Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10 

Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10

Prepared by : Dedi Rizaldi

Dept. : TGE-ENG
Date : 8 June 2006

A. Introduction

The purpose of analysis is to find the value of load acting on shaft and bearings of boiler feed pump
MMO 40/10. The calculation results will be analyzed based on bearings load requirement which is
issued by bearing manufacturer.

B. MMO 40/10 Pump system

There are some reports on bearing failure of MMO 40/10 which are applied as boiler feed pump. There
are some potential root cause of the failure which will be examined. One of them is axial thrust.

The specifications of MMO 40/10 are as follow:

C = 130 m3/hr
H = 400 m
Pop = 40 bar (operating pressures)
Top = -10oC to 110oC (operating temperatures when using gland packing)

The weight of impeller and shaft are:

Wimpeller = 1.6 kg
Wshaft = 3.6 kg

The bearing use for MMO 40/10 is deep groove ball bearings (SKF) with designation number 6306.
The dimensions are as follow
D = outer diameter = 72 mm
d = bore diameter = 30 mm
w = ring width = 19 mm

and with basic load rating as follow

Cr = basic dynamic load rating of radial bearings = 26700 N
C0r = basic static load rating of radial bearings = 15000 N
f0 = factor which depends on the geometry of the bearing components and on the
applicable stress level = 2720

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 Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10 

C. Load acting on Shaft

The axial thrust is defined as

Thrust = (Ae – As) * (psh – psu) - Ae*ρ* vax2/2 equation 1

(see figure 1)

Where:
de = impeller eye diameter
ds = shaft diameter
Ae = eye area
As = shaft area
g= gravity acceleration
ρ= density
Q= capacity
∆p = pressure differential generated by one impeller
p1 = psu = pressure at suction
p2= pressure at shroud

The following figure shows illustration of loads acting at one impeller. From this picture we can
calculate load for another nine impeller.

Axial Load

φshroud

p1= pshroud

psuction φeye

Figure 1. Load and Flow of Impeller

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 Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10 

Where:

de = = 68 mm
ds = = 34 mm
Ae = = 3632 mm2 = 0.003632 m2
As = = 908 mm2 = 0.000908 m2
g= = 9.81 m/s2
ρ= = 958 kg/m3 at T = 100o C (assumed condition)
Q= = 30 m3/hr
∆p = = 3 bar = 0.3 MPa
p1 = psu = = 2.5 bar = 0.25 MPa
p2= = 5.5 bar = 0.55 MPa

Vax = Q / (3600*Ae)= fluid velocity entering impeller eye [m/s] = 2.295 m/s

By using equation 1 we have:

Shaft axial thrust, T = 807.97 N ~ 82.36 kg

This load is acting along the shaft. This load causes reaction from each bearing A and B.

C. Load Acting on Bearings

Load for each bearing can be calculated with force equilibrium. Load acting on bearings are axial and
radial load. Bearing axial loads are the load transferred from the shaft and radial load is the reaction to
the vertical load acting on shaft.

Fluid Flow Axial Load

A B

a D b
Wt

xcg
Lshaft

Axial

RA RB

Figure 3 Loads Acting on Shaft

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 Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10 

1. Axial load on Bearing

Axial load from shaft is assumed to be equally distributed to bearing 1 and bearing 2. Based
on horizontal force equilibrium we find:

Bearing A
(Fa)A = 4072.61 N = 415.15 kg

Bearing B
(Fa)B = 4072.61 N = 415.15 kg

2. Radial Load on Bearing

Radial load acting on each bearing can be calculated based on equilibrium of vertical load.
The results are:

Bearing A
Frc = 411.01 N = 41.90 kg

Bearing B
Frc = 165.82 N = 16.90 kg

D. Analysis

1. Dynamic Equivalent Load

The Dynamic Equivalent Load (P) is defined as

P = XFr + YFa

The table below will be used for calculation of P

Fa Fa
f 0 Fa ≤e >e
e Fr Fr
C0r
X Y X Y
0.172 0.19 1 0 0.56 2.30
0.345 0.22 1 0 0.56 1.99
0.689 0.26 1 0 0.56 1.71
1.03 0.28 1 0 0.56 1.55
1.38 0.30 1 0 0.56 1.45
2.07 0.34 1 0 0.56 1.31
3.45 0.38 1 0 0.56 1.15
5.17 0.42 1 0 0.56 1.04
6.89 0.44 1 0 0.56 1.00
(SKF catalog)

Table 1 Dynamic Equivalent Load Coefficients

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 Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10 

We can calculate and find values as follow

f 0 Fa 13.3 * 4072.61
= = 3.61
C0r 15000
Using linear regression we found
(0.42 − 0.38)
e = 0.38 + (3.61 − 3.45) = 0.3837
(5.17 − 3.45)

Bearing A
Fa 41.90
= = 0.101
Fr 415.15

Bearing B
Fa 16.90
= = 0.041
Fr 415.15

Fa
We find ≤ e , so from the table we have X = 1 and Y = 0
Fr
The Dynamic Equivalent Load (P) becomes

P = XFr = Fr

Dynamic equivalent load on bearing A and B are 41.9 kg and 16.9 kg.

2. Static Equivalent Load

Static equivalent load can be defined as

Fa
P0 = 0.6 Fr + 0.5 Fa for > 0.8
Fr
Fa
P0 = Fr for ≤ 0.8
Fr
Fa
We have already obtained that for both bearing ≤ 0.8 , and then we have
Fr
P0 = Fr

Static equivalent load on bearing A and B are 41.9 kg and 16.9 kg. We see that the Dynamic
Equivalent Load and Static Equivalent Load for bearing A are the same value (41.9 kg). The
Dynamic Equivalent Load and Static Equivalent Load for bearing B are the same value too
(16.9 kg)

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 Axial Thrust Analysis of Boiler Feed Pump MMO 40/10 

E. Conclusions

- Axial thrust acting on bearings does not exceed the limit required by bearings
manufacturer.
- For this taken operating condition, axial thrust seems to be not significant for the
calculation of Dynamic and Static Equivalent Load.
- Calculation of other possible root causes of the bearing failure is required to solve the
problem.

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