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A V TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
Case History No. 24
OVERHUNG PUMP BEARING DAMAGE AFTER MODIFICATION

This pump is a small overhung pump pumping Kerosene driven by vibration levels at BPFOR have increased again and the machine
a 15 kw motor. Due to the nature of its duty the pump had suffered will need to have its bearings replaced again within six months of
several seal failures in the past and as a result of this it was the previous bearing replacement. The costs of the two repairs was
decided to modify the pump to give it additional thrust capacity approximately £7,500.
and to allow room for the fitment of a double seal to replace the
original single seal. The modified bearing housing and seal
arrangement were fitted at the beginning of November 2002. The
pump was vibration checked when it first started up and was
deemed acceptable although it did appear to have a peak at Ball BPFOR
Passing Frequency of the Outer Race (BPFOR) on the vibration
spectra (see Figure 1.). It was necessary to keep the pump running
at this time as it was urgently required for production. It was
decided to monitor the BPFOR vibration to see if it worsened.

Figure 2 - Vibration Spectra prior to bearing replacement

BPFOR

Figure 1 - Vibration Spectra when first installed

Over a period of four months the vibration was monitored and sure
enough the vibration at the BPFOR increased and also significant BPFOR
harmonics started to appear on the spectra. In April it was decided
to replace the pump bearings. Figure 2 shows the vibration spectra
on the pump hjust before the bearings were replaced. The vibration
at the BPFOR has increased significantly as have its harmonics.

On diassembling the pump the bearing housing was found to

contain a significant amount of casting sand. The bearings
themselves showed significant scratching on the balls and on the
two races. It appears that the pump bearing housing had not been
cleaned out thoroughly before it was assembled and installed. The
bearing housing was cleaned out and new bearings fitted and put
back into service. Figure 3 shows the vibration spectra taken soon
after start-up and already there appears to be a small peak at
BPFOR on the vibration spectra. It appears that even after cleaning
the bearing housing out thoroughly there may still be some casting
sand left in the housing. Since the vibration spectra in Figure 3 the
Figure 3 - Vibration Spectra after bearing replacement
This case history demonstrates the importance of thoroughly
cleaning all equipment prior to assembly and ensuring that any
work is carried out in a dirt and contamination free area so that no
dirt or contaminants can find their way into easily damaged
components. The failure to clean this pump properly before it was
built up has resulted in two overhauls in a period of less than a
year.
Robin Blakey – Consulting Engineer

A V TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, AVTECH House, Birdhall Lane, Cheadle Heath, Stockport, Cheshire SK3 OXU. Telephone : 0161 491 2222 Fax : 0161 428 0127 E-mail : cmdman@avtechnology.co.uk
ABERDEEN OFFICE : Office 20, 1st Floor, Westhill Business Centre, Arnhall Business Park, Westhill, Aberdeen, AB32 6UF Telephone: 01224 330670 Fax: 01224 330674 E-mail: cmdabz@avtechnology.co.uk