SME Annual Meeting

Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT

1 Copyright 2014 by SME

Preprint 14-031



CONSIDERATIONS FOR GRINDING MILL FOUNDATIONS

J. V. Belke, Outotec Pty Ltd, West Perth, WA, Australia
B. D. Berger, Outotec (USA) Inc, J acksonville, FL


ABSTRACT
There are many aspects of a grinding mill supply and installation
that can result in the mill not operating as intended, resulting in
unplanned shutdowns, poor reliability and headaches for all
concerned. One of the largest aspects, both in criticality and physical
mass, is the mill foundation; if not properly specified, designed and
constructed the mill operation will be compromised. The mill
foundation starts with the design specification and loading diagram
supplied by the mill builder. The importance of understanding these
documents and how to apply them is critical for the start of any mill
project. When designing mills with a GMD the foundation must be
properly modeled to ensure that all interactions of the mill and motor
structures, foundation and subsurface strata behave in the intended
fashion. All of the previous efforts can be laid to waste if the
construction of the mill foundation is poorly handled. Mill foundations
are typically the most massive concrete structure at a processing plant
and can easily cause nightmares for inexperienced contactors. This
paper explores some of the more important facets along the lifecycle of
the grinding mill foundation.
Keywords: Grinding Mill, Foundation, Design, Construction
INTRODUCTION
There are many aspects to a mill supply and installation that can
result in the mill not operating as intended, unplanned shutdowns, poor
reliability and headaches for all concerned. One of the larger aspects,
both physically and critically, is the mill foundation.
Additionally, these three different aspects of the mill foundation
are typically managed by three different entities, adding another level
of complication. This paper explores some of the more important
facets of the mill foundation specification, design and installation in an
effort to allow the reader to consider these when building their next
grinding mill.
SPECIFYING THE MILL FOUNDATIONS
It is the responsibility of the mill supplier to correctly specify the
foundation requirements for the grinding mill. This specification
includes several pieces of information including but not limited to the
following sections.
Mill Foundation Loading Diagram
The mill related loads must be communicated to the mill owners
engineer for use in designing the mill foundation. Foundation loading
diagrams are inherently complicated, and particularly so for grinding
mills; hence the mill supplier should make the presentation of the loads
as unambiguous and straightforward as possible. Conversely, the mill
supplier must ensure the loading diagram is not overly simplified in an
effort to minimize queries. This is a fine balance between simple and
easy to understand, yet sufficiently sophisticated to ensure that loads
are not neglected.
A good example of oversimplification is the dynamic loads
generated by an operating mill (i.e. drive train and charge related load
variations). Some mill suppliers do not state these loads on the
loading diagram. This results in a far simpler document, however
missing vital information needed to properly design the foundation.
Consideration of static loads is not enough; capacity to accept the
dynamic loads whilst achieving acceptable vibration levels must also
be designed into any mill foundation.

Figure 1. Example of a Foundation Loading Diagram for a large gear
driven SAG mill. Notice the large table of forces on right side of
drawing (deliberately made illegible).
Mill foundation design specification
Another critical aspect of the mill foundation specification which is
critical for the proper dissemination of the loading information is the
foundation design specification. This document should outline the
minimum requirements that any mill foundation designer must
consider. Additionally, this document will typically describe the
applicable load cases and pertinent load combinations that must be
considered. It is the mill builders responsibility to accurately convey
this critical information to the mill owner or their representatives;
however, the onus is on the foundation designer for comprehension
and proper utilization of the foundation design specification.
Mill foundation diagrammatic representation
The last piece of information that the mill supplier will provide for
the foundation designer is the diagrammatic representation of the mill
foundation. This set of drawings describes the requirements of the mill
foundation from an interface point of view. Or more precisely, it
defines the general area that the mill foundation must occupy to
properly support the mechanical components of the grinding mill.
These drawings will clearly show the expected widths of bearing
plinths, heights of motor foundations, and so on and so forth. These
documents should not be used by anyone other than the foundation
designer, and only by that entity in so far as a starting point for the
actual foundation design.
DESIGNING THE FOUNDATIONS
It is typical for the foundation design to be the responsibility of the
mill owners engineer. To ensure the foundations suit the mill and do
not clash with rotating parts the mill supplier is obliged to provide a
diagrammatic foundation layout; which is often provided to be used
alongside the loading diagram. This diagrammatic layout is
dimensioned to the extent that the mill owners engineer can
understand the volume in space the foundation must occupy so as to
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT

2 Copyright 2014 by SME
suit the mill components. The mill purchasers engineer must use this
knowledge to establish boundaries and limits for the foundation design.
Unfortunately there have been cases where the diagrammatic
representation of the mill foundation was copied literally from the mill
suppliers foundation layout diagram, thinking this was a fully designed
foundation solution, and used for the installed foundation arrangement.
In these cases the mill foundations may not exhibit sufficient resistance
to the forces of the mill equipment and can result in high vibrations,
damage to mechanical equipment, unplanned shutdowns and
expensive repairs.
When performing the foundation design the mill purchasers
engineer must take into account many factors, including but not limited
to the following topics.
Foundation loadings and loading direction
It is easy for engineers to misinterpret directions of loads,
especially in dual pinion mills where one pinion experiences a
downward load at the same time that the other experiences uplift.
Directional correctness is critical. It is also critical to ensure that the
loading diagram is clearly understood by the foundation engineer so
that loading combinations are appropriately accounted in the
foundation design.
Boundaries and limits of foundation
The boundaries and limits are determined by the mill supplier and
communicated to the foundation engineer through the diagrammatic
foundation layout. Understanding this layout is a critical aspect of the
foundation design. Getting the boundaries of the foundation wrong will
cause many man hours of work onsite correcting clashes. This rework
may ultimately compromise the operating performance of the
foundation if the corrected foundation is no longer suitable per the
mills displacement and vibration limits.
During the course of the foundation design, it may be determined
that changes are needed to the diagrammatic representation of the mill
foundations. These changes must be communicated back to the mill
supplier, and the mill supplier must verify that those changes will not
have any adverse affects with equipment installation, maintenance, or
operation. Once confirmed, the diagrammatic representation drawings
should be revised, so that all drawings of the mill foundation reflect the
final design.
Site strata characteristics and harmonic response
It is critical to model the interaction of the mill foundation with the
subsurface strata. Strata data must accurately reflect the real life
strata and then be accurately used in the foundation model. Sensitivity
analyses must be performed and any sensitivity found within the range
of potential strata characteristics must be designed out. Small
inaccuracies in strata data can compromise mill performance
dramatically.
This interaction becomes increasingly critical as the mass of the
mill increases. Foundation designers often make assumptions and
simplifications in the modeling of this interaction and recent
improvements in analysis techniques have shown that these practices
are non-conservative.
The use of harmonic response analysis can help to determine the
effect of harmonic frequencies on the foundation and subsurface
strata. Additionally, the system excitation frequencies must be
reviewed to determine their effect. Based on the harmonic response
and the system excitation frequencies, the foundation designer can
optimize the foundation design for the best performance of the
complete system.
Displacement and vibration limits for the various operating
conditions
Understanding the displacement and vibration limits is critical to
enable the foundation designer to properly assess the results of a
modeled foundation. The vibration must be analyzed at all operating
conditions and load combinations. These modeled vibrations should
be compared against the allowable limits as stated by the mill supplier.

Figure 2. Harmonic response plot of large gearless ball mill and
foundation.
Induced reactions / vibration from adjacent equipment
Adjacent equipment vibration can have a large bearing on how a
mill performs. The vibrations of adjacent mills in particular can interact
to cause detrimental vibrations. Sometimes it is assumed that
installing adjacent mills on separate ground slabs avoids this
phenomenon, but this has not always been the case. Adjacent mills of
the same size and speed are particularly prone to generating vibration
issues for each other. A common practice to help mitigate this risk is
to alternate the direction of rotation of each mill in the series, however
the total effect of the system must be analyzed during design phases.
Connections to structures other than the mill
Structural steel connections can add stiffness that is material to
the performance of the mill, as such all potentially significant
connections must be included in the mill foundation model.
Furthermore, the effects on these connections and structures due to
the vibration of the mill during operation must be reviewed and
assessed by the foundation design engineer.
Local concrete design standards
Not all concrete design standards are created equal. In some
parts of the world, these design standards may not provide sufficiently
conservative foundation designs. It is the foundation design engineers
responsibility to marry local requirements with global best practices.
Local concrete & reinforcing capacities
Not all concrete and steel is the same quality. Foundation
designs need to suit the capacity of the materials intended to be used.
Reinforcement around base plate shear keys
It is by far easier to block out a big rectangular void to allow for
the shear keys on the bottom of the equipment base plates. However
this results in the steel reinforcement being omitted from the blocked
out volume and typically results in thin concrete sections between the
boundary of the block out and the periphery of the concrete foundation.
It is not appropriate to perform the block outs for the shear keys in this
fashion.
All block out profiles must follow the shape of the shear key
leaving some 50mm of clearance around the shear key itself for later
filling with grout. Figure 3 shows a well designed and constructed
block out. This design practice allows for steel reinforcement to be
installed around the perimeter of the shear keys. Due to the fact that
grout is more expensive than reinforced concrete, by following this
advice the total installation will be more robust and lower cost.
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT

3 Copyright 2014 by SME

Figure 3. Properly designed and constructed block out for a base
plate shear key.
Installation and maintenance access for the mill components
All too often a foundation designer designs a beautifully elegant
foundation, but does not consider ensuring access for installation and
maintenance of the mill equipment. For example in respect to
installation it is a good practice to have cast in plates installed at
working height in the concrete for hanging platform installation. These
plates are located well above the mill floor and allow construction to
proceed without having to install tower scaffolds. Likewise
maintenance access must be considered in the foundation design so
once the mill starts operators are provided safe, open access to
maintain the equipment.
Access for services such as power, instrumentation and
lubrication lines
Services lines are often designed last, in some cases allowing
foundation construction and service line design to occur in parallel. In
these cases block outs for the service lines can be unsuitably placed or
omitted altogether. This results in expensive core drilling or
compromised service line installation runs.
Reduce foundation complexity
Many of the common problems found during the construction
phase can be avoided by using simple foundation designs. Increases
in complexity only serve to increase chances of air pockets, misplaced
cast-ins or incorrectly placed foundation boundaries. As far as
practical, the mill foundation final design should be simple to construct.
CONSTRUCTING THE FOUNDATIONS
All the best intentions of the mill and foundation designers can be
laid to waste during the foundation construction process. The mill
foundation is often the largest monolithic concrete structure in a
minerals processing plant and thus potentially the foundation most
likely to give a concrete contractor problems. There are some key
aspects that can be focused on to help reduce foundation construction
risks which are outlined below, but ultimately there are many areas in
which the concrete construction can go badly wrong so this list is by no
means fully encompassing.
Foundation contractor selection
The first decision about the mill foundations which will ultimately
affect the construction is the selection of the foundation contractor.
The right choice of contractor will go a long way toward avoiding issues
that may arise from not addressing the following points properly
because the contractor will already know the potential problems and
take measures to avoid them. Some indicators of the right contractor
are:
The contractor will appoint a team to the job who has had
experience in performing similar concrete projects in
locations similar to the site location.
The contractor will utilize a competent licensed surveyor with
certified equipment to ensure all mill foundation layouts and
center lines are correct pre and post pour.
To properly scrutinize the contractors work the mill owner must
employ a competent civil construction manager, independent of the
contractor. Without this scrutiny issues can literally be covered over.
Placement of foundation cast-ins
Cast-ins are sometimes part of the mill suppliers scope and
sometimes not. When they are supplied by the mill supplier,
arrangement related issues are normally avoided, but when supplied
by other than the mill supplier issues can easily occur. Figure 4 shows
the inside of a cast-in box for the base plate hold down bolts of one
side of a pinion bearing. The Property Class 4.8 bolts can be seen in
the top of the figure. As a result of a poor cast-in box design the
washers for the hold down bolts were located half on a steel section
and half on a steel plate with approximately 8mm difference in
elevation. This error resulted in the hold down bolts never remaining
tight and consequently the pinion bearing base plate was unstable.
J ust as important is the need to properly locate the cast-ins within
the reinforcing so as to ensure they do not move during the concrete
pour. Figure 5 shows the type of misalignment that can occur and
Figure 6 the resulting core drilling needed to correct the misalignment.

Figure 4. The inside of a cast-in box for the base plate hold down
bolts of one side of a pinion bearing. This poorly designed cast-in box
was supplied by the foundation contractor and not the mill supplier.

Figure 5. Mill main bearing cast-in pipe misaligned to bearing hold
down bolt hole due to poorly installed cast-in.
In order to ensure that the cast-ins are properly located even after
the placement of concrete, the cast-ins should be tied to the
reinforcement. In Figure 7 the cast-ins have been welded to the
reinforcement to ensure that they remain in the correct location.
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT

4 Copyright 2014 by SME

Figure 6. Core drillings needed to correct cast-in misalignment from
Figure 5.

Figure 7. Placement and securing of cast-ins in the foundation
reinforcement prior to concrete placement.
Figure 8 shows a badly leveled jacking plate needing removal and
resetting. As concrete is very dense a large buoyancy force can be
generated during the pour that acts on the cast-ins. Vibration of the
poured concrete only makes this force higher. The cast-ins must be
very securely fastened pre-pour such that the final location of the cast-
in is the intended location and not displaced by the buoyancy induced
forces.
Additionally, during the pour air pockets must be avoided under or
around the cast-ins. Figure 9 shows a large air pocket that was found
under a hold down bolt cast-in for the main motor. If not found and
corrected this type of air pocket increases the likelihood of vibration
issues.
Placement of foundation reinforcement
Once reinforcing is covered by concrete it is virtually impossible to
check, but if incorrectly installed the implications will be dire for the mill.
As such getting the reinforcing correct is essential.
In respect to reinforcing a common mistake is to position the
reinforcing too close to the concrete surface. The depth of surface
concrete free of reinforcing is typically called the cover. If there is a
loss of cover thus exposing reinforcing to the surface, or if the concrete
is allowed to absorb fluids that will corrode the reinforcing, concrete
cancer will be the result, which will quickly destroy the foundation by
fracturing it from the inside. Sufficient cover must be considered in the
design of the foundation, and this cover must be employed in the
construction of the actual foundation.

Figure 8. Misaligned jacking plate set in concrete, this should be
horizontal.

Figure 9. Air pocket found under cast in box for main motor after
removing the bottom plate.
Mill base-plates are furnished with shear keys on the underside to
transfer lateral loads from the equipment and into the foundation. As
such it is very important to ensure the concrete taking the lateral loads
is good for tension induced stresses. To achieve this tension capacity
the reinforcing must extend so as to encapsulate the base-plate shear
key, which means all the way to the top of concrete. It is important to
note that this reinforcing will ultimately be covered in grout so there is
not a risk of insufficient concrete cover.
Pouring the foundation
Large concrete pours typically involve a lot of different pours
performed over an extended period of time. If inappropriate delays
occur between finishing one pour and starting the next a good bond
between concrete layers can be lost resulting in a dry joint. This type
of joint is typically the precursor to a serious crack along the joint,
which prevents the proper transfer of shear forces across the joint.
Once this independence is established the vibration of the mill
equipment connected to the independent foundation quickly increases
beyond acceptable levels.
Figure 10 shows an example of a dry joint in a mill foundation and
Figure 11 shows a close up of the same dry joint from a different view.
Figure 12 shows oil leaking from a dry joint. This leak occurred
as a result of an oil leak on the top of the foundation which flowed
down the cast-ins, met the dry joint along the way, and followed the
channel made by the dry joint to eventually make it to the periphery of
the foundation and into view.
SME Annual Meeting
Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT

5 Copyright 2014 by SME

Figure 10. A dry joint in a concrete foundation (behind handrail to left).

Figure 11. A close up of a dry joint.

Figure 12. Oil leaking from a dry joint.
This foundation was rendered unserviceable by this dry joint
resulting in a multi week shutdown to remediate the foundation. If a
dry joint cannot be avoided or has occurred for unforeseeable reasons
there are ways of achieving a good bond between the already poured
concrete and the new pour. The methods must be determined with the
mill purchasers engineer and strictly employed by the foundation
erection contractor.
CONCLUSION
Producing a good foundation takes attention to detail in the
planning, design, and construction phases. This paper has addressed
some of the more common pitfalls and brings attention to the level of
detail required to produce a high quality grinding mill foundation.
Ultimately, the design of a foundation is not some empirical
formula relating mass of concrete to the height of the mill above grade
and mill power. Foundation design is a complicated process that
needs experienced persons with sophisticated modeling software and
all necessary data to perform the job well.