Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1356397
12 | March - April 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com 12 | March - April 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com COVER STORY vessels to construct the hundreds of rock mounds would have been too complex and time-consuming, so a new all-in-one rock mound construc- tion vessel was developed. is next generation vessel was able to do the work of four vessels in half the time and with a fraction of the workers. e simplification and cost savings that this technology brought to the project became vital to its success. The only problem was that there was only one of these vessels, so its continuous operation and reliability were of the upmost importance. As Chief Engineer Onboard, and as a certified Machinery Lubrica- tion Technician (MLT1), it was my job to oversee its maintenance and overall reliability. Onboard the ship we had twen- ty-two winches. Each winch had a different job and all of them were super critical. To ensure their reli- ability, I established daily inspection routes and implemented condition monitoring procedures and protocols, including taking random samples and using comparator cards to identify changing conditions. Unfortunately, none of the winch gearboxes had sampling valves, 3D sight glasses, or desiccant breathers. Samples had to be taken using a drop tube, and visual inspection was limited to a flat window sight glass, which told us very little other than the oil level. However, the constant monitoring soon paid off, and during one of the inspections we discovered high metal content in one of the oil samples. Unfortunately, using a drop tube meant we could not see exactly where the tip of the tube was inside the gearbox. e tube could have pulled a sample from a stagnant zone that had been stock piling debris for months, not from an active zone that would have given us a better idea of the severity of the problem. What we needed to know was the rate that at which the debris was being produced in real time. INNOVATIVE MULTIPURPOSE SIGHT GLASS After doing some research, I contacted a company called Luneta and inquired about their Condition Monitoring Pod (CMP). eir CMP seemed like a good solution, consid- ering it could replace the original flat window sight glass with a 3D sight glass, a visible magnet, a corrosion indicator, and a sampling valve with a pilot tube. e 3D sight glass would allow us to better monitor the color and clarity of the oil, the magnet would capture and alert us to ferrous wear debris, and the sampling valve would permit live zone sampling, all in real time and all without having to shut down the winches. In many ways, the CMP was a lot like our rock mound vessel—it was an innovative solution that consolidated many tasks into one. In addition to desiccant breathers, filter carts, and other oil-related improvements, I purchased CMPs for all the winches. All onboard engi- neers and technicians were instructed on how to inspect and use the new condition monitoring tools. Filter carts were permanently filtering the oil and were rotated from winch to winch every 7 days. Visual inspec- tions were conducted every 12 hours and included checking the CMP sight glasses for changing conditions using comparator cards, checking oil level, inspecting the CMP magnets for wear debris, and inspecting the corro- sion indicator for corrosion. If any change was observed, engineers were instructed to notify me or another senior onboard engineer and then pull a sample for analysis. To our surprise, within the first 24 hours, several of the CMP magnets had collected noticeable amounts of wear debris. We did not expect to see anything for weeks because we had just filtered the oil with the filter carts. We could literally see the wear particles grow on the magnet. We were aware that small amounts of wear debris were common in machine oils, and we expected to collect some over time, but not this much and so quickly. Wear particles signify that surfaces within the gearbox have begun to break down, and the greater the rate of wear debris generation, the more likely machine failure becomes. e rate that wear debris was collecting on our CMP magnets was very high, so we knew we had a problem. What we did not know was the root cause and what to do to prevent the winches from failing. Needing to act quickly, we decided to have four of the gear- boxes opened and inspected. DISTRESSED GEAR FLANKS DISCOVERED A visual inspection of the inside of the winch gearbox quickly uncov- HOW LAND RECLAMATION WORKS Constructing land on the water requires building a sea wall. is wall creates a perimeter that is then backfilled to create the land. e sea wall built for this land reclamation project was made of caissons, which are huge watertight concrete structures that are prefabricated on land, towed out to sea, and then sunk to the seabed. This partic- ular project required hundreds of caissons, each as tall as a 10-story building and weighing 15,000 tons, or the equivalent of 34 Boeing 747-8's. Figure 2 – One of the twenty-two winches with Luneta's Condition Monitoring Pod (CMP) installed.