Analysis of a sugarcane mill using the finite element method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v17i6.4125Keywords:
Saccharum officinarum, chavetas tangenciales, eje-coronaAbstract
A study was conducted in October 2025 on the stresses and deformations of the shaft-crown assembly with tangential keys of a roll in the sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) mills of the tandem of a sugarcane factory. The study arises from the need to make modifications when assembling the shaft-crown unit during the repair stage, consisting of machining the crowns’ inner diameter to reduce interference levels and thus save fuel during the heating phase of the crowns during assembly and subsequent disassembly. In this way, the prestress state of the shaft-crown joint is modified; an increase in the stresses on the keyways is predictable as they bear a greater share of torque transmission. The study was conducted using computer-aided design tools and finite element analysis to determine the stress and deformation state of the assembly. As a result, it was determined that, with an interference of 0.5 mm, being the original interference of 2 mm, the assembly could work with a safety coefficient higher than that of the crown teeth, which constitute the critical point of the assembly. Fuel saving from the heating processes during assembly and disassembly accounted for 45.8% of the original consumption.
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