Industrial Maintenance Solutions

Whether selecting new or maintaining existing process equipment, bearings are a critical component in the equipment’s reliability, efficiency, and life. The majority of rotating process equipment today relies upon either rolling element or fluid film bearings to counteract gravity and developed forces in the equipment and allow for free rotation of the shaft. Selecting the right bearing for the equipment and application is essential to the successful operation of that equipment. A key difference between rolling element and fluid film bearings for personnel concerned about the maintenance of process equipment is the expected life of the bearings. Rolling element bearings typically have a predictable life based on the operating conditions; fluid film bearings, when properly designed and maintained, can operate for decades. Additional comparisons of rolling element and fluid film bearing characteristics, such as lubrication needs and the ability to handle impact loads, are provided in t...

AN OVERVIEW OF HYDRODYNAMIC BEARINGS, THEIR DEFINITION, THEORY OF OPERATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS. BY AMR HATEM RASHED. Hydrodynamic bearings (also known as fluid film bearings) are often deployed as journal bearings. As such, they come in several types, including radial tilting pad bearings, thrust bearings for axial displacement and journal sleeve bearings. Journal sleeve bearings are typically used in low-speed and low-friction applications while radial tilting pad bearings are used for high-speed applications due to the high amplitude of vibrations. Thrust bearings, on the other hand, are generally employed for axial displacement in high-speed applications as they contain tilting pads that support high-thrust loading of rotors. Pivoted shoe journal bearing Pivoted shoe thrust bearing Frictionless support The journal bearing has several functions. It acts as frictionless support for the rotor while it is rotating. It cools down the rotor by transferring the heat energ...

What is the ISFD Bearings? Integral squeeze film damper  ( ISFD) technology, a Flexure Pivot tilt pad journal bearing, provides precise stiffness and damping to increase the dynamic stability of the rotor/bearing system. Reduce Dynamic Bearing Forces ISFD technology reduces the dynamic load that is transmitted to the bearings, which reduces pedestal vibration and increases bearing life, particularly for rolling element bearings. For fluid film bearings, the technology can mitigate pivot wear and reduce babbitt fatigue. Decrease Unbalance Sensitivity ISFD technology helps reduce the sensitivity to unbalance, protecting impellers and seals from rubbing and increasing maintenance intervals. Versatile Design The ISFD design, manufactured through electrical discharge machining (EDM), can integrate the bearing and damper into one unit for a space-saving solution suitable for new and retrofit installations. ISFD technology can be used with tilt pad, Flexure Pivot tilt pad, fixed profile o...

Waukesha Bearings provides custom-engineered hydrodynamic fluid film bearings, active magnetic bearings systems, and damper and seal technologies for turbomachinery across the oil & gas, power generation, marine, and industrial markets. Engineers apply design codes and predictive tools to tailor thrust, journal, or combination bearings to achieve optimum performance across the machine operating range. The Waukesha Bearings Maxalign tilting pad journal bearing, for example, features a specialized ball and socket pivot, along with Directed Lubrication and trailing edge cooling to increase reliability and reduce power loss for rotating equipment with shaft diameters greater than 300 mm. Engineers optimize the bearing size and pad materials and tailor insulation, hydrostatic jacking, and instrumentation according to requirements. “Each application is unique so we design each bearing to meet performance requirements, whether they are tilt pad or fixed profile, babbitt, bronze, polym...

J ournal or plain bearings consist of a shaft or journal which rotates freely in a supporting metal sleeve or shell. There are no rolling elements in these bearings. Their design and construction may be relatively simple, but the theory and operation of these bearings can be complex. This article concentrates on oil- and grease-lubricated full fluid film journal bearings; but first a brief discussion of pins and bushings, dry and semilubricated journal bearings, and tilting-pad bearings. Low-speed pins and bushings are a form of journal bearing in which the shaft or shell generally does not make a full rotation. The partial rotation at low speed, before typically reversing direction, does not allow for the formation of a full fluid film and thus metal-to-metal contact does occur within the bearing. Pins and bushings continually operate in the boundary lubrication regime. These types of bearings are typically lubricated with an extreme pressure (EP) grease to aid in suppo...