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Frosting in Oils

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Muizz Jamal
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82 views22 pages

Frosting in Oils

Uploaded by

Muizz Jamal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CASE STUDY:

BEARING FROSTING AND THE UNIQUE OCCURRENCE


ON A GEARED CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR

ED CZECHOWSKI FS-ELLIOTT
CHRIS NAPOLEON NAPOLEON ENGINEERING
MIKE TURSKY FS-ELLIOTT
Author Biographies
 Ed Czechowski – Fellow Engineer at FS-Elliott since 2011.
Retired manager of New Product Development at Cameron
Compression systems. MSIT and BMET from Buffalo State
College. Advisory board member at both Buffalo State and the
University of Buffalo.

 Chris Napoleon – Chris Napoleon is the President and Chief


Engineer for Napoleon Engineering Services. He received a B.S.
in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a
M.S. in manufacturing management from Kettering University. 23
Years experience in bearing testing and development.

 Mike Tursky - Manager, Sustaining Engineering at FS-Elliott


Company since 2003. Former Product Design Engineer at Elliott
Turbomachinery Company. B.S. Aerospace Engineering from
Penn State University.
Background

 By definition, “Bearing Frosting” is term used to describe a


physical defect to a bearing surface caused stray
electrical currents.
 It is similar in nature to “EDM” (Electrical Discharge
Machining) whereby bearing surfaces vaporize or soften
as electrical current passes through them.
 It affects both conventional Babbitt style bearings as well
as anti-friction bearings.
 Common to all types of drive/driven systems especially
steam turbines and VFD (variable frequency drive) driven
equipment.
 Results in either slow or rapid increases in pinion vibration
and has a direct impact on machine reliability.
Common Sources of Stray current

 Induction Motor Stray


Currents – caused by time
varying flux encircling the
motor shaft from uneven
symmetry in motor windings
or from shipping damage.  VFD harmonics – VFD’s
operate by rectifying AC
voltage to DC voltage and
subsequently inverting the
voltage back to AC via
high speed switching. This
HS switching creates a
current imbalance
between the three phases
and is often referred to as
“common-mode voltage”.
Common Sources of Stray current

Static electricity on steam


exit side bearings

• Manufacturing processes –
part holders, lathes
• Magnetic base inspection
indicators
• Gear box Machining
processes
• Magnetic Particle inspection
• Space heater failure
• Welding on frame
• Motor feed and drains
• Group III oils
How to Check for Stray Voltage

Carbon fiber shaft probe and


portable oscilloscope Electro-static charge detector
with a charge plate adapter
for use with a pipe probe
Unique factors affecting a group of Geared
Centrifugals: Case study focus

Type of location:
Virtually all the major
bearing failures have
General location of frosted occurred in
bearing compressors Petrochemical plants
(highest annual humidity that produce ethylene
readings in the country) based products
High Humidity / Plastics Plant = Static Charge Influence

Pinions can become


High Humidity charged and the
air is mixed with combined effect of
charged the tribo-
particles electrification of oil
and charge potential
allow EDM to take
place.
100% saturated high
velocity air into the next Charges can develop due to
stage of compression base material location on the
Triboelectric series – metal is
neutral, polystyrene has strong
negative charge.
Note: Human hands have the
highest positive charge
Case Study Example – two compressors one with a bull
gear shaft grounding ring and one without.
Initial Data from one of the Failed Units

 The compressors in this case study all experienced alarm


and trip levels of vibration before being shut down for
bearing replacement. One unit exhibited a sudden shift in
vibration just hours after start up…an oversize pinion bore
caused by bearing frosting ended up being the problem.

30.0

25.0

Vibration - Micron
20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0
9:19:53

12:07:53

14:54:40
0:07:53
0:31:53
0:55:53
1:19:53
1:43:53
2:07:53
2:31:53
2:55:53
3:19:53
3:43:53
4:07:53
4:31:53
4:55:53
5:19:53
5:43:53
6:07:53
6:31:53
6:55:53
7:19:53
7:43:53
8:07:53
8:31:53
8:55:53

9:43:53
22:55:53
23:19:53
23:43:53

10:07:53
10:31:53
10:55:53
11:19:53
11:43:53

12:31:53
12:55:53
13:19:53
13:43:53
14:06:54
14:30:54
Data Collected from Repaired Units
Unit Shaft Voltage Shaft Current Static Charge Comments
W/ Ground ring 31 mV rms 26 mA rms 170 - 515 V Static decayed
over time
W/O GR 1.029 V rms .93- 1.02 A rms 50 – 360 V Cycled every
eight minutes

Grounding Ring unit had better results

Unit w/ground ring Unit w/o ground ring


Typical Sleeve and Thrust Bearing Damage
Rolling Element Bearing Damage

 Micro-cratering – damage
surface appears dull,
characterized by molten pit
marks
Rolling Element Bearing Damage

 Localized heat from


current passage creates
re-hardened surface layer

 Fluting – resonance
vibration pattern from
over-rolling smaller micro-
craters
Common Solutions to prevent stray currents on turbo
machinery - economics

 Drive motor with insulated rear bearing - $$


 Insulated drive coupling - $$
 Insulated forced feed lube and drains - $
 Grounding straps on drive motor - $
 Bull gear shaft grounding brushes - $
 No welding stickers - $
 Degaussing processes added - $$$
 Material changes to bearings i.e. ceramic or ceramic coatings -
$$$
 Oil additives could be used to make the oil more conductive $$

* Actual $ depends on size of compressor frame involved


Common Solutions to prevent stray currents on turbo
machinery

Grounding Strap on
Motor.

Bull gear Shaft Grounding


Brushes.
Common Solutions to prevent stray currents on turbo
machinery

Insulated Drive Couplings

Insulated Bearings for


Drive Motors
Common Solutions to prevent stray currents on turbo
machinery

Place “No Welding”


Stickers on Degaussing Equipment to
Compressor remove Magnetism in Parts.
Equipment.
Case Study Findings
In this case we found that bull gear shaft stray currents were
the major contributor to frosted bearings. However, static
charges found at plastics plants showed a slow build up in
charge potential followed by an immediate discharge leading
us to believe that high speed pinions become electrified and
that these charges also contribute to bearing damage.

According to (Paschen’s
Law) electrostatic
discharges can occur as
low as 380 V.

* - refer to Summary
Summary
 There are multiple ways that stray electrical currents can
develop in any given compressor.
 Trying to stop each path could be very expensive and
time consuming.
 There are two possible paths leading to the pinion bearings
 Motor to bullgear
 Static charged air to the impeller
 OK Fix – make the oil more conductive
 Good Fix - Although a bull gear shaft grounding system has
proven to effectively reduce bearing frosting, air side
charges must still cross the bull gear mesh in order to
ground out. This could damage the gear teeth over time.
 Ultimate Solution – Direct grounding of both the bull gear
shaft and HS pinions on a geared centrifugal.
Direct Pinion Grounding Recommendation

Location #3
High Speed Rotor

Location #2
Low Speed Rotor
Location #1
Bullgear Shaft
Future Topic – Static Charges in Hydraulic Systems?

Questions?

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