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<p>An untimely failure of a cooler wheel shaft occurred in Sinter Plant #3 at JSW Vijayanagar Works, resulting in the sudden disengagement of the cooler car and tripping of the sinter cooler system. The failed shaft, specified as EN24 steel, was subjected to a comprehensive failure investigation involving visual inspection, fractographic analysis, chemical composition evaluation, microstructural characterization, hardness profiling, and inclusion studies. The analysis revealed that the shaft material deviated from EN24 specification. Microstructural examination indicated that the shaft was in an annealed condition rather than the required quenched and tempered state, resulting in inadequate hardness and toughness. Numerous globular alumina inclusions, excessive in size and density, were detected, serving as preferential crack initiation sites. Fractography demonstrated a mixed-mode fracture, with ductile features at the shaft edge transitioning to brittle cleavage at the core. Crack initiation occurred at a section change—a known stress concentration region—where inclusions and reduced mechanical properties accelerated crack growth. The shaft ultimately failed under service loading due to the combined effects of material non-conformance, improper heat treatment leading to low hardness and toughness, and presence of large inclusions. The study highlights the critical importance of stringent metallurgical quality control, adherence to heat treatment specifications, and periodic inspection to prevent recurrence of such failures in critical plant components.</p>

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Root Cause Analysis of Cooler Shaft Failure in Sinter Plant

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月16日

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  • Dhanraj Patil,
  • J. N. Mohapatra,
  • Arshadullah Khan,
  • Mrunmaya Pasupalak,
  • Satish Kumar Dabbiru,
  • Suraja Yekkar

摘要

An untimely failure of a cooler wheel shaft occurred in Sinter Plant #3 at JSW Vijayanagar Works, resulting in the sudden disengagement of the cooler car and tripping of the sinter cooler system. The failed shaft, specified as EN24 steel, was subjected to a comprehensive failure investigation involving visual inspection, fractographic analysis, chemical composition evaluation, microstructural characterization, hardness profiling, and inclusion studies. The analysis revealed that the shaft material deviated from EN24 specification. Microstructural examination indicated that the shaft was in an annealed condition rather than the required quenched and tempered state, resulting in inadequate hardness and toughness. Numerous globular alumina inclusions, excessive in size and density, were detected, serving as preferential crack initiation sites. Fractography demonstrated a mixed-mode fracture, with ductile features at the shaft edge transitioning to brittle cleavage at the core. Crack initiation occurred at a section change—a known stress concentration region—where inclusions and reduced mechanical properties accelerated crack growth. The shaft ultimately failed under service loading due to the combined effects of material non-conformance, improper heat treatment leading to low hardness and toughness, and presence of large inclusions. The study highlights the critical importance of stringent metallurgical quality control, adherence to heat treatment specifications, and periodic inspection to prevent recurrence of such failures in critical plant components.