BY WALTER M. GEBHART T= ‘ALIGNMENT. measure- ments while a lime kiln is in full production is fast becoming an industry standard. There are many dif- ferent types of hot alignment services available, some which treat the move- ment of the kiln as an obstacle they must get around and others which use rotation to simulate the internal ali ment procedure performed at the kiln’s original erection, Alignment begins with the installa- tion of a kiln. Unfortunately none of the manufacturers outfit the kiln with an easy way to monitor alignment after erection. Subtle deviations, resulting either from installation errors or changing operating conditions, can shorten the life expectancy of compo- nents, In these cases the user usually has little recourse because kiln manufac- turers typically offer short warranties. The ideal agreement for a mill, then, is verification of alignment in an operat- ing state after start-up by a third party. With such an arrangement, premature wear of components during the first few years can be eliminated, or at the very least, a reference base for wear analysis can be developed. Kiln production is not gauged by al- ignment, except in the extreme of cata- strophic failure. Because alignment is independent of product quality, there traditionally has been little or no pres- sure on either buyers or manufacturers to incur additional costs for alignment aids. Aggressive wear has therefore be- come the accepted norm — something which would be completely unaccepta- ble for most other types of equipment. ‘Aligament exists when the kiln, a long flexible tube with multiple pairs of support rollers, is held in such a way that the locus of the centres of rotation at each of the support points forms a straight line, Upon erection this criteria is moni- tored internally. Once the kiln has started up, however, this method can- not be used. Rather, the traditional means of alignment has been a proce- dure to duplicate that used during erec- tion. The difficulty, of course, is re establishing meaningful targets in a shell which is no longer round, If this method cannot be used and Hot kiln alignment measurement key to preventative maintenance Hot kiin alignment can be an effective means of preventative maintenance. Any of the many methods available is preferential to doing nothing at all until, damage occur alignment measurements have to be made from the outside, the results are that much more difficult to achieve. ‘Measuring a kiln in its operating condition yields many benefits. Natu- rally, the kiln is available in this state more than it is ina down state. Align- ment measurement can therefore be considered a preventative maintenance technique. Hot alignment gives the dol- lar-conscious user a preventative main- tenance tool. Hot-alignment techniques can be categorized into five distinct methods. Method 1, the one after which the term hot kiln alignment was coined, was developed in Poland in 1983 and was introduced to North America in 1985. This innovative procedure uses an optical plummet to sight off the ver- tical tangents of the kiln tire, and is the first to use external alignment proce- dures on a unit in operation. It is also the first to incorporate the effects of side-to-side pitching. Even without the advantages of microprocessors and data loggers, very good results can be achieved. Method 2 makes full usc of a com- puter-equipped laser theodolite and a second theodolite communicating to the same computer to define the critical points on the kiln in three-dimensional space. The basic principle is computer-cal- culated triangulation with two instru- ments concurrently. The laser theodo- lite projects a spot which the other laser focuses on, and the computer digests all the angles. The target’s address in three coordinates is determined. Adaptation of this method to a running kiln is diffi- cult, and its cost and complexity has limited its popularit Method 3, a variation of Method 1, has been promoted more extensively by some North American kiln manufac turers than other techniques. As a con- sequence it may be unjustifiably per- ceived as the innovator in hot-kiln al- ignment. Employing conventional static external procedures, complete with plumb bobs draped over moving tires, this method often leads to spu- rious results. Method 4 operates on the principle of shell deflection. It is a novel ap- proach and a radical departure from all alignment techniques because position isn’t measured at all. Shell deflection is at a maximum at the support tires, which act like a girdle, confining the comparatively flimsy and far more flexible shell. (October 1989 Fyaa IN A kiln is rarely designed or even ex- pected to exhibit uniform deflection of the shell at the supports. Shell deflee- tion is a result of a number of variables, such as live-loading, internal coating thicknesses, shell temperature and roller position. Sorting out how much of the mea- sured deflection is actually due only to roller misalignment, as opposed to the other factors, is open to interpretation. To then place rollers according to shell deflection ignores other aspects of good kiln operation such as hertz pressures and bearing loading. Method 5 attempts to deliver all the key general features: direct position measurement of the shell; an indepen- dent reference grid for all measure- ments; and measurements that can be electronically recorded. This technique measures the lie of the kiln shell directly, both in slope and in plain view. The points measured are the machined riding ring pads on each side of the tire, or on some kilns the shell directly at their vertical tangents as well as bottom-centre. The key ad- vantage is the means to measure the position of cach individual pad or the entire shell profile if appropriate, back to the reference grid as the shell ro- tates The procedure provides fast and ac- curate non-contact. measurement of a moving surface. A kiln with pads, for instance, turning at 40 seconds per rev- olution and with 36 pads to the circum- ference, requires a fraction of a second to log the readings for each. It would be misleading to suggest that any of the described methods have no validity. Given the present state of most kilns, it could be argued that the use of any one method is preferential to doing nothing at all until obvious dam- age to the equipment occurs. ‘Since these procedures no longer compete with production time, their popularity will increase substantially in the future. It is up to the users, namely the pulp and paper mills, to select a procedure which is appropriate for their situation and one with which they feel most comfortable. & Walter M. Gebhart is president of Hartco Engineering Inc., Scarborough, Ont. (Cxtober 1987 a