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Operational Failure of Vertical Roller Attached to a Grinding Mill: Root Cause Analysis

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Abstract

In the present incident, one of the rollers of grinding mill in cement plant failed during operation, exhibiting longitudinal cracking over inner surface. Deposition welding was carried out just before the incident to match the worn-out profile of the roller. Investigation revealed that the subsurface of the cracked region contained discontinuities like blow holes (≤1.0 mm) and fine cracks (0.2–2.0 mm length). Chemical analysis of the alloy showed low nickel (0.5 wt.%) and high tungsten (~1.0 wt.%) concentration. The deviation in composition reduced the ductility of the component. Microstructure of the alloy consisted of complex carbides (50–200 μm) embedded in martensite–austenite matrix. Under cyclic loading, the fatigue crack was initiated from subsurface containing discontinuities and bulky carbides. Low toughness (~2 J) and high residual tensile stress (~170 Mpa) of the material facilitated crack propagation through thickness direction. Final failure of the component occurred due to overload.

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Acknowledgment

Authors are grateful to Director, CSIR-NML, for providing the infrastructural support to carry out the investigation and accord permission to publish the work.

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  1. Materials Engineering Division, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, India

    M. Ghosh, B. Mahato & B. Ravi Kumar

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  1. M. Ghosh
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  2. B. Mahato
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Correspondence to M. Ghosh.

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Ghosh, M., Mahato, B. & Kumar, B.R. Operational Failure of Vertical Roller Attached to a Grinding Mill: Root Cause Analysis. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 23, 2322–2330 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-023-01818-1

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