Appendix I

Richmond Refinery Bearing Replacement Practice (1987)

Contents
I1.0 I2.0 I3.0 Summary Objective Testing and Inspection

Page
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I1.0

Summary
Currently, the Richmond Refinery purchases replacement anti-friction bearings (Grade 1, Class 3) under a Corporate-wide contract: Grade refers to the precision of the inner and outer bearing surfaces (see Figure I-1). Grade 1 is the least precise, but the precision is satisfactory. (ABEC Grade 1 is the most commonly stocked bearing grade.) Class refers to the internal clearance between the balls and the races. Class 3 (C-3) has "greater-than-standard" clearance. This clearance is designed in, and does not employ poor precision, nor poor adherence to tolerances. Rather the clearance, in refinery applications, allows for thermal gradients across the bearing when in service (such as hot-oil pumps).
Illustration of Bearing Class and Grade

Fig. I-1

Unless specified otherwise, bearings meet American Bearing Engineers' Committee (ABEC) Grade 1 dimensional tolerances (I.D., O.D., width, concentricity) and AntiFriction Bearing Manufacturers Association (AFBMA) Class 3 internal clearance (internal "looseness" which is "greater than standard"). Although pre-delivery bearing inspections are not done, replacement bearings are checked by mechanics before installation, and are then custom fit to the machine's shaft and case (records are kept on rejection rates and reasons). A comparison of Brand A with Brand B bearings is not common practice. A selection is based on load ratings, although load and speed ratings do vary.

I2.0

Objective
The objective is to maximize equipment reliability and minimize maintenance and operating costs. Factors influencing reliability and costs are: Dimensional quality Internal clearance Capacity and application

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I2.1

Dimensional Quality
To operate reliably it is critical that an anti-friction bearing: Be concentric (radial runout) Fit shaft properly (I.D. dimensional tolerance) Fit bearing housing properly (O.D. dimensional tolerance)

ABEC grade classifications (or degrees of precision) which categorize dimensional quality of anti-friction bearings are: Grade 1 - Standard commercial grade, least precision Grade 3 - More precise than Grade 1 Grade 5 - More precise than Grade 3 Grade 7 - More precise than Grade 5 Grade 9 - Most precise

Grade 3 is no longer used by ABEC (but is still available from some manufacturers). Grades 5-9 are considered precision bearings. No credit is given toward higher load and longer life for precision grade bearings over standard ABEC Grade 1 bearings in the bearing load/life design equations. For a typical 40 mm (1.5748 inch) I.D. bearing, the difference in radial runout for a Grade 1 and Grade 5 bearing is only 0.0006 inches. This difference is only important when extreme smoothness, high speed and high precision is important. A Grade 1 medium series bearing of this size from MRC (#208) costs $12.98 and is locally available while a Grade 5 bearing costs eight times more than the Grade 1 bearing with delivery subject to availability. This situation is similar for other bearing brands.

I2.2

Custom Fitting of Bearings

Machine Shop practice is to custom-fit each individual bearing to the shaft and bearing housing and to check for roundness. Current practice is: Radial Bearing's Shaft Fits (I.D.): 0-0.0002 inch interference (excluding fieldinstalled thrust bearings or pumps with cartridge seal which get 0.0005 inch loose fit). Radial Bearing Housing Fits (O.D.): 0.0005 inch per inch of shaft diameter plus 0.0005 inch but not to exceed 0.003 inch.

Bearing pounding, high vibration and early failure are eliminated by making sure all bearing fits are correct. Out-of-round bearings are rejected and returned to the supplier.

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According to the Machine Shop Supervisor, only 5% of the new bearings installed on nondamaged shafts and bearing housings require any machine work to get the bearing to fit properly, using ABEC Grade 1 bearings. By changing to "precision" grade bearings, some machine work might be saved for the 5% of repairs that are required because of less stringent manufacturing tolerances of Grade 1 bearings, but savings would be minimal. In summary, because Richmond custom-fits bearings, there are minimal advantages of changing to precision bearings and there are significant disadvantages in increased cost and delivery time.

I2.3

Internal Clearances
The AFBMA has established four classes for internal radial clearance between balls and races as follows: Class 0 - Standard Clearance Class 2 - Less Than Standard Clearance Class 3 - Greater Than Standard Clearance Class 4 - Greater Than Class 3 Standard Clearance

The Class 3 clearance has now become the bearing industry standard. These are the most commonly stocked bearings. They are the bearings specified for refinery services according to Company recommendations, and are used for the following reasons: 1. Differential Thermal Growth Tolerance - Extra tolerance allows the inner race to grow without pinching balls in bearings, as when the shaft and inner race run hot while the outer race runs cool (i.e., a hot oil pump). Slightly Higher Thrust Load Capacities - Looseness introduces better angles of support as in angular contact bearings.

2.

Class 3 bearings are not made to less stringent tolerances than are Class 0 standard clearance bearings. They should not be associated with "cheapest" grade. For example, it is possible to purchase a Class 3 internal clearance ABEC 5 precision bearing. Richmond has long practiced replacing standard clearance bearings with Class 3 bearings and this has become a standard for the Corporation. For refinery services, Class 3 internal clearance bearings are, and should continue to be, the default choice.

I2.4

Capacity and Application

Bearing design load capacities are based on statistical data gathered from testing bearings to failure under standardized conditions. However, manufacturers present load capacities in different formats. The bearing load and speed ratings of two interchangeable bearings from different manufacturers does vary. For example, an SKF

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6310 and MRC 310S medium series are interchangeable bearings, yet the MRC bearing's load rating is 9.7% higher than the SKF bearing at 1000 rpm, but the SKF bearing is rated for 6.2% higher speed. (Possible explanations are ball diameter or number since materials are the same. Ball diameter and number are not listed in manufacturers catalogs.) Differences such as these may be significant if vendors really are uniform in testing and reporting bearing performance. Life expectancy is proportional to the cube of the load; therefore, for the above bearings:
3 T1 ( L2 ) ( 1.09 ) ----- = ------------- = ----------------- = 1.29 3 T2 1 ( L1 ) 3

(Eq. I-1)

At 1000 RPM, bearing No. 1 has a 30% longer life than bearing No. 2. The Bearing Manual does not present comparable speed and load ratings for interchangeable bearings from different manufacturers for easy comparison. It is now necessary for the purchaser to calculate the load ratings on an equivalent basis for each particular application. There may be an incentive to perform these comparisons. However, we are not now convinced that it justified based on the information we have.

I3.0

Testing and Inspection

Richmond does not have a pre-shipment inspection program for anti-friction bearings. Our Machine Shop does dimensionally and visually check each bearing as well as to check for roughness at installation. Defects include bearings being out of round, having no grease, having rubs and being dirty. Infant mortality (failures quickly after initial run-in) due to bearing failures is low and does not warrant a change from our current program.

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