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turbo components &

(713) 943-9100 4th Quarter 2000

A Quarterly Publication from Turbo Components & Engineering Vol III, No. 1

BEARING JOURNAL

Setting bearing temperature alarm and trip levels

Bearings can run hot for several reasons including high load, high speed, and limited oil supply. Bearing metal temperatures are recognized as reliable indicators of the condition of bearings in a machine. Therefore, we at TCE feel it is appropriate to comment on the use of bearing temperatures to determine limits for alarm and trip settings. As an introduction to this topic we suggest the reader refer to API Standard 670, some relevant sections of which appear in TCE Bearing Journal Volume I, Issue I. Another good reference is a paper presented at the 1984 Texas A&M Turbomachinery Symposium by Denis Garner & Tony Leopard of Glacier Metals Company, Ltd. Garner and Leopard suggest that the alarm points and shutdown limits be set at differential temperatures of 18F and 27F, respectively, above the maximum recorded temperature at the sensor during normal operation. This makes a lot of sense, but these criteria should be tempered by an upper limit established by the known maximum operating limits of the bearing. Drain oil It is also beneficial to evaluate temperature is axial rotor position (for thrust not a good indicator bearing condition) and rotor of bearing condition centerline information (for journal bearings), when making shut down decisions. From a practical standpoint, during the startup of a new unit or during the first runs on redesigned bearings, it is a good idea to establish alarm settings and, if you choose, trip settings, that are at the high side of the temperature range to be expected.

The Flowserve facility in Wasilla, Alaska is now Alaska Roteq.

TCE acquires Alaskan firm

Effective February 1, 2001 TCE completed the purchase of Flowserve's after-market service center in Wasilla, Alaska. Flowserve Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of industrial flow management services operating in 30 countries. The name of the new company will be Alaska Roteq Corporation and will continue to operate as an authorized Flowserve distributor for repairs and sales on Flowserve products. TCE and the newly formed Alaska operation is proud to have this opportunity and look forward to continuing the quality service that TCE and Alaska Roteq have provided our mutual customers in Alaska. The Wasilla facility is a fully tooled 25,000 sq. ft. facility that repairs turbines, compressors, pumps, mechanical seals, valves and other equipment in the State of Alaska. Unique to the service center is the capability to apply HVOF thermal spray coatings and twin wire arc spray coatings which are used extensively to prolong the life of equipment operating in an erosive and corrosive environment. Robert Schmidt Jr. will become the President of Alaska Roteq and Kevin Laurin will become Vice President of Sales. Additionally, Brien Jones, formally with Sulzer Bingham in Portland, Oregon will become Vice President of Operations.

A Thrust Bearing Example

On a recent 70 MW turbine installation having an active thrust bearing with chrome-copper shoes and offset pivots, we would expect failure to occur somewhere around a metal temperature of 270 to 300F. When we engineered this upgrade, we took the available information to predict a normal thrust load of 36,000 pounds (200 psi). With the new bearing at this loading, we predict a temperature reading of 180F. At about double the expected load we predicted a temperature of 205F. For this installation, we suggest setting the alarm temperature initially at 215F, and the trip temperature initially at 230F and proceed to run the unit. If the maximum temperature read over the full load cycle of the unit does not go over 200F, then the 215F alarm and 230F trip could be left as is. To be more conservative the differential temperatures could be used, setting the alarm 15 to 20 F above the highest observed reading and the trip 25 to 30 F above. Estimated or historical seasonal variations in bearing temperature should be considered when setting these temperatures.
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A note about this issue

We apologize for mailing out our fourth quarter 2000 newsletter in February of 2000 two months late! It has been busy here at TCE and we wanted to bring a few projects to completion so we can tell you about them. First, we want to acknowledge TCE's 10th anniversary. Second, we want to announce TCE's acquisition of the former Flowserve pump repair facility in Wasilla, Alaska. Another big event for TCE was the recent application of an ERP system. Last, we wanted to fit a technical article: see Setting Bearing Temperature Alarm and Trip Levels. We hope you find this issue of Bearing Journal informative and rest assured we will get back on track with a new issue shortly.

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New ERP software to benefit customers

Over the years TCE has developed many tools to manage our business; from purchased accounting packages to custom-written databases for job tracking and customer relationship management, to spreadsheets for sales analysis and job costing. These systems could not talk to each other and we found ourselves reaching limitations, as well as putting more time into maintaining these systems. It was time for a change. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, and the many software packages available for small to mid-size manufacturing companies is impressive. We installed our carefully selected system in the fall of 2000 and ran it in parallel with our old system while we learned it and worked out the bugs. We went live with the new system on January 1, 2001 and started phasing out the old system. We are extremely pleased with this package and its ability to do estimating, quotes, inventory control, sales orders, work orders, job costing, shop scheduling, accounting, and all types of analysis. We know that over the next year or two, as we build reliable data into the system, our costs and lead times will be reduced with no sacrifice of quality.

Readings from all sensors (in this case 4) should be compared and should be reading within 10 to 15F of each other in a thrust bearing. If any one or even two of the sensors are reading well below normal they should not participate in the voting logic. If they read close to the drain temperature they are probably shorted outside the thrust pad. If there are random differences between sensors or one sensor is reading a lot higher than the others, then assembly errors or misalignments can be suspected. A decision to act on these signals should also consider readings from the axial rotor position indicators. Any two or more thrust readings above 180F should coincide with the rotor thrusted fairly hard against the active thrust bearing. Drain oil temperatures are not a sensitive measurement of bearing condition, but are useful in assuring that the bearings are receiving the correct amount of cooling oil and that oil supply is not a factor in any unusual bearing metal temperature readings. For most force lubricated bearings you should expect a drain temperature of about 150F to 160F, with oil supply temperature of 120F.

A Journal Bearing Example

This same turbine has an 8" tilting pad journal bearing. Temperature criteria follow much of the same logic as for the thrust bearings. If the journal bearing load and direction are known, then our computer programs can predict rather accurately what metal temperatures can be expected at that corresponding load. In this unit, since it is a multi bearing machine, loading cannot be exactly predicted, therefore TCE used a nominal loading of 8,000 pounds (201 psi) for the expected operating condition. We have also calculated what maximum pad metal temperatures are to be expected at 16,000 pounds. The metal temperatures cited below are based on sensors located as per API standards. In this load between pad bearing there is one sensor in the lower pad upstream from rotation and one sensor in the trailing pad. The trailing pad is calculated to run slightly hotter due to hot oil carryover from the preceding pad. At 8,000 pounds, we predict the leading pad metal temperature to register 177F and the trailing pad to register 187F. At 16,000 pounds, we predict the leading pad to register 196F and the trailing pad to register 206F. Based on the above criteria TCE recommends an initial alarm temperature of 220F and an initial trip temperature of 235F. After running the unit over a full range of loads and alignment cycles it may be advisable to adjust the alarm and/or trip settings to be more conservative, using the differential temperature criteria cited earlier to set these values. Another question often asked is, How hot can I run and for how long? Unfortunately each of these specific applications should be addressed individually considering all mitigating factors. We hope this information helps in the operation of your units. There is a certain uniqueness in each installation, but as long as close attention is paid to sensor locations, sound recommendations can be made.

Happy 10th Anniversary TCE!

That's right, on January 15th, 1991 a small group of people set up shop at 8730 Meldrum, by Hobby Airport, in Houston, Texas. Business started slowly and the first few years were tough but we knew that quality was the most important ingredient for success; we knew what a disregard for quality can due to a business. A look at the finished products and services we sell clearly shows our attention to detail and the pride we all take in our work. With persistence, good employees and quality products, we forged the path that has lead TCE to be a leading manufacturer of bearings and seals for end users of rotating equipment. Our employees over the years have consistently given TCE the edge required to be a leader, and without them we would not be celebrating our 10th anniversary. Finally, we must thank our customers; without them we would not have survived the early years. As we move forward into the next decade, our mission remains to be the best of the best in service to our current and future customers. All TCE e-mail addresses and past issues of Bearing Journal are available on our website: www.tce1.com
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