additional

Additional

Improvement %

Improvement %

Implementation

Operating

Maintenance

Replacement

Operating

Maintenance

Amount

(for Tax purposes)

Tax

Cost

Cost

Energy

Energy

Energy Operating

in Constant

2003

2003

( Deterioration % )

( Deterioration % )

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Nominal [RM]

[RM]

Savings [RM]

Savings [ RM ]

Savings [ RM ]

[ GWh p.a. ]

Benefit [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Rands [ RM ]

Net Benefit ( Cost )

Value [ RM ]

N P V [ RM ]

Cumulative

1991

-12

1992

-11

1993

-10

1994

-9

1995

-8

1996

-7

1997

-6

1998

-5

1999

-4

2000

-3

2001

-2

2002

-1

2003

2004

0.016

0.019

(0.002)

(0.002)

(0.002)

2005

0.016

0.016

0.014

0.012

2006

0.016

0.001

(0.003)

0.014

0.011

0.024

2007

0.012

0.036

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

10

2014

11

2015

12

2016

13

2017

14

2018

15

2019

16

2020

17

2021

18

2022

19

2023

20

2024

21

2025

22

2026

0.019
0.003

0.016
0.019
0.003
0.019
0.003
0.019
0.003
0.019
0.003

0.016

0.016

0.016

0.011

0.047

0.016

0.025

(0.002)

(0.001)

0.045

0.016

0.016

0.010

0.055

0.033

0.001

(0.003)

0.031

0.017

0.072

0.016

0.016

0.008

0.080

0.016

0.030

(0.002)

(0.001)

0.079

0.033

0.033

0.014

0.093

0.001

0.006

0.099

0.016

(0.003)

0.016

0.016

0.006

0.105

0.016

0.036

(0.002)

0.014

(0.001)

0.104

0.033

0.033

0.010

0.114

0.016

0.001

(0.003)

0.014

0.004

0.118

0.016

0.016

0.004

0.123

0.033

0.044

0.014

0.004

0.126

0.016

0.016

0.004

0.130

0.016

0.001

(0.003)

0.014

0.003

0.133

0.016

0.016

0.003

0.137

0.033

0.053

0.014

0.003

0.139

23

0.016

0.016

0.003

0.142

2027

24

0.016

0.016

0.003

2028

25

0.000

Rev. No.

0.019

Date

2008/08/15

Total Project Cost in Nominal Rands (m) :

Cash Flows Escalation Factors (CPI) - For Period 2003

0.206 (ERA Approval Amount)

THIS PROJECT IS A FINANCIAL

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Future

5.00%

4.80%

4.80%

4.80%

4.90%

4.90%

0.145
0.145

'GO'

Table 13 - Wear plates financial model

65

APPENDIX G CLASSIFIER CONE

For the financial analysis the newly modified classifier cone will be compared to the original
OEM classifier cone. The financial model follows all the inputs.

G.1

Efficiency Improvement: None

G.2

UCLF/PCLF Improvement:

Assume 2 incidents of 18 hrs each will be prevented per year. This is to shut down a
mill and clean the gladiator skirt

UCLF improvement

= (2A x 100G x 18B) / (100 x 24C x 475D x 365E x 0.9F)

= 0.00096%

A 2 Incidents per year on the specific mill

B 18 hrs per incident to clean the gladiator skirt
C 24 hrs / day
D 475MW load loss if a mill is out of service
E 365 days / year
F 90% availability of the generating unit
G to A mill contributes 100MWs to the production process

G.3

G.4

G.5

Project Implementation Cost:

The cost of a classifier cone is R47 164.00
Project Operating Cost:
None
Project Maintenance Cost:
Replacement of the cone every 8 years (with a ring change). This is 60 000 hrs at a
mill running factor of 0.72

G.6

G.7

G.8

Status Quo Replacement Cost:

Same as for modification R40 000.00
Status Quo Operating Cost:
None
Status Quo Maintenance Cost:
Replacement of the cone every 8 years (with a ring change). This is 60 000 hrs at a
mill running factor of 0.72

66

KRIEL POWER STATION

PROJECT ECONOMIC EVALUATION

Data Revision: 0

Nominal Rate: 14.0%

Project 'Year Zero'

2003

Calculation Base Year

2003

Model Revision: 0

PROJECT NO:

PROJECT TITLE:

Classifier cone modification

ALTERNATIVE:
ECONOMIC PARAMETERS

BASE :

Sent-out Capability =

Year

Efficiency

Discount Rate

1.1400

Escalation Rate

1.0600

NET DISC. RATE

1.0800

475 MW / set

TAX PARAMETERS
TAX RATE

PRESENT VALUES

30%

5 years

Non-Capital :

1 year

Overall Efficiency =

[ RM ] =

0.148

Payback Period

Benefit to Reduce O&M Costs

[ RM ] =

0.059

Internal Rate of Return

= 96.164%

[ RM ] =
[ RM ] =

0.059
0.147

Cost / Benefit Ratio

= 3.487

Costs to Implement Project

NET PRESENT VALUE

Depreciation Period
Capital :

EVALUATION RESULTS

Benefit to Improve Performance

[ Years ] = 1

34.606%

Boiler Input =
Project

Operating

1372.587734 MW / set

Maintenance

Additional

Available Plant Load Factor =

Net Benefit ( Cost )

88.00%

UCLF / PCLF

Project

Project

Project

Status Quo

Status Quo

Status Quo

ERA Approval

Depreciation

Additional

Additional

Improvement %

Improvement %

Implementation

Operating

Maintenance

Replacement

Operating

Maintenance

Amount

(for Tax purposes)

Tax

Cost

Cost

Energy

Energy

Energy Operating

in Constant

2003

2003

( Deterioration % )

( Deterioration % )

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Nominal [RM]

[RM]

Savings [RM]

Savings [ RM ]

Savings [ RM ]

[ GWh p.a. ]

Benefit [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Rands [ RM ]

Net Benefit ( Cost )

Value [ RM ]

N P V [ RM ]

Cumulative

1991

-12

1992

-11

1993

-10

1994

-9

1995

-8

1996

-7

1997

-6

1998

-5

1999

-4

2000

-3

2001

-2

2002

-1

2003

2004

0.001%

0.050

(0.007)

0.022

(0.032)

(0.030)

(0.030)

2005

0.001%

(0.006)

0.021

0.055

0.047

0.017

2006

0.001%

(0.006)

0.002

0.019

0.015

0.012

0.029

2007
2008

0.047
0.040
0.002

0.001%

0.002

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

(0.006)

0.002

0.002

0.019

0.019

0.015
0.015

0.011

0.040

0.010

0.050

2009

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.019

0.015

0.009

0.059

2010

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.019

0.015

0.009

0.068

2011

0.001%

2012

0.001%

2013

10

0.001%

2014
2015

11

0.047
0.040

0.001%

12

0.002

0.015

0.008

0.002

0.072

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

(0.032)

(0.016)

0.060

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.055

0.026

0.086

0.002

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

(0.006)

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.002

0.020

0.020

0.015
0.015

0.076

0.006

0.092

0.006

0.098

2016

13

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.006

0.104

2017

14

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.005

0.109

2018
2019

15

0.001%

16
17

0.001%

18

0.001%

2022
2023

0.002

0.001%

2020
2021

19

0.047
0.040

0.001%

20

0.005

0.114

0.004

0.020

(0.032)

(0.009)

0.110

0.020

0.055

0.014

0.123

(0.006)

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015
0.015

0.002

0.002

0.002

0.020

(0.006)

(0.006)

(0.006)

0.002

0.002

(0.006)

0.106

0.002

0.001%

0.002
0.002
0.002

0.002

0.020

0.020

0.015
0.015

0.118

0.004

0.127

0.003

0.130

2024

21

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.003

0.133

2025

22

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.003

0.136

2026

23

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.003

0.138

2027

24

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.002

0.141

2028

25

0.001%

0.002

(0.006)

0.002

0.020

0.015

0.002

0.143

Rev. No.

Date

2008/08/15

Total Project Cost in Nominal Rands (m) :

Cash Flows Escalation Factors (CPI) - For Period 2003

0.228 (ERA Approval Amount)

THIS PROJECT IS A FINANCIAL

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Future

5.00%

4.80%

4.80%

4.80%

4.90%

4.90%

'GO'

Table 14 - Classifier cone modification financial model

67

APPENDIX H BALL LOADING

SYSTEM
For the financial analysis original hydro pneumatic loading cylinders are compared with
airbags. The financial model follows all the inputs.
The present system is expensive to maintain and labour intensive. The life expectancy of 2
years is relatively poor in today's technologically advanced environment. 43 000 operating
hours has been achieved and this will be used as 100% life for a set of airbags.

H.1

Efficiency Improvement: None

H.2

UCLF / PCLF Improvement: None

H.3

Project Implementation Cost:

The cost of an airbag will be R12 722.00 per loading cylinder

The commissioning cost will be R2 106 per mill

Total cost

= 8 x 12 722 + 2 106
= R102 982.00

H.4

Project Operating Cost:

Nitrogen costs per year = R6 25.00

H.5

Project Maintenance Cost: The airbags will need to be replaced every 6 years.

H.6

Status Quo Replacement Cost:

H.7

R12 200 for a barrel replacement in 2005.

Status Quo Operating Cost:
Nitrogen costs per year = R6 525.00
Oil costs per year = R 12 132.00 (will be a saving on the airbags as they operate
without the usage of oil).
Total = R 18 657.00

H.8

Status Quo Maintenance Cost:

R2 800.00 per cylinder per year

= 8 x R8 800.00
= R70 400.00

68

KRIEL POWER STATION

PROJECT ECONOMIC EVALUATION

Data Revision: 0

Nominal Rate: 14.0%

Project 'Year Zero'

2003

Calculation Base Year

2003

Model Revision: 0

PROJECT NO:

PROJECT TITLE:

Airbags

ALTERNATIVE:
TAX PARAMETERS

ECONOMIC PARAMETERS

BASE :

Sent-out Capability =

Year

Efficiency

Discount Rate

1.1400

Escalation Rate

1.0600

NET DISC. RATE

1.0800

TAX RATE

PRESENT VALUES

30%

475 MW / set

5 years

Non-Capital :

1 year

Overall Efficiency =

[ RM ] =

Benefit to Reduce O&M Costs

[ RM ] =

0.529

Internal Rate of Return

= 123.428%

[ RM ] =
[ RM ] =

0.161
0.368

Cost / Benefit Ratio

= 3.289

Costs to Implement Project

NET PRESENT VALUE

Depreciation Period
Capital :

EVALUATION RESULTS

Benefit to Improve Performance

Payback Period

[ Years ] = 1

34.606%

Boiler Input =
Project

Operating

1372.587734 MW / set

Maintenance

Additional

Available Plant Load Factor =

Net Benefit ( Cost )

88.00%

UCLF / PCLF

Project

Project

Project

Status Quo

Status Quo

Status Quo

ERA Approval

Depreciation

Additional

Additional

Improvement %

Improvement %

Implementation

Operating

Maintenance

Replacement

Operating

Maintenance

Amount

(for Tax purposes)

Tax

Cost

Cost

Energy

Energy

Energy Operating

in Constant

2003

2003

( Deterioration % )

( Deterioration % )

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Nominal [RM]

[RM]

Savings [RM]

Savings [ RM ]

Savings [ RM ]

[ GWh p.a. ]

Benefit [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Rands [ RM ]

Net Benefit ( Cost )

Value [ RM ]

N P V [ RM ]

Cumulative

1991

-12

1992

-11

1993

-10

1994

-9

1995

-8

1996

-7

1997

-6

1998

-5

1999

-4

2000

-3

2001

-2

2002

-1

2003

2004

2005

0.007

2006

0.007

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0.103

0.007

0.019

0.070

0.108

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

(0.045)

(0.042)

(0.042)

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.070

0.060

0.018

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.046

0.064

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.036

0.183

0.019

0.070

0.144

0.006

0.012

(0.033)

(0.117)

(0.068)

0.114

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.031

0.145

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.029

0.174

2013

10

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.027

0.201

2014

11

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.025

2015

12

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.023

0.249

0.012

0.007
0.007
0.007
0.103

0.007

0.103

0.103

0.012

0.070

0.012

0.070

0.058
0.058

0.043

0.107

0.039

0.146

0.226

2016

13

0.019

0.070

0.191

0.006

0.012

(0.033)

(0.117)

(0.043)

0.206

2017

14

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.020

0.226

2018

15

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.018

0.244

2019

16

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

2020

17

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

2021

18

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.014

0.291

2022

19

0.019

0.070

0.255

0.006

0.012

(0.033)

(0.117)

(0.027)

0.264

2023

20

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.012

0.276

2024

21

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.011

0.287

2025

22

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.011

0.298

2026

23

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.010

0.308

2027

24

0.007

0.019

0.070

(0.025)

0.012

0.070

0.058

0.009

2028

25

0.007

0.019

0.070

0.006

0.012

(0.033)

(0.014)

(0.002)

Rev. No.

0.103

0.007

0.007
0.007
0.007
0.103

Date

2008/08/15

0.007

0.103

0.103

Total Project Cost in Nominal Rands (m) :

Cash Flows Escalation Factors (CPI) - For Period 2003

0.012

0.070

0.012

0.070

0.698 (ERA Approval Amount)

0.058
0.058

0.017

THIS PROJECT IS A FINANCIAL

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Future

5.00%

4.80%

4.80%

4.80%

4.90%

4.90%

0.261

0.016

0.276

0.317
0.315

'GO'

Table 15 - Airbag financial model

69

APPENDIX I MILL GRINDING MEDIA

For the financial analysis high chrome rings and cast steel balls are compared with a set of
high chrome rings and high chrome balls.

Note: For the motivation of this modification, only look at the ball cycle material
costs. All Maintenance service interventions will be left out of the financial equation at
this point in time. This approach to be able to determine the impact of the new
grinding media.

I.1

Steel ball and high chrome ring cycle regime (current

philosophy)

I.1.1

Background on the Current Ball Cycle Regime:

With the current steel cast ball cycle regime, an average wear rate of between 105 115 hrs
per millimetre is realized. This wear rate is empirically determined from measurements on
mills balls in service. For calculation purposes, a conservative wear rate of 105 hrs/mm on
the cast steel balls will be used.

I.1.2

Calculation:

In the steel ball and high chrome ring cycle regime, the critical ball dimensions are 768 (new
size), 690 (filler ball size) & 640 (ball scrap size for the steel balls). The times between the
sizes are as follow:

768 - 690

= (768mm-690mm)105hrs/mm
= 8 190 hrs (continuous running hours)

690 640

= (690mm-640mm)105hrs/mm
= 5 250 hrs (continuous running hours)

To deplete a rings life (60 000 hrs), the mill will operate up to cycle 8. The calculation for ball
life as follow:
Cycle 0 to 3

= 4 x 8 190hrs

Cycle 4 to 8

= 5 x 5 250hrs
= 5 910 hrs

The used amount of grinding balls will be:

4 sets (11 off balls per set) of 768mm balls (44 balls in total)

16 off 690 mm balls. The 768 mm balls re-cycled from cycles 0 to 3 are used (44
off), but to reach cycle 8, 60 grinding balls are required.

70

I.2

High chrome ball and ring cycle regime (proposed ball cycle
philosophy)

I.2.1

Background on the High Chrome Ball Cycle Regime:

With the high chrome mill grinding media test, empirical results on the ball and ring wear rate
were obtained during mill inspections and/or maintenance interventions. Wear rates in the
range of 301 hrs/mm down to 254 hrs/mm were realised on the mill balls. For calculation
purposes on the 10.8E mill, a conservative wear rate of 250 hrs/mm on the high chrome mill
balls will be used.

I.2.2 Calculation:
The ball sizes are the same as for the steel ball cycle regime. The times between the sizes
are as follow:

768 to 690

= (768 mm-690 mm)250 hrs/mm

= 19 500 hrs (continuous running hours)

690 to 640

= (690 mm-640 mm)250 hrs/mm

= 12 500 hrs (continuous running hours)

Cycle 0 to 1

= 2 x 19 500 hrs

Cycle 2 to 3

= 2 x 12 500 hrs
= 64 000 hrs

For a complete ring cycle, 2 sets of 768 mm & 2 off 690 mm filler balls are expected to be
utilized to get optimum life out of the ring. This implies 2 ball changes and 1 ball add during a
rings life. At 60 000 hours (end of ring life), there will be 4 000 hours left on the set of balls
installed, but this life left will be scrapped.

I.3

Ring Life

The average mill running factor at Kriel Power Station is 72%. This implies that for 72% of
the year a mill will be in service. The reason for this is because of the extra redundant mill,
mills are swopped in operation for maintenance and operational interventions on a frequent
basis.
For the 2 comparing materials (steel balls vs. high chrome balls), the ring lives are assumed
to be the same, which equates to 60 000 0.72 = 9.5yrs. This can change over time if the
coal sources change. For the purpose of the financial model that will be simulated for this
modification, an average life of 9 years for the steel balls as well as the high chrome balls
will be assumed.

71

I.4

I.5

Mill Grinding Media Prices

10.8E High Chrome Ring

= R207 023.00 per ring (2 x for set)

768 mm cast steel ball

= R21 222.24

690 mm cast steel ball

= R17 553.00

768 mm high chrome ball

= R31 398.00

690 mm high chrome ball

= R29 495.00

Financial Model Inputs (Theoretical) Current Steel Ball Cycle

Regime

Year Reason for expenditure

Costs

for Service @ yr

grinding media
0

Mill
Cycle

1 sets of 10.8E rings & 11 off (207 023 2) + 0

768 mm balls (steel)

(21 222.24 11)

11 off 768 mm balls

11 21 222.24

1.3

11 off 768 mm balls

11 21 222.24

2.6

11 off 768 mm balls

11 x 21 222.24

3.9

12 off 690 mm balls (11 off balls Zero

5.2

6.0

6.9

7.7

8.5

from cycle 3 + 1 from cycle 0)

6

12 off 690 mm balls (11 off balls Zero

from cycle 2 + 1 from cycle 0)

12 off 690 mm balls (11 off balls Zero

from cycle 1 + 1 from cycle 0)

12 off 690 mm balls (8 off balls 4 x 17 553

from cycle 0 + 4 off new 690mm balls)

12 off 690 mm balls (12 off balls 12 x 17 553

new 690 mm balls

End of ring life at year 9.4

Table 16 - Current grinding media financial inputs

72

I.6

Financial Model Inputs (Theoretical) High Chrome Ball Cycle

Regime

Year Reason for expenditure

Costs

Service @ yr

Mill
Cycle

1 sets of 10.8E rings & 11 off (207 023 2) + 0

768 mm balls (high chrome)

(31 398 11)

Zero

Zero

1 sets of 10.8E rings & 11 off 31 389 x 11

3.1

6.2

8.2

768 mm balls (high chrome)

4

Zero

Zero

1 off 690 mm filler ball

29 495 x 1
Zero

1 off 690 mm filler ball

29 495 x 1

End of ring life at year 9.4

Table 17 - Proposed grinding media financial inputs

I.7

Added Benefits:

Some of the benefits that can be derived from the modification were not captured in the
financial model. They are

Labour savings: With the proposed mod, only 2 ball changes and 1 ball add is
estimated, compared to 8 ball changes and 1 ball add with the current maintenance
philosophy. The savings are obvious.

UCLF improvement: With less ball changes on a mill, it implies less maintenance
interventions. This improves the availability of the mill and reduces the risk of UCLFs
on the milling plant.

73

KRIEL POWER STATION

PROJECT ECONOMIC EVALUATION

Data Revision: 0

Nominal Rate: 14.0%

Project 'Year Zero'

2003

Calculation Base Year

2003

Model Revision: 0

PROJECT NO:

PROJECT TITLE:

High chrome mill grinding media

ALTERNATIVE:
ECONOMIC PARAMETERS

BASE :

Sent-out Capability =

Year

Efficiency

Discount Rate

1.1400

Escalation Rate

1.0600

NET DISC. RATE

1.0800

475 MW / set

TAX PARAMETERS
TAX RATE

PRESENT VALUES

30%

5 years

Non-Capital :

1 year

Overall Efficiency =

[ RM ] =

Benefit to Reduce O&M Costs

[ RM ] =

0.964

Internal Rate of Return

= 151.737%

[ RM ] =
[ RM ] =

0.733
0.231

Cost / Benefit Ratio

= 1.314

Costs to Implement Project

NET PRESENT VALUE

Depreciation Period
Capital :

EVALUATION RESULTS

Benefit to Improve Performance

Payback Period

[ Years ] = 1

34.606%

Boiler Input =
Project

Operating

1372.587734 MW / set

Maintenance

Additional

Available Plant Load Factor =

Net Benefit ( Cost )

88.00%

UCLF / PCLF

Project

Project

Project

Status Quo

Status Quo

Status Quo

ERA Approval

Depreciation

Additional

Additional

Improvement %

Improvement %

Implementation

Operating

Maintenance

Replacement

Operating

Maintenance

Amount

(for Tax purposes)

Tax

Cost

Cost

Energy

Energy

Energy Operating

in Constant

2003

2003

( Deterioration % )

( Deterioration % )

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Nominal [RM]

[RM]

Savings [RM]

Savings [ RM ]

Savings [ RM ]

[ GWh p.a. ]

Benefit [ RM ]

Cost [ RM ]

Rands [ RM ]

Net Benefit ( Cost )

Value [ RM ]

N P V [ RM ]

Cumulative

1991

-12

1992

-11

1993

-10

1994

-9

1995

-8

1996

-7

1997

-6

1998

-5

1999

-4

2000

-3

2001

-2

2002

-1

2003

2004

0.647

0.797

(0.112)

(0.104)

(0.104)

2005

0.233

0.233

0.200

0.096

2006

0.233

0.233

0.185

0.282

2007
2008

4
6
7
9
10

2014

0.233

0.417

0.029

2012
2013
2015

0.345

2009
2010
2011

0.759

0.029

(0.112)
-

(0.082)

0.200

0.200

0.200

0.041

(0.029)

(0.017)

0.182

0.070

0.070

0.038

0.211

0.045

0.181

0.091

0.311

0.311

11

12

0.220

0.311

0.311

2016

13

0.311

2017

14

0.311

2018
2019

15

16

0.311

0.311

2020

17

0.311

2021

18

0.311

2022
2023

19

20

0.311

0.311

2024

21

0.311

2025

22

0.311

2026

23

0.311

2027

24

2028

25

Rev. No.

Date

2008/08/15

Total Project Cost in Nominal Rands (m) :

Cash Flows Escalation Factors (CPI) - For Period 2003

1.301 (ERA Approval Amount)

THIS PROJECT IS A FINANCIAL

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Future

5.00%

4.80%

4.80%

4.80%

4.90%

4.90%

0.311
0.311

'GO'

Table 18 - High chrome mill grinding media financial model

74