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October 12
INSTALL
April 5
November 30
IMPROVE
MAINTAIN
February 8
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Terry Blackman
Contents
1. 2. 3. INTRODUCTION: ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 MEETING #1 SCOPE MEETING ................................................................................................................................. 4 MEETING # 2 TRAINING AND INSTALLATION................................................................................................... 5 3.1 TRAINING ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3.2 INSTALLATION: .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 3.2.1 Cleanliness a clean installation environment is important................................................................................ 5 3.2.2 Pre-Installation checks ............................................................................................................................................ 5 3.2.3 Mounting Procedure Critical for Bearings with Tapered Bore (K). ................................................................. 6 3.2.4 Mounting Tools Use the Right Tools ................................................................................................................... 6 3.2.5 To work out what tools are required:..................................................................................................................... 6 3.2.6 Dismounting Procedures:........................................................................................................................................ 6 3.3 REPLACING SEALED BEARINGS: ................................................................................................................................... 7 4. MEETING #3 - BEST PRACTICES IN BEARING LUBRICATION ........................................................................ 8 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 5. P ERSONNEL: ................................................................................................................................................................... 8 S TORAGE AND HANDLING:............................................................................................................................................ 8 S AFETY:.......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 TRAINING: .................................................................................................................................................................... 10 FLUSHING OF GEARBOXES: ......................................................................................................................................... 10 LABELLING:.................................................................................................................................................................. 10 RELUBRICATION Q UANTITIES: .................................................................................................................................... 10 RATIONALISATION:...................................................................................................................................................... 11 AUTOMATIC LUBRICATORS:........................................................................................................................................ 11 S OFTWARE AND S CHEDULING:.................................................................................................................................... 11 MAGNETS , BREATHERS AND PURGE HOLES:.............................................................................................................. 11
MEETING # 4 - ROOT CAUSE FAILURE ANALYSIS & RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS ....................... 13 5.1 5.1.1 5.1.2 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.3 5.4. 5.4.1 5.4.2 5.4.3 5.5 S UMMARY OF COMPANIES RCA PROCESSES AND IMPROVEMENT METHODOLOGIES ............................................... 13 Best Practices in Bearing Reliability Improvement............................................................................................. 14 Specific Bearing Failurr Information ................................................................................................................... 14 CASE STUDIES OF IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS .............................................................................................................. 15 Bluescope Steel....................................................................................................................................................... 15 TRUenergy Yallourn Pulley Housing Redesign................................................................................................ 16 S UPPLIER TECHNICAL SUPPORT .................................................................................................................................. 16 TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN IMPROVE RELIABILITY ..................................................................................................... 17 Two-Bearing Units for Fans.................................................................................................................................. 17 ConCentra (Pop-Release) Bearing Units. ............................................................................................................ 18 CARB Toroidal Bearings....................................................................................................................................... 19 COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................ 20
APPENDIX 1 - MEETING DATES & LOCATIONS ............................................................................................................ 21 APPENDIX 2 - ATTENDEES LIST.......................................................................................................................................... 22 APPENDIX 3 - REFERENCE MATERIAL............................................................................................................................ 23
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Terry Blackman
1. Introduction:
Bearings are at the heart of rotating equipment and their reliability is often critical to the operation of plant and equipment. The purchase cost of bearings is proportionally very small compared to the maintenance cost of replacement and potential lost production caused by failure. The purpose of this Common Interest Work Group (CIWG) is to discuss the various factors affecting bearing performance and share practices that members have successfully implemented to overcome known problems. There will be four CIWG meetings covering the areas of interest to the members. CIWGs will be held on member sites to allow for a short overview of the host companys initiatives in a particular area relevant to the topic.
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The areas of interest expressed by members can be broadly classified into four (4) areas: 1. Lubrication 2. Training and Installation 3. Root Cause Failure Analysis & Improvements 4. Stock & Suppliers
Main Topic(s)
Training & Installation
Sub-topics
Whats available out there, Procedure documentation, use of check lists & job packs, using the right tools & equipment, getting the basics right, preventing skidding under light loads, subcontractor skills. Specs. for off-site repairers, specs. for new equipment, specs for turnkey projects, particularly for fans, motors & Plummer blocks. Using greased for life applications, cages
Lubrication
Who should do it?, labelling of containers, stopping cross-contamination , setting up routines, using magnets in oil, software available, lubrication intervals based on hours, cleaning sumps for sludge removal?, grease fill in Plummer blocks, storage of oil, oil rationalisation, using subcontractors for lubrication, filtration standards, oil mist applications, bearing isolators, use of autolubricators, breathers, sealing types for housings, purge points.
Bearing Failures analysis (RCA, Post mortems), improvement examples, involving operators, monitoring and predicting failures in slow speed bearings, Alternatives and technology upgrades,
Shelf life, vibration isolation, critical spares management, stock rotation practices, checking condition of old stock, refurbishment of bearings. Whats in the contracts?, Technical support, web sites, KPIs, Maintenance Involvement in decisions.
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Terry Blackman
Bearing failures due to incorrect installation are reported to account for between 16% and 36% of all premature bearing failures. The root cause of the incorrect installation in most cases is lack of specific bearing installation training, incorrect use of tools, use of the wrong tools, contamination during fitting and incorrect tolerances of shafts and housings. These can all be avoided and the path to best practices in bearing reliability and maintenance starts with addressing these issues:
3.1
Training
Utilise vendors where possible for short training courses on site e.g. Blusecope Steel get CBC to do regular 3 hour training courses on site. Other vendors will do the same if asked. Check to see what free training is available with supply contracts. Make training also available for contractors to ensure they get upskilled as well. Include Engineers, Supervisors & Planners in Training courses as it cannot be assumed that they understand the need for getting the basics right. Its particularly important that Supervisors are knowledgeable about bearing installation so they can supervise contractors who may not be trained in this area. Accredited 3-day courses are also available - see SKF Course in Bearing Technology & Maintenance. These cover all aspects of bearing maintenance. Include examples of the costs of failures in training to emphasise the importance of correct installation.
3.2
Installation:
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3.2.3 Mounting Procedure Critical for Bearings with Tapered Bore (K).
Have mounting instructions for Self Aligning Double-Row Ball and Roller Bearings supplied with the bearing. e.g. Bluescope example where the vendor supplies instructions attached to each bearing box. Supply mounting detail checklist with the bearing to record actual mounting clearances. Download mounting instructions from websites. e.g. www.skf.com/mount These issues increase in importance when contractors and casuals are doing the installation and their skill in this area in not known. Document worksheets for critical jobs and include the instructions in the CMMS. Record installed clearance dimensions of large bearings to enable calculation of wear by measurements taken at some future date. For infrequent and critical installations, contact your bearing supplier to provide an engineer for on-site supervision.
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3.3
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4.
Alan Pycroft gave us an excellent overview of the Lubrication practises at TRUenergy - Yallourn. Yallourn has implemented many of the best practices that are mentioned below in the summary. The Presentation is available on the SIRFRt web site www.sirfrt.com.au Go to Meetings, CIWG Meetings, Rolling Bearing Management & Reliability CIWG, Nov 30
4.1
Personnel:
For an effective lubrication program, it was agreed that there must be dedicated Lubrication person or team to do the job. It should not be a job relegated to the least skilled people on site. A starting point is to have a job specification and a title for the role that reflects its importance. e.g. Lubrication Technician. If the role is not given importance, it will not be treated with the importance it deserves. Where companies have different personnel responsible for lubrication and each area does their own thing, there is no chance of a successful lubrication program. Where the lubrication role is part of a plant-wide strategy for improving lubrication, there is greater chance of implementing a successful program. Whoever is involved in the program requires training not just in the theory of lubrication but in storage, handling, and the various methods of application, safety, and disposal.
4.2
Oil containers should be stored in metal cabinets in they are not in a clean dedicated lubrication store. Each type of Oil should have a dedicated pump to reduce cross-contamination. Desiccant breathers on drums are a good way to keep oil clean and dry while in storage. Oils should be filtered (3 micron absolute) when transferring from bulk containers to dispensing containers. Bluescope Steel tests new oil delivered from their supplier and has found quality issues that we not known to the supplier. Disposal drums should be clearly marked so that oils are not mixed. Mixed oils (e.g. synthetic and mineral oils) can cause serious problems during disposal or reclaiming.
4.3
Safety:
MSDS must be readily accessible for all lubricants. The handling of lubricants does have some health risks and appropriate safety procedures should be followed (e.g. gloves). See table below.
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4.4
Training:
Training courses identified by participants are: 1. Noria. Noria is an independent Lubrication Knowledge company based in the USA. They run courses on Oil Analysis and Machinery Lubrication. The courses are usually followed by optional assessment with an IMCL (International Council for Machinery Lubrication) certification exam. See: www.noria.com for training course dates for Australia for 2006. 2. Vendors: Mobil run an accredited course called Mobil Motion training in conjunction with the VUT (Victoria University of Technology) which is recognised nationally. See appendix for details.
4.5
Flushing of Gearboxes:
One suggested method is to flush a gearbox with a compatible low-viscosity oil variation of the service oil. Filter carts are good for flushing gearboxes on line. Depending on the gearboxes age and the level of contamination and scaling, solvents can be used which break up the deposits that normal flushing does not remove. Some companies do a pre-flush and then a final flush. e.g. Castrol Solvent Flushing Oil Solvent cleaning may incorporate hydrocarbon-based Solvents (type USDA A-1) like kerosene or USDA A-2 cleaners such as naphtha and Stoddart.
4.6
Labelling:
Tags should be used to indicate the correct lube -Grease or oil for the lubrication point. Some companies use Silastic or Sikaflex to ensure adhesion for labels. Others use TRAFFOLITE engraved labels
4.7
Relubrication Quantities:
OEM recommendations are a good place to start. History and experience is used to fine tune relubrication quantities. The best way is to calculate the relubrication amount required by using a calculator as supplied by the bearing companies. (e.g. SKF Dialset or Lubeselect and FAG Relubrication Calculator). Bearing catalogues also give the relubrication amounts as a calculation of the bearing size, type, and speed. Using listening devices, vibration measurements (e.g. HFD, SEE) and temperature are a good way of determining when a bearing requires relubrication. Page 10 of 23 Terry Blackman
4.8
Rationalisation:
When it is done correctly, lubrication rationalisation can have good benefits such as reduced inventory, reduced risk of applying the wrong lubricant, efficiency, and improved reliability. PPG have reduced their greases on site from eight types to one, using Molub-Alloy Multiservice grease 860-220-2, The rationalisation program must be driven for the right reasons, not just for cost reduction in purchases. Before rationalising, the details must be checked to ensure that the right lubricant is specified in the first place. Involve the supplier in the rationalisation process. Do not reduce the viscosity of the lubricant when rationalising as this can greatly reduce the life of bearings and gears.
4.9
Automatic Lubricators:
The key to success with automatic lubricators (PermaLube, System 24, Memolube, etc.) is to ensure that they are part of a lubrication program that is managed by a CMMS or stand alone lube program. Automatic lubricators generally operate well as long as they are used within their range of suitable applications (temperature, length of line, correct relubrication interval, etc.). Installing fixed grease lines to make greasing more accessible gives good results.
Recommended specifications are for filters to have 3-5 absolute (suppliers are Pall or Hydac) and for desiccant to be included for moisture removal. Grease purge holes are important for bearings at high speeds where over lubrication can be a problem (e.g. electric motors and fan housings). The SKF and FAG catalogues specify the correct hole sizes for different Plummer blocks and the housings can be ordered with the holes pre-drilled.
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5.1
There is a varied range of approaches to reliability improvements, Company Impact Fertilisers RCA methodology No formal RCA processes used on site Comments No full time predictive maintenance personnel. PdM work outsourced to Vipac. Use FAG bearings for low speed applications and SKF for high speed applications. Most problems with bearings are related to sealing, as the environment is very dusty. Have used CARB bearings successfully on fans with life now 5 years from installation. Have sorted out problems with OEM designs where lubrication ducts have been incorrectly designed. Most problems have been lubricationrelated (e.g. Decanter bearings). Use CBC engineers under the contract arrangements to assist with training and failure investigations. Most problems are associated with maintenance installation and inconsistent lubrication practices across the site. Issues with training and quality of tradesmen /fitters are a major concern. Estimated that 90% of problems are process and procedure related. Skilled engineering are responsible for installation work and procurement. Have an ITP (Inspection test plan) and ITC (inspection check test). Use CBC and FAG for technical support.
Qenos
Bluescope/Silcar
Use Formal RCA for major incidents. e.g. shutdowns > 4 hours or costing high $. Have been trained in Taproot, Apollo and Kepner-Tregoe Most bearing failures investigated by reliability personnel.
TRUenergy Yallourn
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RCA methodology No formal RCA process. Reliability personnel get involved in failure analysis. RCA is driven by the size of the problem, when there is a loss of production. Started using RCA Rt software to record failure data.
Comments Most bearing replacements are on white metal bearings on pumps. Small process pumps are replaced, rather than overhauled. Many problems picked up by Predictive maintenance team. Often bearings are destroyed or disposed of before they can be inspected. Used to use Shell Services for RCA but now do it themselves. Vibration analysis is a major indicator of problems. Have used SKF for mill bearing inspections. Have recently had failures on 2 x Sumitomo Cooling Tower Gearboxes, which are as yet undetermined. Use CBC for tech. support as part of a supply contract. Do oil analysis and Vibration analysis to detect most problems with rotating equipment. Have used SKF for tech. support when required. Generally have high reliability and few problems.
PPG
5.2
He discussed how when using spherical roller bearings, that the bearing carrying the axial load should also be subjected to radial load to improve the load distribution within the bearings. This determines at installation which bearing is the fixed one and which is the floating one. For overhung fans, especially those with direct drives, the best solution is to have an in-line bearing (two-bearing) housing, because many of the loading conditions can be accommodated better. See Technology upgrade section below for more information. In the case study that Rod presented to the group, the solution to the overhung fan problems involves the installation of an on-line monitoring system to detect early problems (including electrical faults.).
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The solution has been in operation now for over 7 years, and the accumulated saving in maintenance costs, production and downtime are now in excess of $1million
Two bearing housing for overhung impeller. Better reliability than 2 x separate Plummer blocks
5.3
It is agreed that one of the best sources for assistance in technical information on bearing failures and assistance in reliability Improvements is the technical representatives from the various bearing companies. A summary of engineers known to be able to provide good support are as below. In each instance it is advisable to get to know your local contact so that they become familiar with your site and should be more receptive to giving you support. Company CBC CBC CBC SKF SKF SKF FAG FAG FAG Contact Person (s) Anthony OKeefe Laurence Camenzuli Jeff James Val Guerra John Mesiti Rob Distil (Tasmania) Craig Edwards Milos Grujic Dana Romanowski Phone 9276 9100 9276 9100 9276 9100 0417 399 905 0408 3660498 0419 523 959 0400 255 187 9859 8020 0419 613 956
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Terry Blackman
For these overhung fans, a two-bearing unit shown above can have many advantages over a normal arrangement of 2 x Plummer blocks, such as: More choices in the bearings that can be installed (ball, angular contact, cylindrical, spherical or CARB, depending on the load and speed). Better seals can be fitted to the housings to keep out contamination. They can run with grease or with oil lubrication. They have easy installation, because it is only necessary to bolt the unit to its support surface. (although its necessary to watch out for soft foot) There is little risk of contaminating or otherwise damaging the bearings during installation. These units come in standard sizes from SKF and FAG but can be made to suit most existing fan centre heights. Original equipment manufacturers, such as Flakt-Woods, can offer these with new fans installations if you specify them. SIRF Industrial Maintenance Roundtable - S.E. Area Page 17 of 23 Terry Blackman
These have been around for some years, but still prove to be a good economical technology improvement for some applications. Their main use is in reducing failures caused by contamination and installation. These are bearing units that come complete with the housing, bearing, seals, locking sleeve, lubricant and are pre-assembled, ready to mount. They are quick and easy to install. Once the bearing is correctly located on a shaft, mounting screws are tightened, axially displacing two paired precision-engineered serrated rings. The paired rings grip the shaft as the internal clearance in the bearing is reduced and expand evenly around the entire shaft circumference for a reliable fit. The versions with spherical rollers (as per the picture above) are best used on slower speed applications. They come in fixed and floating executions. There are versions available with ball bearings for lighter loads and higher speeds Their advantages include the following: Can be retrofitted to suit many existing shafts and Plummer block sizes. They can often replace standard size Plummer blocks (e.g. SN, SNA, SNH, SNL series from 35mm to 75mm shaft size). They have tight gripping triple-lip seals, which are good for keeping out contamination. No special tools required just an Allen Key that comes with the bearing unit. They are protected against contamination during installation. They allow logistics costs to be reduced as only one part has to be ordered, stored and managed Application areas Typical applications for these bearing units are mining and metallurgical equipment, quarries, belt conveyors, bucket elevators, refining equipment and chain conveyors.
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Terry Blackman
The CARB bearing is a single row bearing with long, slightly crowned symmetrical rollers. The raceways of both the inner and outer rings are concave and situated symmetrically about the bearing centre. They have been around for about 10 years now and have started to become a standard bearing for heavy-duty applications.
The rollers of the CARB bearing are self-guiding, i.e. they will always adopt the position where the load is evenly distributed over the roller length - irrespective of whether the inner ring is axially displaced and/or misaligned with respect to the outer ring. The load carrying capacity of the CARB bearing is very high even when it has to compensate for angular misalignment or axial displacement, which should result in improved reliability. They are intended exclusively as non-locating bearings. They simplify the bearing arrangement design for long shafts that are subjected to temperature variations. When using CARB bearings, it has also been proven that vibration levels are reduced, e.g. in paper machines or fans.
CARB bearings have a lower required minimum load than equivalent sized spherical roller bearings, which means they are less inclined to skid under light load and high speed. Because they require less grease than equivalent sized spherical roller bearings, they can be prone to get hot if too much grease is applied at start-up. Their main uses have been in paper mill rolls, fans, pinion shafts, crushers, and gearboxes.
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Terry Blackman
5.5
Cost-benefit analysis
An important, and often neglected part of a reliability improvement project is the cost-benefit analysis. This is a useful tool in documenting both the projected pay-back time for an improvement as well as historical evidence of the improvement. This is a key aid in getting management approval for capital or additional resources to fund improvements. An example of a simple cost-benefit analysis is below:
Comments FD Fan #2 Unacceptable failure rate Bearing Failures on average 2 times per year Bearing sealing design and relubrication system is inadequate Upgrade bearing housing and seal design and install automatic lubrication. $2,500 $35 18 $250 $150 $3,530
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CIWG Date
October 12
Meeting Location
Bluescope Steel Hastings
Main Topic(s)
Training & Installation
November 30
TRUenergy Yallourn
Lubrication
February 8
PPG - Clayton
April 5
PowerWorks - Morwell
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Terry Blackman
Bearing Detective