Speedy bearing replacement
A drive shaft support bearing failure has been remedied in under three hours thanks to new equipment.
Bowman International’s Advanced Spherical Split Roller Bearings came to the rescue when a North American based tugboat operator suffered a bearing failure that put a primary boat out of action during the fulfilment of a significant contract.
“Reducing the bearing replacement process from two to three days down to under three hours, the cost savings were estimated between US$3,500 and US$6,500 and the contract was fulfilled without any delay,” said Bowman International.
Faster maintenance
Each of the tug’s propeller shafts were supported by SN housed solid spherical roller bearings which, like many solid bearings, were time consuming to remove and replace.
Bowman advised the specification of its ‘interchangeable’ range of advanced products, so that the new bearing could be installed directly into the existing SN pedestal, saving time and money, without compromising performance. The tugboat has Z drives, which eliminated the need to dry dock.
The Bowman Bearing offers multiple performance advantages over the existing SN housed solid spherical roller bearing, including increased radial and axial load carrying capabilities, higher shock load capability and increased permissible shaft misalignment.
After the SN pedestal cap was removed and the solid spherical bearing was cut away, the Bowman bearing was assembled radially around the shaft, into the existing SN pedestal in under three hours.
Key benefits
For replacements in which the pedestal needs replacing too, the Bowman stepped base pedestal design allows the casting to slide beneath the in-situ components, alleviating the need to raise the drive shaft.
The new Bowman Advanced Split Roller Bearings can be supplied with a patented extended triple labyrinth seal, that can quicky and easily be located on a non-worn part of the shaft.
Eliminating the need for prop shaft removal, repair or replacement, Bowman’s extended seal lengthens the life of worn shafts, reducing maintenance costs and downtime to put vessels back into service quicker.
By Rebecca Jeffrey
