Root Cause Analysis of Portland Cement Kiln ID Fan

This is an example of how a determined team can work together to solve problems
more effectively using Root Cause Analysis.

During the annual plant turnaround, extreme wear was discovered on the 1,750 hp
induced draft fan for the cement kiln. This fan wheel had been installed 2 years before
to improve efficiency and moderately increase fan capacity. Previous fan wheels of the
old design had lasted over 5 years before replacement was necessary. A Root Cause
Analysis was launched to determine the problem and how to prevent its recurrence.

Before launching a formal RCA the plant had already answered the most fundamental
question. Is it worth it? Cost to replace the fan wheel was $215K and the lost production
earnings were valued at $500K. So with an earnings impact of over $700K it was
definitely worth spending $20K on a formal RCA.

As in all root cause investigations, personnel actually involved in the operation,

cleaning, replacement, and purchase of the old and new fan wheels were interviewed.
The worn out new fan wheel was also carefully inspected.

Background Information

The Old fan wheels lasted 5-6 years handling gas at the same temperature
Dust load in the gas stream appeared unchanged
The Old fan wheel was a radial tip blade design, new is backward curved blade
design.
Hard scale build-up occurred on the leading surface of the fan blades. This type of
scale build-up is a common industry problem. It is caused by sulphates and other
compounds that are begin to condense and become sticky at the 715F gas
temperature. This scale build-up can reach over 1/2in. thick. When a large enough
piece breaks off the fan becomes imbalanced and must eventually be shut down for
cleaning.
No coatings or finishes to prevent build-up had been successful in years past.
Lowering the gas temperature to minimize stickiness was impossible for process
reasons.
Raw mix sulfur was not easily controlled in the quarry and sometimes exceeded
targets.
The new fan wheel requires cleaning about as frequently as the old fan wheels (every
2-3 months). Most of the hard scale build-up was found on the leading face of the
blades.
Cleaning was done by sandblasting.
Root Cause Analysis of Portland Cement Kiln ID Fan

Physical Inspection

Wear on the new fan wheel appeared to be most severe on the concave (trailing) side
of the blades near the heel of the blade (inlet end of the blade)

Root Cause Hypotheses

Discussions yielded several hypotheses. A logic diagram was built to aid in

communication and tracking the search for evidence to confirm or disprove each
hypothesis.
Root Cause Analysis of Portland Cement Kiln ID Fan

Hypotheses Evidence Checks - Another Hypothesis

Surprisingly, there was no evidence found to support any of the initial hypotheses the
team had come up with. Further discussions centered on the observation that most of
the wear appeared to be on the trailing surface of the blades near the inlet. From this
another hypothesis emerged. Testing confirmed the hypothesis was plausible but was
not conclusive.
Root Cause Analysis of Portland Cement Kiln ID Fan

Probable Root Cause

It was concluded that the excessive wear had likely been caused by blast cleaning the
fan wheel. This finding was completely unexpected at the beginning of the
investigation. Recommendations were directed at controlling the root cause of blast
cleaning.

Recommendations

Improve raw mix sulfur control. Though difficult to do, a selective mining plan was
instituted aiming to stabilize sulfur in the feed pile. Retraining in the lab heightened the
attention placed on maintaining raw mix sulfur below target. These efforts proved
extremely effective and were able to double or triple the operating time.

Redesign the fan to be more resistant to imbalance. A significantly larger shaft could
not be fitted due to bearing constraints so an automatic fan balancer was purchased.
This device adjusts the fan balance during operation and has proven very effective
when raw mix control fails.