Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process
The Grate-Kiln-Cooler process is a commonly used method of sintering during iron ore pelletization, where the pellets are formed, dried, and hardened. The pellets are oxidized in the rotating Kiln, turning magnetite (Fe3O4) to hematite (Fe2O3), making the pellets attain suitable metallurgical attrib...
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Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik, konst och samhälle
2022
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ftluleatu:oai:DiVA.org:ltu-91769 2023-05-15T17:04:20+02:00 Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process Andreasson, Emil Åhman, Pontus 2022 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-91769 eng eng Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik, konst och samhälle http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-91769 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Availability Predictive Maintenance Pelletization Statistical Process Control Refractory Material DMAIC Reliability and Maintenance Tillförlitlighets- och kvalitetsteknik Business Administration Företagsekonomi Student thesis info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis text 2022 ftluleatu 2022-10-25T20:58:40Z The Grate-Kiln-Cooler process is a commonly used method of sintering during iron ore pelletization, where the pellets are formed, dried, and hardened. The pellets are oxidized in the rotating Kiln, turning magnetite (Fe3O4) to hematite (Fe2O3), making the pellets attain suitable metallurgical attributes for further processing. The process is constantly exposed to thermal and mechanical stress, causing equipment degradation and thus unwanted production stops due to internal process disturbances. A suitable maintenance policy is required to cope with the risk of equipment degradation causing these production stops. Predictive maintenance (PdM) is the most current maintenance policy, utilizing a substantial amount of production data to foresee breakdowns and thus indicating the need for maintenance efforts to prevent them from occurring. The global supplier of iron ore products, Loussavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), operates three pelletization plants in Kiruna. One of these pelletization plants experiences availability below desired levels. This hampers the plant from fulfilling its yearly production goals, resulting in lost revenue. This master's thesis aimed to increase the understanding of which causes influence the Grate-Kiln-Cooler process' availability. When these causes were identified, the aim was to develop a method of monitoring these to predict the need for maintenance (i.e., incorporating a PdM policy) to mitigate the risk of production stops. The work has been conducted by utilizing the systematic problem-solving DMAIC methodology. The refractory material was identified as the primary contributor to the low availability in the investigated plant. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical process control (SPC), a Hotelling T2 chart based on principal components was established to monitor the refractory material's condition. In this context, the combined usage of PCA and SPC highlighted three possible tendencies in the Kiln that potentially damaged the refractory material, causing ... Bachelor Thesis Kiruna Luleå University of Technology Publications (DiVA) Kiruna |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Luleå University of Technology Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftluleatu |
language |
English |
topic |
Availability Predictive Maintenance Pelletization Statistical Process Control Refractory Material DMAIC Reliability and Maintenance Tillförlitlighets- och kvalitetsteknik Business Administration Företagsekonomi |
spellingShingle |
Availability Predictive Maintenance Pelletization Statistical Process Control Refractory Material DMAIC Reliability and Maintenance Tillförlitlighets- och kvalitetsteknik Business Administration Företagsekonomi Andreasson, Emil Åhman, Pontus Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process |
topic_facet |
Availability Predictive Maintenance Pelletization Statistical Process Control Refractory Material DMAIC Reliability and Maintenance Tillförlitlighets- och kvalitetsteknik Business Administration Företagsekonomi |
description |
The Grate-Kiln-Cooler process is a commonly used method of sintering during iron ore pelletization, where the pellets are formed, dried, and hardened. The pellets are oxidized in the rotating Kiln, turning magnetite (Fe3O4) to hematite (Fe2O3), making the pellets attain suitable metallurgical attributes for further processing. The process is constantly exposed to thermal and mechanical stress, causing equipment degradation and thus unwanted production stops due to internal process disturbances. A suitable maintenance policy is required to cope with the risk of equipment degradation causing these production stops. Predictive maintenance (PdM) is the most current maintenance policy, utilizing a substantial amount of production data to foresee breakdowns and thus indicating the need for maintenance efforts to prevent them from occurring. The global supplier of iron ore products, Loussavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), operates three pelletization plants in Kiruna. One of these pelletization plants experiences availability below desired levels. This hampers the plant from fulfilling its yearly production goals, resulting in lost revenue. This master's thesis aimed to increase the understanding of which causes influence the Grate-Kiln-Cooler process' availability. When these causes were identified, the aim was to develop a method of monitoring these to predict the need for maintenance (i.e., incorporating a PdM policy) to mitigate the risk of production stops. The work has been conducted by utilizing the systematic problem-solving DMAIC methodology. The refractory material was identified as the primary contributor to the low availability in the investigated plant. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical process control (SPC), a Hotelling T2 chart based on principal components was established to monitor the refractory material's condition. In this context, the combined usage of PCA and SPC highlighted three possible tendencies in the Kiln that potentially damaged the refractory material, causing ... |
format |
Bachelor Thesis |
author |
Andreasson, Emil Åhman, Pontus |
author_facet |
Andreasson, Emil Åhman, Pontus |
author_sort |
Andreasson, Emil |
title |
Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process |
title_short |
Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process |
title_full |
Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process |
title_fullStr |
Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process |
title_full_unstemmed |
Improving Availability of the Pelletization Process |
title_sort |
improving availability of the pelletization process |
publisher |
Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik, konst och samhälle |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-91769 |
geographic |
Kiruna |
geographic_facet |
Kiruna |
genre |
Kiruna |
genre_facet |
Kiruna |
op_relation |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-91769 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
_version_ |
1766058412457590784 |