Blasting Away the Snowman

The Snowman Problem

A cement plant in the Midwest has reported major buildup issues in their cooler, known as the “snowman”.
A snowman is caused when clinker pouring out of the kiln does not move down through the cooler on the moving floor grates and begins to build upon itself, forming a large mass of hard clinker blocking off the cooler and the air flow.
The plant was experiencing a snowman in the cooler on average 2 to 3 times per week due to the insufficient cleaning power of their air cannons. Consequently, they were looking to replace the air cannons with more powerful units.

The IGS Solution

IGS have provided new air cannons and nozzles to eliminate the snowman. Fanjet nozzles (the standard type used throughout the industry) were replaced with IGS high velocity nozzles. New air cannons were installed with larger air receiver tanks (300L vs 150L) to apply more energy and mass to the blast. IGS automatic safety cylinders were utilized to protect the air cannons from the extreme heat of the cooler.
After 8 months in operation the plant reported they had experienced a total of 2 snowmen in the cooler as opposed to having multiple each week. The cannons are still operating and have had no maintenance issues.