Key PMR’s

Lead wire test

Procedure

1. PURPOSE
The lead wire test shows the contact pattern between tires and supporting rollers on
a kiln, provided all rolling surfaces are not deformed. On its own, it does not
indicate the actual thrust the roller is giving to the kiln. However, strong skewing on
a roller has to be avoided, since this would concentrate the forces on a narrow
portion of the roller, increasing therefore the pressure and leading to surface
damages.
This inspection has to be combined with other methods (e.g. thrust collar inspection,
visual evaluation of the traces on the rolling surface of rollers and tires) in order to
assess the need to adjust any roller

2. SAFETY
This inspection is carried out with the kiln running! Pay close attention to the
moving parts (shell, tires, rollers) to avoid hits/pinches and burns.

Wear all required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) according to local

regulations. This may include, but it is not limited to: hardhat, safety shoes, safety
glasses, earplugs, gloves, long sleeved shirt or protective clothing.

3. RESULTS AND ACCEPTABLE VALUES

The result from this measurement is recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. Both the
shape and the extent of the flattening of the lead wires will provide useful
information.

Figure #1 depicts a flattened lead wire and the terms used for the evaluation of
results.

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Figure #1. Lead wire evaluation terminology.
W1…10: width of lead wire section. Measured in mm.
b: tire width + 200 mm
WD: width of the right section of the wire
WL: width of the left section of the wire
Note: average value for (A, B, C) refers to the average of three readings made per
roller. The three evenly spaced positions around the kiln cirumference (i.e.
displaced by 120°) are named A, B and C.

The following are the key values to be looked at:

A
C

Figure #2. Recommended variation among results from right roller and
left roller on a given kiln station.

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Figure #3. Recommended value on the width of one half of the lead wire
vs. the average.

From a qualitative point of view, Figure #4 shows possible results and

their interpretation:

Figure #4. Visual evaluation of the flattened lead wires.

As discussed under the Key PMR ‘Kiln roller bearing thrust collar-Visual
inspection’, the support rollers shall not push the kiln down. On the lead
wire test, if for a given station one of the rollers pushes the kiln down but
the other one up, the results would show this opposite effect (see Figure
#5 below).

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 It is thus critical that, when plotting the results, references are kept (see
detailed step by step procedure) in order not to mistake the readings!

Figure #5. Proper relation among results from the two rollers on the same
kiln station.

4. FREQUENCY OF REALIZATION

The lead wire inspection should be performed every 6 months on a preventive

manner, together with a thrust collar visual inspection. The lead wire test should be
performed whenever there are hot bearing problems on a roller station or as part of
any roller adjustment.

5. STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE

5.1 Tools:

Calibrated Lead Wire, ∅ 3 to 4 mm

(Cotton) string, ∅ 1 a 1.5 mm and 1.5m per lead wire
Mechanical or universal pliers
Tools to remove eventual obstacles (e.g. heat shields on roller station bearings)
Marker (Paint, Chalk)
Straight edge

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 Filler gauges
Steel marker or carton identification tags
Pen or pencil
Cardboard piece of 1 x 0.5 m
Assessment sheets (see annex)

5.2 Steps:

1. Get the width of the kiln tires (preferably measure them since drawings may not be
up to date).
Prepare 6 lead wires per roller station, each lead wire should measure 200 mm
more than the kiln tire width.
In case 100% lead wire is not available, use of a soldering material 50% Pb 50%
Sn is possible, but do not use soldering wire with a flux core.

2. Attach a label to each lead wire (see Figure #6)

A1 R DE Label for the lead wire

A Point A Cotton
1 Tire 1 string for
R Right roller safety
DE Discharge End

Figure #6. Label to be attached to lead wire

3. Mark the kiln shell using chalk or paint on both sides of all kiln tires on 3 spots 120°
apart on the circumference (See Figure #7)
The markings have to be aligned between themselves and identified with the
letters A, B and C.
The letters have also to be aligned along the kiln (i.e. point A must fall on the same
straight line on all kiln stations; see Figure #8)

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 A

Lead Wire

Lead Wire

Figure #7. Marking to be done on the kiln shell

A
B
A
B
A

Figure #8. Marking (A, B, C) must be co-linear along the whole kiln

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 Note: Use a reference point, such as a manhole, as position 0°
Do not mark the kiln tires, on most kilns they run at different speeds.
It is recommended to place permanent marks, for example by welding steel
indication plates on the shell that are readily visible.

4. If necessary, remove obstacles that hinder access for introducing lead wires
between kiln tires and rollers.
(Be careful! It may be dangerous work!)
The string at the ends of the lead wire increases safety, since it is not needed to
get too close to the pinch point. Be careful not to use a steel wire, since this will
mark tire and/or roller if the wire passes through the pinch point. Copper wire can
be used for this purpose. (Refer to Figure #6)
This cord should be long enough (at least 1 meter) to allow executing the test from
each side of the bearing housing.
5. Oil the lead wire for easy removal from the tire.
6. Two persons are required, one on each side of the roller, holding the wire by the
strings. A third person must keep watch for the marks and let the ones holding the
wire know, when the mark is on the pinch point. At this precise moment, the two
persons must slide simultaneously the wire through the pinch point; the person on
the inner side of the roller should let go of the string, while the other person
retrieves the wire from the tire (without breaking the wire!)
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for points B and C and repeat the procedure on the other
roller on the same station. At the end, there should be 6 wires for each roller
station.

Note: Apply more oil to the wire if it tends to stick to the tire.

8. Repeat steps 5 to 7 on the remaining roller stations.

9. Take the cardboard piece and prepare a template for measuring the flattened lead
wire as follows:

• Represent the tire width drawing two parallel vertical lines at a scale of 1:1. Join
these two lines with another line perpendicular to them.
• Divide the space between them in half, drawing another line parallel to the first two,
naming it centerline (CL)
• Divide the two spaces into 6 equal parts by drawing 5 additional parallel but shorter
lines.
• Name them from left to right 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for the space on the left of the
centerline, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 for the right side (Figure #9)

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 Figure #9. Template for lead wire measurement

• Do not put any numbers either on the two outside lines or on the centerline! They
act as demarcation and hold no data.

10. Place one wire at a time over the template, on top of the horizontal line joining the
two outermost vertical lines (tire width).
11. The flattened ends of the wire must be aligned with the two lines that represent the
tire width.
12. Be careful that the end of the wires marked as ‘kiln inlet side’ coincide with the
same side marked on the template.
13. The inlet side is marked “FE”, the discharge side “DE”.
14. Measure the apparent widths of the wire sections just above the spots where they
are being crossed by each of the lines marked 1 - 10.
15. Place the values found into the corresponding squares on the data sheet, rounded
to the next entire millimeter (fill in the individual values in the lines w1-w10 for the
points A, B and C for each rollers).The excel sheet is calculating the average
values of the wire, the average value per side of the roller and the difference
between the two sides (see Figure #10 and the attached Excel sheet). The red
color indicates an abnormal situation that must be immediately further investigated.
The yellow points at readings that require follow-up and the green ones do not
demand any other action.

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 Values to be
manually
filled in

Strong skewing on
Left roller: verify
again roller bearing
temperature, oil
condition, roller
surface for damages
and review
equipment history
for previous
damages/problems

Figure #10. Excel spreadsheet for plotting of results

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 "Kiln Roller
Adjustement rev3.xls

6. OTHER ADVICE

Be careful not to confuse the information between marks A, B and C and make sure
the data is entered for the correct roller, L = left, R = right.

It is advisable to always have the same people carrying out these inspections, in
order to obtain experience and to become familiar with the particularities of the kiln.

Take into consideration results from other tests before deciding on a roller
adjustment.

The attached format encompasses other inspections, such as thrust collar

inspection, that will provide additional information to assess kiln roller position.

Perform a roller and tire rectilinearity measurement together with the lead wire test
(see respective Key PMR Procedure).

7. CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IN CASE OF DEVIATIONS

If the lead wire results show a strong skewing on one roller, the actual thrust at all
rollers must be considered before attempting a roller adjustment.

Unless problems such as roller/tire spalling are experienced (or already known), a
strong skewing does not need to be corrected immediately. It is recommended to
do a closer follow-up (i.e. a repeated lead wire test) and to coordinate such an
adjustment after a kiln alignment (hot or cold) is performed; the other scenario that
could prompt for a correction on the skewing would be problems with the axial
migration of the kiln (i.e. kiln goes up and comes down in a matter of 6 to 8 hours or
the roller is pushing the kiln downwards).

A training presentation on roller adjustment is available on HolSpace under the link:

https://web.holcim.com/livelink_815/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/3413/24748/261585/262
187/262296/464350/kiln_Roller_Adjustment_E_rev2.pdf?nodeid=316972&vernum=
0

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