CREEP FAILURE ANALYSIS OF DIGESTER BLADES FOR

FFB PROCESSING IN SIME DARBY PLANTATION

PALM OIL MILL

PROPOSAL OF FINAL PROJECT I

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for MS4091 Final Project I

By

Nur Husna Qadirah Binti Zulhasri

13116235

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE

ENGINEERING
INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI BANDUNG
2019
 Approval Form

Final Project I

Creep Failure Analysis of Digester Blades for FFB Processing

in Sime Darby Plantation Palm Oil Mill

by

Nur Husna Qadirah Binti Zulhasri

13116235

Mechanical Engineering Study Program

Institut Teknologi Bandung

Approved on November 7, 2019

Main Advisor

Satrio Wicaksono, S.T., M.Eng., Ph.D.

NIP 198505172012121002
Topic:

The topic that will be analyze by the author is “Creep Failure Analysis of Digester Blades
for FFB Processing in Sime Darby Plantation Palm Oil Mill”. The study of topic will be carry on
based on simulation and finite element method in CATIA and ANSYS, and microscopic
examination of the digester blades using electron microscope will be perform to support the
investigation.

Research Background:
Palm oil dominates 38% of the vegetable oil market in the world and is harvested from
fruits of oil palm plants (Elais guineensis). These fruits that also known as fresh fruit bunches
(FFB) in industry, generally comprises of 45-50% of oil content. Palm oil is extracted from the
reddish orange fibre of fruit, referred to as mesocarp, which yields crude palm oil (CPO). The white
fruit kernel in an enclosed shell is then crushed to extract crude palm kernel oil (CPKO), leaving
behind shell and empty fruit bunch (EFB) as by-products.

Sime Darby Plantation (SDP) is the world’s largest oil palm plantation company by planted
area, accounting for about 4% of total global production of CPO [4]. One of the company’s main
activities is the Upstream, which comprised predominantly of oil palm cultivation, harvesting and
milling.

The milling process of palm oil is a process of extracting the harvested FFB of oil palm into
CPO and CPKO as primary products, and biomass as secondary product. This process includes
mainly six parts, which are palm fruits loading, sterilizing, threshing, digesting and pressing,
clarifying of CPO and extraction of CPKO.

However, of all the processes mentioned above, the most significant in palm oil mill
production process is FFB digestion by digester. Digestion is a process by which previous sterilized
fruits are ruptured or broken down the oil-bearing cells by using direct steam. The purpose of

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digestion stage is to separate oil from the palm fibre easily in latter pressing process. This is
achieved by pounding action, in which digesting the fruit at high temperature by the help of direct
steam applied, which helps to lower the viscosity of the oil, eliminates the fruits’ outer glossy cover
(exocarp), and settles the impair of the oil cells subsequent from sterilization stages. Thus, it
picturized that the digestion to palm oil extraction stages are the most wearisome yet essential
operations in palm oil mill.

According to [2], the components of a digester includes of a central rotating shaft with
number of stirring blades attached in a steam heated cylindrical vessel. This mechanisms is design
to stir and rub the palm oil FFB until the pulp from the nuts are loosened while breaking open the
oil cells of the palm oil pulp.

All rotating blades have potential to endure creep as a natural consequence of operating at
high temperature and stresses which lead to limiting life process of a machine. Creep is time-
dependent and continuous plastic deformation of materials over extended periods where strain
continuously increase while the stress (load) is kept constant under high temperature. This
phenomenon occurs at operating temperature above 40% of the absolute melting temperature of
the material [3]. As a result, diffusion at microscopic level of material assist creep at elevated
temperature.

Creep shows itself as “stretched” blade, where the blade elongates from its normal size
during service. While during risky abnormal conditions, this may lead to the blade tip to rub the
non-rotating shroud. Consequently, the “tip rub” brought to downtime of operation to disassemble
the machine for repair and probably required to replace both blades and shroud that very costly. In
addition, not only the failure of blades possible when the inspection procedures are not correctly
followed, but also when the operating temperatures of the digester is exceeded for more than
allowable periods specified by the manufacturers.

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 The relationship of aforementioned digester operations and the creep phenomenon lead to
the analysis of creep failure of the digester blades throughout its operation in palm oil mill.
Compare to other rotating mechanisms such as gas turbines, digester machine endured higher load
and stress as it rotates to stir the solid-like materials, which is the palm oil FFB, rather than gaseous
state fluid. However, the similarities is that both endure high temperature from the steam.
Therefore, it is necessarily to investigate the effects of high temperature of steam in digester to
creep phenomenon of the blades.

Problem Identification:
Based on the research background, the analysis will be emphasized on physical dimension
of digester blades and, its material specifications and characteristics, follows by simulation of creep
phenomenon. Yet, several requirements are need to be provide from the Sime Darby Plantation to
assist in recognizing the creep phenomenon of the digester machine, including without limitation
to history of maintenance, time period since last maintenance, specification of the digester and its
blades, etc. Subsequently, the problems that can be identified for this investigation are such as:

1. How well the failure analysis can provide better reference of creep failure for SDP
compare with normally done before?
2. How will the simulations gained can be compared to the microstructure characteristic
of the blades?

Research Objective
The author states the objectives of this study is to analyze and simulate the creep failure of
the digester blades in palm oil mill of the Sime Darby Plantation. The method that will be apply to
accomplish this study is by using finite element method in ANSYS and microscopic examination
to determine the severity of creep failure. Consequently, the initiation of the blades’ failure can be
detect earlier, and thus, the prediction of digester blades’ life will be possible to gain to ease the
maintenance assessment. However, this will be restricted to the schedules of operation provided
by the Sime Darby Plantation.

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Research Impacts
The study will be fully conducted outside of the author’s university, which is in palm oil
mill if Sime Darby Plantation (SDP), thus, the research contribution will be fully beneficial by
them, especially in operation and maintenance of the Engineering and Mill Department of SDP.
This investigation will be beneficial in operation and maintenance. Specifically, this analysis
conducted will ensure the digester works optimally for certain time period before creep failure can
be detected.

Scope of Problems

Throughout the investigation, the study will be restricted to certain scope, which are as
follows:

1. The result of the creep analysis will be based on provided type of digester manufacturer,
which it may not valid for other types of digester, and may varied with respect to
different manufacturers, type of material and operating designs.
2. Operating conditions of the digester such as, operating schedule, surrounding
conditions, steam condition, load applied, etc.

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 1. Bibliography

[1] A. B. Fashina, O. S. Durodola and I. A. Hammed, Development and Performance

Evaluation of an Oil Palm Fruit Digester, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,
2017. Retrieved on 07/11/2019 from Research Gate website: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/332180645

[2] K. Poku, Small-Scale Palm Oil Processing in Africa, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin
148, 2002. Retrieved on 07/11/2019 from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations website: http://www.fao.org/3/Y4355E/y4355e04.htm#bm04.1.4

[3] D. N. French, Creep and Creep Failures, The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Inspectors, 1991. Retrieved on 07/11/2019 from The National Board of Boiler and Pressure
Vessel Inspectors website: https://www.nationalboard.org/PrintPage.aspx?pageID=181

[4] Sime Darby Plantation. (2018). Unlocking Value. Rise To Apex: Annual Report 2018. Sime
Darby Plantation Pte. Ltd., Malaysia, 2018. Retrieved on 06/11/2019 from
http://www.simedarbyplantation.com/sites/default/files/download/SDP-Annual-Report-
2018.pdf