by Ahmed Osman Mohamed Hamoudy
Electrical PM & PdM Engineer
Cemex, Egypt
In modern industries, there are many predictive maintenance techniques that can be utilized to avoid an unexpected failure. At CEMEX, we count on those techniques and deploy them in such a way as to get the most use from it, and avoid any undesirable consequences. IR thermography's use has become widespread in cement plants; application areas typically include rotating kilns, insulation, mechanical, and electrical systems.
This article will explore the uses of IR thermography, specifically as part of the Motor Control Center systems predictive maintenance routine, including typical electrical panel failure points (contactor, terminations, feeding breaker, fuses, cables, etc...).
Figure 1. Rotary Kiln
One of the Clinker Rotary Kilns (4,500 Tons per Day) is supposed to be available for operation not less than a year, which is a challenge of course, to guarantee continuous operation for the kiln system for this time without any unexpected shutdown.
