TRAINING PROGRAMME ON

ADVANCES IN MAINTENANCE OF
CEMENT ROTARY KILN

Prof. (Dr.) J. P. Saxena

PhD, MBA, DLL, DIM, BS (Elect.), BE (Mech)
Cement Specialist &
Professor in Amity Business School, Amity
University, Noida, U.P.
 INTRODUCTION TO KILN

AND

IMPORTANCE OF CRUSHING

ZONES, AIR GAPS AND SLIP

FIRST CEMENT ROTARY KILN

THE PATENT FOR FIRST ROTARY KILN

WAS ISSUED ON MAY 2, 1885

A HISTORY OF 126 YEARS

CEMENT INDUSTRY IN INDIA
• In 1889, a Kolkata based company started
manufacturing cement.
• Organized shape of the industry came in
early 1900s.
• First cement plant of India cement came at
Porbander with a capacity of 10000 t.
• Price and distribution control in 1956.
continued……
CEMENT INDUSTRY IN INDIA
• India is second largest cement producer in
the world after China with total capacity of
151.2 million tonnes.
• Cement production is expected to be
236.16 mt in 2011 and 262.61 mt in 2012.
• 93% cement production through modern
dry process.
• 7% cement production through old wet or
semi-dry process.
 CAPACITY UTILIZATION OF
MAJOR CEMENT PRODUCERS
Company Production (m t) Installed Capacity Capacity
(m t) Utilization (%)

ACC 17.902 18.64 96.05

Gujrat Ambuja 15.094 14.56 101.57
Ultratech 13.707 17.000
80.63
Grasim 14.649 14.115 103.78
India Cement 8.434 8.810 95.73
Jk Group 6.174 6.680 92.42
Jaypee Group 6.316 6.531 97.38
Century 6.636 6.3 105.33
Madras Cement 4.55 5.47
83.18
Birla Corp 5.15 5.113 100.72
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR
LOW CAPACITY UTILIZATION
• Status of maintenance. Kiln maintenance
is the main area of importance.
• Availability of trained manpower
• Availability of materials.
• System design.
• Equipment design.
• Layout planning
 FIRING SYSTEM IN CRK
• Initial rotary kilns were gas fired.
• Oil fired.
• Coal fired
• Other fuels such as:
– Pet coke
– Tires
– Rice husk
– Hazardous waste materials.
CAPACITY TREND OF CEMENT ROTARY KILNS (TPD) DURING THE PAST 124 YEARS
 PREFERENCE FOR LARGE
SINGLE LINE PLANTS - 1
• Economy of scale.
• Technology has reached to high level of maturity.
• Equipment designs are more reliable with less
need for repair and maintenance.
• Up-time of the plants has improved to a great
extent.
• Preventive and predictive maintenance has
improved reducing the down time of the plant and
machinery.
 PREFERENCE FOR LARGE
SINGLE LINE PLANTS - 2
• Trained manpower is available to tackle
most of the problems.
• Communication systems are very fast and
reliable to reach to any person in any part of
the world at any time.
• Transport systems are well organized.
• Spare parts are easily available as compared
to earlier times.
 Technology
Improvement

Improvements in Improvements in
System Design Component Design

IMPROVEMENTS
IN CEMENT
ROTARY KILNS

Improved
Maintenance Improved
Techniques / Systems Techniques of Repair
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT
Kilns have covered a long path of
technology improvement, such as:
• Wet process
• Semi-dry process.
• Long dry process
• Suspension preheater kilns
• Precalciner kilns
 PRECALCINER KILNS
• Is the most significant developments in the
history of cement industry, which:
– Reduced the length of the kiln to a great extent
– Increased its production capacity.
– Degree of calcinations of the raw mix at the kiln feed end
was about 40% in SP kilns, where as it is 90% in the
case of precalciner kilns.
• Specific thermal energy consumption of modern
precalciner kilns is about 1/3rd in comparison to the wet
process kilns and about ½ in comparison to the long dry
kilns.
• All the new kiln installations are based on this
technology.
PRECALCINER KILN WITH FIVE STAGE SP
 IMPROVEMENTS IN
SYSTEMS DESIGN
• Single large size kilns in preference to multi-kilns of
small size.
• Single line operations to suit the market demand.
• Precalciner kilns with 5 or 6 stage cyclone preheaters.
• Precalciner kilns with one or two streams of
suspension preheaters.
• Two support kilns.
• Heat recovery systems.
• Low Nox designs of calciners.
continued …….
 TWO SUPPORT KILNS - 1
• Developed to overcome the problems of
misalignment and its consequences.
• FLS commissioned its first two tyre kiln in
Quebec, Canada in 1980.
• Asia Cement Corp. Taiwan commissioned a
5000 tpd modern 2-tyres kiln at their Hualien
plant in May 1992.
• Another two supports kiln of 4500 tpd is
installed at Alsen-Breitenburg Zementwnd
Kalkwerke GmbH.
 TWO SUPPORT KILNS - 2
• Two supports kiln is supported on self-
aligning rollers.
• This design has eliminated the universally
used girth gear and pinion and used a friction
drive.
• Future kilns may have two supports.
SELF –ADJUSTING SUPPORTING KILN ROLLERS
 TRENDS IN THE FIELD OF
PRODUCTION - 1
• Large single production lines up to 10000 tpd.
• Stress is on higher reliability of production
machinery.
• Capacity of single line of production matching
to the projected market demand.
• Modernizing the operations of the existing
plants for reducing operating costs and
environmental emissions.
 IMPROVEMENTS IN
COMPONENT DESIGN
• Kiln shell of better specifications.
• Splined tyres
• Self-aligning support roller.
• Improved inlet and outlet seals.
• Full floating chair pads.
• Flexible girth gear fastening system.
• AGMA design gear-pinion arrangement.
• Stepped conical retaining ring system.
• Hydraulic thrust rollers.
• Improved design of kiln burners.
 SPLINED CHAIR PAD AND
SPLINED TIRE ARRANGEMENT
FULL FLOATING CHAIR PADS
AGMA DESIGN GEAR-PINION ARRANGEMENT
AND SUITABLE LUBRICANTS
 MULTI-CHANNEL BURNERS
WITH THREE CHANNELS

29
 INTRODUCTION AND
IMPORTANCE
OF
CRUSHING ZONE, AIR GAPS,
SLIP, INLET AND OUT SEALS,
KILN BURNERS AND RETAINER
RING
COMPONENTS OF ROTARY KILN
 CHALLENGES IN THE
MAINTENANCE OF CRK -1
• Wear on the surface of tyres and
supporting rollers.
• Supporting roller bearings running hot.
• Wear of girth-gear and pinion
• Wear on thrust device.
• Deformation and bulges in the kiln shell.
WEAR ON THE TYRE AND
ROLLERS
WEAR ON THE TYRE & ROLLER
WEAR DUE TO GEAR RUNNING IN
MESH
 
 
 
DAMAGE OF GEAR AND PINION
DUE TO SCUFFING

Run in pinion Comments:

Damage of full surface of
tooth due to scuffing.
Involute destroyed.
Wear in step in tooth root.
Bulging edge at tooth side.
Gear Contact pattern is less than
50%

Run-
out
Pinion
 SCUFFING, PLASTIC
DEFORMATION AND PITTING ON
THE GEAR

Pinion

Gear
DEFORMATION AND BULGES
IN KILN SHELL
 CHALLENGES IN THE
MAINTENANCE OF CRK -2
• Warpage of kiln shell
• Damage to filler bars or pads
• Cracks in supporting roller’s shaft.
• Damage to the retaining rings.
• Corrosion of inner surface of the kiln shell.
• Damage to the inlet and outlet seals.
CRACKS IN THE SUPPORTING
ROLLER SHAFT
BREAKAGE OF TYRE
DAMAGE TO FILLER BARS
 BREAKAGE OF THE
SUPPORTING ROLLER SHAFT
OVERLAPPING SPRING PLATE
DISCHARGE END SEAL
 IMPROVED MAINTENANCE
TECHNIQUES / SYSTEMS
• Hot kiln alignment techniques.
• Measurement of shell ovality.
• Automatic slip measurement system.
• Vibration measurements.
• Automatic spray lubrication system for girth
gear.
• To monitor temperature by scanners and
pyrometers.
• To measure and adjust axial thrust on
support roller bearings
HOT KILN ALIGNMENT
MEASUREMENT OF SHELL
OVALITY
 AUTOMATIC SLIP
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INNER DIAMETER OF
THE TYRE AND OUTER DIAMETER OF THE KILN
SHELL
MOVEMENT OF THE SHELL IN ONE
ROTATION OF THE KILN SHELL
 CLEARANCE GAP AND
DEFORMATION OF THE TYRE
SINGLE RETAINING RING
SYSTEM
MISALIGNMENT OF KILN IN
HORIZONTAL PLANE
MISALIGNMENT OF KILN IN
VERTICAL PLANE
NON-UNIFORM COATING IN A
LARGE DIAMETER KILN SHELL
SHELL THICKNESS AT VARIOUS
SECTIONS OF THE KILN
 IMPROVED TECHNIQUES OF
REPAIR
• Brick laying techniques.
• Replacement of deformed shell.
• Replacement of tyres and support rollers.
• Reversal of girth gear and pinion.
• Surfacing of the tyre and support roller to
remove uneven surface.
• Improved refractory castables.
ULTRA-SOUND TEST FOR CRACKS
IN SUPPORT ROLLER SHAFT