Kiln alignment analysis-an overview of the direct method

Hot kiln alignment has been with us more than a decade now. The innovation for aligning kilns while in operation brings with it the promise of analyzing its mechanics in a dynamic setting. In doing so, the procedure does not conflict with production or shut down periods. Hot alignment analysis then truly becomes the preventive maintenance tool it was always meant to be. The ability to measure kiln alignment "hot" resulted from new measurement technology and of course the introduction of portable computing power into the industrial environment about two decades ago. The method described in this paper is based on a fundamentally new approach, alignment by centers of rotation. This is an innovation not in measurement hardware but in the basic approach to the task. Alignment by centers of rotation was accepted in patents in the USA, the European Community Countries (EC) and several other countries. The method derives the state of alignment by direct and continuous noncontact measurement to the rotating kiln shell, rather than the usual measurement of diameters and other parameters of the kiln rollers and tires.