Importance Of Quality Bearings In Industrial Fans

By Author: Neel Rao
Total Articles: 89
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Since the advent of process industries, industrial fans have been playing an important role. These fans and blowers have helped to improve the quality of the process by enhancing capacity, reducing the overall cost of production and making the environment conducive to sustain. Industrial fans are breathing lungs in all industries, viz., cement industry, power generation sector, refineries, steel industry and so on.

Heavy-duty fans are usually installed outside the confined area or building to facilitate cooler operation. However, since they are installed in open, so these equipment need to be susceptible to extreme environmental conditions.

There could be situations when these rotary equipment experience vibrations and corrosion and erosion, which may stall the entire production. To encounter these adversities and smooth run of these fans, there is a necessity of good quality bearings.

The mechanical performance of industrial fans depends on the quality of the bearings and there functioning. Quality bearings reduce maintenance downtime.

Anti-Friction Bearings:
Bearings commonly used in overhung ...
... and simply supported fans are of anti-friction type – spherical roller or ball bearings. These bearings are housed in two separate plummer blocks or, sometimes in mono-block. Based on tip speed and radial loads, heavy-duty process fans are also served with sleeve bearings with oil lubrication. Reliability factors are prudently considered while selecting the right combination of bearings in various types of fans.

High-speed blowers can overcome certain set-backs like abrasion if judiciously applied. However, these categories of bearings have certain limitations, being less rugged in construction. Double row spherical roller bearings have an advantage over ball bearings when the radial load is higher. With adapter sleeves and split housings, these two types of bearings are easy to mount in a short downtime.

Sleeve Bearings:
In such journal bearings, the rotor shaft rotates smoothly with no metal-to-metal relative contacts. So the noise level of these bearings is low. Life of these bearings is high with only some maintenance in white metaled sleeves. Retaining the oil film under load is controlled by the lubrication system, as selected.

Lubrication In Bearings:
Suitable lubrication is selected based on rotor speed, loads and running temperature. Proper lubrication is selected, considering the limiting speed of selected bearings, to run the bearing cooler. Routine maintenance is necessary when a change in lubricant needs to be carried out for better health of bearings and, in turn, the equipment rotor. While carrying out maintenance, the lubricant needs a thorough inspection. Discoloration of oil is an indication of contamination with particulate matters which leads to oil degradation. Bearings also experience the impact of oxidation, which causes rusting and pitting in bearing components.

In the case of sleeve or journal bearings, particulate matters can slip in the oil film, resulting in surface abrasion called scoring. Such invasion of metal particles can scrape Babbitt metal on the sleeve.

Process fans run continuously for months together. Any unwanted stoppages are prohibited in Process Industries. Hence, it is imperative that bearings run smoothly, silently and within acceptable temperature range.

Quality Bearings Essential For Quality Life:
A durable and reliable industrial fan is an assemblage of quality components – each of which contributes to the complete product.

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