CASE STUDY 2: INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY
Our client operates a lime kiln and requires advance warning of any potential failures as part of its preventative maintenance program. Also required is accurate data to determine the maximum safe run-time for the kiln once we have identified particular failure points, before shut-down is no longer optional and becomes mandatory.
The challenge
The client operates a lime kiln and requires advance warning of any potential failures, as part of its preventative maintenance program. The client also requires accurate data to determine the maximum safe run-time for the kiln once we have identified particular failure points, before shut-down is no longer optional and becomes mandatory.
It is costly to stop operations to repair each and every potential failure point immediately upon detection. Good business practices require that our client extracts the most productive run-time from the lining.
Thermography is an ideal tool to monitor and evaluate the rate of deterioration, making it an essential factor influencing management decisions.
The relevant heat transfer rates of the lining material and the shell thickness are calculated using industry-developed formulae, enabling our client to plan a suitable shutdown phase to rectify the failure points.
The solution
The first image illustrates a potential failure point recorded on the shell of the kiln. This was the last image recorded in a series of images prior to it being considered mandatory to stop for repairs.
The dark orange area on the image indicates build-up of the material in the kiln, which influences the quality of the end product. Such build-ups are monitored to determine the most cost-effective point to shut down the process for maintenance, always analysing the cost of the process interruption against the quality of the material at any given time.
The second image was recorded after a planned shut-down to repair the failure point. It is imperative to schedule a scan of the reconditioned kiln as soon as it reaches operational temperature, as this would form the first image of the kiln baseline, which is then monitored over time and measured against the primary scan.