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The Worlds First Vertical Roller Mill with Driven Rollers

Thomas Schmitz
Senior Executive Manager
OU Cement Grinding Technology
ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions
BU Resource Technologies
Beckum, Germany
thomas.schmitz@thyssenkrupp.com

Abstract As the market demands efficient, highly flexible and high capacity plants for cement production, it was time to
develop an innovative drive concept to cope with these demands: the worlds first vertical roller mill with driven rollers. With this
concept, it is the rollers of the vertical roller mill that are driven, not as is usually the case the grinding table. With the roller-
driven vertical mill the market is offered an innovative drive concept that is specifically suitable for reliably driving large vertical
mills. In addition to the obvious advantages in terms of plant availability, this concept offers process-technological advantages and
allows a highly efficient comminution process in vertical mills. Due to the variable speed drives, the concept is particularly suited to
grinding plants for the production of ultrafine cements and to applications requiring the production of a wide range of the most
varied cements. When the first roller-driven vertical mill was put into operation, it robustly demonstrated its mechanical
functionality and operational reliability.

I. INTRODUCTION
Cement producers always demand efficient plants for cement production. In order to reduce specific investment cost, they
ask for ever-larger units. There is a demand for plants that can grind finer cements either to serve market requirements or to
reduce the clinker content as much as possible, in order to reduce specific CO2 emissions. As the number of different cement
types has increased over the last decades, plants are desired in which the greatest variety of cement types can be ground with
the shortest possible changeover times. With the increasing importance of composite cements, there is an increasing demand
to intergrind and dry aggregates that can contain moisture, and the use of VRMs is becoming more and more suitable for such
applications. In order to comply with all of these requirements in the best possible way, an innovative drive concept has been
developed and successfully brought to market: the roller-driven vertical roller mill, where the rollers of the vertical roller mill
are driven, not the grinding table. What are the advantages?

II. ADVANTAGES OF THE ROLLER DRIVE CONCEPT

A. Better feed material pull-in capability
The first advantage is the better material pull-in capability: In the traditional drive concept where the table is driven, the
rollers are set into motion only by the friction occurring in the bed of material between the table and the rollers. Here,
inherently, the table always moves a little faster than the roller. Thus, the material to be ground is pushed into the grinding
zone, as the speed of the roller cannot follow the speed of the table on which the material is lying; therefore a material pile-up
occurs in front of the roller. If the roller is driven, rather than the table, the roller always turns a little faster than the table, i.e.
the material is pulled into the grinding gap in a more uniform manner.

Fig. 1. Comparison of feed material pull-in conditions

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B. Lower power and torque of the gear units

The second advantage is the lower power and torque to be transmitted by the gear units: If the rollers are driven, the
required drive power is spread over 3, 4 or even 6 drives, depending on the applicable number of rollers. As the rollers
usually have a considerably smaller diameter than the grinding table, they turn somewhat faster; mostly they turn about twice
as fast as the grinding table. For the gear unit of a driven roller, this means that not only does the drive power to be
transmitted decrease as a function of the number of rollers, but also that the torque to be transmitted is halved, due to the
doubled speed. For a mill with 3 driven rollers, this means that the power per unit is reduced to one third, while the torque to
be transmitted by each gear box is even reduced to one sixth, assuming that the rollers turn about twice as fast as the table.

Fig. 2. Comparison of torques for a table- and roller-driven mill with 3 rollers

This effect is especially advantageous in the case of very large mills. For traditionally table-driven mills with a central
gear unit, the following applies: the larger the table, the lower the rotational speed of the table, the higher the torque, and the
larger the gear unit. For roller-driven mills, the following applies: the larger the mill, the more rollers are used, and the larger
the speed difference between table and roller. The following example comparing two pairs of mills different in in size and
drive concept makes the effect very clear: A table-driven mill with a table diameter of 5.1 m equipped with 3 rollers with a
diameter of 2.5 m would require a drive equipped with a motor of 4,500 kW and a gear box designed to transmit a torque of
some 2,000 kNm. A roller-driven mill of the same size would require 3 drives, each equipped with a motor of 1,500 kW, and
3 gear boxes, each designed to transmit a torque of some 400 kNm. A bigger table-driven mill with a table diameter of 6.8 m
equipped with 6 rollers with a diameter of 2.7 m would require a drive equipped with a motor of 10,200 kW and a gear box
designed to transmit a torque of more than 5,200 kNm. A roller-driven mill of the same size would require 6 drives, each
equipped with a motor of 1,700 kW, and 6 gear boxes, each designed to transmit a torque of still some 400 kNm. As
illustrated by the example, the individual gear units remain correspondingly small. In contrast to individual gear units with
sharply rising drive powers in table driven systems, the roller-drive principle enables the use of proven standard gear units,
despite rising production capacities.
C. High operational reliability
A further advantage is the high operational reliability of mills with the RD concept: It is possible to continue operating a
roller-driven mill even if one drive train fails. In the case of mills with 3 rollers, the roller with the failed drive must also
remain under pressure on the grinding table, in order to avoid tipping of the grinding table. In this instance, the drive-less
roller is drawn along, as in the case of the traditional table-drive. Naturally, the throughput rate decreases in this case, as only
the drive power of 2 drives is available. This applies accordingly to mills with 4 or 6 rollers. In addition, these mills can even
continue to be productive if 2 opposing roller units are completely removed. This allows the owner to carry out maintenance
assignments on these rollers, while the mill continues to be productive. Overall, the new concept contributes to a general
increase in the availability of the grinding plant.

III. DESIGN FEATURES OF THE NEW DRIVE CONCEPT

A. Design of the driven roller unit
The roller is driven by a shaft that rotates inside the roller axle. The rotating shaft is connected to a gear unit that is flange-
fixed to the bearing housing of the roller unit. The motor is arranged laterally next to the gear unit to allow for easy removal
of the roller unit. The gear unit and the motor are connected by a cardan shaft. All drives are equipped with variable speed
motors, in order to always ensure uniform input of power. The grinding table only has one bearing assembly, but no drive.

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Using the frequency-controlled drives, the speed of the table can be varied if the process demands, for example due to the
product fineness. In addition, the speed control allows setting of the respectively optimum operating parameters for different
product qualities, with unchanged dam ring configuration.

Fig. 3. Design of a roller-driven unit

B. Design of a vertical roller mill equipped with driven rollers

The design of mill equipped with roller drive differs from the table-driven variant only in terms of the drive concept. The
rest of the mill design is practically identical. The roller units are installed directly on concrete foundations. In this way, the
best possible damping is achieved, and the mill housing is kept free from grinding forces. The grinding forces run on the one
hand from the roller units directly into the concrete foundation, and on the other hand via the grinding zone, the grinding
table and its bearing assembly, into the concrete foundation. As the housing is neither connected to the roller unit nor to the
grinding table, it remains completely free from grinding forces. This ensures smooth and low-vibration operation of the plant.
If the bed of material breaks down, the grinding forces are transmitted from the axle of the roller unit, via a mechanical stop,
directly into the concrete foundation. In this case as well, the housing remains free from grinding forces. The stop prevents
contact between the roller and the table, and thus protects the grinding table bearing assembly. The material feed chute is
integrated into the grit cone, in order to ensure good mixing of new feed material and grits, and central material feeding onto
the table. The mill has an adjustable nozzle ring. The housing is shaped in such a way that the best possible intake flow for
the separator can be achieved.

Fig. 4. Picture of a roller-driven unit

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IV. DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING PHASE

A. Development of the RD concept Laboratory tests
A laboratory mill with a table diameter of 700 mm and a drive power of 4 x 15 kW was used to test the new drive concept.
In numerous tests, it was possible to demonstrate considerably smoother running and better grinding efficiency in comparison
with the table-driven variant.

B. Tests in an industrial mill

In the next step, 2 of the 4 existing roller units in a vertical roller mill (table diameter: 3.2.m) that is in operation for raw
material grinding in an Austrian cement works were converted to roller drive. The roller diameter was 1.6 m; the drive power
was 2 x 450 kW. In this industrial application, it was possible to confirm the mechanical functionality and the results from
the laboratory mill.

V. INTRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL MILLS TO THE MARKET

A. The first industrial mill
At the end of 2012, the first industrial roller driven vertical mill was successfully put into operation in a cement plant in
Mexico. The mill is equipped with 3 driven roller units with a drive power of 1550 kW each. The mill was designed for a
throughput rate of 175 tph of cement of the type CPC - 30 RS. This cement consists of approximately 75% clinker and
approximately 10% pozzolana and 10% limestone. The cement is ground to a fineness of < 3% R 45 m.
As early as 6 weeks after the prototype was put into operation, it was possible to verify the warranted capacity. Later the
cement producer was able to operate the mill with capacities between 180 and 200 tph at the required product fineness and
without the use of grinding aid. Further measures to optimize the grinding plant are ongoing. The aim is to operate the plant
in a stable manner with capacities of more than 200 tph.
The extraordinary running smoothness of the mill is particularly worthy of mention. It is also noteworthy that the mill can
be started fully automatically at the touch of a button, thus achieving nominal capacity after about 10 minutes.
It was thus possible to prove the good functionality of the roller drive concept in the first industrial mill. Both
mechanically and in terms of control, the roller drive functions without any problem.

Fig. 5. Rollers and table of the first industrial roller-driven mill

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B. Second industrial mill

At the end of last year, a further roller driven mill was put into operation in a French cement plant for a short time only.
Regular commissioning is scheduled to start in April 2014. The mill is also equipped with 3 driven roller units. The drive
power is 3 x 1400 kW. The mill was designed for throughput rates of 74 - 107 tph. Different cements and blast furnace slag
with finenesses between 4400 and 5200 cm/g according to Blaine will be ground. Within the short period of production the
mill was able to produce a cement with a fineness of above 5000 cm2/g and a slag powder of more than 6000 cm2/g. A
sample of the produced cement was submitted as part of the application for certification that is needed in France to officially
commission the plant and to be allowed to sell the product.

Fig. 6. Roller unit of the second industrial roller-driven mill

C. Third industrial mill

In the early summer of 2015, a further roller-driven mill will be put into service in Mexico. The mill will be equipped with
4 roller units, each with a drive power of 1800 kW, and will achieve throughput rates of between 265 and 320 tph, depending
on the cement type.

D. Next steps
At the beginning of this year we started work on designing the biggest roller-driven mill so far. This mill is to be equipped
with 6 roller units, each with a drive power of 1800 kW. The mill is designed to achieve throughput rates of between 490 and
560 tpd, depending on cement type.

VI. CONCLUSION
With the roller driven vertical mill, the market is offered an innovative drive concept that is specifically suitable for
reliably driving large vertical mills. In addition to the obvious advantages in terms of plant availability, this concept offers
process and technological advantages and allows a highly efficient comminution process in vertical mills. Due to the variable
speed drives, the concept is particularly suited to grinding plants for the production of ultrafine cements and to applications
requiring the production of a wide range of the most varied cements. The first roller driven mill has been put into operation,
robustly demonstrating its mechanical functionality and operational reliability.

978-1-4799-3294-8/14/$31.00 2014 IEEE