Babcock & Wilcox had new supplier quality-assured

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Otto Lundgren Hejgaard

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Mand tester stor metalaksel med big bags

Babcock & Wilcox had new supplier quality-assured

Babcock & Wilcox is a large international company that, among other things, manufactures waste-to-energy plants. When the company brought in a new supplier for the longest grate shafts, they wanted to test whether the delivered quality was at the desired level.

The heart of Babcock & Wilcox’s combustion plant is the DynaGrate™. This combustion grate consists of a series of cast grate shafts that are up to six metres long. Steel-cast grate elements are mounted on the grate shafts to form the grate surface on which the waste is burned. The grate shafts carry both the grate elements and the burning waste, while a 60‑degree oscillating rotation of the individual shafts provides agitation of the burning waste, which is necessary for optimal combustion and transport of the waste down across the grate, which is inclined 25 degrees from the horizontal.

The grate shafts are therefore a critical component that is crucial for the proper function of the grate.

Quality control of new supplier

Babcock & Wilcox got a new supplier of this grate shaft, and in that connection they wanted to ensure that this supplier cast to the same quality standard they had historically been used to – so they could be certain that the grate shaft would have the desired service life.

They therefore contacted the Danish Technological Institute, which has accredited testing facilities and specialists with many years of experience in the field. Together with Babcock & Wilcox, the Danish Technological Institute prepared a test plan in which the grate shaft was tested both statically and dynamically.

The aim of the test was to recreate a worst‑case scenario that could verify Babcock & Wilcox’s own calculations and thereby document the quality of the grate shaft

- Otto Lundgren Hejgaard, Danish Technological Institute

During the test, the Danish Technological Institute carried out a number of measurements – including displacement measurements, where deflection was measured, as well as with so‑called strain gauges at several locations on the shaft where calculations had shown that the highest stresses would occur. In the video below, you can see and hear more about the test.

Test results provided peace of mind

The results of the test showed that Babcock & Wilcox’s own calculations corresponded well with reality – and at the same time, the measurements were at the same level as the historical measurements previously made with the same type of test.

The results of the test meant that Babcock & Wilcox could move forward with the new supplier with peace of mind, knowing that the quality met the requirements they had set.