COOLERS

The bullnose section of a clinker cooler exposes the refractory lining to a particularly difficult combination of mechanical stresses, high temperature, abrasion and alkali salt attack.  This difficult application is best served through the use of engineered precast bullnose blocks which can take the heat.  With extensive experience with bullnose refractory over many years, Wahl has developed a cost-effective solution which can be retrofitted to many cooler designs.

Wahl precast cooler roof blocks have successfully eliminated refractory failures and reduced maintenance costs in coolers for many years.  Below is an example of a test panel of Wahl cooler roof blocks installed in June 2008 in a cement plant in the USA.  After more than six years in service, the test panel was inspected in 2015 (right photo) and exhibited smooth wear and good remnant thickness.  The adjacent section of cooler roof was lined with a competitor’s castable refractory and needed annual maintenance and repair.

Wahl Refractory Solutions produces modular roof blocks that can line cooler walls and firing hoods.  These precast blocks can be zoned with different grades of refractory to address areas of increased wear, and with the optimized physical properties of a precast refractory that is cured and baked out in our controlled manufacturing process.

Cooler curb is a commonly used name in the cement industry for the lower part of the cooler walls which are at the level and below the clinker bed.  This part of the refractory is exposed to high temperatures and abrasion from the hot clinker traveling down the cooler.  Wahl has developed an engineered precast cooler curb block which has been successfully used in modern clinker coolers.  Photograph on the right is of a recent inspection of Wahl precast cooler curb blocks after 5 years in service in a modern 1.7million ton/yr cement kiln in the USA.