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Question: What is the effect of sand firing on preheater fan impeller in cement industry?

(Posted by: sambasivarao_katari on 2008-06-28 14:14:40)

I am working in cement company and we are facing pre- heater fan vibration problems due to coating. is there any specific methods to remove the coating while running of the plant? what is your opinion of putting some sand or clinker dust in preheater down commer to wash the coating on immpeller? i am requesting the cement personals to reply for this.

Posted by: Dave D on 2008-06-28, 15:11:36

Rather than attempt to remove the coating, why not just install a dynamic balancing system? This is a weight and a servo that automatically moves to balance the fan as uneven coatings unbalance it. It has a vibration sensor so it knows where to move the weight. Schmitt Industries makes such a system. If you were to put clinker dust upstream of the fan, that would just make the problem worse. For one thing it would goober the bearing seals, and for another it would remove the coating in an uneven manner, exacerbating the problem. On humid days, it might even add to the coating rather than subtracting from it.

Posted by: Poor one on 2008-06-28, 20:53:20

There is no way to remove the build up on the preheater fan while it is running. It built up unbalanced, you could actually make it worse. I have witnessed a plant that ignored vibration warnings and broke the motor shaft (3,000HP). They wished they had shut down. Get the cleaning company in place, shut it down and take the hit on down time. If you trend the vibration, you may find you can plan your fan cleaning around planned stops next time.