GRAPHALLOY® Bearings: Installed and Forgotten for Over 20 Years!

More than 20 years ago, a major chemical manufacturer was experiencing frequent failures of their pumps in ethylene service. They had (and have) six 15-stage Pacific vertical can pumps installed and one spare. Each pump has fourteen inter-stage assemblies, and head and lower bearing assemblies.

These pumps were originally fitted with bronze bearings which were failing within

one month of installation. Ethylene is a very light hydrocarbon that creates problems in pump operation. Because of its low viscosity, ethylene provides minimal lubrication to the rotating parts of the pump. As a result, these pumps are prone to failure when running with bronze bearings.

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Andrew Ondish Joins Sales Team at Graphite Metallizing

Graphite Metallizing Corporation, the manufacturer of self-lubricating GRAPHALLOY® bushing materials for pumps and process equipment, has appointed Andrew Ondish as Territory Sales Manager for New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Eastern New York.

Ondish holds a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. With nearly thirty years of experience in sales and engineering, he previously served as Regional Sales Manager at Grundfos Pumps, Regional Sales Manager for Hazleton Pumps and Product Engineer for Sundyne Corporation. Ondish was also a commissioned officer in the Army Reserve.

“We are pleased to have Andy join our team,” said Eben Walker, General Manager of Graphite Metallizing. ”His extensive experience with industrial machinery will help our customers use GRAPHALLOY to achieve greater equipment reliability.”

Graphite Metallizing Corporation of Yonkers, NY has been solving tough bearing problems for over 100 years. The company began in 1913 when two engineers developed a method for putting molten metal into carbon to create a new material called GRAPHALLOY, a graphite/metal alloy.

Used in the manufacture of bushings, bearings and other components for machinery and process equipment, GRAPHALLOY can be the solution to the toughest bearing, bushing, thrust washer, cam follower, or pillow block bearing design problem. It is available in over 100 grades with specific properties that meet a wide range of engineering solutions and specifications. FDA accepted grades of GRAPHALLOY are available for use in food service equipment. NSF® International has certified two grades of GRAPHALLOY material for use in municipal well pumps and water treatment plant applications.
 
GRAPHALLOY bearings have operated for 20 years and longer in some applications. Standard designs are available but most GRAPHALLOY products are custom designed to the unique requirements of the specific application. Graphite Metallizing Corporation is ISO certified. For more information about Graphite Metallizing and its products, please visit us online at www.graphalloy.com or call 914-968-8400.

GRAPHALLOY® at Heat Treat 2017

Graphite Metallizing Corporation will be exhibiting at the 29th Heat Treating Society Conference & Exposition on October 24 - 26, 2017. This exhibition will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Please stop by and visit us at Booth #2132.

To learn more about this exhibition, click here.

GRAPHALLOY® Upgrade Saves Boiler Feed Pump

Keeping a multistage boiler feed pump operating was a problem for a gas plant...until they installed GRAPHALLOY bushings and wear rings.

A large industrial gas supplier in the southeastern United States experienced a catastrophic failure of a horizontal 8-stage, axially split, BB3-type multistage pump in Boiler Feed Service. The pump had been fitted with a plastic composite (Teflon®/Carbon Fiber) material for the stationary wear rings and bushings.

They contacted Graphite Metallizing and invited one of our engineers to visit their repair shop to examine the failed pump and recommend a GRAPHALLOY upgrade.

Here is what he saw: the throttle bushing showed the most wear. The sleeve under the throttle bushing was worn with radial grooves that appeared to be from contact with the stationary (plastic composite) wear part. However, in this case, the center stage (typically the first part to fail in a dry run episode or low viscosity transient) was fine while all of the hub side composite inserts were missing and the eye side inserts were unaffected. This tells us that we were looking at a completely different issue.

The engineers agreed that the cross section of the throttle bushing was so thin (only approximately 3/16 inch per side) and the pressure against the face of the bushing was so high that it deformed the plastic composite material causing it to move toward the ID.

The reduced clearance caused the bushing to ride onto the throttle sleeve. The friction and pressure caused the plastic composite material to melt and “blow out” the low pressure side. Once the throttle bushing was lost, the rotor lost its hydraulic balance within the case causing the rotor to shuttle towards the one end. The axial movement separated the mechanical seal faces and overloaded the bearing causing the pump to shut itself down. There was evidence the seal had leaked and the bearings showed signs of having thrust in one direction.

The Graphite Metallizing engineer recommended replacing the hub rings, center and throttle bushings, and eye side rings with nickel-grade GRAPHALLOY. The GRAPHALLOY material was ordered, shipped next day, installed and the pump was quickly put back into service. The pump has been in service now for over four years with no further problems.

The plant engineer explained that GRAPHALLOY was chosen because of successes with other pumps at this site and also for providing fast turnaround on both the quotation and replacement parts.

To learn more about GRAPHALLOY pump bushings and wear parts, please click here.

GRAPHALLOY® Solves Frequent Failures in Petrochemical Plants’ Multi-Stage Pumps

GRAPHALLOY self-lubricating bushings and wear rings are non-galling, withstand high temperatures, and are compatible with a variety of harsh chemicals. One petrochemical manufacturing plant greatly improved MTBF by converting two pumps in Tert-Butyl Alcohol service to GRAPHALLOY. These multistage pumps are used to transfer TBA at a temperature of 110°F.

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GRAPHALLOY® Keeps Dryer Oven Chains Rolling

Keeping their gypsum board dryer oven running was a problem for a manufacturer of construction materials until they redesigned the chain guide to include self-lubricating GRAPHALLOY^® cam followers.

The oven has a drag chain conveying system - with a speed of eight feet per minute - to move the gypsum wall boards through the oven. The temperature in the oven is 550°F. The drag chain was kept on track by chain guides made of carbon steel plates. Over time, the chain guides would wear down, fall onto the gypsum wall boards, destroy the product and shut down the oven. 

The manufacturer wanted to design a chain guide system that would not wear down and certainly not fall into the product. They needed something to support the chain. The manufacturer considered using standard cam followers but was concerned that they wouldn’t survive the oven’s high temperature. In addition, they wanted to avoid using grease to minimize frequent maintenance.

They contacted engineers at Graphite Metallizing Corporation to help with the new design. Self-lubricating GRAPHALLOY Bronze Grade Cam Followers Type 1217 were proposed. The manufacturer then developed a chain guide system that had the chains roll over the cam followers instead of the steel plates.

After testing this solution for ten months, the board manufacturer declared it a success. They converted their entire oven to GRAPHALLOY. These cam followers have now been in operation for over one year without the need for replacement. The manufacturer also saved time and money on reduced maintenance because they no longer need to grease their bearings.

To learn more about GRAPHALLOY Cam Followers, please click here.

Molten Sulfur Pump Vibration is No Match for GRAPHALLOY® Iron-Grade Bearings

At a major refinery, vertical molten sulfur pumps were fitted with nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) bearings to handle the high-temperature environment.  To avoid seizing and galling, the line shaft and volute bearings were fit with 0.020 – 0.025” running clearance. However, the pumps were experiencing high vibration, approaching 1.0 inches/second peak. When they disassembled the pump, the bearing clearances had opened up to 0.030 – 0.034”.

The customer contacted one of our engineers and asked: "How well do the

GRAPHALLOY sleeve bearings fare in liquid sulfur service? There are eight vertical column pumps in our sulfur pit..four of which are quite the trouble-makers when it comes to high vibration. Vibration data usually indicates some sort of imbalance. Any feedback is greatly appreciated as this definitely sounds like a product worth pursuing to "dampen" the current vibration in these pumps."

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Improve Pump Reliability in Light Hydrocarbon Service

The unique properties of GRAPHALLOY® bushings and wear rings enable pumps to run-dry and survive upsets and flashing that cause metal-to-metal pumps or plastic wear parts to fail.

These bearings allow closer running clearances which can provide higher pump efficiencies.

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Desalination Plant Pumps Upgraded with GRAPHALLOY NSF® Certified Bearings

A major pump manufacturer’s Water Systems Group, which focuses on the commercial and industrial water markets, won a contract to provide vertical turbine pumps for a desalination facility at a publicly-owned water agency.

The pumps would experience dry starts with the possibility of prolonged dry running. In addition, the bearings needed to be NSF certified. These conditions led the pump company to replace their standard bronze bearings with GRAPHALLOY NSF certified bearings.

The unique properties of GRAPHALLOY bearings and wear rings enable pumps to run dry and survive upsets and flashing that cause metal bearings to fail.

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GRAPHALLOY Solves Underwater Bearing Problems on Submerged Physical Therapy Equipment

Graphite Metallizing has introduced a series of stainless steel pillow blocks fitted with self-lubricating GRAPHALLOY^® bushings that resist attack from water and water-soluble chemicals, do not require lubrication and are corrosion-resistant.

GRAPHALLOY^® Stainless Steel Pillow Blocks are a key component of submerged physical therapy and conditioning equipment used by professional sports teams and college athletic departments. The ability of GRAPHALLOY bearings to provide trouble-free underwater operation without any lubrication has been a key factor in the success of this type of equipment, including underwater treadmills. Read more...

GRAPHALLOY Outperforms Traditional Bearings and Bushings in Ovens, Kilns and Dampers

GRAPHALLOY^®, a graphite/metal alloy, is ideally suited to applications where temperatures are too high to permit the use of oil or other lubricants.

GRAPHALLOY bearings and bushings will not soften at high temperatures or extrude under load. Many grades are suitable for temperatures to 750°F (400°C) in air. In addition, special grades provide service up to 1000°F (535°C) and higher in non-oxidizing atmospheres.

Use GRAPHALLOY bearings and bushings in bakery and industrial ovens, glass plants, conveyors, dryers, kilns, kiln cars, stokers, soot blowers, oil guns, gypsum board and veneer dryers ...wherever temperatures are too high to permit the use of oil or greases.

Click here to learn more about the GRAPHALLOY product line for extreme and high temperatures.