Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1470959
www.machinerylubrication.com | May - June 2022 | 15 ML ML splash lubricated components at higher speeds may require less oil volume in order to reach proper fluid film thickness. A lower speed splash lubricated system may require a higher volume. at is the effect of speed on lubricant levels. The Importance of Inspections and Leak Detection Routine machinery inspections are para- mount to a reliable machinery lubrication program. e members of the lubrication team aren't the only ones who need to be performing inspections. Inspections are a responsibility for every person working at the facility: operators, maintenance, lubricators, etc. Nobody knows the plant quite as well as the people working in it every day. Pay attention to the sounds, smells, vibrations and especially machinery lubrication levels and leaks as you're walking the floor. We need to utilize all of our senses to maintain a vigilant watch over our facility's health and condition. A lot like our own body, we need to take care of it with periodic health checks such as fluid pressures and levels, broken or fractured components, and behavioral health. We always train the facilities that we visit to "get to know your plant." Damages and Hazards Caused by Overfilling If you have taken any trainings with Noria or have dealt with any of the consultants, you will often hear us say, "clean, cool and dry." ese are three of the most important conditions of any lubricant. When it comes to overfilling, you run the risk of increasing friction, which causes heat, which, in turn, cancels out the "cool." When heat is produced, machines start to fail; when the machine starts to fail, it starts to break down and introduces debris and particles into the oil, which cancels out the "clean." Overfilling is extremely detrimental to any machine, whether over-greasing or overfilling with oil. Let's say you over-filled a gearbox or pump: this will build pressure, which could potentially cause seals to fail. Maybe not an immediate catastrophic seal failure, but a seal failure nonetheless. When that seal fails, it will allow air, particles, water or any other airborne contaminants into your machine. When this chain of events happens, it causes machinery failure and downtime. e reli- ability team will then be in a reactionary maintenance mode. Proactive maintenance strategies generally start with updating your lubrication program to a progressively more proactive approach. Choose the right lubricant, viscosity, volume and application frequency, and you won't be fighting so many fires throughout the year. Damages Caused by Underfilling Underfilling or starvation can cause many of the same issues as overfilling. Too little oil or grease in the component will lead to excess friction; this is where you will run a higher risk of adhesive wear due to the lack of fluid film thickness required to meet boundary film conditions. is will be especially detrimental in machines with hard starts and stops. Besides adhesive wear, inadequate lubrica- tion will cause overheating and can lead to additive depletion and lubricant degradation. When a lubricant exceeds its upper range of temperature tolerances, the viscosity will drop quite dramatically. Viscosity is one of the most important factors to consider when selecting the proper lubricant. So, regardless of whether you choose the right viscosity and additive package for the application, if you aren't filling it to the right volume, it will eventually be degraded and lose its proper lubricating ability. Running Level and Down Level Running Level and Down Level particu- larly pertain to large volume reservoirs with columnar level gauges. Luneta columnar gauges come equipped with a red and green level indicator to mark the oil level, both when the machine is running and not running. Other- wise, we see a lot of columnar level gauges with two lines drawn in sharpie. Although that is doing the best you can with what you have, we often recommend moving to a more tactile approach: a physical marker — maybe zip ties or colored hose clamps; something that isn't going to be removed or wiped off easily. Believe me: your sharpie mark isn't as permanent as you think when you work at a chemical plant. I wanted to add this bit about columnar level gauges because they are usually installed on highly critical assets. is all comes full circle back to precision lubrication and vigilant inspections. When it's critical to a process that simply can not have an unscheduled shutdown, ensuring you have the correct volume is abso- lutely paramount. Constant, vigilant inspections of the lubricant levels are a proactive approach to maintaining some of your most critical assets. Early detection of leaks, contaminant ingression, lubricant degradation, wear debris and many other conditions could potentially save the team days, if not weeks, of grueling work to get the asset back up and running. Stored Machines We should also take into account the lubri- cant levels in stored assets such as gearboxes, bearings, motors and pumps. Although they don't need to be inspected as much as in-ser- vice assets, it is still a good idea to ensure that you have the proper lubricant level and you are circulating that lubricant through the asset, generally by rotating the shafts and inspecting for leaks and lubricant level every so often. is will ensure that your backups in storage are ready for service the very instant they need to be. I always suggest viewing it like a sports team: maintain your starters and make sure they are healthy and prepared for the game. However, you can't forget about your bench depth. If one of your starting players goes down with an injury, you're going to need the player from the bench to be ready and willing to take the starter's place seamlessly. ML About the Author Paul Farless is an Associate Technical Consultan for Noria Corporation. His duties include collecting data and preparing reports for the engineering team. Prior to joining Noria, Paul worked as an automotive maintenance technician for an auto-repair service company. He also served four years in the U.S. Navy as a gunner's mate third-class petty officer and as a seaman deckhand, where he was responsible for the troubleshooting and maintenance of electromechanical and hydraulic systems. A detail-oriented team player, Paul works well in fast-paced environments and uses his military background to excel and maximize efficiency. ML ML