INDUSTRIALKILN&DRYERGROUP ROTARYKILNALIGNMENTMETHODSACOMPARATIVESTUDY ByJohnH.Ross Inrecentyearsthecementandlimeindustrieshaveseenproductionlevelssoarhigherintheworldwidemarketthan atanypointinrecenthistory.Asaresult,individualplantsfeelpressurenotonlytomaintaincurrentproductionlevels butincreasetheoverallefficiencyofequipmenttoachievethemaximumamountofequipmentreliability.Inthis articlewewilllookattheimportanceofpredictivemaintenanceontherotarykiln,animportantpieceofproduction equipmentattheplantsite.Tobetterassistcementproducersindeterminingtheoperationalperformanceofthekiln, anattemptwillbemadetoprovidethereaderwithacomparativeapproachtokilnalignment. Whyiskilnalignmentsoimportant?Quitesimply,beingamassiverotatingpieceofmechanicalequipmentwith multiplesupportstations,thekilnsoperationisdirectlyinfluencedbyitsalignmentaccuracy.Akilnisnotanydifferent thanalargefan,aturbineoragrindingmillwiththeexceptionthatitismuchlargerandtherotationalspeedismuch slower.However,thekilnisslopedandthestaticanddynamicloadsasaresultofsize,refractoryandproductare extensive.Inadditiontothis,theoperatingtemperatureofthekilnandresultantthermalexpansionmakesthe alignmentofthekilnuniqueuntoitself.

f.Sounlikehighspeedliketurbines,fansandmills,amisalignmentconditionin akilnisnotoftenimmediatelynoticeableuntilthedamageisextensive;suchasrefractoryfailure,hotbearingsand majorcomponentfailures. Indiscussingthecriteriaforkilnalignmentitisimportanttodefinethemechanicaldesignspecificationsforakiln: 1. Thekilnisdesignedsothatallofitscomponentsareonthesameslope.Whenthestructuralsteelsupportbases areinstalledonthepiertops,theyareinstalledtoaspecificdesignslope.Thisspecificdesignslopeisthenapplied tothesupportrollers,thedrivetrainandfinallytotheshellofthekiln.Sotheelevationandslopeofeach respectivecomponentisafactorofkilnalignment.SeeFigure1:

2. Thenextimportantfactorofkilnalignmentisthepositionofthesupportrollersinthehorizontalplaneandis directlyaffectedbythepositionofeachrespectivesupportroller.SeeFigure2:

3. Probablythemostexpensivecomponentsonarotarykilnwouldbeinthedrivetrain,typicallyconsistingofalarge ringgear,pinion(s),reducer(s),couplings,etc.,allofwhichneedtobeonthespecifickilndesignslopeandaligned inallplanes.Withtodayselectronicalignmentequipment,thealignmentofpiniontogear,couplingsandshaftsisa muchquickerprocessthaninthepast.SeeFigure3:

 4. Oncetheshellaxis/centerlineisalignedwiththesupportrollersandthegeardrivesystemiscorrectlyaligned,itis necessarytotrain,skeworadjustthesupportrollerstocontrolandabsorbaportionofthekilnsaxialthrustload. Thissupportrolleradjustmentistypicallyappliedtoallrollersinanefforttodistributethethrustloadequally.See Figure4

Oncetheabovecriteriaaremet,itissafetosaythekilniscorrectlyaligned. Butwhichtypeofalignmentmethodshouldbeutilizedtogivethebestresultsandmeettheabovecriteria?Thisis thequestionthatcementproducershavetoaskthemselvestodeterminewhatisbestfortheirkiln.Sowiththisin mind,letstakeacomparativelookatsomeofthealignmentmethodscurrentlyavailabletocementkilnoperators: HotKilnAlignments:Approximately20yearsagowestartedhearingabouttheconceptofhotkilnalignmentsasthe possiblythebestanswertoproblemswiththermalconditionsoftheoperatingkiln.Theargumentforaligningthekiln hotisthatoncethecomponentsexpand,asaresultofthehighoperatingtemperatures,thetyres/ridingringsexpand differentlyandcauseadeviationofthekilnaxisintheverticalorelevationalplane.Furthermore,inconductingan alignmentwhilethekilnisoperating,overallkilnoperationandproductionisnotaffected.Thishasindeedprovento beveryconvenient.Withoutquestion,theseconsiderationsweresoimportanttotheindustrythatthehotkiln alignmentisnowthemostpopularmethodused. Forthesakeofclarity,letstakealookattheevolutionofthemethodsoutthere: KilnShellOvality:InFigure5,weseetheeffectofabendingkilnshellontherefractorybrick.Checkingforkilnshell ovalitywasprobablythefirstattemptbytheindustrytodeterminehowthekilnshellwasreactingunderoperating conditions.Consequently,myfirstexperiencewithhotkilnalignmentsinvolvedtheuseofanovalitybeamto determinethepositionofthesupportrollers.Intheory,whensupportrollerswerenotcorrectlypositioned,the resultingdeflectionofshellwouldindicateontheovalitychartsthedirectionofshellmisalignment.

 SeeFigure6.Unfortunately,therewasnoquantitativevaluetoapplytothemisalignment.Otherfactorslikeexcessive clearancebetweenthetyres/ridingringsboresandfillerbarsalsofactoredintotheovalityreadings,anditdidtake morethan10mmofincorrectrolleradjustmentstoappearontheovalityreadings.Itwassoondiscoveredthataligning akilnsolelybyovalityreadings,althoughinformative,didnotprovetobethoroughenough.

 ConventionalHotKilnAlignments:Conventionalhotkilnalignmentsemployopticalmeasurementsofphysicaltargets thatproducereferencelinesparalleltothekilnshorizontalaxisonbothsidesofthekiln.Oncetheselinesare established,atheodoliteopticalinstrument,sometimeswithabuiltinlaser,isusedtomeasurethedistancebetween thelinesandtherotatingtire/ridingring.Thetargetscanbeassimpleasplumbbobsonastringorsurveyingprisms thatwillreflectbacktothetheodolitethroughthebuiltinlaser,commonlycalledanEDMorelectronicdistance measurer. Thebenefitofthissystemisthatitgivesagoodrepresentationofthekilnshellsstraightness;itisrelativelysimple; takesafairlyshortdurationoftime;andisthuscomparativelyinexpensive. Thedisadvantageofthismethodisthatopticalandlaserinstrumentsarebeingemployedtoshootthroughthermal waves,andhavetocopewithoperationalvibrations.Furthermore,whilethekilnisinoperation,itisnotpossibleto checkthealignmentofthegearsystem.Itisalsodifficulttocheck,withanyamountofaccuracy,thepiertopier elevationsandthestructuralsteelsupportframebasetops.Inconclusion,althoughthismethodisfairlyquickand inexpensive,itdoeslackinaccuracyandcompleteness. LaserHotKilnAlignment:Theearliestformofhotkilnalignmentemployedinthecementindustryusedlasersto collectthepositionaldataTheadvantageofalaseralignmentisthatunlikeaconventionalhotalignment,mostlaser assistedsystemsapplyanoncontactapproachtoshellandtire/ridingringmeasurements.Mostsystemswilltrackthe positionofeachrespectivetire/ridingringfortheentirerevolutionanddeterminetherotatingaxis.Onceagain,itis necessarytoestablishsomekindofreferencelinealongoneorbothsidesofthekiln.Thesereferencelines,generally establishedbyopticalorlasertargetssetupateachendofthekiln,becomethefoundationforallthedatacollected andstoredinthecomputer. Anotheradvantageisthatallthemeasurementsarecollectedelectronically,soagreatdealofdatacanbecollected andthenquicklydownloadedintoacomputer.Byusingthissystem,thecomputerprogramwilldeterminetheposition ofeachpierrelativetothereferencelinesanddefinetherotationalaxisofthekilnintheelevationandhorizontal planes,leavinglittleriskforoperatorerrors. Aswiththeconventionalhotalignment,thelaseroptioncancausepotentialinaccuraciesinthelayoutofreference linesobtainedwhilethekilnisinoperation.Inaddition,itcanbetimeconsumingbecausethetheodoliteorlaserneeds tobesetupmultipletimestocollecttherequireddata.Inoneexperiencedcase,theinstrumentmovedatleast12 timesonafivepierkiln.Finally,aswiththeconventionalhotkilnalignment,thegearsystemcannotbecheckedandit isdifficulttodeterminepiertopierelevationsfordeterminingthestructuralsteelbaselocation. Theoperatingconditionofthekilnisanimportantfactortobeawareofwhenconductingkilnshellovality measurements,aswellconventionalorlaserhotkilnalignments.Whenimplementingakilnshellovalitystudy,itis importanttoobserve,determineandunderstandtheoperationalconditionsofthekiln.Forexample,ifthekiln operationisupsetand/orhasanunusualinteriorcoatingbuildup,thiswillaffecttheovalityreadingsinacoupleof ways.Unusualcoating,eitherinthicknessorlocation,willaffecttheexternalkilnshelltemperature.Ifthekilnshellis coolerthannormal,therewillbeagreateramountofclearancebetweenthetires/ridingringsandsupportingfiller bars.Thiscancausetheovalitytoappearlargerthanwhatitnormallyisduringnormaloperatingconditions. Abnormalkilnloadingduetocoatingorproductalsoaffectsshellovalityanddeflection.Whenapplyinganyofthese unusualorabnormalconditionstothekilnshellwhileconductinghotalignments,theshellsrotationalaxiswillbe changed.Asmanyhaveexperienced,therehavebeenseveralcasesnotedwheretires/ridingringshavetemporarily and/orintermittentlyliftedofftheirsupportrollerdueabowedshellresultingfromabnormalinteriorcoatingbuildups. Takingalignmentmeasurementswhilethekilnisoperatingunderanyoftheseunusualconditionswillsignificantlyalter thenormaloperatingconditionreadings.Allalignmentmethodsshouldemploythemeasurementandcomparisonof shelltemperaturestothosenormallyexperienced.SeeFigure7

TraditionalBenchMarkKilnAlignment:Fordecadesbeforethepopularityofthehotkilnalignment,thealignment ofakilnwasdonewhilethekilnwasoutofproduction.Eventoday,whenanewkilnisinstalled,allthemeasurements ofthepiertops,structuralsteelbases,drivesystem,andfinallythekilnshellanditscomponentsaretakeninanon operatingcondition.Oncethedataisdeterminedandthekilnaxisissettothecorrectelevation,slopeandhorizontal position,thedrivealignmentischecked.Thisispossiblebecausetheactualdimensionaldataofallthecomponentsare knownanditisjustamatterofassemblingallthecomponentstothedesignspecifications.Thisiswhatisreferredtoas aBenchMarkalignmentwhereallthegeometryofthecomponentsareaccuratelymeasuredandthenpositioned peroriginaldesignspecifications. Thebenefitofthisalignmentistoidentifytheactualsizesofthecomponents,slopesofthebasesandthedrive alignmentwithoutmakingassumptions.Bykeepingtrackoftheactualdimensions,wearratescanberecordedandin theeventofasettlingofpiertops,arecordcanbekeptofthephenomenon.Thealignmentdataiscollectedwhilethe kilnisinastaticconditionwithnothermalwavesorvibrations.Inaddition,onmostkilns,therewillonlybetwosetups oftheinstrumentstodeterminetheaxisofthekiln.Alongwiththebenefitofbeingthemostaccuratesystemfroma surveyingperspective,italsoisthesafestwaytoperformalignmentsbecausethereisnomovingequipmentandthe extremetemperatureoftheoperatingkilnwillnotbeafactortopersonnel. Thedisadvantageofthissystemisthatitisdonewithoutthecomponentsbeingfullyexpandedtotheirnormal operatingtemperature.Insomecases,thealignmenthastobescheduledaroundotheractivitiestakingplaceonthe kiln.However,sinceittypicallytakesoneshifttosurveythekilnandoneshifttomeasurethecomponents,itrarelyisa schedulingproblem. DATscanAlignmentSystem:IndustrialKiln&DryerGroupsDATscanAlignmentSystemisamethodofmodeling thekilnalignmentin3Dformattodeterminethetireandrollerdiameters,kilnshelldeformation,surfaceprofileofthe tiresandrollers,tirecenterlines,elevationsandoffsetsofthekilncenterlineandtheslopebetweentirepiers.

Theprocesswasdevelopedinordertolayouttheinstallationofpapermachinesinthepulp&paperindustry.The reflectorlessscanningcapabilityallowsthecreationofmeasurementsfromanyplaceonthetire,shellorgearssothe 3Dgraphscanbecreatedtogivediameters,axialrunouts,shelldeformationssuchasdoglegs,aswellasthealignment dataoncenterlinesandslopes. Theadvantageofthissystemisthattheshotscanbetakenwhilethekilnisdownandoncetargetsareestablished,the shotscanberepeatedwhilethekilnisinoperationandconsequentlyprovidethedifferencebetweenhotandcold centerlines.Onarecentlyinstalledtwopierkiln,tirediametersweremeasuredwiththistechnologyandthe comparableaccuracywaswithin.005.Becauseallshotsaretakenwithaminimumofsetupofthetotalstation,the easeandaccuracyofthesystemmakesitaveryversatilesystemtouseonrotarykilns. Theaddedfeaturesofthissystemcangiveusaxialrunoutreadingsontiresandgearswithorwithoutthekilnin operation.Additionally,theprofilesofstructuralsteelbasesandcontactsurfacesoftiresandrollerscanbedetermined aswell.Figure8isasampleofmeasurementstakenbythesystem.Figure9isasampleoftheisometricofshotsthat determinepiertopierelevation,andFigure10isasampleofskewoftherollers.

Figure8

Figure9

Figure10 TheDATscanSystemisoneofthemostcomprehensivedatacollectingsystemsonkilnalignmentthatisavailableto theindustryatthispointintime. Conclusion:Thealignmentofthekilniscriticaltotheefficientoperationoftheplant.Byestablishingbetteralignment, thewearrateofcomponentswillbereducedandwiththisreductionthekilnwillrotatemorefreelywithlessenergy consumption.Thegreaterthemisalignment,thegreatertheforcewillbeneededtorotatethekilnwhichiscostlyand damagingtocomponents.Thepurposeofthisarticlewastocomparesomeofthekilnalignmentoptionsthatare available. INDUSTRIALKILN&DRYERGROUPVISIONSTATEMENT We will be a solution provider that adds measurable value to our customers operation. To enable us to accomplish this, Industrial Kiln & Dryer Group will become the leading parts provider to all markets served, while growing our service capability to cover all processing equipment markets in North America. While driving toward these goals, we will develop and leverage a zero incident safety culture and an expanding learning environment that will result in sustainable growth for our company.