SLOW TURNING DRIVE MECHANISM for Process Fans

Slow turning drive mechanism is a safety device for high temperature process fans and it
is coupled to the fan shaft at the opposite end of main drive. The purpose of this drive is
to keep the fan rotor rotating at a very low speed and thus avoiding thermal stratification
of fan shaft, when the main drive motor of the fan trips / fails (while the fan is handling
hot gases).

This drive mechanism consists of an electrical motor integral with gear reduction unit and
a special coupling to couple to the fan shaft. However it should be noted that the motor of
the slow turning mechanism should not be used to start the fan rotor from stand still
condition. Extension is provided at the non-drive end of the fan shaft with suitable size
keyway and key to couple to the slow turning mechanism. This drive will have an output
speed of 50 to 75 rpm only.

This drive unit will start getting engaged with fan shaft progressively when the speed of
the fan rotor falls to around 80 to 70 rpm during the coasting down of the fan rotor. The
full engagement of this drive will take place around 25 rpm and thereafter the slow
turning mechanism keeps the fan rotor in rotation. Similarly the disengagement will take
place vice versa. The overrunning clutch of the special coupling has a provision for
accommodating the thermal expansion of fan shaft towards the slow turning drive unit.

Auxiliary power supply should be provided from emergency sources, to the electrical
motor of slow turning mechanism, so that in the event of electric power supply failure to
the main motor of fan, the slow turning mechanism motor will continue to get the power
supply. It is important that the power supply connection to slow turning mechanism unit
should have the same direction of rotation as that of the fan rotation.