Powder Technology
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Experimental investigation of solid bed depth at the discharge end of rotary kilns
Eckehard Specht a,, Yi-Chun Shi a, Herrmann Woche a, Joern Knabbe b, Uwe Sprinz b
a
b
Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Universitaetsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Claudius Peters Technologies GmbH, Schanzenstrae 40, D-21614 Buxtehude, Germany
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 7 March 2009
Received in revised form 15 June 2009
Accepted 14 August 2009
Available online 6 September 2009
Keywords:
Rotary kiln
Solid depth
Solid end depth
Initial condition
Out-owing
Particle movement
a b s t r a c t
The solid bed depth at the discharge end of rotary kilns was experimentally investigated for different mass ow
rates, rotational speeds, inclination angles and materials using two lab kilns with sizes of 0.4 m (ID) 5 m (L) and
0.25 m (ID) 6.7 m (L), respectively. The solid depth at the discharge was found to be several more times higher
than the particle diameter. All parameters according to Saeman's model were combined in a newly developed
dimensionless Bed depth number designated as Bd. The lling degree of a solid bed at the discharge can be
correlated with F0 = 1.75Bd0.5 (for an inclination angle between 1 and 4). The range of the researched Bed
depth number (Bd) is suitable for all industrial kilns. These values should be used as the initial condition, which
was still unknown before, to solve the differential equation for the prole of the solid bed depth through the
cylinder.
2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.
1. Introduction
Rotary kilns are widely used in chemical industries, cement
industry, metallurgical industry, waste treatment, drying process,
incineration process etc. For process modeling and simulation the
solid bed depth in the axial direction of the kiln must be known. The
solid bed depth inuences the heat penetration into the bed and the
contact area to the internal wall. These areas are necessary to calculate
the heat transfer among gas, solid and internal wall in rotary kilns. The
solid motion in the transverse view has been deeply investigated by
Mellmann [1]. Different forms of solid motions, such as sliding,
slumping, rolling, and the transition behavior between these motions
are well described. The solid transverse motions are found to
inuence the solid axial motion in the kiln. Furthermore, it is also
found that the change of the bed depth in axial direction inversely
inuences the solid transverse motion [2], as well as the residence
time of the particles in the active layer [3] and the hold-up of solids in
kilns [4]. For the axial bed depth some models exist. These models
require the bed depth at the discharge end as initial condition to solve
the differential equations. However, this actual depth is still unknown
for different operational conditions.
Sullivan et al. [5] rstly carried out experimental work on solid axial
transport and hold-up in kilns in the manufacture of Portland cement
clinker. A model for the steady state transport of a granular solid through
Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 391 6718765; fax: +49 391 6712762.
E-mail address: eckehard.specht@ovgu.de (E. Specht).
0032-5910/$ see front matter 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.
doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2009.08.024
a kiln drum which was slowly rotated was rst developed by Saeman
[6]. His model is often used to calculate the local depth change h shown
in Fig. 1. This gure also depicts the solid depth variation from the
feeding end till the discharge end of the cylinder. The differential
equation to solve the solid depth variation along the cylinder is given in
Eq. (1)
dh
0:75 tan M
tan
2
2 3 = 2
=
R h R
dx
n
cos ;
s
where is the half of the lling angle and B is the fraction of time
spent in bed to total time. For a dynamic angle of repose of 38 and a
18
Fig. 1. (a) Solid bed depth in the transverse view and relevant parameters in the kiln; (b) the bed depth change along the cylinder (x = 0 to x = L).
24M x tan
:
s n R4
2 sin2
:
2
which is valid in the range of 0.04 F 0.40. The lling degree changes
with the axial position then results in
M x tan
F = 0:56
s n R4
!0:64
:
0:406 tan M x
s n R4 F01:56
#0:64
7
was recommended which is based on the Eq. (6). Here F0 is the lling
degree at the discharge end. Based on experiments this lling degree
was correlated with the mass ow rate
2
F0 = 41 +
!1 = 4 3
M
5Fmin :
3:65
d 0:5 sin2d
;
10
Fig. 2. The boundary condition solving the solid bed depth in kilns.
19
2. Experiments
2.1. Rotary kilns
dh
dx
x = xbc
tan
11
tan =
h
i
0:75 tan M
tan
2
2 3 = 2
R hbc R
n
cos:
s
12
From Eq. (12) the depth hbc is shown in Fig. 2. Assuming a constant
gradient between xbc and the discharge end, we get the axial position
from Eq. (11)
xbc =
hbc
:
tan
13
Two laboratory kilns were used to carry out the experiments. Kiln1
had an internal diameter of 400 mm and the length of 5 m. The discharge of the kiln1 was designed with a conical dam as shown in Fig. 3.
Although the length of the discharge dam of 90 mm was relatively short,
the diameter of 350 mm was applied for the analysis. The inclination
angle of the kiln was adjusted at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for measurements.
Kiln2 had a uniform internal diameter of 0.25 m without installation
of a dam at discharge end, see Fig. 4. This kiln was inclined at 1 and 2 to
perform experiments.
2.2. Experimental method
All experiments and measurements were carried out under steady
state of solid ow, i.e. M out = M in. No gas ow passed through the
cylinder and a heating process did not exist. The solid depth at
discharge end is so small that accurate and direct measurements were
too difcult. An easy and relatively accurate way was to measure the
bed surface width which could be done with normal measuring tools.
A photo of the measuring area at kiln discharge end is shown in Fig. 5.
Then the solid end depth was calculated with Eq. (14)
h0 = R
s
2
L
R2 0 :
2
14
20
Quartz sand
Clinker
Glass bead
0.10.4
0.25
1570
32 (at kiln1)
112
4.5
1410
31 (at kiln1)
0.40.84
0.72
1560
21 (at kiln1)
28 (at kiln2)
Fig. 5. Dynamic measuring the bed surface width at discharge end of kiln.
Table 1
Overview of experimental parameters.
Parameters
Kiln1
Kiln2
Mass ow [kg/h]
Rotational speed [rpm]
Kiln inclination angle []
45440
18
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2590
3.5
1, 2
was measured without stopping the rotation of the kiln and solids
kept owing out. At discharge end the kiln wall was scaled by grids in
order to clearly recognise the width of the out-owing solid bed. Due
to the sensitive uctuation of the bed surface width at the discharge
end during rotation, measurements were performed 45 times. The
mean value was recorded nally.
In the practical operation of rotary kilns, the end depth of the solid
bed must be greater than zero as long as there is a solid ow out of the
rotary kiln. Furthermore, the end depth is also not a xed value
because it must depend on the different conditions. We assume that
the parameters inuencing the end depth are the same as those
inuencing the solid depth prole inside the kilns. Saeman's model [6]
has been proved applicable for a different load in kilns by a lot of
researchers [5,7,8,10,11]. From Eq. (1), it can be seen that a) the
operational parameters: mass ow, rotational speed and cylinder
inclination angle; b) the kiln geometry: radius of kiln; c) the particle
properties: particle size, bulk density and dynamic angle of repose,
determine the solid bed depth h(x) in axial direction
n; ; R; d ; ; :
hx = f M;
p
s
15
16
B=
tan
:
cos
17
and
Bd =
0:75 M tan
:
n s R 3
18
All expressions dh/dx, Bd, h/R and B are dimensionless. Each unit
has a great advantage to transfer the deduced results into any other
application. B contains both angles of kiln inclination and solid repose
so that it is named as the Angle constant. Bd includes mass ow,
rotational speed, kiln diameters, and particle properties. It dominates
21
the bed depth change in kilns so that it is designated here as Bed depth
number. Meanwhile, Bd can be physically interpreted as the ratio of
two velocities
Bd = 1:5 tan
va
;
vk
19
where
va =
M
;
s R2
20
21
Fig. 8. Variation of the ratio of the experimental end depth to the particle diameter for
glass beads with the bed depth number in kiln1 and kiln2.
The end depth is not a proper parameter for the initial condition
because it depends on the particle size and on the kiln diameter.
Therefore, the lling degree will be used as a parameter. The lling
degree is a commonly used parameter for rotary kilns. It can be easily
Fig. 7. Variation of the ratio of the experimental end depth to the particle diameter for
clinker with the bed depth number in kiln1.
Fig. 9. Variation of the ratio of the experimental end depth to the particle diameter for
sand with the bed depth number in kiln1.
22
Fig. 10. Variation of the experimental end lling degree with the bed depth number for
clinker sorted by the inclination angle.
calculated directly from the measured surface bed width L0 and the
kiln radius R
L
0 = arcsin 0 ;
R
F0 =
20 sin20
:
2
22
23
The lling degree was correlated with the Bed depth number (Bd)
using the inclination angle as the parameter as before. The results for
clinker are shown in Fig. 10. It is obvious that the values can be tted
with only one curve for = 14. At 5 inclination the values are a
little bit lower designated with the dashed line.
Fig. 11 shows the results for glass beads. All values can be tted
with the same curve as before. For 5 inclination the values are again a
little bit smaller. The measured values in both kilns can be tted with
this curve. As a consequence, the inuence of the kiln radius can be
described with this Bed depth number (Bd).
3.4. Inuence of the materials
Fig. 12. Inuence of the particle property on the BdF0 correlation based on the
experimental results.
at = 1 for clinker in kiln1 and glass beads in both kilns where they
had a small deviation of the dynamic angle of repose because of a
different wall friction. Fig. 13 presents the values at = 3 for all three
materials in kiln1. Fig. 14 shows the values at = 4 for clinker and
glass beads in kiln1. It is obvious that for all cases the values can be
tted with the same curve in each gure. Consequently, the inuence
of the materials can be described also with the Bed depth number (Bd).
According to Eq. (16) the bed depth in the kiln is not only inuenced
by Bd but also by B which was named as the Angle constant. To check if
B inuences the end lling degree, the values of B are given in the
Figs. 1214, These values vary between 0.019 and 0.082. They are mainly
inuenced by tan . Because the dynamic angle of repose lies in the
range between 21 (glass beads) and 32 (sand), the cosines of this angle
changes only between 0.93 and 0.85. As could be seen before in the
gures, the inclination angle has no inuence for values lower than 4.
Therefore, also B has no inuence on the end lling degree.
3.5. Equations for BdF0 correlation
All values of the end lling degree for the three materials are
nally presented together in Fig. 15. For the inclination 14, the
values can be correlated with the power function
The inuence of the material on the end lling degree has not yet
been investigated in details. Therefore, the values of the lling degree
associated to three materials are compared. Fig. 12 presents the values
F0 = 1:75Bd
Fig. 11. Variation of the experimental end lling degree with the bed depth number for
glass beads sorted by the inclination angle.
Fig. 13. Inuence of the particle property on the BdF0 correlation based on the
experimental results.
0:5
= 1- 4-: in %
24
23
Fig. 14. Inuence of the particle property on the BdF0 correlation based on the
experimental results.
F0 = 1:86Bd
= 5- in %
25
is recommended.
The fact, why the values for 5 inclination are signicantly lower
than those for 14 cannot be explained. Tests with inclination at 4.5
or large than 5 with our kilns were not possible. However, kiln
inclinations higher than 4 have no high industrial relevance.
3.6. Transfer to industrial kilns
Both equations are derived from our experimental conditions in
the laboratory. However, some parameters are not comparable with
industrial situations, such as mass ow and kiln size. One purpose of
the dimensional description was to transfer the results into industrial
applications. Therefore we have to prove the availability of the range
of Bd which has been used in the laboratory conditions. For example,
in the cement industry the typical range of the mass ow for rotary
kilns is generally 1000 t/d4000 t/d (up to 12,000 t/d) with a kiln
References
Fig. 15. Derivation of the tting equation for the end lling degree F0 of all materials
based on Bd.
24
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