Introduction to Kiln Area and Brief description of its

main equipment's function

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Major Equipment in Kiln Area
• Pre-Heater
• Kiln
Introduction (Preheater)
Temperature and Material Flow
Types of Preheater

• SP- Suspension Preheater

• ILC Calciner
• Separate Line Calciner
• SLC-I
Wearable parts

• Dip Tube
• Flap Valve
• Dispersion Plate
• Refractory
Dip tubes

• Dip tubes have significant influence on the separation

efficiency of a cyclone. In modern suspension preheaters
it is standard to use cyclones with a dip tube for
improved separation.
Cyclone

• The cyclone preheater enables the material to conduct

heat exchange in a suspended state so that the raw
material can be fully mixed with the hot gas.
• The longer the dip tube the higher the cyclone efficiency
but the pressure also drops so therefore size is designed
in such a way to get maximum efficiency in all aspects.
Rotary Kiln
Rotary Kiln Major Parts

I. Kiln Shell
II. Kiln Tyres
III. Supporting Rollers
IV. Girth Gear
V. Inlet seal
VI. Outlet seal
Kiln Shell
Kiln Tyre & Rollers
Girth Gear
Inlet Seal
Outlet Seal
Kiln

• The rotary kiln consists of a tube made from steel plate, and
lined with firebrick
• The tube slopes slightly (1–4°) and slowly rotates on its axis at
between 30 and 250 revolutions per hour
• Raw mix is fed in at the upper end, and the rotation of the kiln
causes it gradually to move downhill to the other end of the kiln
• At the other end fuel, in the form of gas, oil, or pulverized solid
fuel, is blown in through the "burner pipe", producing a large
concentric flame in the lower part of the kiln tube
• As material moves under the flame, it reaches its peak
temperature, before dropping out of the kiln tube into the
cooler
Kiln Shell
Inspection Points:
1-Shell Temperatures
• Normal kiln shell temperatures
• 40° < T°C < 420°C
• Consequences
• Dangerous for people: can burn easily
• Difficult to get close to the kiln
• Mechanical characteristics decrease as the steel becomes hot,
• At 400°C, steel has lost 50% strength
• At 500°C, steel has lost 60% strength
• At 600°C, steel has passed the elasticity limit (it will not get back to its original
dimension if T°C decreases)
• The temperature is above 400°C which result in permanent damage to the
shell.
Expansion

• What happens in case of shrinkage of tyre on shell?

• Due to too quick preheating
• Due to too small cold clearance value
• Several consequences
• Shell will be deformed permanently
• Will possibly lose some bricks
• Will probably have some problems of fixation
• Will lead to potential shell cracks in the future
Expansion

• What happens in case of shrinkage of tyre on shell?

Expansion
Expansion

• What happens in case of shrinkage of tyre on shell?

Expansion

• Application to girth-gear pinion adjustment

• Girth-gear root clearance measured in cold conditions
• 7 mm
Expansion

• Girth-gear is fixed on the shell

• Conclusion
• The girth-gear root clearance will increase between cold and
hot conditions (3 to 8 mm)
• This value must be discussed with technical centre
Expansion
• Example :
• 3-pier 4.6 m diameter kiln with pre-heater
• Root clearance increases by about 6 mm

HOT COLD
Expansion
Thermal bending

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

• Thermal bending can also occur

• When the kiln is not properly rotated
• During start-up
• During kiln stoppage
• When the kiln is not rotated after one incident
• Importance of barring drive!
Thermal bending

• Dramatic thermal bending

• If you do not rotate your kiln on incident, thermal bending will
increase and increase, and then will deform your shell
permanently
Thermal bending

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

• What is a mechanical crankshaft?

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

• How to obtain a mechanical crankshaft?

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

• Example 1
Mechanical crankshaft

• Example 1
Mechanical crankshaft

• Example 1
Mechanical crankshaft

• Example 2
Mechanical crankshaft

• Example 2
Mechanical crankshaft

• Example 2
Mechanical crankshaft

• How to obtain a mechanical crankshaft?

• Second cause of crankshaft (minor)
• Wrong alignment of shell at erection
• Because of subcontractor’s lack of know-how
• Because new or old shells are deformed
• Because shells to be replaced have not been properly chosen
Mechanical crankshaft

• Is it possible to have a mechanical crankshaft without

visual indications?
• YES
• Since kilns are generally very flexible, you may have a
crankshaft but as the kiln deforms during rotation, the
deformation is not visible
• Sometimes kilns are affected by several crankshafts in opposite
phases
Mechanical crankshaft

• How to check there is a crankshaft?

• By looking for
• Periodical noise at the speed of kiln rotation
• Periodical motor amperage fluctuation
• Periodical deflection of roller shaft
• By measuring radial run-out on tyre shell
• If you see a significant radial run-out on kiln seals or on the
shell between two piers
• IMPORTANT : To detect a potential problem you must wait for
5 or 6 rotations!!!
Kiln shell relative
ovality
• What is the relative ovality?
• Mathematical definition
• R.Ovality (mm) is the distance between one elliptic shape and
its base circle of diameter D
• R.Ovality (%) = R.Ovality(mm) / D
• Ovality = Dmax - Dmin

R .O vality m m

Di
am
R.Ovalitymm
.D
Kiln shell

• Could the ovality be a problem?

• Yes
• Everything welded or fixed to the shell can be subject to
ovality problems
• Bricks
• Welded rings
• Fixation devices
• Shell itself
• …
• It is very important to check ovality regularly
Kiln shell
• Effect of “dynamic” ovality on bricks
Kiln shell

• How to measure ovality?

• It can be measured with the “Shell Test” device
• Major suppliers can provide this service
Kiln shell

• Shell test
Kiln shell
• Shell test
Kiln shell

• How can shell ovality be reduced?

• Except design problem (check with your T.C.), problems are
mainly due to
• High tyre migration
• Alignment problems
• Crankshaft problems
• Action levers are
• Regularly check tyre migrations
• Reduce tyre migration by shimming when needed
• Do not forget: check your kiln alignment regularly
Kiln shell

• Other typical problems

• Shell cracks
• Due to wear and weakening
• Due to corrosion (thickness reduction)
• Due to kiln excessive misalignment and/or crankshaft
• Due to excessive shell ovality
• On cooler port shell
• Due to poor casting
• Due to poor quality outlet box
• Shell deformed
• Due to heat (see previous presentation)
Kiln shell

• Check-list for proper behaviour

• Check tyre migration on daily basis.
• Check alignment once a year
• Check shell thickness (wear/corrosion) every year
• Check shells for deformations and cracks every time bricks are
removed
• On each tyre side, check the first 2 circular welds for cracks at
each long kiln stoppage
Content

1 Rotation, friction, torque

2 Kiln bearing liner
3 Why is alignment so important?
4 How to reduce wear?
1 Rotation, friction, torque
Rotation, friction,
torque
• Kilns are generally rotating on roller shaft with liners
• Very few kilns are using roller bearings?
• Because loads are very high and rotating speed low
• Because it is expensive to design and use
• Considering bearing liners, is there any friction? Is this
related to rotation?
• Yes, there is a relation
• Are there any limits?
• Yes, there is a limit of pressure on a liner
• Special mode of friction, low speed, negative influence
Rotation, friction,
torque
• Relation between liner friction and rotation
• Almost all the torque is used to lift the material inside the kiln
• Only a little part of this torque is converted to heat through
the shaft/liner contact
• Usually, it is considered as
• Torque liner = Torque motor x (0.03 to 0.05)
• In case of severe liner overheating, this torque can
suddenly increase
• On a 20% increase of main motor power (except process
reasons), you should inspect all bearings
Rotation, friction,
torque
• Does the liner temperature depend on the load?
• Yes, but also on other parameters
• It depends on the load applied to the shaft
• What are the main parameters impacting this load?
• Main parameter is the design. FLS, POLYSIUS, CLE, FCB are
using approx. the same design limit
• Quality of geometry and lubrication
• Alignment of kiln tires
• Shell axis deformation (permanent or thermal)
2 Kiln bearing liner
Kiln bearing liner

• How is a kiln bearing liner designed?

• Liner has in general 4 functional faces
• Outer face
• Inner face (separated in 3 areas)
• Oil pocket or “oil tank”
• Oil film creation area
• Contact surface with the shaft
• Outside flange
• Inside flange
Kiln bearing liner

Outer face

Inside flange
Kiln bearing liner

Thrust face
(outside flange)

Inner face
Kiln bearing liner

• Design of the external diameter

• External diameter is very important for the bearing liner
behaviour
• It must be equal or greater than bore diameter
• If the external diameter is too low, the liner could “close”
around the shaft and prevent oil from entering
Clearance: liner
We can suspect a
dangerous to use
liner deformation
due to overheating
in this specific case
Kiln bearing liner

• Design of a new bearing liner

Oil Oil
pocket SHAFT pocket

5 to 15°

Creation of Creation of
oil film Contact oil film
Surface
20°
10° Contact of shaft only
to
to on 20 to 25° !
25°
15°
Kiln bearing liner

• How to be sure that the liner is fitted properly?

• Check contact shaft/liner with blue dye
• Contact length must be quite continuous on more than 80% of the
liner length
• Contact width must not exceed a 25° angle
Kiln bearing liner
SHAFT (HOT)

SHAFT (COLD)

Contact
Surface
Kiln bearing liner

• Long term: in case of wear

• All liners are subject to a “running-in” period
• During this period, the 20 to 25° area is polished and in general
expands a little bit (up to 25°/30°)
• In case of problem, little wear would not increase too much
the contact area and the liner would still function properly
• If the contact is too large from the beginning, any incident
could lead to immediate failure
Kiln bearing liner
SHAFT (ORIGINAL POSITION)

SHAFT (GONE DOW N)

Contact
Surface
Kiln bearing liner

• Important remark
• In case of overheating, shaft diameter increases… what
happens?
• The more it increases, the less oil will be able to get in… a
vicious circle
• TIP: When a bearing is overheated (> 65°), it is in general
better to put the kiln on barring until shaft temperature gets
under 50°C, then restart the kiln, instead of keeping it working
(which does NOT work in general if nothing else is done)
Kiln bearing liner

• What about oil?

• The best oil cannot solve contact pattern problems
• Very thick oil or synthetic oil cannot solve too low clearance
between shaft and liner
• Oil loses its viscosity very quickly
• oil viscosity diagram versus temperature must be known
Kiln bearing liner

• Emergency procedures
• Fan cooling: dangerous on bearing
• Housing open = Dust contamination = Be careful!
• Are you sure you are cooling the shaft or the housing? (think of
expansion)
• Oil re-circulation with cooling and cleaning
• Best method
• Small units available on the market with installation on request
Kiln bearing liner

• Emergency procedures
• In case of small problem, putting the kiln on barring can save
you!
• Time to decrease shaft temperature
• Time to get proper viscosity back
• Time to come out of the vicious cycle
• Good method : Cool the roller flank
• To limit kiln heat transmission to shaft
• By air
• By water (emergency only, dangerous method)
• very progressive application (avoid thermal shock)
• prevent water from getting inside housing
Kiln bearing liner

• Emergency procedures
• Water on roller is dangerous
• Permanent application or heat shock leads to spalling
Kiln bearing liner

• Emergency procedures
• Can I use synthetic oil?
• Yes you can, with some pre-requisites
• Check if this synthetic oil can be mixed with mineral
• Check if this synthetic oil does not chemically attack any bearing part
• In case of emergency, put the highest viscosity you can, assuming the
real viscosity will drop because of temperature
Kiln bearing liner

• Emergency procedures
• Can I use grease or molycot?
• No, it is very dangerous
• It can block the oil pocket, preventing any oil from entering to lubricate
liner and shaft

GREASE

SHAFT

NO OIL !
3 Why is alignment so important?
Why is alignment so
important?
• Alignment problems can also lead to
• Roller crack, shaft crack
• Liner overheating
• Brick failures
• Too high load => too high ovality => problem of bricks
• Frame cracks
• Shell cracks
Design
Kiln Mechanics
Content

1 Kiln support 6 Kiln tyre

2 Kiln roller base plate 7 Kiln shell
3 Kiln roller bearing 8 Kiln drive
4 Kiln roller shaft 9 Kiln thrust system
5 Kiln tyre fixation
1 Kiln support
Kiln support

• Kiln support
• Ground, soil
• Piles
• Civil works, foundation
Kiln support

• Different designs of concrete support

2 Kiln roller base plate
Kiln roller base plate

• Roller station base plate

• Adjusted and levelled with shims
• Tolerance
• Lateral < 0.1mm / m
• Axial (slope) < 0.1mm / m
• Tightened by anchor bolts
• Grouting layer between concrete and base plate (<80mm)
• Embedded in concrete, for protection
• No mechanical purpose except weight of concrete
Kiln roller base plate

• Roller station base plate

base Shims
plate

Anchor bolt

Concrete
Anchor bolts
Kiln roller base plate
Base plate
• Roller station base base plate
Grouting

Shims

Concrete
3 Kiln roller bearing
Kiln roller bearing

• Replacement of liner, influence on the other side

R oller
S haft

A B
Liner Liner
W orn 100% W orn 15%

R eplacem ent
liner A on design NEW O ld
W ITH liner liner
spherical seat
A B

R eplacem ent
liner A on design NEW O ld
W ITH O U T liner liner
spherical seat
A B
Kiln roller bearing

• Check-list for proper behaviour

• Liner in good condition
• Contact with shaft > 80% of length, angle < 25°
• Clean oil
• Sufficient water flow for cooling
• No coating inside water jackets
• Decreases cooling efficiency
• Heat shield, side of the kiln
• Heat shield, on the shaft axis
• Seals in good condition
4 Kiln roller shaft
Kiln roller shaft

• A roller shaft can be divided in

• A cast or forged roller
• A forged shaft
• superficial heat treatment (Kawasaki, KHI)
• Some tightening elements (flange, bolts, …)
• The roller is shrink-fitted on the shaft
• By cooling/heating (most of cases)
• With a hydraulic press (rare)
Kiln roller shaft

• Roller main design parameters

Diam. = Tyre diameter / 3.3

(except with planetary coolers)

Width: based on max.

pressure
Kiln roller shaft

• Very different designs

Kiln roller shaft

• No thrust flange, contact at end

• KOBE, CLE (old), VICKERS
Kiln roller shaft

• Check-list for proper behaviour

• Shaft must be
• clear of defects (no scratch, no corrosion, no rust)
• cylindrical (defect < 0.1mm on length)
• free of cracks
• NDT (US) every 2 years (notice: special probe)
• Roller must be
• cylindrical (defect < 2mm on diameter)
• Thrust flanges (or end shaft) must
• be perpendicular to shaft
• be flat, with no scratch, no corrosion, no rust
5 Kiln tyre fixation
Kiln tyre fixation

• Kiln tyre fixation: “floating” or “loose”

• ALL SUPPLIERS
• Tyre is
• Floating on the shell on “pads”
• Axially tightened by “rings” and fixations
• Rotating around the shell.
• Tyre internal diameter > fixation external diameter
Kiln tyre fixation

• “Floating” or “loose”
• FLS
Kiln tyre fixation

• “Floating” or “loose”
• Advantages
• Low cost of the tyre (a simple ring)
• Simple design
• Very easy insertion of shim
• Inconvenient
• Tyre is rotating, thus creating wear on tyre, pads, side rings
• If wear of pads is too high, major shell ovality will occur,
leading to brick failures
• Problems with bolted design (FLS)
Kiln tyre fixation

• Check-list for proper behaviour (floating fix.)

• Tyre internal surface must be greased
• Migration < 25mm/kiln revolution, to check weekly
• Total axial clearance < 10mm
• Wobbling < 2-3mm
• Pads must not be broken
• All repair welding must be done properly (small repairs are
useless on a tyre fixation)
6 Kiln tyre
Kiln tyre

• Design
• A simple steel ring
• Cast (mainly)
• Forged (small and middle tyres)
• With or without thrust face
Kiln tyre

• The tyre seems solid, can it resist to anything?

• No
• Similar to other kiln parts, it is designed for a certain kiln load,
and cannot resist to any overload
• It is even subject to deformation
• by the kiln load (bricks+material+shell)
• by roller contact pressure
Kiln tyre

• Do we really need full contact between tyre and roller?

• Yes
• The supplier designed a certain width of tyre and roller to
spread the load and to avoid
• tyre and roller local deformation
• tyre and roller cracks
• plastic deformation under pressure
• Criterion: Hertz pressure in daN/mm2
• If the contact is reduced, some problems could occur
Kiln tyre

• Check-list for proper behaviour

• Tyre must be
• free of scratches
• free of cracks
• NDT (US) inspection
• Check contact between tyre and roller (!!SAFETY!!)
• Best way is to use your eyes and look from under the tyre
• Lead wire can be used, with the correct procedure
• Alignment control (avoid overloads)
• Shape control of tyre and rollers (diameters)
Kiln tyre
• Tyre wobbling
8 Kiln drive
Kiln drive

• Kiln drive rotates the kiln

Kiln drive

• It is split into several parts

• Girth-gear
• Pinion(s)
• Torsion shaft (s)(in general)
• Main gearbox(s)
• Main motor(s)
• Barring gearbox(s)
• Barring motor(s)
• Emergency power generator(in general), or diesel engine
Kiln drive: girth-gear

• Girth-gear
• Most sensitive item on the kiln
• Expensive part
• Manufacturing is long (1 year)
• It is in general cast, then machined
• (some forged gears recently appeared on market)
• Teeth repairs are generally not possible (break quickly)
• Girth-gear must be watched very often to ensure long
lifetime
• Recent designs: approx. 15 years/face
Kiln drive: girth-gear

• Girth-gear fastening system

• 2 families

Tangential spring plates

Fixed pre-tightened spring
(Others)
plates (Polysius)
Kiln drive: girth-gear

• What is important?
• Geometry
• Radial run-out (eccentricity): ensure the root clearance stays almost
the same
• Axial run-out (wobbling): ensure that the girth-gear is almost
perpendicular to the rotation axis.
• Are all parameters adjusted by the supplier?
• Yes
• but production problems (hot spots, damages to kiln shell) can
• deform the kiln axis
• change meshing conditions
Kiln drive: girth-gear

• Girth-gear: Geometry control

• Procedure and Excel spreadsheet available

Dial gauge 3

Dial gauge 1
Kiln drive: girth-gear

• How to lose geometry?

Original tube

Big hot spot leading to permanent

Thermal expansion
deformation of the tube

Creation of radial run-

out AND wobbling
Kiln drive: girth-gear
and pinion
• Adjustment of the pinion
• Adjustment of the pinion is a very accurate operation
• Root clearance parallelism < 0.1mm
• Contact parallelism < 0.05mm
• This operation must be done by a specialist
• Contact pinion/girth-gear must be checked
• At each replacement of bearing or liner
• In case of major kiln alignment modification
Kiln drive: girth-gear
and pinion
• Pinion adjustment

Left

Centre

Right

Root clearance and radial run-out Contact with girth-gear

Kiln drive: girth-gear
and pinion
• Blue check is useful!
Girth gear wobbling

Pinion misaligned
Pinion wobbling
Kiln drive: lubrication

• Girth-gear
• Lubrication is essential to avoid wear
• Several lubrication system
• Continuous transfer lubrication (paddle wheel)
• Continuous circulation lubrication
• Intermittent automatic spray (most used)
• Checking correct function of lubrication system is very
important!
• Check nozzles periodically
• Check girth-gear and pinion aspect
Kiln drive: lubrication

• Continuous transfer lubrication (paddle wheel)

Note that
sometime, paddle
wheel is installed
on girth-gear.
It is important to
check sump and
paddle wheel
regularly
Kiln drive: lubrication

• Continuous circulation lubrication

Lubrication to be
applied uniformly
Filters must be
checked regularly
Kiln drive: lubrication

• Intermittent automatic spray

Kiln drive: lubrication

• Spray system with barrel pump

Kiln drive: lubrication

• Checking spray system is very important

• TIP: Use wood plate to check nozzles
Kiln drive: lubrication

• Spray nozzles out of order can lead to very important

damages!
Kiln drive: main reducer

• Main reducer
• Expensive part of the kiln
• Generally, no spare parts available on site
• Long lifetime depending on lubrication
• Important remark
• Lubrication failure quickly leads to disastrous results
• Preventive maintenance is very important
• Periodical check of filters
• Periodical check of pumps and safety sensors
• Periodical check of water cooling
Kiln drive: main reducer

• Failures
• Lubrication problem = 50% of gearbox failures
• Maintenance is very important
• Cleaning of the area, too
• Avoid dust contamination
• Oil leakage = dust can also get in!
Kiln drive: main reducer

• TIP
• Think of number of cycles for each shaft
• Replace parts according to number of cycles
• The first seal to fail is always on the input shaft
• Bearings are generally failing on the input shaft
• Gear problems are in general on the input shaft
• …
9 Kiln thrust system
Kiln thrust system

• The kiln has a slope of 3 to 4%

Kiln thrust system

• It should normally go downwards with rotation

• Ex: kiln 1200t at 3.5%
• Axial load = 1.200 t x 3.5% = 42 t to hold !

42 t
Kiln thrust system

• Need for axial thrust rollers

• 30 years ago, fixed rollers
• tyre blocked between two rollers, with clearance equal to travel
movement (35 to 50mm)
Kiln thrust system

• Problems
• Travel is a consequence of roller skewing and friction
• What pressure on which roller?
• no information on axial load
• The kiln can be operated a long time in the same position
• Wear on rollers
• Wear on tyre
• Wear on girth-gear and pinions
Kiln thrust system

• Recent kilns (< 20 years)

• Axial fixation is made through a horizontal roller
• With hydraulic jack
• Downhill side of one tyre
Kiln thrust system

• Typical installation

Tyre

Fixed roller Thrust roller

Nitrogen
Trolley accumulator

CCR PLC or Hydraulic

sensors thrust unit
Kiln thrust system

• So, can it react to anything?

• No
• The axial reaction load of the kiln can be really different from
the (3..% x load of the kiln) nominal value
• Axial loads depends on
• The axial load of rotating equipment (coating, bricks,…)
• Skewing of each roller
• The friction factor between roller and tyres (depending on graphite,
oil, dust,…)
Kiln thrust system

• What can happen if axial load is not balanced?

• Unstable axial behaviour of the kiln
• Depending on production, it can move quickly upwards or downwards
• Hydraulic pressure fluctuates erratically
• Roller thrust bearing flange overheating
• Roller which are not adjusted have excessive pressure on thrust disc;
this can lead to overheating
• Too high pressure on hydraulic thrust roller leading to
• roller bearing failure
• problems with roller condition
• thrust roller shaft rupture or crack
Kiln thrust system

• How to understand the hydraulic thrust pressure?

• P < 40 bars: too low
• Risk of kiln moving suddenly upwards
• 40 < P < 60 bars
• Correct pressure, if all rollers are well adjusted
• 60 < P < 100 bars
• Pressure a little bit high
• 100 < P: Too high pressure
• Wear will happen on roller and tyre
• Risk of hydraulic failure, bearing and shaft failure,...
Kiln thrust system

• Thrust pressure is going up and down regularly

• It corresponds in general to tyre wobbling
• It can be a sign of an accumulator problem
Kiln Burner
Kiln burner Front end view

Ignition gas Primary air

burner nozzle

Coal meal
nozzle

Fuel oil nozzle

THANK YOU