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Refurbish tyre at Castle Cement

As this job involved a cracked tyre it had to be treated as a priority case. The tyre needed replacing with minimum downtime to reduce lost production time as we are well aware that any lost time in this industry can be very costly. The existing shell needed to be supported and cut, to enable removal and replacement of the tyre on that section of the kiln.

The tyre was cracked in several places and this made its replacement a priority To keep the kiln circular during the lift and period of being stationary support spiders were built in three places With a very congested workspace the skills of the lift team were essential
A cracked tyre needed replacing. Support spiders were put in place. Grayton provided the specialists.

We encountered different challenges on this project - we needed a highly specialised lift to get the tyre into position on site and we had to design specialist lugs to assist with lifting the tyre off.

First challenge - getting the tyre through the plant on the specialist transporter lorry because of the width of the tyre there was very little clearance in some areas so we had our own specialist handling personnel on hand to guide it through the site.

Second challenge - we needed two cranes to turn the tyre over at its final destination on site and to get the tyre into position for the lift. We hire in the specialised heavy lift cranes but always provide the specialist ground crew team to supervise and handle the lifts. We had a 500 ton crane on site to carry out the lift. However, one of the greatest challenges we faced was that of the English weather, as always safety is paramount to us and we ensure that risks are kept to a minimum.

On the day of the lift the wind speed was too high to carry out the lift within safety guidelines. However, at 6pm just as everyone was about to leave site the wind suddenly dropped by a third. By now it was dark but all the time the lift was delayed the client was losing revenue as this section of the plant was unable to run. With this change in conditions the decision was made to 'Go For It' and as you can see by the photos the job was successfully accomplished in the hours of darkness.

With such a congested site great care had to be taken moving the new tyre into place The old and the new tyre show in the work area, here the section is set down and old tyre is carefully removed ready for the kiln section to be prepared for the new tyre Once the new tyre was fitted two cranes were used to get it into position ready for the final lift
Congestion an be challenging.
 The tyre is ready to be changed.
 A two crane lift was needed...
The British weather did it's bit to hinder the final lift, so it was delayed until later that day As the tyre section was lowered into place the alignment was cruicial, this needed control and a team that knew what they were doing 10,000 welding rods later and the spiders could be removed ready for the kiln to be re-lined
Not everything went as planned.
 Gently does it.
 And finally...

 

  | PostTagIcon Tags: cement kiln refurbishment, mechanical maintenance, rotating machinery specialists

Grayton Engineering Ltd, Kestrel House, 22 Hoylake Road, South Park Industrial Estate, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2AZ
Registered in the UK - Company No 2730358

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