OVER THE YEARS, INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES HAVE GROWN HOTTER TO BOOST EFFICIENCY. That means fans increasingly operate at higher temperatures. They usually run at high speeds with light radial loads, moving air filled with particulates that settle unevenly on an impeller and move it out of balance.
According to SKF USA Inc., all this tends to heat up bearings, shortening bearing lubrication life and causing bearing failures that lead to unplanned fan downtime and production losses. No wonder SKF says it receives at least one urgent phone call daily about heat-related fan problems.
So SKF has launched an upgrade service that it says can prolong bearing and lubricant service life while lowering maintenance costs and improving the sustainability of industrial fans. The upgrade combines an automatic circulating lubrication system with a toolkit of optimized bearings, housings, and seals.
The company estimates that lubrication issues are the source of 36 percent of all premature bearing failures. SKE use a centralized system to deliver precise amounts of grease to each fan on the system while avoiding over-lubrication.
The company's bearing toolkit typically combines self-aligning bearings with plummer block housings and specialized seals to help manage heat. The plummer block housing are designed to draw heat away from the bearing while providing precise, high stiffness support.
The self-aligning bearings combine the company's CARB toroidal roller bearing in the non-locating position and a spherical roller bearing in the locating position. The toroidal bearing accommodates the thermal expansion of the fan shaft, reducing friction, temperature, vibration, and power consumption while supporting higher fan speeds.
SKF also provides condition monitoring systems. These range from basic units that warn of potential bearing failure to more advanced predictive maintenance systems.
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