REFRA-Shell II is a measurement tool for rotary kilns that is used to determine the curvature of the kiln shell during operation. This elastic deformation is called ovality and is primarily present in the area of a kiln tyre. The measurement gives some accurate information on the degree of mechanical load the refractory material/kiln shell are exposed to, allowing to define countermeasures in terms of refractory selection and/or mechanical maintenance in advance and thus to increase the lifetime of the kiln components.

1. REFRATECHNIK
REFRA-Shell II
Ovality measurement tool

2. 22©Refratechnik Cement GmbH
Determining the kiln shell curvature
during operation
Advantages
C
B
A
material flow
• measurement during operation
• high accuracy
• small size (mostly pass easily
between heat shields or thrust
roller and kiln shell)
• small weight (measuring instru-
ment: ~1.5 kgs / total
incl. transport case ~3.5 kgs)
• convenient for travelling
• user-friendly software
• measurement directly displayed
on the computer
Ovality measurement
using REFRA-Shell II
REFRA-Shell II is a measurement
tool for rotary kilns that is used
to determine the curvature of the
kiln shell during operation. This
elastic deformation is called
ovality and is primarily present
in the area of a kiln tyre. The
measurement gives some accurate
information on the degree of
mechanical load the refractory
material/kiln shell are exposed to,
allowing to define countermeasures
in terms of refractory selection
and/or mechanical maintenance
in advance and thus to increase
the lifetime of the kiln components.
REFRA-Shell II is small, easy to use
and supplied in a tough transport
case.

3. 33©Refratechnik Cement GmbH
Measuring principle
Components
REFRA-Shell II consists of a deflec-
tion plate, which will be attached
to the kiln shell close to a tyre by
means of heat resistant magnets.
Due to the strong magnetic con­
nection, the deflection in the
deflection plate follows that of the
kiln shell as shown on the previous
page. Strain gauges measure the
deflection in the deflection plate.
The electronic converter amplifies
and conditions the signals from
the strain gauges and sends them
together with the values of the
angle position sensor via Bluetooth
connection to a laptop.
The basic software (for Windows)
being supplied together with the
measuring tool receives, stores
and processes the values from
REFRA-Shell II.
During the measurement, the
values are displayed and calculated
directly in real time.
There are available different dis-
play, zoom and report printing
options.
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LED 1
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LED 2
1. deflection plate
2. fixed magnet
3. laterally movable magnet
4. converter
5. heat shield
6. T-bar handle
7. charger plug (8…25 VDC)
8. power switch
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4. 44©Refratechnik Cement GmbH
1. REFRA-Shell II
2. battery charger with different plug adapters (100…240 VAC)
3. Bluetooth USB adapter (high range)
4. tough transport case (dimensions:
47.5 cm length x 37.0 cm width x 17.0 cm height)
5. basic software
6. REFRA-Shell II manual
7. pyrometer
8. laser distance meter (optionally in the scope of delivery)
9. pyrometer manual
10. laser distance meter manual (optionally in the scope of delivery)
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The tool kit

5. 55©Refratechnik Cement GmbH
The basic software being used
for REFRA-Shell II is supplied
with the equipment and can
also be downloaded from
www.tomtom-tools.com for free.
It is self-upgrading via inter-
net, whenever a new version
is available.
Software and software features
Working surface
• graphical kiln model with piers
• real time graph of measured points
• calculation of individual ovality values
and average
• measurement of kiln shell surface
temperature via magnet
• online display of sensor status/condition
• sensor temperature monitoring/high
temperature warning
• measurement information and remarks
stored together with results
• easy display/hide of graphs
• switching from point to line graphs
• switching from linear to polar graph
• free zoom and window arrangement
function
• easy to connect via Bluetooth
• pdf report generation
• automatic internet upgrade for free
• measurement tool pyrometer and laser
distance meter are implemented, too.
start
button / F5
to reset the
window layout
select the position
to measure
switch from polar
to linear graph
double click on a frame will
enlarge the selected window
mouse right click to change
from line to point display

6. Refratechnik Cement GmbH
Rudolf-Winkel-Strasse 1
37079 Göttingen
Germany
Phone +49 551 6941 0
Fax +49 551 6941 104
refra@refra.com
www.refra.com
Ce1-185-02/2015Ce1-185-02/2015