WEAR IN CANE PREPARATION MACHINERY―SOME TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

摘要

An important part of programmed downtime in a sugar mill originates from hammer tip wear in cane preparation machines. Similarly, a major component of maintenance costs is the labour and material cost dedicated to this subject. The use of measurements in Colombian mills and pilot plant equipment allowed the authors to capture data related to performance, energy consumption and costs. Research results of interactions between operational parameters, extraneous matter in cane, equipment design, wear rates, hammer materials, energy consumption and overall operational costs of cane preparation are reported, together with an optimisation oriented model based on the operational costs of a cane preparation installation. Increase in power consumption during hammer edge wear was measured and loads in a shredder anvil were related to different amounts of wear. It was found that the costs related to sugar losses and increased energy consumption resulting from operating with worn hammer tips are much higher than the direct maintenance costs.