GEARED VS GEARLESS DRIVE SOLUTIONS FOR GRINDING MILLS

This paper Evaluates the merits of large geared mills versus gearless driven mills considering: Currently available systems in terms of power and mill diameter Overall efficiency of electrical power consumed vs mechanical output power Capital cost Running costs Cooling: air vs water cooling Installation and delivery time

Drive type Single motor gear drive Dual motor gear drive Gearless motor drive range

Present Max Power 8000kW - 10000kW 16000kW 20000kW

Gearless Synchronous

18000kW 35000kW

Asynchronous

SLIP ENERGY RECOVERY DRIVE

Geared and Gearless SAG Mills must consider variable speed ability for process reasons Issues regarding load sharing & torque pulsation Slip Energy Recovery (SER) and Variable frequency drives have been resolved through technological advances

REDUCED TORQUE PULSATIONS USING 24 PULSE SER DRIVES

USING PWM TECHNIQUES - SINUSOIDAL ROTOR CURRENTS SMALL HARMONIC CONTENT - NO HARMONIC FILTERS REQUIRED

LOW TORQUE PULSATIONS - INCREASED GEAR LIFE

SER mature and ready for use 40 SER installations world wide Speed variation required is in the range of +/- 15% of synchronous motor speeds. Successful operation of 2 x 6.5MW (Phu Kham, Laos) Three 2 x 7MW units under manufacture (Pascu Lama, South America) 2 X 10MW dual drive mills are achievable and quoted to various sites world wide Dual hydraulic inching drives provide safer and convenient operation with the added advantage of locked charge detection.

CLIENT CONCERNS

What type of drive system best suits the particular application?? Real data: efficiency, durability, availability and value for money??

Lets clear up this confusion using accurate information obtained from recent projects.

GIRTH GEARS
Girth gear drives are the primary method of driving SAG mills, Ball mills and other rotating elements.

Enormous improvements over time following the use of: FEA MAGMA Casting techniques (eg full ring risers) Ultrasonic testing Special materials Hardness improvement (up to 325BHN)

GEAR DESIGN
Gear Pinion

1968
AGMA321.05

1988
AGMA6004-F88

2006
ANSI/AGMA6114-A06

Tooth Hardness Machine precision

HB300~350
AGMA 10 ISO 7

HRC57~61
AGMA 12 ISO 5

Mr Deneckis (FALK) paper presented at the 96 SAG conference, details the then largest gear drive in operation on a SAG mill (34ft x 18ft) at Escondida 13.4MW (18,000hp) - 1995

Shop test run SINO Iron project 7.9m X 13.6m Ball Mill Twin 7,800kW drives

HISTORY
Historically OEMs did not have access to larger single piece special alloy castings and larger gear cutters To the benefit of consumers CITIC HIC has now overcome this limitation and mine operators can now consider more cost effective large gear driven mills
CITIC HIC 16m CNC gear hobber in production (Schiess Brighton)

Australia SINO Iron Ball Mill Gear Pour OD:11.7m Net Wt:118t Molten steel Wt:375t

MANUFACTURE
Manufacture Ten gear cutters at a single works: 2 x 5m, 3 x 8m, 1 x 10m, 1 x 12m, 1 x 13m and 2 x 16m (one in climate control). Inspection & testingInternational standards CITIC HIC manufacturers over a hundred gear sets every year All activities are done in house from casting, forging, heat treatment, carburizing, machining, gear cutting, shop assembly and transport Inspection and test plans follow international ASTM & ISO standards with a large team of NDT and inspection supervisors for all equipment Gear Castings MAGMA software utilizing full ring risers for solidification and cooling. Actual metal pour is approximately 2.5 times the net weight of the ring gear. (eg a molten pour of 375t result in a 118t gear) The full ring gears at CITIC HIC are normally a single pour even though they may be in halves or quarters. Ensuring uniform chemical analysis and even hardness after heat treatment Pouring capacity is up to 600t and hence net gear weights of up to 250t.

GMD CONCERNS
Presently gearless drives are more costly than the complete mechanical portion Customer/consultant needs to deal with two parties through project Interface between the mill vendor and the gearless motor supplier may require mediation for any issues After award to both parties (at the same time ) a 6 weeks delay exists in getting certified data from Gearless drive supplier before the mill vendor can start the FEA & basic design, taking a further 6-8 weeks. Geared Mills can commence engineering immediately

Gearless drive rotating elements are heavier. The foundation and load data on gearless drives are higher. Air gap variation is a source of magnetic pull imbalance.

All these add significant cost to the overall cost for the client when compared to gear driven mills.

MECHANICAL INTERFACE
Total weight of the poles are approximately 20% heavier than the gear and need to be individually installed after the rotating element is in place on the foundations

GEAR DESIGN SAG 12.2m (40ft) x 6.1m (20ft) 20 MW Ball 8.5m (27.9ft) x 12.8m (42ft) 20 MW
Mill Diameter (m) Motor Power (MW) Motors Pinion Speeds (rpm) Mill Speed (rpm) Number of teeth Width of teeth (mm) Normal Modulus (mm) Tool normal tooth profile angle (degrees) Helical Angle (degrees) Accuracy Level Number SAG Mill 12.2 20 2 x 10 MW 160 9.24 Ball Mill 8.5 20 2 x 10 MW 150 11.09

Pinion 21 1080
42 25 7.5 5 12 57 1.75 2.5

Gear 344 1070

Pinion 21 1080
42 25 7.5

Gear 288 1070

Hardness of tooth face (BHN)

ISO AGMA Brinell Hardness Rockwell hardness Durability Strength

8 9 310

5 12 57 1.75 2.75

8 9 300

AGMA 6114 (min S.F)

Actual Safety Factor to AGMA 6114

Durability Strength

2.75 2.52

1.81 2.52

3.20 3.20

1.94 2.62

RESULTS
MECHANICAL Gearless Drive LS Synchronous HS Asynchronous ELECTRICAL Gearless Drive Fixed Speed Low Speed Sync (LCI) Variable Speed Low Speed Sync (VSI) Fixed Speed High Speed Asyn (LRS) Variable Speed High Speed Asyn (SER) OVERALL Gearless Drive Fixed Speed Low Speed Sync Variable Speed Low Speed Sync (VSI) Fixed Speed High Speed Asyn (LRS) Variable Speed High Speed Asyn (SER) Motor 97% 97% 96.5% Starter/VSD 99% 99% 98.5% 99.9% 99.7% Girth Gear N/A 99% 99% VSD Transformer 98.5% 99% 99% N/A 99.8% (rotor circuit only) Reducer N/A N/A 98.5% Harmonic Filter 99.5% 99.5% 99.5% N/A N/A Supply Transformer N/A N/A N/A 99% 99% Electrical Efficiency 97% 97.5% 97% 98.9% 98.5% Total Mechanical Efficiency 97.0% 96.0% 94.1% Total Electrical Efficiency 97.0% 97.5% 97.0% 98.9% 98.5% Total Overall Efficiency 94.1% 93.6% 93.1% 93.0% 92.7%

Mechanical Efficiency 97% 96% 96% 94.1% 94.1%

All the above figures are based on the averages of documented figures provided by vendors in datasheets or are derived from published papers (referenced in this paper)

RESULTS
Capital cost comparison (excl Installation & Commissioning) 2x 10MW or 20 MW.
Gearless Drive Fixed Speed Low Speed Sync Variable Speed Low Speed Sync Fixed Speed High Speed Asyn (LRS) Variable Speed High Speed Asyn (SER) Variable Speed High Speed Asyn (VSI) Approx. relative cost Highest - 140% 125% 130% Lowest - 100% 110% 115%
20 MW Fixed Speed Ball Mill WRIM/LRS 93.0% $963,802 $130,000 0 $1,093,802 $0 $0 20 MW Variable Speed SAG Mill WRIM/SER 92.7% $1,008,361 $130,000 $0 $1,138,361 $0 $0

Running cost comparison.

System efficiency Power extra cost pa(due to inefficiencies) Gear Lubricant Lost interest due to extra capital cost Total pa Total EXTRA pa over cheapest Over 20 years SYN/LCI 93.6% $875,542 $130,000 $368,000 $1,373,542 $279,740 $5,594,800 SYN/VSI 93.1% $949,013 $130,000 $296,000 $1,375,013 $236,652 $4,733,040 GEARLESS 94.1% $802,851 $0 $592,000 $1,394,851 $301,049 $6,020,980 GEARLESS 94.1% $802,851 $0 $440,000 $1,242,851 $104,490 $2,089,800

System efficiency Power extra cost pa(due to inefficiencies) Gear Lubricant Lost interest due to extra capital cost Total pa Total EXTRA pa over cheapest Over 20 years

OTHER ISSUES
Air cooling is the most common form of cooling for motors and drives. Gearless motors and large cyclo convertors use water cooling The heat dissipation represents the motor and drive losses (approx 4%) A 20MW drive requires approx 800 kW of heat dissipation In a GMD this equates to approx 2lpm for each kW representing approx 1600lpm of cooled water Typically a cooling tower or chiller is required in a closed loop system due to the lack of fresh water This adds approx $1million for 20MW and requires power to run, adding to running costs (Approx 480kW for 20MW), or conservatively 1600lpm of water on a continuous basis.

Cooling requirements

The girth gear is the longest lead time item on a geared mill at approximately 9 to 14 months On a gearless mill the Gearless drive is the longest lead time item at 12 to 18 months. The installation time for a geared drive is approx. 12 to 16 weeks (approx. 8000 man hrs) For a gearless drive it is approx. 10 to 12 weeks for the mill and 10 to 15 weeks for the Gearless drive making a total of 18 to 24 weeks (minimum 20,000 man hours). This increases the capital cost of the installation by a minimum US$2 million and causes and additional 2 to 3 months to the project schedule. The additional time and costs associated with commissioning of a gearless drive vs geared drive has not even been considered

Installation and delivery time for mills 15MW and above

CONCLUSIONS
For mills above 12.2m in diameter or over 20MW of power there is currently no viable alternative to a gearless drive. For mills 12.2m or less in diameter and 20MW or under in power, gear driven systems offer a more viable alternative to gearless drives, delivering nearly equivalent efficiency, much lower capital cost, easier installation, simpler cooling, shorter installation time and quicker (2-3 months) project overall startup schedule.

SAVINGS ON 20MW BALL MILL

Capital cost approx. $8 million Running cost approx. $6 million Cooling approx. $1 million Installation approx. $2 million Approx. saving over 20 years $17 million

SAVINGS ON 20MW SAG MILL

Capital cost approx. $6 million Running cost approx. $2 million Cooling approx. $1 million Installation approx. $2 million Approx. saving over 20 years $11 million