Exergen Global, an award-winning thermal solutions provider, says TomTom-Tools, a Swiss-based company providing state-of-the-art measurement tools for the cement industry, is employing Exergen’s micro IRt/c-K as part of a customised solution to help its cement manufacturing customers maintain ideal operating temperatures and increase production.
Rotary kilns, used in cement manufacturing, must maintain a very specific temperature range to prevent damage to the refractory stones inside the kiln and to ensure optimal cement mixing temperature.
TomTom-Tools selected Exergen’s micro IRt/c-K for the task because the non-contact sensor employs Exergen’s patented heat-balance technique to provide the industry’s claimed most accurate and reliable non-invasive temperature measurement.
Engineers at TomTom-Tools integrated the Exergen micro IRt/c-K into its Ovality Sensor, a one of a kind tool that is fixed to the exterior of the kiln and that helps extend refractory life by measuring stress in the kiln shell during operation. From outside the kiln, Exergen’s sensor employs the heat balance technique to accurately detect the kiln’s interior temperature, and both the Ovality Sensor and the Exergen Sensor send measurements to a personal computer using a Bluetooth connection. The Exergen sensor solution employs a PID controller to continuously calculate the difference between the desired and measured interior temperature and takes corrective action to maintain the optimal setting.
“We were facing a tremendous technological challenge. But the use of the Exergen’s infrared sensor dramatically helped to reduce refractory stone damage and significantly diminished replacement and maintenance costs. At the same time we were able to increase production time,” said Mr. Thomas Rheinegger, CEO of Tom Tom-Tools.
