It might be astounding to find out that 90 percent of pump failures can be attributed to a seal or bearing failure. In order to improve the life of machines, it is inevitable to ensure that the crucial components are working smoothly.
Here are four important factors to increase the life of bearings and avoid failures that could lead to devastating consequences.
Oil Contamination
Contamination in an industrial environment caused by sand, dust, steam and rain is unavoidable and does a lot of damage. Even less than 1 percent water is enough to emulsify the bearing oil and degrade its lubricity significantly. Even worse, all issues compound when it comes to bearings. Even the smallest difficulties can lead to big problems over time. Therefore, the top concern should always be to remove contamination from the bearing oil as quickly as possible.
Leading pump manufacturers provide various solutions to the problem. Newly developed bearing housings with cartridge filter assemblies built right in come as a solution. These assemblies work in harmony with the pump’s normal lubrication function to remove contaminants before they can damage the bearings. Another solution to protect the pump lubricating oil from contamination is the use of bearing isolators. Thanks to its rotor stator design it contains no wear parts.
Inpro/Seal, a world leader in the design and manufacture of permanent bearing protection and complete shaft seals for rotating equipment, is working together with pump manufacturers to implement bearing isolators instead of spring seals. Metrans, together with Inpro/Seal, offers retrofit solutions for permanent bearing protection in rotating equipment.
Oil Viscosity
A huge misconceptions about pumps in the industrial market is that the viscosity of the oil must go up in relation with the increase in viscosity.
The user assumes that high temperatures decrease viscosity, so users need to increase the starting viscosity to compensate.
This might be true to a certain extend but definitely changes after a point, varying according to the pump and application. A higher viscosity is like honey in the bearing housing.
The bearings cut right through the oil, displacing the essential fluid film between the balls and race. As a result of increased metal-on-metal contact, the localized heat will increase, decreasing the viscosity of the oil where it is needed most—at the contact patch. The oil used to lubricate bearings always needs to have a viscosity that makes sense for the load and environment.
Air Cooling
Without modern cooling methods, bearing temperature can fluctuate widely, increasing chances of oil contamination and promoting the onset of spalling.
In the 1980s and 1990s, water cooling was the most common method of regulating pump temperature which led to problems with humidity and water in the bearing housing, oil emulsification and corrosion contamination. Since then, the industry has moved on from water cooling, however some pump manufacturers are still using the old method.
The latest bearing housings have enhanced air cooling with axial fans and an effective cooling fin design. So, if the process needs change, a new fan can be fitted without the need for expensive pump disassembly.
Monitoring Bearing Failure
Leading pump manufacturers can provide analysis and recommendations, modify solutions to meet specific requirements, or develop custom high-performance designs that fit within a desired budget. In th,s way the best possible results in the industry are achieved, increasing the life of bearings and pumps and preventing expensive machine failures down the line.
Always keep the big picture in mind when it comes to bearing failure. Users need to look at the entire system—the oil, installation, process, load and environment.
Metrans offers predictive maintenance, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance regardless of manufaturer with 30 years of experience in its sector.
Please contact us for information and requests.