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Pulverizer Monitoring Project

Ameren's Rush Island Plant
1012289

Pulverizer Monitoring Project

Ameren's Rush Island Plant
1012289
Technical Update, November 2006

EPRI Project Manager

W. Crawford

ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA
800.313.3774 650.855.2121 askepri@epri.com www.epri.com

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Engineering Consultants Group, Inc.
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

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Copyright 2006 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

CITATIONS
This document was prepared by
Engineering Consultants Group, Inc.
1236 Weathervane Lane
Akron OH 44313
Principal Investigator
M. Santucci
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
1300 W.T. Harris Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28262
Principal Investigator
S. Parker
This document describes research sponsored by EPRI.
This publication is a corporate document that should be cited in the literature in the following
manner:
Pulverizer Monitoring Project: Ameren's Rush Island Plant. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2006.
1012289.

iii

ABSTRACT
The Roll Bowl COP (RBC) technology was developed to provide specific information for the
evaluation of the grinding components of the Alstom Raymond bowl type coal pulverizers.
Dynamic and static data acquisition means and procedures were researched, tested and refined
over time so that the material condition of the grinding elements and the stress levels of their
operating characteristics could be determined. The result of the analysis allowed specific
corrective actions and adjustments to be made to uniformly distribute the work contribution of
respective rolls and to optimize the stress levels and operational performance. The mills could
then be operated with greater availability and reliability and with optimal performance including
fineness, load capability and turndown all at lower life cycle costs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Pulverizer Monitoring Project at Amerens Rush Island Plant is being performed by
personnel from the Engineering Consulting Group, Inc. and the AmerenUE Rush Island Plant.
EPRI would like to thank the following individuals for their contribution to this effort:
AmerenUE Rush Island Plant:
James A. Barnett, P.E.
Mechanical Engineer
Technical Support
Gregory W. Vasel, P.E.
Supervising Engineer
Technical Support
David L. Strubberg, P.E., P.M.P
Superintendent Technical Support & Maintenance
Engineering Consulting Group, Inc.:
Michael T. Santucci
President
Matthew Caesar
Development Engineer
Joseph L. Hoffmann, P.E.
Mechanical Engineer

vii

CONTENTS
1 BACKGROUND......................................................................................................................1-1
2 RBC TECHNOLOGY..............................................................................................................2-1
3 RESULTS TO DATE ..............................................................................................................3-3
4 ADDITIONAL WORKSCOPE.................................................................................................4-1

ix

1
BACKGROUND
The Pulverizer Monitoring Project takes place at the AmerenUE Rush Island Plant located in
Jefferson County, Missouri on 500 acres on the western bank of the Mississippi River. The plant
is located about 40 miles south of downtown St. Louis. The first unit went into operation in
March 1976 and the second unit in March 1977.
The Pulverizer Monitoring Project is a 2-year project to demonstrate and to document the
Engineering Consultants Group (ECG) Roll Bowl COP (RBC) OnLine real time mill operations
and condition monitoring benefits for 2 units (total of 12 mills) with the Alstom RP-903 design
pulverizer mills. Each mill is equipped with a displacement transducer and accelerometer on
each roll (3 rolls/mill). In addition, accelerometers are placed on the worm gear, thrust bearing,
and outboard motor bearing. This is a total of 3 displacement transducers and 6 accelerometers
for each mill. Figures 1-1 through 1-4 show the instrumentation installed on each mill.

Displacement
Transducer

Journal
Accelerometer

Figure 1-1. Roll Displacement Transducer and Accelerometer

1-1

Worm Gear Accelerometer

Figure 1-2. Worm Gear Accelerometer

Thrust Bearing
Accelerometer

Figure 1-3. Thrust Bearing Accelerometer

1-2

Figure 1-4 Outboard Motor Bearing Accelerometer

The installation of the RBC OnLine instrumentation and cables began in December 2005 and
was completed in February 2006. The instrumentation cables go to a local
RBC DAS (Data Acquisition System) box for signal conditioning and processing and then to the
dedicated RBC computer located in the plants terminal room. Figure 1-5 shows a typical DAS
box serving two adjacent mills.

1-3

Mill A
DAS

Figure 1-5.

Mill B
DAS

Unit 1 & 2 Data Acquisition System

After data processing by the RBC computer calculation engine, the data goes to the Plant
Information (PI) system server and then to the AmerenUE server for operations and engineering
monitoring. The historical data is then available to plant technical personnel and to ECG through
an internet connection with Amerenthe parent company of AmerenUE. In this way, the data
can be jointly monitored, analyzed, and discussed among remote locations.

1-4

2
RBC TECHNOLOGY
The Roll Bowl COP (RBC) technology has become a valued engineering tool in the
preventive/predictive maintenance area of coal pulverizers. The implementation of the RBC
technology allows an analysis and engineering evaluation of the coal pulverizer using a tool that
is non-intrusive. The data are acquired relatively quickly and the results portrayed in a userfriendly format. Through reference to a library of prior RBC data and analyses, the mill
evaluation can be used to prioritize scarce plant resources for best cost / benefit payback.
The RBC data are reviewed in both the time domain and in the frequency domain, the latter
using fast Fourier transform (FFT). The time domain is most informative during the initial
introduction of the coal to an empty pulverizer mill. The relative behavior and position of the
respective journal traces provide indications of conditions in the journal assembly, several that
are correctable settings and others that are properties of the components (e.g., wear, spring
constant). Time domain information at different loads provides indications for optimization
adjustments to attain load capability, fineness, turndown, and appropriate inventory for the
pulverizer mill. The time domain is also a resource for detecting short-term events such as tramp
material or pluggage.
The frequency analysis is a FFT application to time domain data that meets qualifications for the
analysis, specifically data frequency, and sampling duration. The primary interest is in the lower
frequency spectrum, 40-600 cycles per minute (CPM) or about 1x bowl to 7x
bowl
frequency. These graphics provide characteristics distinctive of the bowl and each of the journal
rolls. Properties that can be indicated include eccentricity of the bowl or rolls, spalling of weld
overlay, mechanical looseness and relative roll diameters. Higher frequency capabilities to about
1300 CPM can be used to detect resonance (not uncommon) and bearing degradation, the latter
recommended to be verified with predictive equipment more suitable for the higher frequency
spectrum.
The first RBC systems were proven based on snapshot looks at the mill data. This method was
most valuable in identification of suspected problems, in post-maintenance verification of the
setting and periodic check-ups and trending of overall condition and wear. The adaptation to an
RBC OnLine system enables the continuous evaluation of the mills and, with deficiencies
identified, the appropriate assignment of the remedial activity. This quantum leap of available
information required the development of algorithms and boundaries to identify specific
deficiencies and establish alarm levels for operator and/or maintenance attention.
With the RBC OnLine system, the properties of the RBC technology can be applied on a
continuous basis to provide to the user the following benefits:

Prevent or provide early indication of fatigue failures and bearing degradation through
balanced loading and optimized stresses.
Prolong grinding element life and premature failure/replacement through distributed wear
and operation within design conditions.

2-1

Minimize coal spillage through efficient grinding conditions and controlled mill inventory
levels for the corresponding load.
Increase mill availability and reliability by proper set-up of the mill and early detection of
problems or off-spec conditions.
Enhanced performance over the entire load range (full load capability to turn-down) with
fineness and capability to address concerns of opacity, LOI, NOX and slagging.
The trending of the mills RBC data is available for review on user-friendly trend displays at the
plant. This data can be used compare to the data on sister mills in the plant subject to similar
operating conditions and known maintenance histories.
The projects RBC OnLine data availability has been very good. The data is accessed through
the Plant Information (PI) system. The hardware used in the RBC technology has been reliable.
However, a recent sequence of power supply failures is still under investigation.
Data trending has on several occasions identified gradual degradation of bearings, early detection
of roll weld overlay issues, abrupt changes in cyclic fatigue stress and coal hardness variations.
These RBC OnLine capabilities have allowed the plant engineering staff to be proactive, enabled
maintenance on a scheduled basis, and avoided mill related unscheduled unit derates.

2-2

3
RESULTS TO DATE
After six months of the 2-year demonstration project, the RBC OnLine information has provided
the plant staff with support for the enhanced performance and availability of the mills.
Some of the mill problems that have been detected are:

2A Mill, Roll 2 - Figure 3-1 shows the startup plot of the 2A mill with a large journal headto-spring gap indicated on the #2 roll. Loose clamp plate studs were found on the #2 journal
assembly and repaired.

Figure 3-1 Startup Plot of 2A Mill

2E Mill, Roll 3. Part of the roll weld overlay had spalled off. This problem was detected
from a roll profile plot from the roll profile data. Figure 3-2 shows the profile plot.

3-1

Figure 3-2 Mill 2E, Roll 3 Profile Plot

2E Mill, Roll 1. The roll bearings failure was detected from vibration readings from the roll
accelerometer. The plant determined that approximately $21,500 was saved in detecting the
roll bearing failure on the 2E1 mill roll. Figure 3-3 shows the trending of the vibration for
this roll.

Figure 3-3 2E1 Vibration Trending Chart

1D mill - Bowl profile problems detected. Figure 3-4 shows the bowl profile plot.

3-2

Figure 3-4 1D Mill Bowl Profile Plot

Several occasions were notable in the detection of singular events that, if left undetected, could
have caused consequential damage, either direct mechanical breakage or the accumulation of
cyclic fatigue damage. With the RBC OnLine operator alarm features, isolated events such as
tramp iron ingestion, weld hard-face spalling, spring breakage or component loosening (e.g., stop
bolt, spring retainer, etc) can be addressed promptly and long-term mill availability assured.
The RBC OnLine trending features have shown degradation trends well before the onset of
imminent failure. This is particularly true of the vibration signatures and, with continued
degradation, followed in the later stages by indications in the lower frequency domain of the
RBC analysis.

3-3

4
ADDITIONAL WORKSCOPE
There are 2 topics that have been added to the original workscope. They are:

ECG is testing the applicability of ultrasonic probes on the coal pipes exiting the mill to trend
overall fineness with initial testing showing favorable correlation. Initial testing showed
favorable response. During this demonstration it may be determined if ultrasound is a useful
method for detecting large particle impacts with the wall in long vertical transport pipes. The
goal of the study would be to isolate the effects of varying coal and air flow to correlate
sound activity to mean particle size. UE Systems has loaned the plant 6 of their Ultrasonic
Testing probes for this testing.
ECG has developed an RBC Bowl Profiler that was demonstrated on the 1D mill in August
2006. A laser measuring instrument was fixed to the mill housing and a scan taken as the
bowl was rotated. Results of the bowl survey scan were graphically displayed and showed
the actual contour of the bowl. This information is valuable in verification and enhancement
of bowl geometry broadly defined through the frequency analysis. The profiler will also
allow determination of the actual bowl angle and if justified, corrections that would provide
determination of optimal bowl-to-roll clearance for fineness with load capability.

4-1

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ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA
800.313.3774 650.855.2121 askepri@epri.com www.epri.com

1012289