Bearings

• Adjustable Load Cell Refurbishment & Instrumentation
• Angular Contact Bearings
• Ball Bearings
• Bearing Adjustment, Alignment & Leveling
• Bearing Design & Specification
• Bearing Diagnostics, Troubleshooting, Forensics & Repair
• Bearing Lift Oil Design
• Bearing Lubrication
• Bearing Oil Whip & Whirl Identification & Mitigation
• Hydrostatic Bearings
• Journal Bearings (Hydrodynamic)
• Roller Bearings
• Spherical Bearings
• Thrust Bearings

Adjustable Load Cell Refurbishment & Instrumentation

PE maintains a laboratory and shop to refurbish thrust bearing load cells with calibrated, state of the art, strain gauge transducers and wiring harnesses.

Implementation of these instrumented strain gages results in precise machinery alignment and load distribution.

Angular Contact Bearings

PE employs state of the art analytical software to predict the performance of rolling element bearings under real loading conditions, including accounting for the effects of misalignment, preload, and end play. Analysis can be extended to shaft systems with several bearings.

Ball Bearings

PE employs state of the art analytical software to predict the performance of rolling element bearings under real loading conditions, including accounting for the effects of misalignment, preload, and end play. Analysis can be extended to shaft systems with several bearings.

Previous projects have included analysis followed by extensive testing in a PE designed load cell instrument stand and an extensive program of forensic diagnostics.

Bearing Adjustment, Alignment & Leveling

PE's historical expertise is in the alignment and adjustment of machine train centerlines. Bearing leveling and adjustment are an integral facet of this process, and over the years the PE team has adjusted, leveled and realigned thousands of large thrust and journal bearings. Moreover, members of the PE Team have authored many papers and articles on this subject.

Bearing Design & Specification

PE combines a thorough systems understanding with state of the art analytical capabilities to design and specify optimum bearings for our Clients' applications.

Bearing Diagnostics, Troubleshooting, Forensics & Repair

PE specializes in system analysis and diagnostics. PE has extensive forensic laboratory capabilities required to identify the root cause of failures and sub-optimum performance.

PE's comprehensive approach produces results that are tribologically sound.

Bearing Lift Oil Design

PE has designed and modified many thrust bearing lift oil systems of which the end product consists of design drawings for shoe modifications and complete hydraulic system specifications and drawings. Moreover, final configuration is optimized based on historical and experimental bearing performance data.

Members of the PE Team have authored several papers and articles where bearing lift oil system performance is analyzed and then modifications implemented to solve problems.

Bearing Lubrication

PE's software allows calculation of minimum and average oil film thicknesses and load carrying capability. Analysis and optimization of fluid viscosity, viscosity index and pressure viscosity coefficient are routinely performed. Chemical analysis and tribological considerations are a particular PE forte.

Bearing Oil Whip & Whirl Identification & Mitigation

PE combines vibration analysis test equipment and troubleshooting expertise with bearing analytical tools to diagnose and mitigate oil whip and whirl problems. PE team members have authored papers documenting successful diagnostic and repair programs in this subject area.

Hydrostatic Bearings

PE has extensive experience in the analysis, specification, alignment, adjustment and modification of hydrostatic bearings. PE's software allows calculation of load carrying capability, pressure distributions, effect of grooves, cavitation risk and film thicknesses based on lubricant properties and bearing geometry.

PE has designed and implemented several hydrostatic lift oil systems in vertical thrust bearings. Other capabilities include evaluating the feasibility of modifying hydrodynamic oil-lubricated bearings to hydrostatically water-lubricated bearings.

Journal Bearing (Hydrodynamic)

PE has extensive experience in the analysis, specification, alignment, adjustment and modification of hydrodynamic and hydrostatic journal bearings. PE's software allows calculation of load carrying capability, pressure distributions, effect of grooves, cavitation risk and film thicknesses based on lubricant properties and bearing geometry.

In one case, PE's unique solution to reduce seal wear in a large pump turbine included modifying clearances and groove configurations on journal bearings to effectively reduce the size of shaft orbits and thereby minimize seal wear.

Roller Bearings

PE employs state of the art analytical software to predict the performance of rolling element bearings under real loading conditions, including accounting for the effects of misalignment, preload, and end play. Analysis can be extended to shaft systems with several bearings.

Spherical Bearings

PE employs state of the art analytical software to predict the performance of rolling element bearings under real loading conditions, including accounting for the effects of misalignment, preload, and end play. Analysis can be extended to shaft systems with several bearings.

Thrust Bearings

PE has extensive experience in the analysis, alignment, adjustment and modification of large thrust bearings. Equipment worked on includes spring loaded bearings (GE, ASEA, Toshiba, etc.), adjustable load cells with self leveling plates (Westinghouse, Kingsbury), and self leveling bearings (Mitchell, Hitachi).

PE's software allows calculation of load carrying capability, pressure distributions & film thicknesses based on lubricant and bearing geometry.

PE team members have authored several papers and articles where bearing pads and bearing supports are analyzed and improved.