Industrial Training

at
The Medine Sugar Milling Co. LTD

University of Mauritius
Faculty of Engineering
(MPED)

Beng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering

MECH 3100
Training Report

By

Nicolas Yannick Sandra

(ID: 0815102)
JUNE 2015
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... 3

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 6

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 7

1.1 ABOUT THE REPORT .................................................................................................... 7

1.2 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS ............................................................................................ 7
1.3 THE MEDINE GROUP ................................................................................................... 8
1.4 THE INDUSTRIAL SCENE .............................................................................................. 8
1.5 THE PRODUCTS ........................................................................................................... 9
1.6 THE STRUCTURE ....................................................................................................... 10
1.7 ON-GOING PROJECTS ................................................................................................. 12

CHAPTER 2. THE FACTORY’S OPERATIONS ....................................................... 14

2.1 STANDARDS, POLICY AND MONITORING ................................................................... 14

2.2 LAYOUT OF THE FACTORY ......................................................................................... 15
2.3 CANE PREPARATION ................................................................................................. 16
2.3.1 Carrier Tables and Levellers ............................................................................ 16
2.3.2 Shredder & Electromagnet ............................................................................... 17
2.4 MILLING .................................................................................................................... 18
2.4.1 Milling Tandem ................................................................................................. 18
2.4.2 Imbibition .......................................................................................................... 18
2.4.3 Juice Screening ................................................................................................. 19
2.5 CLARIFICATION ......................................................................................................... 19
2.6 EVAPORATION ........................................................................................................... 20
2.7 BOILING .................................................................................................................... 21
2.8 CRYSTALLISATION .................................................................................................... 21
2.9 CENTRIFUGAL ........................................................................................................... 21
2.10 SPECIALISED EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................ 22
2.10.1 Broquet Pump ................................................................................................. 22
2.10.2 Rota Pump ....................................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF THE TRAINING....................................................... 24

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 3.1 ROLE OF THE STUDENT .............................................................................................. 24
3.2 MAJOR ASSIGNMENT: CREATING AN EQUIPMENT DATABASE ................................... 25
3.2.1 Objective ........................................................................................................... 25
3.2.2 Background Description ................................................................................... 25
3.2.3 Requirements..................................................................................................... 25
3.2.4 Computerised Maintenance Management Systems ........................................... 26
3.2.5 Existing Solutions.............................................................................................. 26
3.2.6 Methodology ..................................................................................................... 27
3.2.7 Identified Hitches: ............................................................................................. 28
3.2.8 Report ................................................................................................................ 28
3.2.9 Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................... 33
3.3 MINOR ASSIGNMENT: PUMP HEAD CALCULATION FOR THE TRANSFER PUMP .......... 36
3.3.1 Background Description ................................................................................... 36
3.3.2 Methodology ..................................................................................................... 36
3.3.3 Calculations ...................................................................................................... 37
3.3.4 Conclusion and Recommendation..................................................................... 41

CHAPTER 4: MAINTENANCE .................................................................................... 43

4.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... 43
4.2 IDENTIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTION ........................................................ 43
4.3 WEEKLY SERVICING ................................................................................................. 44
4.4 MAINTENANCE OF THE SHREDDER ............................................................................ 45
4.4.1 Shredder Hammers ........................................................................................... 45
4.4.2 Tuning the shredder .......................................................................................... 46

CHAPTER 5: TECHNICAL SKILLS AND OBSERVATIONS ................................ 48

5.1 MANUFACTURING OF PARTS ...................................................................................... 48

5.1.1 Tools and equipment ......................................................................................... 48
5.2 KEYED JOINTS ........................................................................................................... 48
5.2.1 Types of keys ..................................................................................................... 49
5.2.2 Dimensions ........................................................................................................ 49
5.2.3 Steps for the manufacture of a keyway for a parallel sunk key ........................ 50
5.3 WORM DRIVE ALIGNMENT ......................................................................................... 54
5.4 BELTS ....................................................................................................................... 55

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 5.4.1 Alignment .......................................................................................................... 55
5.4.2 Troubleshooting ................................................................................................ 56
5.4.3 Belt tensioning .................................................................................................. 56
5.4 EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION........................................................................................... 58

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 63

APPENDIX ....................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

LOG BOOK ................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

SITE SUPERVISOR APPRAISAL FORM ......................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

List of Figures

FIGURE 1: ORGANIGRAM OF THE FACTORY ......................................................................... 11

FIGURE 2: ELECTRIC MOTORS TO REPLACE THE STEAM TURBINES ON THE MILLS ................ 12
FIGURE 3: CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BOILER ......................................................................... 13
FIGURE 4: CIVIL WORKS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW TURBO-ALTERNATOR ......... 13
FIGURE 5: CANE TABLE & ROCK KICKER ........................................................................... 17
FIGURE 6: SHREDDER & ELECTROMAGNET ......................................................................... 17
FIGURE 7: MILL ROLLER ..................................................................................................... 18
FIGURE 8: ROTARY DRUM FILTER ...................................................................................... 19
FIGURE 9: THE BROQUET PUMP TOOTH PROFILE AND OPERATION ....................................... 23
FIGURE 10: ROTA PUMP (REIN, 2007) ................................................................................. 23
FIGURE 11: NUMBER OF WEEKS SPENT AT THE MEDINE SUGAR MILLING FACTORY............ 24
FIGURE 12: DAMAGED NAMEPLATES .................................................................................. 28
FIGURE 13: TABLES AND HEADINGS .................................................................................... 30
FIGURE 14: GEARBOX RELATIONSHIP ................................................................................. 31
FIGURE 15: THE DATABASE MAIN MENU ............................................................................. 32
FIGURE 16: DEPARTMENT SELECTION................................................................................. 32
FIGURE 17: EQUIPMENT SELECTION DROP-BOX .................................................................. 33
FIGURE 18: GEARBOX RESULT WINDOW.............................................................................. 35
FIGURE 19: SKETCH (ISOMETRIC VIEW) OF THE TRANSFER PUMP PIPING SYSTEM ................ 42
FIGURE 20: DE AND NDE BEARING TEMPERATURE PROFILES ............................................. 44

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FIGURE 21: MODELLED REPRESENTATION OF SHREDDER HAMMER ..................................... 46
FIGURE 22: ORIENTATION OF THE HAMMERS AT HIGH AND LOW SPEED (EXAGGERATED) ... 47
FIGURE 23: FINDING THE CENTRE OF SHAFT CROSS SECTION ............................................... 51
FIGURE 24: DRAWING TWO PARALLEL LINES ...................................................................... 52
FIGURE 25: DRAWING PERPENDICULAR BISECTOR TO L1 .................................................... 53
FIGURE 26: MANUFACTURED PART ..................................................................................... 54
FIGURE 27: CRYSTALLISERS’ STIRRER WORM DRIVE ........................................................... 54
FIGURE 28: CONTACT PATTERN ON WORM GEAR ................................................................. 55
FIGURE 29: FENNER BELT TENSIONING EQUIPMENT ............................................................ 57

List of Tables
TABLE 1: CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTATION WHITE SUGAR AS PER AGREEMENT ............. 10
TABLE 2: PIPE ROUGHNESS (TOWLER & SINNOTT, 2012) ................................................... 37
TABLE 3: PIPE INTERNAL DIAMETERS .................................................................................. 37
TABLE 4: 12” PIPELINE LOSSES ........................................................................................... 38
TABLE 5: 8" PIPELINE LOSSES ............................................................................................. 39
TABLE 6: 4" PIPELINE LOSSES ............................................................................................. 40
TABLE 7: STOP PROCEDURE FOR WEEKLY SERVICING ......................................................... 45
TABLE 8: PROPORTIONS OF STANDARD PARALLEL KEY ....................................................... 50
TABLE 9: TENSIONING FORCES ............................................................................................ 57

4
 Executive Summary

This report was elaborated as a partial requirement following my industrial placement at

The Medine Sugar Milling Co. Ltd. All the facts and figures given in this report was
provided by the members working at the factory. Additional information was gathered
from the Annual report of the Industry and factory as well as the Medine’s Master plan.

The content of the report gives an overview of the departments, process and working
principles of the main components which run the factory such as the shredder, mills,
evaporators, clarifiers along with auxiliaries associated to complete the functional
activities of the system.

The report also includes the organisational structure of the company as well as the
standards and policy in place. As a mechanical engineering student I worked in close
collaboration with the mechanics team from the workshop performing various task such
as attending to interventions during equipment failure, manufacturing of parts, routine
verification of equipment, alignment of pulleys and belt tensioning among others.

I was also assigned the task to update the list of equipment present on site as well as
minor assignments during my stay at the company.

5
 Acknowledgements

This repot would not have been successful without the help and cooperation of many
people and institutions. I place on record my gratitude to the following person:

 Mr Robert Mariette, factory general manager of The Medine Sugar Milling Co.
Ltd for granting permission in the factory.

 Mr Thomy Thandaven, my site supervisor, factory assistant at The Medine Sugar

Milling Co. Ltd, for his valuable guidance, constant encouragement and prompt
responses during the training period.

 Mr Clarel Andre and Hans Babylone, support engineers at The Medine Sugar
Milling Co. Ltd; Mrs Patricia Babet, quality system coordinator of the factory; Mr
Gillian Boissézon, administrative officer; Mr Silvain Manique, shift supervisor;
Mr Clifford Cumala, Chief boiler operator; Mr Bushan Seetanah, chemist; Mr
Francois Seneque, electrical engineer and Mr Jean Marie Athalie, production
manager who readily and diligently answered to my questions.

 The mechanical workshop staff with a special thanks to Hervé Cangy, Robert
Moonesamy, Dominic Castor, Titendrah Uppiah and Eurick Bauda.

I also thank my parents, all colleagues and other persons who directly or indirectly helped
me to complete this training.

6
Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 About the Report

This report is submitted as a partial requirement for the award of a Beng (Hons)
Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Mauritius. It concludes my
Industrial training of 27 weeks at “The Medine Sugar Milling Co. Ltd”.

The organisation of the following chapters and the topics discussed are presented in this
introductory section.

1.2 Overview of Chapters

 Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter will briefly introduce the Company through a description of the
actual industrial scene within which it operates; its product range and its vision for
the future as well.

 Chapter 2: The factory’s Operation

The manufacturing processes will be discussed with respect to the governing

policies, standards and customer requirements.

 Chapter 3: Overview of the Training

The context of the training will be depicted in this chapter through a description of
the major and minor tasks assigned to me during my training period as well as the
hitches encountered during the accomplishment of the tasks.

 Chapter 4: Maintenance

What maintenance tasks are performed, how often and by whom will be discussed
in this chapter for the harvest season.

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  Chapter 5: Observations and Outcomes

Personal observations based on the 27 weeks spent at “The Medine Sugar Milling
Co. LTD” will be presented. Furthermore a link will be made between the skills
required in practice and the knowledge acquired during studies.

1.3 The Medine Group

Medine was first founded as a sugar estate in 1911 (Medine, 2014a). Over the years
Medine has diversified its activities and is now comprised of three main clusters:

 Agriculture (Medine, 2014b)

Which further encompasses the nursery, landscaping services, fruits and

vegetables and the sugar milling factory.

 Leisure (Medine, 2014c)

Which consists of “Tamarina Golf Club”, “Tamarina Boutique Hotel” and “Casela
World of Adventures”.

 Property (Medine, 2014d)

Responsible for the development of the company’s land assets.

1.4 The Industrial Scene

The Medine estate is an active contributor to the Mauritian economy and more precisely
to the sugar industry. With 3,316 hectares of sugar cane being cultivated on the west coast
of the island, the estate represents roughly 6% of the annual sugar cane area harvested
(54,140 hectares in 2012) (Statistics Mauritius, 2014).

The group overall achieved a turnover of MUR 1,322 million with a net profit of MUR 34
million in 2012. During this same period the sugar related activities of the group
including milling reached a turnover of MUR 667 million (Medine, 2013).

8
Still, the revenues from one year to the other can vary considerably in the sugar industry
depending on the amount of sugar cane harvested as well as the selling price of the sugar
produced. This is why emphasis is constantly placed on the improvement of productivity
and reduction of costs associated to the factory’s operation.

1.5 The Products

There exist several types of sugar such as raw, plantation white and refined white sugar
among others. At the Medine sugar milling factory, only one type of sugar is produced.
Since 2009, Medine produces only Plantation White Sugar (PWS). As per an agreement
with Omnicane, the produced sugar is then processed into refined white sugar.

The quality of the product delivered to Omnicane is determined by a series of physical

and chemical properties of the sugar. Tests are performed daily by the Medine laboratory
for every 4 trucks of sugar loaded. That is on a given day, the sugar loaded on the 1st, 5th,
9th truck and so on will be tested. The characteristics of the sugar and the acceptable range
as determined by the agreement between Medine and Omnicane are listed in the Table 1.

In the case of anomalies arising, the chemist informs the factory of correctives actions
which need to be undertaken.

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 Table 1: Characteristics of Plantation White Sugar as per agreement

Characteristics of Plantation White Sugar Acceptable Range

ICUMSA Colour 350 – 600

Polarity (%) 99.3 – 99.6

Humidity (%) 0.08 – 0.12

Conductivity Ash 0.05 – 0.10

RS 0.03 – 0.10

Insoluble < 100 ppm

Magnetic Particles < 10 ppm

Yeast and Moles < 200 CFU per gram

1.6 The Structure

It should be noted that the staff at the factory is flexible especially during the off-season
when there is no production of sugar. For instance, the chemist who is normally
responsible for testing of the sugar produced during production will be responsible for
clarification and plumbing during the off-season.

The same goes for the laboratory staff which join the plumbers and workshop’s
mechanics team due to the inactivity of the laboratory services during this period. This
contributes to a more even distribution of the work load among the staff.

Figure 1 illustrates the reporting line in place at the factory as well as the responsibilities
associated to each functions.

10
Figure 1: Organigram of the factory

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1.7 On-going Projects

 Replacement of steam turbines by electric motors

The mills for the 2015-2016 harvest season will be powered by electric motors (Figure
2a) instead of steam turbines (figure 2b) in order to maximise the production of electricity
from the steam produced.

Figure 2: Electric motors to replace the steam turbines on the mills

 Construction of a new boiler

A boiler from Union St Aubin (70 T/h; 4350C) is being installed on site (Figure 3) such
that the operation of the two Babcock boilers (35 T/h each) will no longer be required.

 Installation of a new Turbo-alternator

A new Turbo-alternator will be installed (figure 4) to replace the actual two 1.5 MW
Brush Turbo-alternators. This will generate additional revenue to the factory by exporting
excess power to the Central Electricity Board power grid.

12
 Figure 3: Construction of new boiler

Figure 4: Civil works for the construction of the new turbo-alternator

13
Chapter 2. The factory’s Operations

This chapter presents the process at the Medine factory from a technical point of view by
going through the governing policies and standards; quality monitoring of the products;
the important processes required for the production of Plantation White Sugar with
requirements as discussed in section 1.5 and the specialised equipment present on the site.

2.1 Standards, Policy and Monitoring

The procedures adopted for the manufacturing of Plantation White Sugar need to be abide
to the standards that have been granted to the company in order to ensure that the product
is of appropriate quality. Listed below are the standards by which the factory needs to
abide:

 ISO 9000 – Quality Management (The International Organization for

Standardization (ISO), 2014a)

Aims at increasing the factory’s efficiency (by increasing productivity and reducing
unnecessary costs) and improving customer’s satisfaction through a series of
guidelines.

 ISO 14000 – Environmental Management (The International Organization for

Standardization (ISO), 2014b)

Helps the factory by providing practical tools to identify and control the
environmental impact of its activities. This standard aims at minimising negative
environmental impact, comply with environmental requirements and continuously
improving these aspects of the factory’s operations.

 ISO 22000 – Food Safety Management (The International Organization for

Standardization (ISO), 2014c)

Stresses the need for the factory to demonstrate its ability to control food safety
hazards. The standard helps at identifying and controlling food safety hazards which
will ultimately ensure that the food is safe.

14
Besides these standards, the factory’s operations should also abide with the internal
policy which exists in the form of a “Politik L’izine” in place since 2012 which states
that the factory engages itself to:

 Protect the environment in all its activities.

 Review each year its environmental objectives and projects.
 Reduce pollution and improve its environmental impact.
 Ensure the proper quality and soundness of its sugar through the establishment
precautionary measures, procedures and control.
 Respect the laws regarding the environment, food safety and the safety of each
employee.
 Be responsible and honour the trust of its clients.

The factory also works in close collaboration with the laboratory in order to control the
quality of the sugar delivered to the clients as discussed in Section 1.5 of this report.

All the employees and visitors at the factory must also wear Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) in order to prevent injuries and/or diseases in the workplace. The
required PPEs are:

 Safety Shoes
 Helmets
 Googles
 Reflective Bibs
 Ear muff or Ear plugs

Additional equipment (for instance, gloves and masks) may also be required depending
on the type of job performed.

2.2 Layout of the factory

The factory is divided into sections depending on the type of process being carried out.
The main sections are:

15
  Cane handling
 Cane preparation
 Milling
 Clarification
 Evaporation
 Boiling
 Centrifugation

These sections will now be described in further details in the following sections.

2.3 Cane Preparation

The aim of cane preparation is to reduce the size of the cane to a size appropriate for it to
be fed to the mills. Two types of canes is processed at the Medine sugar mill:

 Chopped cane obtained from mechanised harvesting.

 Long cane obtained from traditional harvesting methods.

Chopped cane is smaller in size and is exposed to the environment at both ends. Hence
degradation occurs more rapidly in chopped cane than in long cane. For this reason,
chopped cane is processed in priority.

2.3.1 Carrier Tables and Levellers

The cane is conveyed to the shredder through a series of carrier tables (Figure 5a). The
tables are fitted with levellers and carding drums to even and compact the load of cane on
the tables prior to shredding. Furthermore, the 1st main cane carrier table is equipped with
a rock kicker (Figure 5b) rotating at high speed to eject any rocks present amongst the
cane being conveyed.

16
 Figure 5: Cane Table & Rock Kicker

2.3.2 Shredder & Electromagnet

The final preparation of the cane is performed by the shredder (Figure 6a) which consists
of 135 hammers rotating at high speed. The aim of the shredder is to disintegrate the
sugar containing cells of the cane without extracting juice from the cane. Its performance
is measured by a preparation index which is determined by the laboratory.

Typically, the index decreases during the week due to wearing of the hammers. Hence,
the shredder is tuned on a weekly basis. This task is described in further details in section
4.4.2.

Prior to milling, the shredded cane is stripped of the scrap iron components present. This
is performed by passing the shredded cane under an electromagnet (Figure 6b).

Figure 6: Shredder & Electromagnet

17
2.4 Milling
2.4.1 Milling Tandem

Milling is the process during which juice is extracted from the shredded cane by applying
pressure. The milling tandem of the Medine Sugar Milling Co Ltd consists of 6 milling
units where the cane is passed through a succession of rollers. The rollers have
circumferential grooves which allow the juice to flow out while forcing the cane between
the rollers. Hard surfacing (arcing) is performed on the rollers in order to create
imperfections which improves the grip of the roller and reduces the wear of the rollers
(Figure 7).

Arcing is performed with “CARBO Sugartrode” which is a heavy coated high efficiency
hardfacing electrode specially designed for applications subject to strong abrasive wear
combined with moderate impact, medium shocks and compression as well as humidity or
wetness. (Hardness of all-weld metal: 50 – 60 HRc)

Figure 7: Mill Roller

2.4.2 Imbibition

In order to maximise juice extraction two methods are available:

 Imbibition
 Diffusion

18
The method actually used in the factory is imbibition. The bagasse is soaked with water at
50-60 0C before entering the last mill. The extracted juice is then recirculated back to the
5th mill which is in turn recirculated to the 4th mill and so on until the juice from the 3rd
mill is re-injected in the 2nd mill. This recirculated juice is then mixed with the pure juice
from the 1st mill to form a mixed juice which is the starting point for the following
chemical processes.

2.4.3 Juice Screening

The mixed juice contains bagasse particles which could become problematic at a later
stage of the process. The mixed juice is passed through a rotary drum filter (Figure 8) to
separate the bagasse from the juice. The recovered bagasse is sent back to the 2nd mill by
a screw conveyor. The juice on the other hand is collected at the bottom of the drum
where it is channelled to the waiting/weighing hopper. The juice is then weighed before
clarification.

Improper functioning of the filter can be identified if the majority of the juice takes the
path designed for the recovered bagasse. This indicates that the sieve is obstructed and
requires cleaning.

Figure 8: Rotary Drum Filter

2.5 Clarification

Clarification is the process by which impurities are removed from the juice. The process
takes place in 5 steps:

19
  Heating

The first step of the clarification process is known as heating. It is performed in 3

stages: first to 55 0C, then to 80 0C and finally to 103 0C. Heating is beneficial to the
process since it increases rate of reaction and reduces microbial activity leading to
lower losses of sucrose.

Initial heating is performed by shell and tube heat exchanger whereas the intermediate
and final heating is performed by Plate Heat Exchangers which are more efficient.

 Liming

This process corrects the pH of the juice to a slightly alkaline pH which causes
coagulation and preserves the reducing sugars present in the juice.

 Sulphitation

Sulphitation is a process which helps removing colour from the juice. It is performed
on request from the laboratory when tests indicate that the colour might not meet the
customer’s requirements.

 Flashing

Flashing is performed to remove air from the juice to facilitate settling.

 Settling

Settling is performed in special vessels which separates the impurities which settle at
the bottom from the clear juice.

2.6 Evaporation

Evaporation converts the clear juice into syrup. This is performed in evaporators (closed
pressure vessels) which are divided in two distinct sections. The juice will flow inside the
tubular calendria and steam flows outside of the tubes.

The performance of the evaporator and the quality of the syrup produced is measured by
the brix. The brix is the sugar content by mass of an aqueous solution.

20
 � �
� �� =
� �

2.7 Boiling

The syrup is converted into massecuite through the boiling process. This is performed in
the 6 vacuum pans present in the factory. These vacuum pans work on the principle that
the syrup will boil at a lower temperature if the pressure is lowered.

Depending on the type of seed injected to the vacuum pan, three types of massecuites are
produced namely: A-massecuite, B-massecuite and C-massecuite.

2.8 Crystallisation

Crystallisation is achieved by cooling the massecuite in a continuously stirred open vessel

in order to complete the growth of existing crystals and forcing the exhaustion of
molasses.

The open vessel allows the water present to evaporate which improves heat dissipation
while stirring ensures a uniform temperature distribution. Two types of crystallisers are
present on the site:

 Horizontal crystalliser
 Vertical crystalliser

2.9 Centrifugal

The desired sugar crystal is now in the form of small particles suspended in a solution.
The sugar crystals is recovered by generating a centrifugal force while injecting water and
steam to wash the crystals.

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Two types of centrifugals are present at Medine:

 Continuous type
 Batch type

Once recovered, the sugar crystals is conveyed to a silo where it is stored.

2.10 Specialised Equipment

The Medine factory also has equipment specially designed for the sugar industry.
Massecuite pumps differ from traditional pumps given the consistency of the massecuite.
Two specialised equipment present on site are the Broquet pump and Rota pump.

2.10.1 Broquet Pump

The broquet pump is a positive displacement pump characterised by its exceptional gear
profile. It is used to pump massecuite from the receivers to the crystallisers. The
massecuite being a high viscosity fluid containing suspended crystals, the Broquet pump
is suitable since:

 It lowers crystals damage in contrast to conventional pumps

 It leads to low emulsification
 It is totally reversible

Figure 9 shows the Broquet pump and its gear profile.

22
 Figure 9: The Broquet pump tooth profile and operation

2.10.2 Rota Pump

The Rota pump is the most widely used massecuite pump. It is made up of a lobe rotating
slowly inside of a shaped body (Figure 10). A sprung seal is located on the outlet side in
order to minimise slip. The Rota pump casing is made of cast iron due to the abrasive
properties of massecuite.

The Rota pump is also able to work with high viscosity fluids however it is less effective
in protecting the crystals from damage than the Broquet pump. It is cheaper and requires
less maintenance as compared to the Broquet pump.

Figure 10: Rota Pump (Rein, 2007)

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Chapter 3: Overview of the training

This chapter presents the organisation of the industrial training. The methodology
adopted, the difficulties encountered, the results and conclusions of the main and side
tasks will be presented.

I had the opportunity to be present at the factory during both the harvest and off-season.
However the majority of my stay was during the harvest season as represented in Figure
11.

Harvest season

22 Off-season

Figure 11: Number of weeks spent at the Medine Sugar Milling factory

3.1 Role of the student

As a trainee, the following were expected from me during my stay in the company:

 To work in a team
 Complete the tasks assigned during my training
 Effectively communicate the completed assignments to my site supervisor
 Write an industrial report and submit to my site supervisor for approval

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3.2 Major Assignment: Creating an Equipment Database

3.2.1 Objective

The objective of this assignment was to create an equipment database for the factory to
help the management with the maintenance of the factory’s assets.

3.2.2 Background Description

The currently available database (created in 2007) is in the form of a macro enabled
“Microsoft Excel” spreadsheet. The main spreadsheet is linked to several other
spreadsheets from which it gathers its data.

The management has given up on using this software since it is not user-friendly, in fact
to add or modify an asset, one has to track the asset in three different spreadsheets. This is
a lengthy and strenuous procedure which has a high probability of leading to mistakes.

3.2.3 Requirements

The requirements set by the management for the database are as follows:

 Database should include informations relating to the equipment nameplate (such

as model, make, serial number etc…)
 Database should include informations pertaining to the consumables associated to
the equipment (such as bearings, oil seals, belts, impellers etc…)
 A hierarchy should be established based on the department and process to which
the equipment belongs.
 Keep it simple to use: The database needs to be constantly updated when changes
are made in the factory. User friendliness is key for the management to continue
using the software and will ensure that the database is always up to date.

25
3.2.4 Computerised Maintenance Management Systems

Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) are software databases which

store information regarding an organisation’s assets. They are intended to keep track of
the assets details, the maintenance schedules and tasks as well as keeping a historical
record concerning the assets.

CMMS packages include the following features:

 Generating Work orders

Through the CMMS software, maintenance teams can be assigned to a task. The
CMMS software also records any comments and recommendations from an
intervention report as well as scheduling recurring work to be performed on an
equipment.

 Asset Management

Keeping records of the equipment specifications, purchase date, warrantee

information and spare parts among others.

3.2.5 Existing Solutions

Maintenance Assistant (MA CMMS) Software

 Easy import (using drag and drop) of existing database from excel or CSV.
 Easily add equipment using a mobile phone camera and GPS just by walking
through the facility.
 Easily organise into hierarchy using drag and drop.
 Ability to attach videos, pictures and manuals to generated work orders.
 Purchasing module to create purchasing orders to either buy on-line or send to
suppliers.
 Is a cloud based software: i.e. it is available from the web browser or on mobile.
 As from $19 USD / month.

26
FastMaint CMMS Software

 Email/ text (SMS) of work orders to the maintenance staff.

 Creation of templates for planned and unplanned maintenance work orders.
 Attach pictures, links and documents to work orders.
 Tracking of inventory usage and reordering.
 Ability to balance maintenance workloads to reduce overtime costs.
 As from $495 USD.

Microsoft Access

 Not specifically designed for maintenance but is a potential tool to create a

database which will best serve the company.
 Requires more time to build the database since it needs to be created from scratch
(no suitable templates).
 Available in the Office Professional Plus package as from $400 USD.
 Microsoft Access is already present on the computers at the company therefore no
additional software needs to be purchased to create and use the database.

3.2.6 Methodology

1. Identification of the useful parameters to be recorded.

2. Assets cataloguing: Recording the nameplates of equipment in a systematic way
in order not to miss any equipment. Therefore equipment were recorded one
section at a time.
3. Gathering information from the team leaders and engineers regarding spare parts
which cannot usually be identified without dismantling the equipment.
4. Using “Microsoft Excel” spreadsheet software to initially compile the data.
5. Creation of a “Microsoft Access” database which presents the data collected as
per the assignment’s requirements.

27
3.2.7 Identified Hitches:

 Damaged or unreadable nameplates

Some equipment are present on the site for decades now and their nameplate that have
been damaged with time (figure 12). Some have been covered with paint when the
equipment were re-painted. Removing the paint by scraping makes the nameplate
unreadable if the characters are not engraved.

Figure 12: Damaged nameplates

 Inaccessible Equipment

This issue is encountered mostly when the factory is in operation. Some equipment
are not accessible due to the safety hazard that may be associated to their operation
due to the presence of rotating parts and high temperatures among others.

 Missing data

The records kept by the team leaders did not contain all the equipment present on site.
Therefore some data will only be available the next time the equipment will be
dismantled.

3.2.8 Report

 Following a quick survey of various equipment regarding the parameters exposed

on the nameplates, the associated spare parts etc.., it was found that parameters
vary and that a grouping by type of equipment was required. 5 main categories
were identified, namely:

28
 1. Motors
2. Reduction Gearboxes
3. Pumps
4. Turbines
5. Industrial Brakes
 Recording the equipment characteristics was a lengthy process. All equipment
characteristics for a section were recorded before proceeding to the other. This
ensured that no equipment was left-out.
 The characteristics recorded were computerised using a spreadsheet software. 5
distinct spreadsheets were created depending on the categories identified
previously.
 The spreadsheets were then automatically imported into the database software.
These tables (Figure 13) are the foundation of the designed software.
 In order to illustrate the functioning of the software, the steps required to search
for a reduction gearbox will be illustrated.

29
Figure 13: Tables and headings

30
 Relationships were then created to link the tables to each other. Figure 14
illustrates the relationship for the reduction gearbox equipment. Similar
relationships were created for the other types of equipment as well.

Figure 14: Gearbox Relationship

 The main menu of the software (Figure 15) allows the user to choose the
equipment category he/she wants investigate. For our case, we will choose the
reduction gearbox category.

31
 Figure 15: The database main menu

 Selecting the gearbox category brings to screen the window where the user
chooses the department, process equipment and sub-equipment where the desired
gearbox is located. Note from Figure 16 that the cane handling department does
not appear in the drop down list since no reduction gearboxes are present on the
overhead travelling cranes. The department drop-down list adapts itself to the
equipment category selected previously.

Figure 16: Department Selection

 Selecting the cane preparation department generates a query will looks for all
gearboxes having “cane preparation” assigned to the department field. The
equipment drop-box is then loaded with all the values assigned to the equipment

32
 field of the query results. As a result, only the equipment located in the cane
preparation department in our case will be loaded in the equipment drop-box
(Figure 17). The same principle is applied to the sub-equipment drop-box.

Figure 17: Equipment Selection Drop-box

 This window creates the hierarchy defined as a requirement for the presentation of
the database.
 Clicking on the search button with any blank drop-boxes would cause the software
to crash since the queries would return no result. Therefore “if” statements were
used to prevent the software from performing the search command in this
scenario.
 Figure 18 shows the gearbox result window. The fields are protected and can only
be edited by clicking on the edit button as a security measure.

3.2.9 Conclusion and Recommendations

The database was successfully completed before the end of my training and encompasses
a total of 318 equipment present on site. Several skills were developed in order to
complete this assignment such as the ability to plan my work; to identity and work
according to the needs of the company and to present the finished product to the
management.

33
Moreover I developed my abilities to design databases and enriched my knowledge of
“Microsoft Access” software by making use of queries; macros; creating tables and
relationships.

Recommendations

Some data still needs to be gathered during the next servicing. I acknowledge that during
the harvest season interventions need to be rapid in order to reduce downtime. I therefore
recommend that a maintenance intervention report sheet be set in place during the current
off-season maintenance. The sheet should include fields for the team leader to write the
characteristics of the consumables found in the equipment being serviced.

Comparing to existing CMMS software

As compared to existing CMMS solutions available, the designed database lacks

additional functionalities besides merely populating and consulting the equipment
database. For instance, the designed software does not have the functionalities to create
work orders, to monitor the inventories and to create purchasing orders. The software
should however perform well at the factory since it was tailor-made for the type of
equipment present on site.

A financial saving was made by using “Microsoft Access” software which is readily
available on each computer at the factory instead of purchasing an additional software.
The staff is also familiar to “Microsoft Access” and no training will be required to use the
designed database.

34
Figure 18: Gearbox result window

35
3.3 Minor Assignment: Pump Head Calculation for the Transfer Pump

3.3.1 Background Description

The transfer pump is located in the boiler section of the factory. Its duty is to transport hot
water at 950 C from the hotwell located approximately at 3 metres above ground level to
the de-aerator located at approximately 11 metres above ground level.

The hotwell is a vessel which recovers all the condensate steam from the process
(evaporators, shell and tube heat exchangers, plate heat exchanger etc…). The de-aerator
on the other hand, recovers condensate from the turbo-alternator as well as the recovered
condensate from the hotwell via the transfer pump. Feed pumps then pump this recovered
hot water from the de-aerator to the Thomson boiler which can produce up to 50 tons of
steam per hour.

The pump discussed in this section was recently delivered and being used for the first
time during this harvest season. The pump performed well for boiler regimes lower than
38 tons of steam per hour. However for higher boiler regimes, the pump could not deliver
at the required flow rate. This creates a hot water deficit in the de-aerator which triggers
alarms and has even led to a 4 hour breakdown.

The aim of this assignment was to determine whether the new pump, claimed to have a
pump head of 25 metres, was undersized.

3.3.2 Methodology

 Record, using a measuring tape, the length of pipes, the discharge static head and
the suction static head.
 Record the fittings present in the piping system (such as elbows, valves etc…).
 Sketch the piping system in isometric view.
 Calculation of the total head using fitting equivalent length method since a high
degree of precision was not required according to the factory management.

36
3.3.3 Calculations

 A literature value of 0.046 mm for the absolute roughness of the pipes was
selected based on Table 2.

Table 2: Pipe Roughness (Towler & Sinnott, 2012)

Material Absolute Roughness (mm)

Drawn Tubing 0.0015

Commercial Steel Pipe 0.046

Cast Iron Pipe 0.26

Concrete Pipe 0.3 to 3.0

 Internal Pipe diameters values were retrieved from the web

(http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ansi-steel-pipes-d_305.html) and are
summarised in Table 3.

Table 3: Pipe internal diameters

Pipe internal Diameter Pipe internal diameter

Pipe Size (in)
(in) ( x 10-3 m)

12 11.94 303.276

8 7.98 202.692

4 4.03 102.362

 The dynamic viscosity was obtained from property tables (Towler & Sinnott,
2012) for water at 3680 K (950 C).

37
 Dynamic viscosity = 0.29112 mNs / m2

12” Pipeline

� − −
Cross sectional Area of pipe = ×[ . × ] = . × m2

Fluid Velocity, u = × −
= 0.46 m/s
. ×

Relative roughness = 0.046 / 303.276 = 0.0002

. × . × − ×
Reynolds number = − = 4.8 × 105
. ×

Table 4: 12” Pipeline losses

Fitting / Valve Equivalent Pipe Diameter

Entry 25

Elbow 450 15

Total 40

Extra length of pipe to represent losses = 40 × (303.276 × 10-3) = 12.13 m

Total length of 12” piping for friction loss calculation = 12.13 + 2.10 = 14.23 m

From pipe friction v/s Reynolds number and relative roughness diagram (Towler &
Sinnott, 2012),

Friction factor = 0.00175

× . ×( . ⁄ . )× × .
ΔPf = = 69.5 N/m2

= 0.0071 m (negligible)

38
8” Pipeline

� − −
Cross sectional Area of pipe = ×[ . × ] = . × m2

Fluid Velocity, u = × −
= 1.03 m/s
. ×

Relative roughness = 0.046 / 202.692 = 0.0002

. × . × − ×
Reynolds number = − = 7.1 × 105
. ×

Table 5: 8" Pipeline losses

Fitting / Valve Equivalent Pipe Diameter

Entry 25

Elbow 900 40

Elbow 450 15

Gate Valve 7.5

Exit 25

Total 112.5

Extra length of pipe to represent losses = 112.5 × (202.69 × 10-3) = 22.80 m

Total length of 8” piping for friction loss calculation = 22.80 + 2.1 = 24.9 m

From pipe friction v/s Reynolds number and relative roughness diagram (Towler &
Sinnott, 2012), Friction factor = 0.00175

× . ×( . ⁄ )× × .
.
ΔPf = = 912.3 N/m2

= 0.092 m

39
4” Pipeline

� − −
Cross sectional Area of pipe = ×[ . × ] = . × m2

Fluid Velocity, u = × −
= 4.05 m/s
. ×

Relative roughness = 0.046 / 102.362 = 0.0004

. × . × − ×
Reynolds number = − = 1.4 × 106
. ×

Table 6: 4" Pipeline losses

Fitting / Valve Equivalent Pipe Diameter

Elbow 450 (2 × 15)

Elbow 900 (5 × 40)

Butterfly Valve 20

Non return Valve 6

Gate Valve ( 2 × 7.5)

Plug Valve 18

Exit 50

Total 339

Extra length of pipe to represent losses = 339 × (102.362 × 10-3) = 34.7 m

Total length of 8” piping for friction loss calculation = 34.7 + 23.05 = 57.75 m

From pipe friction v/s Reynolds number and relative roughness diagram (Towler &
Sinnott, 2012),

Friction factor = 0.002

40
 × . ×( . ⁄ . )× × .
ΔPf = = 74,031 N/m2

= 7.55 m

Total Dynamic Head

Discharge head = 11.06 m

Suction head = 3.56 m

Total Friction loss = 0.0071 + 0.092 + 7.55 = 7.65 m

Total Dynamic head = 11.06 + 7.65 – 3.56 = 15.15 m

3.3.4 Conclusion and Recommendation

The required total dynamic head of the pump is less than the claimed pump head of 25
metres. The pump is therefore oversized and should be able to deliver 120 m3/h of hot
water to the de-aerator.

Following these results, further investigation of the pipeline condition is required to

identify any presence of leaks and/or piping sections in bad conditions.

Recommendation

Measurements of the pipe lengths and identification of the fittings located on the pipeline
are steps which could have been avoided. In fact, this time consuming step requires two
members of the personnel.

This step is still performed since there exist no piping diagrams for the factory. I
recommend that “as-made” isometric sketches of the piping system of the factory be
stored for consultations. These sketches will also prove useful when the pumps
characteristics need to be found out when ordering new pumps.

The engineer will then be able assign his personnel to other important tasks and
concentrate his attention on the calculation part since the sketches are readily available.
Ultimately this will improve the working speed and productivity of the engineer.

41
Figure 19: Sketch (isometric view) of the Transfer pump piping system

42
Chapter 4: Maintenance

4.1 Introduction

The default maintenance strategy during the harvest season is a weekly servicing
performed on Sundays. While this maintenance strategy can be costly to businesses if a
major break-down occurs during the week, it is the maintenance strategy that best suits
the factory’s operating mode. It should be kept in mind that the factory operates
continuously from Monday morning till Sunday.

Moreover the configuration of equipment at the factory is such as to reduce down time
due to equipment failure. In fact, the important (which cannot be by-passed) equipment in
the process are present in duplicates. That is, one in operation and a spare equipment on
standby.

I spent the harvest season with the mechanics team of the workshop. I was able to identify
their approach regarding maintenance and will address this subject in this chapter.

4.2 Identification of Equipment malfunction

At the factory, visual inspection is the first method used to identify malfunctions. The
mechanics make use of the their visual senses to detect oil leaks for example and hearing
senses to detect abnormal noise due to a belt reaching end of life or issues with bearings.

With experience the mechanics have developed skills that help in establishing a
preliminary diagnostic. For instance, a whistling noise would indicate insufficient
lubrication of a bearing whereas a rattling noise would indicate the presence of foreign
matter in the bearing. Being able to establish a preliminary diagnostic will then lead to
taking the appropriate decision.

Temperature monitoring is also performed on sensible equipment. For instance the

sleeves of the reduction gearboxes or bearings of pumps. Moreover, by monitoring the
temperature of faulty equipment and applying corrective measures, production can still
continue until the equipment can be repaired.

43
I had the opportunity to monitor the temperature of the driven and non-driven bearings of
a faulty pump. My duty was to record the temperature using an infra-red thermometer at
regular time intervals.

I had to report to my supervisor if the temperature exceeded 75 0C such that corrective

measures pertaining to the pump duty could be taken. Figure 20 illustrates the
temperature profile obtained and the effect of rectifying the pump’s duty.

80

75

70
Temperature ( 0C)

65

60

55

50

45

40
8h 9h45 10h15 11h 12h15 13h40 14h45

DE Bearing NDE Bearing

Figure 20: DE and NDE bearing temperature profiles

4.3 Weekly Servicing

On Sundays the production is stopped and servicing is performed in all the departments of
the factory. It is also the time when the faulty equipment identified during the week are
repaired, lubrication of most equipment and visual inspections are performed.

A specific procedure is followed to stop the production on Sunday mornings and it takes
place as follows (Table 7) for a stop scheduled at 3:30 am.

44
 Table 7: Stop procedure for weekly servicing

The Lime discharge rate is increased. This buffers the juice sufficiently to
1:00 am
resist pH changes during the idle time.

Water is injected into the clarifier to force the juice out.

Chemical cleaning is performed by making caustic soda flow in a closed

circuit.

Water is injected into the circuit to wash away the caustic soda.

5:30 am The 10 MW Turbo-alternator is stopped.

6:30 am The 2.5 MW Turbo-alternators are stopped

8:00 am The pressure of the boilers is gradually lowered.

4.4 Maintenance of the shredder

4.4.1 Shredder Hammers

One set is comprised of 135 hammers. The hammers have to abide to a strict set of
internally defined standards set by the company.

 The hammers are compared to a template in order to determine whether the height
is acceptable in order to prevent some hammers to hit the cover of the shredder
which is also referred to as the anvil.
 The weight of the hammer should be within the lower and upper limit of 17 kg
and 20 kg respectively.
 In a set of hammers a maximum deviation of 10 grams for each hammer is
allowable from the nominal weight. Larger differences in weight would cause
vibrations to be induced in the shredder.
 The tip of the hammer is hard surfaced and the hard surfacing should be made up
of a maximum of 2 passes.

45
The set of hammers is replaced on a weekly basis due to wearing of the tip of the hammer
(Figure 21). The hammers are weighed as a control measure and sent to an external
company to be restored with ordinary material and hard surface. The hammers are also
weighed upon reception from the company to determine the amount of material that was
added.

Figure 21: Modelled representation of shredder hammer

4.4.2 Tuning the shredder

Since the set of hammers are replaced on a weekly basis, the height of the anvil also
needs to be re-adjusted at the same frequency. The height of the intake and delivery side
of the shredder can be adjusted independently.

Tuning is performed when the shredder is rotating at its operating speed such that the
conditions are similar to the normal operating conditions. At this speed, the intake side of
the anvil is lowered until a knock sound is perceptible. The height of the delivery side is
then lowered until the knock sound is no longer heard. This operation is performed
several times such as to have minimal gap between the anvil and the hammers.

46
 Figure 22: Orientation of the hammers at high and low speed (exaggerated)

The shredder is then switched off which will cause the hammers to rotate slower and
eventually come to rest about 15 minutes later. As the speed decreases, the hammers will
once again knock the anvil. The height both the intake and delivery side are increased
until no sound is heard. This is will be the final position of the anvil.

Knocking occurs when the shedder is decelerating because the orientation of the hammers
will change as the speed decreases. A speed will be reached where the hammers will be
oriented as shown in figure 22b and will collide with the anvil. If the anvil is not raised,
serious damage can be caused resulting in injury of the personnel.

47
Chapter 5: Technical skills and observations

5.1 Manufacturing of parts

Repairing faulty equipment often implies that new parts need to be manufactured. Two
scenarios are therefore possible:
 Manufacturing on emergency for an intervention occurring at the same time.
 Manufacturing in view of the coming weekly servicing.

During an emergency, time is the governing parameter. The mechanics team needs new
parts to continue working and a fast response is key in reducing down time.

It is therefore not unexpected to see stopgap parts being manufactured such that the
equipment can operate until the end of the harvest season. For instance, in the case of a
broken shaft, an existing shaft can be modified on the lathe rather than manufacturing a
new one from scratch.

5.1.1 Tools and equipment

Various tools and equipment are available at the workshop such as (non-exhaustive list):
 Bench grinder
 Files
 Lathes
 Radial arm drill press
 Saw mill
 Vertical milling machine

5.2 Keyed Joints

A keyed joint is a system which comprises of a key and a keyway (also referred to as a
keyseat). The key is an element which connects a rotating machine element to a shaft. It
prevents relative rotation between two parts and enables torque transmission.

48
The second element (the keyway) of the system is a slot in which the key fits. This key
and keyway arrangement is found on the majority of equipment such as pulleys, gears,
sprockets and couplings. For this reason, they are the parts that are most commonly
manufactured at the mechanical workshop.

5.2.1 Types of keys

The most frequently encountered type of key at the factory is the sunk key which can be
further broken down into:
 Rectangular sunk key
 Square sunk key
 Parallel sunk key
 Gib-head key

Of which, the parallel sunk key is the most common.

5.2.2 Dimensions

There exist standard dimensions for the parallel sunk key (as shown in Table 8). However
at the factory these standard dimensions are not used since the equipment are already
supplied with the appropriate keyway and corresponding key.

Usually, new keys or keyways are manufactured with the exact same dimensions used by
the manufacturer.

49
 Table 8: Proportions of standard parallel key

Shaft dia. Key cross section Shaft dia. Key cross section
(mm) up to (mm) up to
Width Thickness Width Thickness
and and
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
including including
6 2 2 85 25 14
8 3 3 95 28 16
10 4 4 110 32 18
12 5 5 130 36 20
17 6 6 150 40 22
22 8 7 170 45 25
30 10 8 200 50 28
38 12 8 230 56 32
44 14 9 260 63 32
50 16 10 290 70 36
58 18 11 330 80 40
65 20 12 380 90 45
75 22 14 440 100 50

5.2.3 Steps for the manufacture of a keyway for a parallel sunk key

The skills and procedures required to manufacture a keyway will be demonstrated by

taking into account one example. I noticed that the exact same skills developed during the
engineering graphics module were required for marking out (for instance: bisecting
angles, drawing parallel lines etc...).

A general way of performing marking out at the factory was to apply chalk to the surface.
The lines were then drawn with a scriber. Finally, the surface was permanently marked
most commonly using a prick punch or a centre punch instead if drilling is required.

50
Step 1: Finding the centre

Required:
 Odd-leg calliper
 Prick punch

By drawing an arc from two opposite points on the edge of the shaft the centre of the
circular cross-section can be determined (Figure 23). The size of the arc is determined by
trial until the two arcs touch each other at a single point.

Figure 23: Finding the centre of shaft cross section

Step 2: Drawing a straight line (L1) passing through the centre

Required:
 Steel rule
 Scriber

Step 3: Drawing a parallel line on each side of the straight line

Required:
 Divider caliper
 Steel rule
 Scriber

51
We will assume that the distance separating the two parallel lines (d) is known. Arcs
(having radius d/2) are drawn from the straight line (L1) at regular intervals. Using the
steel rule and scriber the two parallel lines are drawn as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24: Drawing two parallel lines

Step 4: Drawing a line perpendicular to L1 at a distance (x) from the edge

Required:
 Odd-leg calliper
 Divider calliper
 Steel rule
 Scriber

The odd-leg calliper is used to make an arc (radius x) from the edge of the shaft. A
perpendicular is the drawn at the point of intersection of the arc and L1 (Figure 25).

52
 Figure 25: Drawing perpendicular bisector to L1

Step 5: Projection of the parallel lines onto the curved surface

Required:
 Engineer square
 Scriber

The two parallel lines and L1 can be extended by a known length on the curved surface
using the engineer square and a scriber. The outline is then permanently marked using a
prick punch.

Step 6: Machining

Now that marking out of the shaft is complete, it can be machined. In an emergency
situation, the shaft will be quickly worked using a chisel and polished with a file. It is
important that the key is tried frequently such to avoid over filing.

If there is enough time the shaft can be worked on the vertical milling machine. This will
produce a more precise piece (Figure 26) with a better finish but will consume more time.
This illustrates what was mentioned in section 5.1.

53
 Figure 26: Manufactured part

5.3 Worm drive alignment

Worm gear is used on site to transmit power to the stirrers of the crystallisers (figure 27).
This is the ideal mechanism since a very low rotational speed and high torque is required
for the stirrers.

Figure 27: Crystallisers’ stirrer worm drive

The worm is partly submerged in an oil bath to lubricate the area of contact between the
worm and the worm gear. The ideal situation would be an area of contact close to the gear
centreline. Corner contact would wipe off the lubricant from the gear teeth. This leads to
wearing of both the worm and worm gear.

54
Alignment is achieved by performing a contact pattern check on the worm gear teeth. An
orange indicator is applied to the teeth and the mechanism is operated. The orange
indicator will wear off where contact occurs (Figure 29).

Figure 28: Contact pattern on worm gear

In this case the worm gear need to be moves to the right in order to bring the area of
contact closer to the centreline of the teeth.

NOTE: Changing the oil also ensures that the worm gear is properly lubricated.

5.4 Belts

5.4.1 Alignment

A good alignment of pulleys is important otherwise the belt flanks will wear quickly.
Three types of misalignment may occur:

 Shafts are not parallel to one another

 Shafts are not in correct alignment although they appear parallel when seen from
above
 Shafts are parallel and in alignment but pulleys are not in alignment

55
5.4.2 Troubleshooting

Presence of cracks on the V-belt side and base is generally caused by excessive heat and
chemical fumes. The heat may be generated by a shortage of belt tension.

Swelling and softening of the V-belt is caused by excessive contamination by oil, certain
cutting fluids or rubber solvent.

Whipping during running is usually caused by incorrect tensioning, principally on long

centre drives. If a slightly higher (or lower) tension does not cure the problem there may
be a critical vibration frequency in the system which requires re-design or a banded belt.

5.4.3 Belt tensioning

The tensioning equipment is a compact instrument which resembles a pen (Figure 29). A
scale is inscribed on its surface on which two rubber bands can slide. The principle used
to measure the belt tension is to determine the force required to deflect the belt by 16 mm
per meter of span. The procedure is as follows:

 The belt span is measured in metres.

 This value is multiplied by a factor of 16, which gives the required deflection in
mm.
 The first rubber band is set to this value on the deflection scale.
 The diameter of the small pulley is measured in mm.
 Table 9 is consulted to determine the acceptable kilogram force required to create
the required deflection.
 The tensioning equipment is place on the belt halfway between the pulleys and
pushed downwards to create the deflection.
 The second rubber band will slide over the scale to indicate the actual kilogram
force which is compared to the acceptable force. The pulleys are either moved
apart or closer if any corrections are required.

56
 Figure 29: Fenner belt tensioning equipment

Table 9: Tensioning forces

Force required to deflect belt 16 mm per metre of span

Belt Section Small Pulley Kilogram force
Newton (N)
Diameter (mm) (kfg)
67 to 95 10 to 15 1.0 to 1.5
SPZ
100 to 140 15 to 20 1.5 to 2.0
100 to 132 20 to 27 2.0 to 2.7
SPA
140 to 200 28 to 35 2.8 to 3.5
166 to 224 35 to 50 3.6 to 5.1
SPB
236 to 315 50 to 65 5.1 to 6.5
224 to 355 60 to 90 6.1 to 9.2
SPC
375 to 560 90 to 120 9.2 to 12.2
DELTA 355 & above 150 to 200 15.3 to 20.4
Z 56 to 100 5 to 7.5 0.5 to 0.8
A 80 to 140 10 to 15 1.0 to 1.5
B 125 to 200 20 to 30 2.0 to 3.1
C 200 to 400 40 to 60 4.1 to 6.1
D 355 to 600 70 to 105 7.1 to 10.7

57
5.5 Employee Motivation

Incentive schemes contribute to encourage commitment:

 To increase the productivity

 To Achieve long-term objectives

At the end of the harvest season, the employees were given daily achievable objectives
and were allowed to leave as soon as the tasks were completed. It could have been
expected that working in such a way would cause the tasks to be performed in haste
which would be detrimental to the quality of the work.

On the other hand it was noticed that the motivation of the employees was boosted.
Typically, if the job is almost complete the employees would sacrifice their lunch break
to complete the task and enjoy the rest of the day at home. This is a win-win situation for
the factory and the employees.

5.6 Trash-plates

The purpose of the trash-plate is to channel the cane from the feed opening to the
discharge opening where it is further compressed. This operation needs to be performed
while allowing for the least possible loss of compression and minimum friction into the
discharge opening.

In order to increase the life span of the trash-plate, it is common practice to hard-face the
upper surface of the plate.

5.6.1 Thrash-plate Settings

A proper selection of the clearance between the trash-plate and the toll roll is crucial. A
wide clearance will lead to a loss of bagasse compaction. On the other hand, a tight
clearance will induce unnecessary friction, excessive wear and reduction in the effective
load.

58
 1. The upper surface height is determined by setting the nose of the trash-plate at the
intersection of a line drawn at an angle of 130 from the centres of feed and top
rolls and the feed roll inner diameter.
2. The top of the trash-plate is then drawn with a radius �� . This radius is equal to
the distance from the nose of the trash-plate to the centre of the top roll.
3. The fulcrum of this radius is offset to provide a “sweep” that diverges by 4% to
5% over the length of the trash-plate. However in practice, an offset of 5mm is
used independent of the length of the trash plate.
4. A clearance of 20 to 25 mm is also left between the “heel” of trash-plate and the
top of the grooves of the discharge roll. This in order to permit the drainage of
juice. Walkers Ltd (Rein, 2007) also recommends that the angle β subtended on
the discharge roll between the heel of the trash-plate and the centre line of the top
roll should be greater than 320. In practice this recommendation is not considered.

Figure 30: Trash-plate settings (Rein, 2007)

5.6.2 Mill setting optimisation

The procedure to achieve higher extraction and lower bagasse moistures is perpetual and
tedious since there exist no universal optimum settings for mills.

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Optimum performance can only be achieved by:

1. Setting up the mill and recording the settings;

2. Measure and record the performance of each mill (individual mill extraction and
exit bagasse moisture);
3. Observe and decide on possible improvements (feed/discharge setting ratio or
Donnelly chute);
4. Reset mill and record new setting;
5. Measure and record new performance;
6. Iterate

This outlines the importance of keeping records of the settings and mill performance. In
this respect, the database of the Medine Sugar Milling is incomplete.

5.6.3 Manufacturing Trash-plates

The trash-plates have to be adjusted every year to the appropriate height in order to
achieve the desired performance the mills. Before any adjustment can be brought to the
height of the trash-plate, the hard face layer has to be removed.

If material addition is required,

5.7 Maintenance of Industrial Agitator Gearboxes

Agitators/mixers are used in several sections of the factory from clarification to

crystallisation. The main purposes of these devices are to:

 Mix the reagents and form an homogeneous solution;

 Prevent settling from occurring;
 Create an even temperature distribution within the tanks

The MIXTEC mixer series comprises of equipment expressly designed for such tasks.
This section will describe the common issues that may arise with the use of this
equipment and corrective measures to be taken.

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5.7.1 Troubleshooting and Maintenance of MIXTEC Agitator Gearboxes

The shaft will not rotate or is difficult to turn

The gearbox does not require a running in period and the input shaft should be free to
rotate by hand.

 The gearbox mounting should be checked since incorrectly bolted down

gearboxes and distorted casings will lead to mis-alignment of bearings and gears.
 The bearing should be checked for wearing or obstructions and replaced if
required.
 Wearing of gears can be checked by removing the inspection cover.
 In case of prolonged storage the bearings and gears should be checked for
corrosion.

The Gearbox leaks oil

Oil weeps can occur through the gearbox casing, breathers and shaft oil seals. A good
housekeeping is required to remove any surface deposits so that oil leaks are readily
identified and cured.

 The oil level should be checked when the gearbox is stationary to ensure that the
recommended oil level has not been exceeded.
 The breather should be checked for any obstructions since theses will prevent the
escape of hot air, pressure the gearbox and force oil out.
 The housing and body caps should be checked. The bolts need to be tightened if
loose. Joint sealer should be applied if leakage persists. No gaskets should be used
since it will alter the gearbox tolerances, end float etc.
 Oil seals should be inspected and replaced if worn. The shaft sealing area should
also be scrutinised for possible damage.

Gearbox is running hot

The temperature of the gearbox can rise to over 100 0C when in operation. If properly
lubricated, the gearbox will operate without any problems. However, if sudden or
unexpected temperature increases occur, the following should be checked:

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  Gearbox should be checked for low oil level.
 Breather should be verified for any obstructions.
 The output shaft bearing & oil seal for grease lubrication and damage.
 The oil grade should be checked.
 Lubricant should be examined for any sign of oxidation, contamination or sludge.
 Couplings should be disconnected and realigned.

The mixer vibrates or is rocking

Excessive vibration or even rocking movement is detrimental to the equipment and will
cause premature failure.

 The bolts should be appropriately tightened on the baseplate.

 The shaft should be verified for straightness.
 The couplings should be properly tightened to the appropriate torque.
 The speed needs to be reduced to 30% below the critical speed.

The mixer makes a noise

The noise level will normally be 85 decibels at 1 meter, which will be consistent in note
and level. Noise, knocks and high pitch sounds should be given special attention.

 The motor fan cowling should be readjusted as necessary.

 Bearings should be checked, lubricated and replaced.
 Gears should be checked, adjusted or replaced.
 The casing should be checked for any debris and refilled with the correct grade of
lubricant.

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References

Medine, 2013. Medine Limited Annual Report 2013. s.l.:s.n.

Medine, 2014a. Medine: Our group. [Online]

Available at: http://www.medine.com/group/
[Accessed 22 November 2014].

Medine, 2014b. Medine Agriculture. [Online]

Available at: http://www.medine.com/agriculture/
[Accessed 22 November 2014].

Medine, 2014c. Medine Leisure. [Online]

Available at: http://www.medine.com/leisure/
[Accessed 22 November 2014].

Medine, 2014d. Medine Property. [Online]

Available at: http://www.medine.com/property/
[Accessed 22 November 2014].

Rein, P., 2007. Cane Sugar Engineering. s.l.:Bartens.

Statistics Mauritius, 2014. Digest of Agricultural Statistics 2013. s.l.:s.n.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 2014a. ISO 9000 - Quality
management. [Online]
Available at: ISO 9000 - Quality management
[Accessed 15 December 2014].

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 2014b. ISO 14000 -

Environmental management. [Online]
Available at: http://www.iso.org/iso/iso14000
[Accessed 15 December 2014].

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 2014c. ISO 22000 - Food
safety management. [Online]
Available at: http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/management-

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standards/iso22000.htm
[Accessed 15 December 2014].

Towler, G. & Sinnott, R., 2012. Chemical Engineering Design: Principles, Practices and
Economics of Plant and Process Design. 2nd ed. s.l.:Elsevier.

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