vuha,
Though i'm not directly connected with IKN, these type of cooler (or any new generation clinker coolers) can operate perfectly well regardless of whether you have snowman or whatever reasons you mentioned unless you properly operate it according to what it is designed for. If you plant agrees on changing chemistry, adjust the burner or change the fuel, well and good. But normally, as a user, you have practically no immediate control over these, especially when you are running and on a target.
From the symptoms you mentioned, it's obviously the grate slots were clogged as mentioned. These grates rely on a layer of clinker that acts like an insulation material, so you need to maintain a layer of around 600 - 800 mm to achieve this (assuming the required airflows are met according to your cooler matrix). That is why operating with low bed thickness often leads to high grate temperatures, which results on damaged plates or closing of the slots. Make sure that your flowmeters are calibrated to keep up with actual airflow requirements. So you have to remind the operators to keep this is mind. Never run the cooler without air, whether it is cold or not. By all means avoid hot raw meal from entering the cooler as these materials cannot be cooled quickly. This is the common enemy of this type of cooler.
As mentioned, you should at least make sure that grate slots are cleaned, and then pre-blown by the cooling fans before you start-up the kiln after maintenance or replacement. Usually, it is done every 6 months. Check/adjust your shutdown interlockings connected with the IKN cooler for fan stoppages. Make sure that there's still enough airflow/pressure on the grates during a quick shutdown. The grates are not designed to be exposed directly to high heat. Always buy parts from reputable suppliers to make sure of the quality of products you install.
For snowman control, adjust the shockblaster timers to keep the snowman from bulding up. Study the profiles of the build-up and add more in areas where it is needed. In some plants, they improvised the casting on the sides of the KIDS to keep the snowman from building up on both sides along the static grates. To minimize the dusty conditions, study/ adjust the cooler airflows from the first 3 compartments and see where it will be improved (trial and error). There's no permanent cooler matrix. that is why IKN only sets a range for the airflows. Go up or below (the matrix table) according to what best suits your operation. So you have to optimize it while maintaining the overall air requirement for cooling and heat recuperation. I assume your plant engineers can do that after your 9 months of running it.
Denis
Dear Vuha,
How are your settings for the sectional aeration in the KIDS area? IKN KIDS usually have the possibility to adjust / change the aeration between left and right side, first three rows and rows four to last row of KIDS.
As well it would be interesting to know the clinker bed height of the following grate after the KIDS. If the bed height is too high you may have problems to let the snowman transported off the KIDS during operation with the air cannons.
You may want to check your KIDS fans pressure drops during operation with what the fans had for cold commissioning or with your original fan curves. With what static pressure do you operate the KIDS fans?
For the next stop you may check if the slots are clogged. It is a very good idea to check air beams for being filled with dirt. You can do that through the maintenance openings of the air beams from underneath without opening the KIDS area from above. That’s much quicker.
You can clean the slots either with a blade of a saw if it’s dry dirt / dust, or, in case of sticky material, with a dry ice blower. The dry ice option is much quicker.
best regards