Practical Experience With Oil Mist Lubrication
Practical Experience With Oil Mist Lubrication
Practical Experience With Oil Mist Lubrication
Mist Lubrication
C.A. TOWNE
Shell Chemical Company
Deer Park, Texas 77536
INTRODUCTION
Although it has been over 30 years since oil mist was
introduced in the United States, it has not gained widespread acceptance throughout the petrochemical industry.
For many skilled machinists and operators, the idea of draining a bearing housing and lubricating a pump with a puff of
smoke is extremely hard to visualize and accept.
Rolling element and sliding contact bearings can be lubricated with oil mist. When sliding contact bearings are used,
oil mist alone does no provide complete lubrication. In
this case, an oil level is maintained in the bearing housing.
Oil mist is used to purge the bearing housing and to provide partial fresh oil makeup. Ball and roller bearings can
use either purge mist, as described above, or pure mist, also
called dry sump lubrication. When pure mist is used, the
bearing housing is drained and all lubrication is provided
by the oil mist. Discussions in this paper relate to
API- and ANSI-type process pumps which have
single-row-ball radical bearings and double-row-ball thrust
bearings.
As energy conservation and cost reductions become
increasingly critical, oil mist lubrication appears even more
attractive. The usual slow progression toward accepting oil
mist has been followed at this manufacturing complex. Dur
Presented at the 37th Annual Meeting
in Cincinnati, Ohio,
May 10-13, 1982
ing the past two and a half years, much valuable experience
has been gained and some of the earlier questions have
been answered. Information available in open literature (1)
- (5), can help develop an effective program sooner. This
paper will discuss how a system operates, practical problems
encountered, solutions taken, and general experience with
oil mist systems.
SYSTEM DESIGN
An oil mist system is a means of generating and transporting a finely dispersed oil mist from a central location to a
bearing housing. The finely dispersed mist is coalesced into
larger droplets just prior to reaching the bearing housing so
the larger particles can lubricate the bearing.
Oil mist systems are installed to provide longer bearing life
and reduced maintenance compared to conventional lubrication methods. They do this in two ways. First, they reduce
internal bearing friction and temperature caused when a
bearing pumps oil. Second, they provide a positive pressure, oil-containing atmosphere inside the bearing housing to
eliminate external sources of contaminants such as moisture,
dust, and chemical atmospheres. Other advantages include
lower lubricant consumption, reduced handling and spillage,
constant oil supply and centralized control and operating
locations.
An oil mist system consists of a mist-generating console
where the mist is produced, a distribution system in which
the mist is transferred to the lubrication point, reclassifiers
which cause the oil to combine into larger droplets, vents
which help control pressure and establish flow paths in bearing housings, and drains to remove condensed oil. A typical
system is shown in Fig. 1.
GENERATOR
The heart of an oil mist system is the generator head. It
operates similarly to a carburetor in a car. Various types of
mist-generating heads (Fig. 2) are available which use different approaches for producing oil mist. All function by
atomizing oil into very small particles (in the range of 1
to 5 microns). The most important factor when selecting a
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practicalexperience.pdf August '02 Rev. 0
min.
flow
SLOPE
DROP POINT
RECLASSIFIER
HEADER
generator head is not the type but the size. A mist generator head
must be sized to match its application. Often, generator heads are
sized to match its application. Often, generator heads are sized too
large for the existing system. This usually occurs because engineers are anticipating future expansion.
Mist generators do not operate well at the low end of
their capacity. When inlet air pressure is low, velocity through
the atomizing orifice is also low causing insufficient vacuum
to lift the oil from the reservoir and atomize it (Fig. 3). Unnecessarily large reclassifiers are then used to increase air flow and
allow the generator to operate in a more efficient range. This
results in overoiling, housekeeping problems increased losses to
the atmosphere, and wastes energy.
MANIFOLD BLOCK
GENERATOR
HEADER SYSTEM
PUMP
DRAIN
GENERATOR HEAD
AIR
MIST
NOZZLE
BAFFLE
VENTURI
OIL
AIR
MIST
OIL FLOW
REGULATOR
OIL SUCTION
CONTROL
OIL
VORTEX CHAMBER
DRAIN LEGS
FROM
HEADER
RECLASSIFIER
TO PUMP
SNAP DRAIN
RECLASSIFIER
TO PUMP
DROP POINTS
Drop points are small lines which come off either the top or
the bottom of the main header and supply mist to the lubrication
point. If taken from the top of the header, chances for getting condensed oil or other material into the reclassifiers are minimized.
Two methods for terminating drop points are given in Fig. 5.
As shown, reclassifiers are located at the drop point rather
than on the equipment. Our experience has shown that if the
reclassifiers are screwed into the bearing housing, they are often
taken to the shop when pump repair is required. Depending upon
reclassifier make, some are mistaken for tubing fittings so they are
thrown away and replaced by tubing fittings. (Note that spray or
condensing fittings must be handled differently. If attached as in
Fig. 5, flow through the fitting would be backwards.)
It is always good practice to observe and record operating parameters routinely. Then if marked change occurs in any one, the systems can be inspected. Without routine monitoring and recording,
many indications of potential problems will be missed.
HEADER
DRAIN
LEG
Reclassifiers or mist fittings are devices which convert small particle-size dry mist to larger particle sizes which can lubricate bearings. A reclassifier is basically an orifice (Fig. 6). As mist
accelerates to get through the small opening, turbulence and
collision rates increase, thus forming larger particles. Spray,
mist, and condensing reclassifiers are available. The major difference is how long mist particles are maintained at high velocity
so agglomeration can occur. Our practice has been to use
only mist reclassifiers. Experience has been very satisfactory.
In general, the smallest reclassifier that will provide adequate bearing lubrication should be used. Calculation techniques for air flow
by volume, m3 .min-1(cfm), or bearing-meters (in) are provided by
all oil mist equipment suppliers. Bearing-meters are the shaft diameter in meters multiplied by the number of bearing row. Volume
flow is determined by multiplying bearing-meters by a constant
severity factor (either light, moderate or light heavy duty). Our
experience has shown that in all but the very most severe applications (high speed, load and temperature), the moderate-duty service
factor is completely satisfactory. This will help prevent grossly
oversizing the generator head; will help reduce oil consumption
and will help keep atmospheric emissions low.
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wet
SLINGER RING
VENT
dry
VENT
OIL LEVEL
PUMP CONNECTIONS
Two lubrication methods are used, as shown in Fig. 7. One is
dry sump or pure mist while the other is wet sump or purge mist.
In a pure mist system, the bearing housing is drained of oil and all
lubrication is accomplished by mist. A sight glass is installed on the
bottom of the bearing housing to catch mist which condenses. Any
water or other contaminants which might reach the bearing housing can be seen in the sight glass. Currently, practice is to vent the
bearing housing to be certain that oil mist passes over the bearings.
Venting single-row bearings (pumps radial bearings) on dry mist
is relatively simple. Leakage through a labyrinth or a small hole
drilled in lip seal is adequate. In most cases, no external vents are
used and windage from the rotating bearing provides adequate circulation through the bearing. All methods have been successful but
it is important to know pump design characteristics so the correct
method can be applied.
When dual-row thrust bearings are used, more care is taken to
vent the bearing housing to ensure equal flow though both rows of
bearings. Vent size is usually a least twice the cross-sectional area of
the mist fitting (reclassifier) or larger. If a pump has labyrinth seals,
additional vents are not required.
A pump using purge mist has its bearing housing filled to normal
level with oil and is equipped with a constant level oiling device.
In this system, oil mist provides a positive pressure in the bearing
housings to prevent the ingress of contaminants. A 5-mm (3/16-in)
hole is drilled in the oiler 6 mm (14 in) above the desired oil level.
This permits excess oil which condenses in the bearing housing to
be drained. Hence, the oil mist provides a continuous source of
makeup oil. However, oil should still be periodically drained since
any heavy materials or contaminants will sink to the bottom.
Adequate venting is mandatory with purge mist. If venting is inadequate, oil can be pressurized out of the bearing housing leaving
the pump operating on pure mist. The equipment will probably be
unharmed if it has ball bearings but it could be damaged if it has
sleeve bearings.
As discussed above, excess oil is drained from the bearing housings of pumps with purge mist by drilling a hole in the oiler just
above the oil level. A different type of system is used to drain
pumps with pure mist, as shown in Fig. 8.
Condensed oil drains from the pump and is collected in a clear
plastic sight glass. As oil accumulates, the excess is drained through
a suitable line to a rich oil drain. This arrangement helps reduce
housekeeping problems because oil does not drip on the baseplate
or around the pump. It also retains the advantages of the sight glass
in which the condition of the oil can be observed. The small line
to drain can also be bent into a u-tube shape. This will help hold
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PURGE MIST
DRAINER
PURE MIST
TO DRAIN
FROM PUMP
SIGHT GLASS
SNAP VALUE
Fig. 8--Pump drain system
POWER
SWITCH
OIL
SUPPLY
CONTROL
BOX
RELIEF
VALVE
GENERATOR HEAD
SOLENOID
LEVEL GAUGE
AIR
HEATER
RESERVOIR
FILTER
AIR
SUPPLY
REGULATOR
DRAINS
*Measured Result
0.29
2.55
0.29
5.10
0.61
1.22
0.26
0.08
0.81
0.41
43.0
13.0
66.0
34.0
UNIT
PUMPS ON
OIL MIST
% ON
DRY SUMP
YEARS
EXPERIENCE
A
B
C
D
E
85
45
31
17
13
94
87
87
65
85
1 1/2
2 1/2
3
2 1/2
2
UNIT
PUMPS ON
OIL MIST
% ON
DRY SUMP
F
G
H
200
70
58
98
30
0
Two very similar olefins plants are being operated in our location.
The first unit was started about 10 years ago and used conventional
lubrication. The second unit was started about 2 12 years ago and
was equipped with oil mist lubrication in which about 90 percent
of the pumps used dry sump. Bearing performance in these two
units is compared in Fig. 10. As shown, bearing failures per year
increased for the first three years until a stabilized value was reached.
Since that time, about 43 or 44 bearing failures have been recorded
each year. It should be noted that this figure is probably conservative because recordkeeping at night and on weekends is often
incomplete.
The new unit with oil mist was started during the eighth year. Ten
bearing failures were observed the first year and only four the next
year. A stabilized level at 4 or 5 bearing failures per year seems to
be developing. In this case, bearing failure incidents are accurate
because the system is being watched closely.
These results indicate about a 90 percent reduction in bearing
failures when oil mist is used instead of conventional lubrication and
corroborate the results observed with conversion units.
WET SUMP
2.5
7.2
8.6
7.3
4.5
5.3
0
13.3
33.3
20.0
0
16.8
40
30
20
10
0
PERCENT
REDUCTION
97
>86
1
<1
>5
50
Bearing Failures
CONVERSION UNITS
WEIGHTED AVERAGE
DRY SUMP
conventional
9 mos.
mist
0
2 4 6 8
Operating Year
10
CONCLUSIONS
Our experience with oil mist lubricaiton has been extremely encouraging. Maintenance costs and downtime caused by beaing failures
have been signicantly reduced. Because oil mist systmes are simple
and almost trouble free, the tendency is to start them and walk
away. Periodic inspection and maintenance are required to keep
the systems in tune and maintain the highest degree of performance and relaibility. The key to a successful oil mist system is
careful attention to design and construction. The systems must be
matched to the operationg equipment. A properly applied and
installed oil mist system can reduce maintenance costs significantly
by reducing failures as much as 90 percent.
REFERENCES
(1) Miannay, C.R., Improve Bearing Life With Oil Mist Lubrication, Hydrocar
bon Processing, 54, (6). pp 113-115 (May, 1974).
(2) Bloch, H.P., Dry Sump Oil Mist Lubrication for Electric Motors, Hydrocar
bon Processing, 57, (3). pp 133-135 (March, 1977).
(3) Hafner, E.R., Proper LubricationThe key to Better Bearing Life, Mech.
Eng. 99, (10). pp 32-37 (October, 1977).
(5) Bloch, H.P., Large Scale Application of Pure Oil Mist Lubrication in Petro
chem Plants, ASME Paper No. 80-C2/LUB-25 presented at San Francisco,
CA, August, 1980.
Presented at the 37th ASLE Annual meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 10-13, 1982: This paper is the literary property of the American Society
of Lubrication Engineers. The Press may summarize freely from this manuscript after presentation, citing source; however, publication of material
constituting more than 20 Society will be released in writing for publication by other sources. Statements and opinions advanced in papers are
understood to be individual expressions of the author(s) and not those of the American Society of Lubrication Engineers.
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