GLOBAL CEMENT: WEAR PROTECTION

Alain Michel & Benoît Bouquin, Welding Alloys Group

The Smart Welding Concept

Vertical roller mills (VRM) have been a preferred method of grinding raw materials in the
cement industry for many years and are one of the most cost-effective pieces of grinding
equipment. All types of VRM rely heavily on the wear components to produce the highest
throughput at the lowest possible cost. Welding Alloys Group has been actively involved
in the cement industry for more than 30 years. By working closely with original equipment
manufacturers, cement plant operators, its has become familiar with the challenges of this
industry and has built up an extensive knowledge on vertical mill performance. Here it
describes its Smart Welding Concept for VRMs.

T he challenge of mill efficiency is to establish op-

timum grinding conditions with the correct level
of production throughput in the shortest possible
have tried all kinds of surface finishes to increase
the material grip the grinding components have on
the feedstock, cast surfaces still don’t offer the same
time to ensure the lowest production cost per tonne. grinding performance as welded surfaces.
By incorporating selected consumables, equipment, The phenomenon of wear is not constant across
material knowledge and know-how, Welding Alloys the width of the rolling track. The outer work area is
has been able to develop a Smart Welding Concept subjected to the greatest mineral aggression. In this
that does not just refer to welding as a practice, but area, the particles are the finest and consequently
methodically looks at mill refurbishment as a whole, greater in number per unit of volume. Furthermore,
from the initial wear audit through to the manage- due to the centrifugal effect, their speed is the high-
ment of the wear life during the cement production est in this part. Consequently this area has the most
phase ultimately increase plant availability and low- exposure to wear in VRMs. Another advantage is that
ering costs. hardfacing offers the possibility of applying different
materials with varying wear properties in different
Casting versus welding areas, to optimally adjust the grinding efficiency and
Looking at the rheological properties of the product rate of wear. This technique has been used by the
to be ground, in particular its sliding resistance be- Welding Alloys Group with great success.
fore passing between the grinding components, the
efficiency is enhanced by having welded hardfaced The Smart Welding Concept
surfaces. Contrary to cast parts, welded hardfaced sur- 1. Analysis of operating conditions: One of the first
faces are not smooth, meaning that the feedstock bed steps in improving wear life of any component is to
is conveyed more slowly as it is retained by adhesion gather information with regards to the current con-
to the rough welded surfaces, while moving under dition of the equipment, the environment in which
the grinders. it operates, the type of media being ground and the
These rough surfaces offer an advantage that is required and actual throughput. By carrying out the
often overlooked, but has fundamental importance. initial wear audit and mill inspection, groups like
The slower movement of the material passing under Welding Alloys Group can propose diagnostic as-
the grinders considerably improves grinding ef- sistance and a support service to reduce the running
ficiency. Due to this slower movement, the material cost of a VRM. This will consist of the initial wear
spends more time in the grinding zone and makes audit, identification of areas that need rectifying and
the feedstock bed more controllable. This increased offering the correct, technologically-advanced weld-
quantity of material under the grinders significantly ing consumables, technical know-how and welding
increases output and reduces the recirculation rate. techniques and equipment to reduce operating costs
The final particle size is reached quicker and more and increase reliability.
easily thanks to an autogeneous grinding effect that The aim is to reduce energy consumption per
causes the product to interact with itself because of tonne milled, while seeking higher productivity over
the formation of agglomerate that becomes more longer periods of time. VRMs are increasingly being
compact underneath the grinding components. used in the cement industry due to their energy ef-
Non-welded cast parts are subjected to abrasive ficiency. It is not unusual to find different VRMs for
wear, whereby they become extremely smooth with grinding raw material and cement on the same site
a very shiny appearance. These smooth surfaces tend and they are also used for petcoke, coal and blast-
to slip on the feedstock without achieving a proper furnace slag.
grinding mechanism. While designers and foundries

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 GLOBAL CEMENT: WEAR PROTECTION
2. Hardfacing intervals and the influence

Specific electrical consumption (kWh/t)

of Smart Welding: The smart and methodi- E1
Actual
cal management of profiles can optimise the
E0
maintenance of VRMs. The solution lies in not Optimum
EN
letting the profiles deteriorate to the point of
aggravated wear. Figure 1 shows the evolution
over time of equipment performance that is
subjected to in-service wear. 0 T1 T2 T3
Wear of components results in both lower
Time (hr)
productivity and higher energy consumption
as the amount of wear increases. Figure 1
shows that the quicker a mill can pass through
Period 1 to reach the optimum grinding phase
Optimum
Period 2, the more efficient it becomes and

Mill throughput (t/hr)

PN
longer it will operate under these optimum P0
conditions, lowering the operating cost per Actual
P1
tonne. Through proper mill management, the
grinding components are refurbished as soon
as possible after entering Period 3. This elimi- T1
0 T2 T3
nates excessive wear, increases productivity,
prevents an increase in cost per ton and re-
duces the time that service teams have to spend
on site. It has also to be noted that Period 1 may
be reduced by optimising the original table and Optimum
Mill throughput (t/hr)

roller profile. This is easily achieved by adapt- PN

ing the welding bead sequences. P0
Actual
By analysing the localised wear of the P1
grinding components it is possible to select
the appropriate welding consumable alloys
0 T1 T2 T3
that will actively contribute to combatting the Time, 1 year
phenomenon of the localised wear. This will
ensure that the grinding profiles stay close to
Optimum
Mill throughput (t/hr)

the original profile, enabling the producer to PN

maintain an optimum process that is stable P0
while functioning at a constant productivity Actual
P1
for longer periods of time. (See Figures 1 & 2).
The imperceptible effect of wear will delay the
0 T1 T2 T3 T1 T2 T3
appearance of a degraded mode of operation.
Time, 1 year
This stable operating mode must be main-
tained over longer periods of time. With this
configuration, the results are most favourable:
Mill throughput (t/hr)

PN
Higher productivity; Lower energy consump-
P0
tion; Lower cost per tonne milled.
It is important to understand how to control
and minimise wear from start-up and not to
allow aggravated and localised wear to set in. In 0 T1 T2 T3
keeping this approach, hard-facing should be Time, 1 year
carried out as soon as wear is detected (enter-
ing Period 3) rather than planning for a major
hard-facing operation or be obliged to replace ance to abrasive wear. Abrasion is a phenomenon Above top - Figure 1:
the worn parts. The Smart Welding concept offers that is specific to wear of materials (See Figure 4). It Equipment performance over
optimal performance while reducing running costs depends on the size, texture, mass, speed and angle of time due to in-service wear.
of installations. Experience from the Welding Alloys approach to the substrate of the particle, the medium
Group suggests that this objective could be achieved in which it is transported as well as temperature and Above centre - Figure 2: VRM
production rate with time.
with maintenance performed every four months (See phase (liquid, solid or gas). The consequence is a loss
Figure 3). of material on the surface of the substrate.
In order to resist abrasive wear, a ductile base body Above - Figure 3: The Welding
Alloys Group suggests that
3. Specific aspects of Smart Welding for VRM combined with finely dispersed hard particles makes
maintenance is performed
maintenance: The specific nature of hardfacing alloys it possible to increase the wear resistance of materi- every four months.
offers exceptional characteristics to increase resist- als, in this case in VRM rollers and tables. During

www.GlobalCement.com Global Cement Magazine May 2017 11

GLOBAL CEMENT: WEAR PROTECTION

Pressure Pressure Pressure constitute the key feature of

Speed performance with relation to
abrasion resistance. The pri-
Speed Speed mary Cr23C6 carbides in this
Right - Figure 4: Mechanism
case have a typical section of
of abrasive wear.
less than 50µm. These carbides
offer hardness in excess of 1000
on the Vickers hardness scale.
The harder and finer these car-
Cutting Distortion Ripping bides are, the better the wear
resistance of the material. The
principle of wear resistance
using these carbides on the
material surface is explained in
Figure 5.
Large chip
An optimal dispersion of
Hardfacing
hard carbides in a ductile ma-
Right - Figure 5: Carbides trix will result in a reduction
reduce abrasive wear. in the size of the metal shav-
ings removed by the action
Base metal
of abrasive particles. In com-
Medium chip parison, a cast metal structure
Titanium will present coarser and fewer
Hardfacing carbide carbides. By making use of the
Matrix
flux-cored arc welding process,
Chromium carbide The Welding Alloys Group
produces consumables with
Far right - Figure 6: Weld Base metal
deposit micrography (x200) for
optimised chemistry that are
(from top to bottom) Mill 100, perfectly suited to the needs of
Mill 300 and Mill 600. Small chip cement manufacturers. Figure
Chromium 6 presents diverse as-welded
Hardfacing carbide Matrix
structures for four distinct flux-
cored hardfacing wires in the
company’s product range.
Base metal
4. Alloys used in weld deposits:
The size and distribution of car-
Right - Figure 7: Comparative
bides varies from one product to another
results of weight loss of various depending on the alloying elements used.
materials tested according to Moreover, it must be noted that, depend-
Adjusted wear loss

the ASTM G 65-A test. The Mill ing on the alloying elements selected, the
600 sample for example had the
least weight loss compared to
hardness of the primary carbides varies
the other samples. It is clearly from 1350 for a chromium carbide up to
shown that resistance to 2900 for a vanadium carbide as measured
abrasion of a weld deposit is on the Vickers hardness scale.
Quenched and Cast Nihard Mill 100 Mill 300 Mill 600
much higher than non-hard-
faced materials such as Ni-Hard
tempered plate 400HB IV Industry has developed reproduc-
cast iron or 400HB treated ible and calibrated testing methods to
Substrate Filler metal
sheet metal. categorise different materials and alloys
according to their resistance to abrasive
welding, the rapid cooling rates result in the forma- wear: The wear rate index of materials
tion of very hard and fine primary carbides within the measured in the laboratory by the test method as
structure. Only welding offers this physical property. described by the ASTM G65-A test standard, rates
In comparison, for the same material grade, cast different material according to their ability to with-
parts do not produce carbide structures of such a stand fine, dry particle abrasion.
high density. The principle of the ASTM G65-A test is based
By means of welding, the high-density primary on measuring the loss of mass of a sample subjected
carbides can be introduced into a tougher and more to pure abrasion by a moving mineral compound
ductile matrix. It is mainly these primary carbides under a constant load. Figure 7 presents comparative
contained in the matrix of the weld deposit that results of weight loss of various materials tested ac-

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GLOBAL CEMENT: WEAR PROTECTION
Cumulative cost of maintenance
of grinding rollers and table in a vertical mill
1500
1500

Costs (‘000$ or ‘000€)

Euro25 per
25 €/10 3T
1000t
1400
1400

1300
1300

1200
1200

Cost (Thousands of Euros)

1100
1100

1000
1000
Conventional
Conventional replacement

Euro1.26m
900
900

1 260 000 €
solution
800 replacement solution
Right - Figure 8: Cumulative 800

cost of maintenance of grinding 700

700
Welding Alloys Standard
rollers and table in a VRM. 600
600
Euro6 per
6 €/10 3T 1000t

500
500 hardfacing solution
WA Standard Hardfacing
solution

Euro0.33m
330 000 €
400
400 Euro4 per3T1000t
~4 €/10

300
300
Smart Welding Concept
Smart-welding concept
200
200

100 0
100
0 1
1
2
2 3
3 4
4 5
5
66 7
7
Production (106T)
Production (100,000t)

Summary
cording to the ASTM G 65-A test. As can be seen,
the MILL 600 sample for example had the lowest The Smart Welding Concept reduces running costs,
weight loss. reduces handling costs, proposes a flexible and cus-
Figure 7 compares the maintenance costs between tomised maintenance solution to fit specific needs,
using the Smart Welding hardfacing solution and a reduces replacement costs, proposes environmentally
conventional solution of replacing grinding rollers. friendly solutions, ensures reliability of equipment
Literally thousands of VRM wear parts have been performance over a long period, reduces storage
successively hardfaced, some up to 15 times, without costs and optimises total cost of ownership. Welding
any damage using this approach. Alloys is also capable of repairing damaged VRMs on
This work can be carried out in-situ or in one site. All of these advantages are possible through a
of Welding Alloys Group’s fully-equipped Integra proper wear audit to analyse all aspects of the mill.
workshops strategically situated around the globe. Furthermore, even if alternative technologies such
We have components that were manufactured in as ceramic could sometimes provide better durability
the early 1990’s that are still operational today. This of roller mill components, the Smart Welding Con-
clearly indicates the efficient long-term strategy for cept offers the additional advantage of extending the
roller mill maintenance. The trend over the past few service life of profiles and reducing the operational
years has been in favour of on-site hard facing main- costs of vertical mills in the long term. Lastly, it is im-
tenance directly on the roller mill without any need portant to note that the Smart Welding solution does
for disassembling. Figure 9 illustrates in-situ welding not involve any heavy maintenance requirements and
of VRMs and supply of spare parts. thus greatly minimises the risk of accidents.

Right - Figure 9: In-situ

welding of VRMs and
supply of spare parts.

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