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Thermal analysis of the rotary kiln through FEA

Conference Paper · May 2013

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 Thermal analysis of the rotary kiln through FEA
SUSANA ARAD
Computer, Informatics and Electrical Engineering Department
University of Petrosani
332006 Petrosani, 20 Universitatii str.
ROMANIA
susanaarad@yahoo.com, http://www.upet.ro

Abstract: - This paper aims at analyzing numerical heat transfer in kiln clinker production in cement factory
Deva, important processing equipment in the cement production. The importance of knowing this process aims
to rationalize the consumption of raw materials and energy but also to get high standard finished products. We
used QuickField software package Version 5.10.1 for analysis of thermal problems in a rotary kiln to obtain an
optimal and efficient sinterization process. In this study, our objectives are to predict the temperatures in the
inner surface/refractory and inner surface of bed before any variations in process parameters, to decrease the
errors arisen from the operators, to increase the efficiency and finally decrease the process cost also the
variation of inside temperature with flame temperature.

Key-Words: - FEA, modelling, heat transfer, rotary kiln, efficient operation, clinker.

1 Introduction impact on the environment which is why a lot of

Today, Portland cement is the most widely used investment projects headed in this direction.
building material in the world with about 1.56 Process automation and information technology
billion tones (1.72 billion tons) produced each year are industrial areas which offer the biggest and most
(Cement Association of Canada, 2001). Global satisfying challenges in terms of combining
economic situation sets more and more challenges traditional engineering skills with technological
to cement manufacturers both in our country and innovation [4].
globally. Although the cement market in Romania The demands on cement industry in relation to
has reached a high level with annual an increase up productivity, quality and price, means an ever
to 30%, the end of 2012 was faced with stagnation increasing need to improve the quality products, to
or at most an increase of 1-2% and in 2013 most productivity increase improvement of products
likely cement market will record a standstill, quality, modernization of the technological flow and
because of demand, but also due to rising prices. It environmental quality.
must be noted that the need to maintain producers
on the market is due to more and more discipline
regarding costs and optimizing them according tp 2 State of Art
technological efficiency and rationalization of raw Portland cement clinker is produced from a mixture
materials and energy (Carpatcement Holding, 2013) of raw materials containing calcium, silicon,
The main cement producers on the Romanian aluminum, and iron as the main elements. The
market are: Carpatcement (Bicaz factories, Fieni mixture is heated in kilns that are long rotating steel
and Deva), Lafarge (Medgidia Hoghiz and Targu cylinders on an incline. The feed of a typical cement
Jiu) and Holcim (Turda and Alesd). Carpatcement kiln consists of limestone and other, mainly oxide
Holding hope for a rearrangement of the and silicate based material, which typically contain
macroeconomic situation of the country starting this calcium, magnesium and iron. The process goes
year and also for a market that depends on several through the raw material grinding, blending,
conditions so that construction work can be started precalcining, calcining (clinker formation), cooling
earlier than in 2012 (Carpatcement Holding, 2013). and grinding of final product. In the preheating
The cement industry is actively engaged and system, the raw material goes through preliminary
committed to sustainable development—a steps, where the calcination of CaCO3 and formation
philosophy that focuses on meeting our construction of calcium oxide takes place.
needs today without depleting future resources. The material is fed from the top of the cyclone
Cement industry production process has a big and move downward in counter stream with gas
resulting from the combustion process that flows monitoring using integrated systems there are many
through cyclone separator from lower levels to objectives which can do the efficiency growth.
higher ones. Flow chart of clinker production is Using the PLCs and expert systems has been
shown in Fig. 1, [12]. In this way the gas are cooling brought forward to the board of the company,
as raw material preheating and start the process of managing to deploy an expert system. Thus the
calcinations. Raw material in suspension separates technological process is carried out from the
the gas in each gear shift and gas reunited in the command room using the visualisation system ECS-
descent step. This process are repeating (separation - Ntech and the PLCs Allen Bradley (kiln and cooler)
mixing) every step of unloading mix material and Siemens [12]. Through this system the attendant
exchanger to ensure good furnace heat transfer. can overlook the performance of the technological
The calcination (transforming of raw material process using the computer network. [1]
into clinker, the intermediate product used to Correct measurement of the temperature on a
produce cement) occurs in rotary kiln according to kiln shell is essential for efficient operation of the
the four zones: calcination area, transition zone, kiln. ECS/CemScanner represents the state-of-the-
clinkering zone and cooling zone. The kiln art in kiln shell infrared scanning. The thermal
temperature needed for this process is about 1450 C detailed image and real-time monitoring of the ring
and flame temperature of approximately 2000 C. [5] formations in the kiln are set up. If obstacles prevent
The rotary kiln is divided into successive control the scanner from viewing parts of the kiln shell, up
volumes or cells [6]. The volume elements of the to 8 infrared pyrometers can be installed to measure
bed and the gas in the cells are described as open temperatures in these specific areas. [12] To obtain
thermochemical systems, which transforms heat and an optimal and efficient sinterization process both in
mass with each other. terms of economy of materials and to obtain quality
products, besides all the monitoring and control of
rotary kiln temperatures we performed a thermal
analysis using software QuickField.

3. Background
The finite element method FEM is used to solve
complex engineering problem [2]. Engineers who
need to model electromagnetic or thermal fields
frequently turn to finite-element analysis (FEA), a
numerical technique for solving field problems of
all kinds [9]. The first step in finite-element analysis
is to divide the analyzed configuration into small
homogeneous elements. The model contains
information about the device geometry, material
constants, loads and boundary constraints [3]. In
each finite element, a linear variation of the field
quantity is assumed. The corners of the elements are
called nodes. The goal is to determine the field
quantities at the nodes. The Finite-Element Analysis
technique solves the unknown field quantities by
minimizing energy functional. The energy
Fig. 1. Clinker production flow chart [12] functional is an expression describing all the energy
associated with the configuration being analyzed.
The clinker leaving the kiln enters the cooler QickField is a finite element analysis software
rack which has two functions: to recover a larger package, a slick FEA for solving two or three
amount of energy from the hot clinker to be used in dimensional field problems. From studies and
the process and to reduce the clinker temperature to evaluations conducted by a team of developers it is
the right level for its later semi fabricated use for estimated that QuickField is easy and suitable for
cement production. this problem. [11]
Although there is a quite high level of Compared to other FEA programs, QuickField
automation and the control of installations for each has two main facilities: exceptional user-friendliness
stage of cement production from Deva Factory and and blinding speed. The program has a typical
Windows interface, drop-down menus, and
extensive help facility, and is equipped with many
sample programs [11]. While the user has to
understand something about the physics of the
problem to successfully carry out a simulation, the
mechanics themselves are straightforward. Even on
a slow PC, users can construct and run models with
tens of thousands of nodes, which make it practical
to solve very complex models on modest platforms.
The program itself is small, a few megabytes with
various required files.
Heat-transfer equation for linear problems in
rotary kiln is represented by the differential
mathematical model of the thermal conduction [11]: Fig. 2 Heat transfer mechanisms from the kiln
∂T
div(λgradT ) + q − ρc =0 • Convection (from gas to bed and inner wall and
∂t , (1) outer wall to surroundings)
∂  ∂T  ∂  ∂T  ∂T • Conduction (between bed and inner wall and
 λx  +  λ y  = −q − cρ
∂x  ∂x  ∂y  ∂y  ∂t inner and outer wall)
(2) • Radiation (main heat transfer mechanism).
where: T –scalar temperature T; t - time; λx (y,r,z) - A typical operational case of the kiln is modeled
components of heat conductivity tensor; λ (T) - heat to show the process inside the kiln and the
conductivity as a function of temperature capability of the process modeling. The kiln is
approximated by cubic spline (anisotropy is not fuelled by natural gas, liquid fuel and coal and solid
supported in nonlinear case); q (T) - volume power alternative fuel or fuel combination. The
of heat sources, in linear case - constant, in combustion air is provided, which works out to
nonlinear case - function of temperature about 15% excess air. 80% of the total combustion
approximated by cubic spline; c (T) - specific heat, air is secondary air, and the rest goes into the kiln
in nonlinear case - function of temperature through the gas burner.
approximated by cubic spline and ρ - density of the The model developed was for a rotary kiln of 5.8
substance. m in diameter on a vertical cross section with 0.58
cm diameter. As mentioned previously the model
takes into account convection, radiation and
4. Modelling of heat transfer with FEA conduction from combustion and from the hot gas.
The clinker production process involves heat and A combustion profile is incorporated into the model
mass transfer between the kiln, fuel, primary and to simulate the non instantaneous combustion
secondary air, drying of raw material mix call flour, process. The parameters of rotary kiln from Deva
and calcining of CaCO3 [6]. It is important to have a Factory are: diameter of 5.8 m, length of 97 m,
comprehensive understanding of these processes in production capacities Q = 3000 t/ day, the main
order to: diagnose operational problems, improve driving power, P = 500 kW with rotation speed, n =
energy consumption, increase production, reduce 750 rot/ min, second driving P = 500 kW with n =
emissions, increase refractory life, improve the 750 rot/ min and an angle from horizontal position
product quality and optimize kiln operations. of 3 %.
The given computer model of thermal processes,
allows to calculate temperatures pattern both at a
surface and inside a body [10]. The model allows to 4.1. Model formulation
perform calculation heat transfer of a multy-layer The first stage of Finite Element Analysis is
ring structure of a body with a granular mixture - problem description that includes: edit problem
clinker, roasted inside it (Fig. 2). [7] The kiln body description options, as well as material properties,
is coated with refractory brick and is analysing like field sources and boundary conditions. Our problem
a multy-layer body: shell, chamotte, air inside and is a steady-state heat transfer, linear with
clinker. There are three different heat transfer axisymmetric model class. In our linear problem all
mechanisms in the rotary kiln, Fig. 2 [7]. the parameters are constant within each block of the
model.
 The model is described through a multi layered source is concentrated and defined by a block unlike
with different properties model, that is the outside the second option with four blocks in which the heat
layer is formed of 2 layers and the inside of the kiln source is defined by a labeled vertex with boundary
contains the gas, clinker and heat source. The condition and source specified through temperature
geometric model is composed of blocks with value T = 2000K.
different properties, in this case, it was assigned 4 Edge label with boundary condition specified for
blocks with material properties specified (air, two scenarious are shown in Table 2.
chamotte, clinker, steel shell), Table 1. In each
block the material properties was specified (thermal
conductivity λ and volume power of Heat souces Q).
The model geometry was described by create
vertex label with source specified (burner flame Q)
and edge label with boundary condition specified
that form boundaries of all subregions having
different physical properties. We created two
geometrical models.

Table 1. Material properties in each blocks

Block Label Thermal conductivity
λ1 (W/K.m) λ2 (W/K.m)
air 11 11 Fig. 3 Geometrical model and the mesh
chamotte 0.165 0.165
clinker 1.2 0.1225 Table 2. Boundary conditions applied
steel shell 22 22 Edge Labels Temperature Temperature
T1(K) T2(K)
Applied mesh is shown in Figure 3 and the field Outer 293 293
values at the nodes have been calculated. Inner 0 0
Finite Element analysis is based on discretization Bed surface 1450 1000
of the area into the number of simple shapes, in case
of QuickField – triangles. Accuracy of the results Because thermal conductivity function of
highly depends upon the finite element mesh density temperature in nonliner case, we have carried out
and quality. Moreover, in complicated cases two scenarios considering the conductivity
problem solution on the non-adequate meshes may variation, λ = λ(T) of clinker and results are shown
not converge. That’s why the mesh generation is in Fig. 4 for λ1 and in Fig. 5 for λ2.
one of the most important operations in all practical
FEA applications. QuickField Model Editor is
equipped with very efficient mesh generators. But
sometimes, then the geometry was really complex,
smooth mesh generation required many manual
adjustments. Improved mesh building algorithms of
this version 5.10 assure automatic generation of the
smooth meshes even in the most complicated cases,
which allows good results of the model.
We have built the mesh in all blocks
participating in field calculation. Flame positioning
for example can be predicted in multi-dimensional
models rather than used as an input. In one of the
models the flame position is concentrated in the
center of the section and in a point of the upper half Fig 4 Temperature distribution for λ1
of the section in other model, Fig. 3. Each model
was individually tested and where appropriate, was The energy to raise the temperature and drive
compared to experimental results. endothermic reactions is from the combustion of a
The first option has been created with a range of fuels such as natural gas, coal and more
digitization network of 5 blocks in which the heat and more alternative fuels.
 kiln. The temperature profile at inside the kiln
follows a parabolic function [7].

Fig. 5. Temperature distribution for λ2

Fig. 7. Temperature distribution for λ2, T2=1000

4.2 Temperature distribution inside
The feasibility of simulating heat transfer 2D using
a common, finite element modeling package 4.3 Results
QuickField was tested. The aim was to recreate well To analyze the results obtained on the contour
known, but difficult to simulate, interactions defined in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 at temperatures T1 and
between thermal transfers in multy layer structure. T2 we have performed parametric analyzer with
For the test application, QuickField was chosen LabelMover. We have specified the values which
for the following reasons: the Heat Transfer module we want to optimize and start optimization process
is used to analyze the temperature distribution in for some physical quantities.
static and transient heat transfer processes; nonlinear We have calculated with Harmonics Browse the
or anisotropic properties; boundary temperature and plot for temperature values and amplitudes for the
heat fluxes and boundary conditions with two boundary conditions, T1 and T2. Harmonic and
convective/radiative terms. linear approximation of the temperature variation
Temperature distribution T, in vertical section (K) on contour inside the kiln (m) that corresponds
and vectors of Heat flux F are presented in Fig.5 at the whole period, are shown in Fig. 8. The plot of
when it was chosen a temperature inside about temperatures approximation for the value of λ1
1450C for surface of bed. without conditions imposed for the temperature of
The contour definite for calculus of quantities clinker bed surface, only temperature source, like
value is shown in Fig 6 and also isotherms. T= 2000K, has been raised.
Temperature
1732.7

1688.5

1644.4
Linear approximation
Harmonic approximation
Fig. 8.Plot for temperature approximation

This add-in allows us to calculate and view

Fig. 6. Temperature distribution for λ2, T1 =1450 harmonics (that is, phases and amplitudes for
Fourier series) for any displayed quantity related to
The same contour was chosen for temperature of T the currently selected contour.
= 1000K and quantities value has been collated, Fig The graph of temperature variation, obtained
7. We have applied two values on the boundary from model described has been presented in Fig. 9.
conditions for the temperature inside the kiln on the We stopped at the results that are comparable with
clinker surface T1 and T2. The combustion to the the results achieved from measurements. The
fuel is assumed to occur at a point two meters into following results are retrieved: temperature, heat
the kiln and is complete at a point 32 m into the flow, thermal gradients, and total heat loss on any
 given part and other whole inner surface of source can be changed to accommodate longer less
quantities for clinker bed. intense flames. To maximize refractory life, it is
essential to avoid flame impingement on the
refractory lining. Therefore it is recommended to
positioning burner system in order to avoid possible
refractory failure in that region. Engineers can use
the software to diagnose equipment problems.

References:
[1] Arad, S, Arad, V., Heat transfer in rotary kiln
from Deva cement factory. Papers SGEM2012/
Proceedings, ISSN 1314-2704, Vol. 2, 2012, pp
373 – 380;
[2] Bargallo, R., Finite Elements for Electrical
Fig. 9. Temperature variation on bed surface Engineering, EUETIB-UPC, 2006;
[3] Kenneth R. Foster, Quick and easy field
Data achieved from a full-scale cement kiln at analysis, IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 36, Number 12;
Deva factory are comparable to results achieved [4] Marcu, M., UŃu, I., Popescu, F., Pana, L.
with the software used. The best approximation is Simulation Software for Static Switch
achieved on the clinker surface when the Controllers. Annals of University of Petrosani,
temperature of the heat source is taken from the Electrical Engineering, Vol 9, pp 153-159,
pyrometer inside the rotary kiln like in Fig. 10. Petrosani, 2007.
[5] Penttilä, K. A Simulation Model of TiO2-
calcination Kiln. M.Sc. thesis, Helsinki
University of Technology, Faculty of Process
Engineering and Materials Science, 1996.
[6] Tscheng, S. and Watkinson, A. Convective Heat
Transfer in a Rotary Kiln. Can. J. Chem. Eng.,
57, pp. 433–443, 1979
[7] Palmer, G., Howes, T. Heat transfer in rotary
kilns, Cement Industry Federation Technical
Conference 1998,
[8] Petrilean, D.C., Mathematical Model for the
Determination of the Non-Stationary Coefficient
of Heat Transfer in Mine Works, RECENT
ADVANCES IN MATHEMATICS (ASM '13),
Published by WSEAS Press, pp 124-130, 2013
Fig. 10 Data from pyrometer measurements [9] Powell, S., Finite element modelling of
inside the kiln magnetostatics for magnetron sputter sources.
"CAD for Electromagnetic Devices", seminar, 2
November 2006, Rolls Royce plc, UK
5. Conclusions [10] Zerafat Angiz, F., Amanifard, N., Haghi, A. K
The validation of any model is extremely A Numerical Study on Thermal Drying of Moist
importance for the effective use of the model as a Porous Solid, Proceedings of the 5th
design tool. Validation to heat transfer has been IASME/WSEAS INT. CONFERENCE ON
done using full scale kilns at Deva cement factory. HEAT TRANSFER, THERMAL
In further development of the model the aim is to ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENT,
incorporate not only thermal profiles for the rotary Athens, Greece, 2007
section of dry process kilns but the effect of chain [11] QuickField 5.10 User's Guide Tera Analysis
systems in long wet kilns including dust entrainment Ltd.
through the chains. [12] CARPATCEMENT HOLDING- DEVA
We see significant temperature increase close to Factory, Dispatcher Report on ECS-
flame of burner (e.g. T = 1810K). However, the heat NTech software, 2012

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