NEWSROOM

How to deal with cracks in the rotary kiln shell

2019-03-06 | Editor:

As a large steel casting production base in the north of Henan Province, CHAENG (Xinxiang Great
Wall Steel Casting) can provide rotary kiln shells, rotary kiln support rollers, kiln tyre, vertical mill
grinding roller & table, ball mill girth gears, etc. CHAENG has rich experience of cooperation with
many cement manufacturing companies, today let’s talk about how the cement plant to prevent
the cracks of rotary kiln shell.

1. Preventive measures for longitudinal cracks

The main causes of longitudinal cracks in the rotary kiln shell are caused by insufficient rigidity of
the shell, large temperature stress and additional stress. Therefore, in the design and manufacture
process of the rotary kiln, the thickness of the cylinder shell should be appropriately increased.
According to the relevant information, the thickness of the kiln shell under the tyre should not be
less than 1.5% of the nominal diameter of the cylinder. The thickness of the stopper of the floating
pad should not be greater than 50% of the thickness of the cylinder, and the width of the stopper
should not be greater than 200mm, to reduce the additional stress and temperature stress caused
by uneven deformation of the cylinder because of the support reaction force. The area of the pad
should not be lower than 60% of the internal control surface area of the tyre, and the height of the
weld of the stopper and the cylinder should be controlled at about 60% of the thickness of the
stopper. And there shall be no defects such as undercuts to avoid local stress concentration and
damage on cylinder.
In the installation process, not only the cold state accuracy should be considered, but also the hot
state accuracy during operation. Predict the operating temperature of the tyre at each gear,
calculate the amount of center rise in the hot state of each gear, and make installation
adjustment, to make the force on the rotary kiln at each gear in the long-term operation is close to
the design level, avoiding excessive cracking due to the increase of the center of a certain gear; in
the production and maintenance, protect the kiln skin and the refractory brick, to prevent the
cylinder from the large axial and axial temperature difference which will cause the cylinder to
bend, and result in the additional stress because of limited expansion and contraction of local
cylinder. When the rotary kiln is faulty, such as the watt heat, it must not be unloaded regardless
of the cause, causing the cylinder to deviate from the center line. It is also impossible to cool the
cylinder sharply when the red kiln or cylinder temperature is too high.

2. Preventive measures for circumferential cracks

In order to prevent the circumferential crack, the thickness of the cylinder should be fully
considered in the design and manufacture. The thickness of the transition cylinder should be close
to the average of the thickness of the lower cylinder and the thickness of the intermediate cylinder
to facilitate the smooth deformation, and the stress is easy to spread and reduce the stress
concentration. The key to prevent the crack at the weld between the cylinder and the spring plate
of the large ring gear is to ensure that the rigidity of the cylinder is greater than the stiffness of the
spring plate. The thickness of the cylinder under the large ring gear should not be lower than the
1% of the nominal diameter, the thickness of the spring plate should be about 60% of the
thickness of the cylinder, which is beneficial to digest the external force through the deformation
of the spring plate, to alleviate the damage of the external force to the weld; in the production
and maintenance, we must also ensure the longitudinal temperature of the cylinder The
circumferential temperature difference is less than 50 °C, which reduces the additional bending
stress and temperature difference stress. 

3. Prevention of cracks in the transition zone of rotary kiln

The main reason of cracks on the transition zone is that the cylinder is thinned by the corrosion of
alkaline gas and alkaline materials in the kiln. Therefore, we must first consider the isolation of
alkaline materials from the metal cylinder to reduce corrosion. There are several aspects of the
measures. First, the high-temperature anti-corrosion coating can be painted on the inner surface
of the cylinder; the second is to grout the wet refractory brick to eliminate the brick joint and
isolate the alkaline material from the metal cylinder to prevent or relieve stress and chemical
corrosion and prolong the life of the cylinder. It is also possible to extend the life of the cylinder by
increasing the thickness of the cylinder (e.g., increasing the thickness of the cylinder to 0.7% of the
nominal diameter of the cylinder).

4. Other preventive measures for cracks in the cylinder

Such as protecting the kiln skin, protecting the refractory brick, preventing the temperature of the
cylinder from being uneven or too high, ensuring the mechanical properties of the cylinder
material, ensuring the straightness of the cylinder under the operating condition, and reducing the
additional load; the normal control of the speed of the kiln body up and down is strictly
prohibited. Accelerate the top kiln; prevent the large and small gears from biting the roots,
increase the radial top force, and so on. If there is crack in the kiln cylinder, the crack should be
stopped in time and effectively welded to prevent the crack from extending. At the same time, the
welding position should be selected at 45° on the horizontal centerline, because the lateral stress
is zero here; The crack of the cylinder is detected. If the cylinder has been corroded and the
corrosion amount has reached about 30%, it is necessary to replace the cylinder to prepare,
otherwise it will cause a big accident.

It is recommended to check the centerline and the thickness of the rotary kiln, and reduce the
additional load of the cylinder, to prolong the life of the rotary kiln. 

If you need to replace you rotary kiln shell, contact CHAENG! CHAENG has strong casting and
machining capabilities, and large annual output. We strictly follows the level-2 national inspection
standard and implements 360° non-destructive testing system to ensure the quality of steel
castings. CHAENG has close cooperation with many companies of various industries, supplying
them with spare parts with good performance to improve the practical effect of the equipment
and extend the service life of the equipment.