SAFETY IMPROVED AND COSTS CUT
November 1st 2004

Vibration monitoring technology from Monitran is helping Corus Strip Products cut operating costs, increase uptime and improve safety at its granulated coal processing plant in Port Talbot.

The plant prepares coal for injection into blast furnaces and is based around a coal impacting (crushing) system. Crushers are made from two counterrotating cages, one within the other, and have circumferential striking plates. Cages weigh 0.75t and are suspended from overhung shafts, driven via pulleys from electric motors.

To extend the life of these shafts the engineering team developed a predictive maintenance regime that used handheld vibration meters to collect data from the crushers. These had to be used at a distance due to limited access to the shafts.

This made it difficult to gather sufficient data.

A new, hard-wired solution is based around Monitrans MTN/ 6000 19in multi-channel rack unit and MTN/1100CM8 accelerometers, permanently mounted on shafts and at other key locations. Speed and temperature sensors give access to 28 monitoring points. The rack unit also has pre-set alarms, display module and a buffered AC output to enable a data collector to be connected.

More articles from Monitran Limited: