Howden Compressors Ltd

TECHNICAL BULLETIN

www.howden.com/compressors

Issued: Summer 2013

HYDRODYNAMIC BEARINGS: UNLIMITED

BEARING LIFE LOWER COST OF OWNERSHIP
The Howden WRV range of process gas and refrigeration oil injected rotary screw compressors
uses thrust bearings as standard sleeve type journal bearings and as a tilting pad option.
BY UTILISING HYDRODYNAMIC TILTING
PAD BEARINGS COMBINED WITH THE
HYDRODYNAMIC SLEEVE BEARINGS, THE
OPERATIONAL TIME CAN BE UNLIMITED.

TILTING PAD BEARING DESIGN FEATURES

Installations working 24/7 in the most arduous

applications have given more than 150,000 +
hours without replacement. Howdens proven
tilting pad bearing design, with more than 45
years experience in the field, does not have a
L10 life limit, and therefore does not require to
be maintained after any specified period.

Centre mounting pivot

pads ensure foolproof
assembly, minimises
stocks, and are capable
of bi-directional running.

Howdens tilting pad bearing design has centre

mounted pads to distribute the load equally,
extend the bearing life and offer bi-directional
rotation. The pivot pad design ensures that
there is foolproof assembly which minimises
stock holding. Maintenance and downtime is
minimised in the costs of ownership, and
reliability is greatly improved.
The complete tilting pad bearing assembly is
mounted in a self contained encapsulated
bearing housing, (as shown in the sectional
view to the right) incorporating fully flooded
thrust plates and bearings, preventing gas
flashing, and excellent pressurised positive oil
film integrity at all operating conditions. The
continuous flow of oil across the pads must be
maintained at the relevant pressure, cooled
and filtered, to ensure unlimited life.

Tilting pad thrust bearing and housing highlighted in green colour.

Howden Compressors Ltd. All rights reserved. 2013

Technical Bulletin

TILTING PAD THRUST BEARINGS

TILTING PAD DESIGN
TILTING PAD BEARINGS ARE FITTED WITH INDEPENDENT ACTIVE LOAD AND REVERSE LOAD BEARING ROWS.
THE DESIGN LOAD CAPABILITY IS GREATER THAN THE MAXIMUM OPERATING RATINGS OF THE COMPRESSOR FRAME.

The individual thrust pads are fitted

as a complete assembly. The pad shape
is designed to give enhanced oil
circulation and high load capability.

Left: Double wall WRV casing with inboard

tilting pad and thrust bearings fitted.

The thrust pad profile is designed to minimise

power loss whilst maintaining load carrying
capacity. The pads are manufactured
steel faced with tin based whitemetal babbitt
and are available in alternative alloys,
dependent on the application.
The pads are mounted in the one piece
carrier ring and are designed to give positive
retention and simplified assembly within the
thrust plate and pad assembly.

Howden Compressors Ltd. All rights reserved. 2013

Thrust collar and outboard

bearing prior to assembly.

THRUST BEARING
DISPLACEMENT
MONITORING
THE COMPRESSOR CASING WHEN
REQUESTED OR SPECIFIED IN THE
QUOTE CAN BE MANUFACTURED
WITH THE FACILITY FOR THE
TILTING PAD THRUST BEARINGS
TO BE FITTED WITH PROXIMITY
PROBES TO MEASURE AND MONITOR
POTENTIAL AXIAL DISPLACEMENT.

The standard offer is the facility to

have one axial probe on both the male
and female shaft. A typical diagram
(shown right) describes the position
on the casing for the 255 to 365
diameter range. Further details are
available on request. The 510 design
incorporates the same facility and will
require internal mounting kits.
Fitting these probes eliminates a manual
annual inspection of thrust bearing float.

INTEGRITY OF THE BEARING

SELECTION PROCESS
THE REQUIREMENT FOR A MINIMUM THREE-YEAR
CONTINUOUS OPERATION AND TWENTY-YEAR LIFE REQUIRED
BY API619 IS THE PREMISE ON WHICH THE HOWDEN DESIGN
WAS FORMED.
Howden has the longest and most complete experience of applying
the Hydrodynamic bearing design to oil injected rotary screw
compressors for arduous hydrocarbon gas applications including
wet, sour gases.
Howdens applications and engineering department use the most
advanced tools to review the selection and application of the bearings to
the dynamic characteristics and duty conditions, to ensure the clearances
and loadings are considered, and that we consider carefully the
characteristics of the oil handled, including the effects of the dilution and
density to ensure it is a complete technical solution for each application.

The packager shall ensure that the filtration to the bearings is

considered in the design, as cleanliness and quality of the lubricant
used are of extreme importance in achieving long life and trouble
free running. The bearing feed and hydraulic cylinder shall be fitted
with upstream filters with replaceable elements rated at 10 15
microns nominal or 25 30 microns absolute. Refer to HCL data
book for detailed instructions.

BEARING CONDITION
MONITORING AND MEASUREMENT
IT IS NOT ESSENTIAL TO FIT CONDITION MONITORING OF
THE BEARINGS IN NORMAL APPLICATIONS.
If it is considered essential or a requirement of the project, we
can supply the facility for a range of vibration and temperature
condition monitoring equipment to increase the integrity and allow
continuous real time monitoring of the bearings for the operator.

Technical Bulletin

SLEEVE JOURNAL BEARINGS

JOURNAL BEARING DESIGN
HOWDEN COMPRESSORS HAS THE FACILITY TO FIT SLEEVE TYPE JOURNAL BEARING ARRANGEMENTS AS THE STANDARD
OFFER, AND ARE AVAILABLE IN 163, 204, 255, 321, 365 AND 510 DIAMETER ROTORS. THE RANGE IS IDENTIFIED BY THE
DESIGNATION W.
Howdens heavy duty W process range of compressors are manufactured as standard with
four solid sleeve type plain journal bearings. The design incorporates steel backed white
metal bearing Babbitt and are available in alternative alloys dependent on the application.
The bearings are designed to have a load capability greater than the maximum operating
design ratings of the compressor frame.

Oil Channel.

The bearings require to be fed by a pressurised oil supply which is cooled and filtered
to ensure the bearing surface temperature and hydrodynamic oil film is maintained at all
operating conditions and integral oil channels ensure good oil distribution. The oil flows
within the compressor are factory pre-set by internal clearances.
The journal bearing design is also further enhanced by the screw shaft journals being
chrome hardened with a ground finish to prevent any damage by contamination that
may be contained within the gas stream.
The advantages of a long maintenance-free life, low cost of spares and low ownership
costs are also inherently built into this design, which has been proven in the most arduous
operating conditions for more than 30 years.

Oil
Channel.
White metal bearing surface.
Sleeve type journal bearing.

MONITORING OF JOURNAL BEARING TEMPERATURE

Monitoring options are available on 204 to 510 diameter rotors. The devices would be embedded in the bearing, then marshalled to
terminate at the connection point on the casing as shown. The connections are ready for interface to the packagers system.
Location
of thermocouples
probe.

Inlet end thermocouples connections.

Monitoring Options
Simplex Thermocouples
Duplex Thermocouples
Simplex RTDs

Discharge end journal bearing thermocouples connections.

204

255

Model size / Rotor Diameter

321
365

510

MONITORING OF TILTING PAD BEARING TEMPERATURE

IT IS POSSIBLE TO INSTALL A RANGE OF ALTERNATIVE TEMPERATURE MONITORING DEVICES THAT WOULD BE EMBEDDED TO
THE BEARING PADS. THE STANDARD AVAILABLE OPTIONS ON THE 255 TO 510 DIAMETER ROTOR MODELS ARE DETAILED
BELOW. OTHER OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

Monitoring Options
Simplex Thermocouples
Duplex Thermocouples
Simplex RTDs

255

321

Model size / Rotor Diameter

365

510

The elements are embedded into the bearing at two locations on each bearing assembly.

In board thrust bearings showing thermocouples points.

Tilting pad thrust bearing assembly with thermocouples.

Terminating point thrust bearing thermocouples.

DETAILED CROSS-SECTION
SHOWING MAIN COMPONENTS
OF TILTING PAD THRUST
BEARINGS AND HOUSING

3
4
FEMALE ROTOR

OIL INLET CONNECTION

THRUST COLLAR

REVERSE THRUST PLATE

REVERSE TILTING PAD THRUST BEARING

ACTIVE TILTING PAD THRUST BEARINGS

TITLING PAD CARRIER RING

THRUST BEARING HOUSING

DISCHARGE JOURNAL BEARINGS

6
7
8

5
MALE ROTOR

www.howden.com/compressors

HYDRODYNAMIC BEARINGS SUMMARY OF BENEFITS

LOW COST OF OWNERSHIP
LOWER MAINTENANCE 10 YEARS BETWEEN MAJOR INSPECTIONS
THRUST BEARING PROXIMITY PROBE ELIMINATES MANUAL INSPECTIONS
HYDRODYNAMIC OIL FILM BARRIER MEANS NO WEAR
ALTERNATIVE ALLOYS AVAILABLE WITH ABILITY TO HANDLE SOUR GAS
ABILITY TO FIT REAL TIME CONDITION MONITORING.

Setting the industry standard for both gas and refrigeration applications,
Howden-designed and manufactured screw compressors are used for a variety
of demanding process gas compression and industrial refrigeration duties.

Choose Howden screw compressors for:

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
OIL INJECTED AND OIL FREE
PROVEN RELIABILITY AND DURABILITY
MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE
BUILT TO API STANDARD
GLOBAL SUPPORT
LIFETIME COMMITMENT

Global network of packagers and suppliers

Our versatile range of bare-shaft screw compressors are supplied globally
through our network of compressor packaging customers. This allies our
engineering expertise with local knowledge, enabling strong support to be
provided to end-user clients.
< Example of a typical packaged process gas compression
system incorporating a Howden twin screw compressor.

PASSION FOR COMPRESSION

Howden Compressors Ltd

133 Barfillan Drive
Glasgow, G52 1BE
Scotland, United Kingdom
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
Email:

+44 141 885 7500

+44 141 882 8648
hcl.sales@howden.com
hcl.aftersales@howden.com

Howden Compressors Ltd. All rights reserved. 2013

Howden, founded in 1854, is a world leading supplier of compressors, fans and

rotary regenerative heat exchangers for a large range of industrial applications.
Whether pre-engineered or custom built for a specific application, our products
are known throughout the world for their high levels of performance, reliability
and innovation.
The combination of our product knowledge with our extensive applications
experience, gained by our engineers on sites throughout the world, allows us
to provide our customers with full support, from the initial project inception
right through to the end of the plant life.
Howden Compressor Division companies occupy a unique position in compressor
design and manufacturing. We pioneered many of the technologies that the
global oil and gas, petrochemical, industrial refrigeration, power and chemical
industries now rely on.