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.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.