Bearing, Lubrication Issues that can Reduce Pump Life Cycle Costs

摘要

In my February 2008 column, I stated that pump bearing failures are the second leading cause of pump repairs, after mechanical seals, further, I pointed out that most pump bearings do not reach their theoretical (L10) fatigue life. Two-thirds of all rolling element bearings in ser-rnvice, which had to be replaced, failed prematurely. By comparison, only one-third of bearings fail due to fatigue spalling (L10 Life), see figure 1. In this column I would like to expand on the February 2008 column which mainly focused on "Oil Mist" and "Synthetic" lubrication to improve bearing life. This month I would like to cover such additional important bearing/lubrication life issues as pump flow rate, oil viscosity, lubricant temperature, oil oxidation, oil contamination, and oil life.