End Grain Water Lubricated Bearings, a game-changing new product
Lignum Vitae North America introduces a game changing new product, End Grain Water Lubricated Bearings, and how to get maximum life from them.
Since 2005 LVNA has provided water lubricated solutions for over 300 hydro-electric installations worldwide. These solutions were developed at our headquarters in Powhatan Virginia in response to challenges presented by our customers. Previous solutions for wicket bushings, mechanical seals, segmented seals, thrust bearings, shell bearings, and main guide bearings have all been born from this new facility.
In 2020 several customers requested a bearing configuration that could extend the bearing life for non-adjusting machines to address vibration issues and unplanned outages plaguing the plant for years. All the machines studied had lignum vitae installed originally then converted to composites over time. This change required a clearance of 1mil. per inch of shaft for the composite, vs. zero for lignum vitae, effectively adding 30mil additional clearance to a 30” shaft that brought the typical wear down from decades to a “new normal” of months. This new clearance introduced an imbalance in many units that led to a “hammering effect” causing inordinate adjustments and replacements. This challenge was met by our R&D group that immediately began extensive study into the problem and offer solutions.
Many of the machines in question are around 100 years old adding to the challenge of gaining back longevity that they previously experienced with LV. Rough housings with 100 years of rust added yet another layer to the challenge. Lignum vitae is the hardest wood commercially available with a hardness like aluminum and as slippery as Teflon. Lignum vitae holds the distinction as the only known tree with no silica present, instead it has a self-lubricating resin in every cell making it a perfect bearing material and true anomaly of nature.
LVNA had engaged Falex testing laboratory in 2015 to determine various structural parameters such as modulus of elasticity, coefficient of friction, sliding speeds and wear rates. LVNA was also in possession of extensive testing of lignum vitae performed over 100 years ago by the Society of Naval architects and engineers “SNAME” in 1915 and second test done in 1965 for the U.S. Navy that exhibited the EXACT same structural data that Falex documented in 2015. This information guided LVNA to recommend using “End grain” blocks stacked in rows with little to no space and milled as close to zero as possible to help facilitate hydrodynamic action as speeds allow.
When end grain was selected the next step was to determine how to join the ends of blocks for rigidity and stiffness. After some research it was determined end grain blocks may have never been joined in the manner proposed that led to next steps. 1900 era original installation techniques suggested labor intensive methods deemed unnecessary by LVNA that led to end grain joining tests. Multiple joining techniques were undertaken to represent the underwater environment they operate in. Swell tests, tension and compressive loads were applied until they exceeded all criteria without any metallic fasteners or complicated installation. Ultimately a permanent proprietary solution was found that exceeded all the customers’ needs making “end grain staves” available in several widths, thickness, and lengths.
The new staves can be easily installed in square, dovetailed slots, or smooth bores to be bolted, driven into existing dovetail slots, or laid parallel with no need for expensive installation tools. End grain will not shrink away from the shaft and has the unique ability to be milled as close to zero clearance as possible and hold the clearance in a submerged state or when de-watered for months.
Further study by Dr. Chris Ettles of Bearing Sciences demonstrated how lignum vitae can be held at very close clearance due to a phenomena unique to lignum vitae known as a “mixed mode of lubrication” by taking the initial “hard start” directly to the lignum vitae then turns hydrodynamic as speeds allow effectively reducing wear to zero. It was discovered when the lignum vitae contacts the shaft and is warmed a small amount of resin inherent to the wood creates a glazed surface creating an effective hydrodynamic surface that allows a wedge of water between the resin glaze produced and shaft itself. This glazed surface is unique to lignum vitae and is readily available in every cell of the material, is not water soluble and cannot be washed away.
LVNA is available anytime to troubleshoot, educate, supply, and deliver on time on budget every time.
Material training on-line or in person and samples are available on request.
Demand reliability compromise elsewhere.
Mechanical Seals Don’t Always Have to Fail
During 31 years of operation, an upstate New York hydro plant had to replace its mechanical water seal ten times. The original seal had a modest life expectancy of a few years, but replacements failed far too quickly. In January 2018, Hydro Tech was called in to find a solution. Click the link to read the full case study from Hydro Tech.
Lignum Vitae Ensures Operational Readiness
It’s somewhere that no engineer or maintenance team wants to be – staring down the shaft at a failed bearing. Frustrated that it happened again, and at the worst possible time. Yet it happens, more often than anyone in the maritime industry would like. In recent years, it’s been an unfortunate reality, and all that anyone could hope for was that it was discovered while your asset was in port, where you could seek out a quick fix, or furlough your workers until repairs have been made. Maybe, it happened underway, putting your crew and your customer’s cargo at risk, with no easy or quick way to make repairs. Regardless of the circumstance, you’re faced with costly unplanned downtime, mission readiness is compromised, and you have an urgent problem to address, all because of repeated bearing failure and ongoing challenges keeping your assets operationally on point.
You’re not alone. There’s a simple – old school, even – solution that can solve your bearing problems and reduce your spending on ongoing maintenance and component replacements, all while ensuring that your sea-going assets are ready for any situation. A bearing solution that is unmatched in its longevity, reliability and performance in extreme operating environments.
It is Lignum Vitae North America (Lignum Vitae N.A.) – the exclusive global supplier of genuine lignum vitae bearings and seals to the marine, hydro-electric, and other industries worldwide.
How is Lignum Vitae N.A. doing it? One piece of wood and one ship at a time, with water-lubricated bearings manufactured using genuine lignum vitae material. The original bearing material used in ships dating back to the 1860s, bearings made with lignum vitae material deliver low wear in abrasive water environments and have a high resistance to shock, loading and vibration. Bearings made with lignum vitae material have been documented in the INS Vikramaditya lasting more than 33 years without a single failure and reducing the need for costly ongoing maintenance. Self-lubricating, ABS and DNV-GL certified, lignum vitae bearings and seals also guarantee no harmful discharge, making them ideal for use in blue and brown water environments.
The proof is in the performance and the maritime industry is taking notice. Last year, representatives working on behalf of the Indian Navy reached out to Lignum Vitae N.A. to help ensure the mission readiness of the country’s naval fleet. Their imperative was clear: design a bearing solution that was capable of ensuring mission-critical reliability while also measurably extending the service life of the fleet to 50 years. Lignum Vitae N.A. engineers were able to respond with a bearing solution that not only replaced all of the existing bearings on the INS Vikramaditya, but restored the ship to her original design specifications with stern tube bearings made with lignum vitae material, helping the Indian Navy ensure another 33 years of uninterrupted service for this important asset.
How Hydro Plant Owners are Solving Bearing Problems
Click to view this Hydro Review article from May 2013
“When the turbine guide bearings installed at several hydroelectric plants in the U.S. suffered short lives and significant wear, the owners turned to lignum vitae material. Their experience has shown that this material, although more costly, can provide longer service life than composite and plastic bearing materials.”
Vacuum Vessel Reduces Lead Time For Blewett Falls
The addition of the Vacuum Pressure Vessel compliments existing processes designed for total saturation to meet and exceed current Marine and Hydro standards.
Total saturation of a water lubricated bearing guarantees 100% reliability of bearing performance required for everything from large to small hydro.
Installation of this vessel has reduced lead times by reliably saturating material in hours and days vs weeks and months. Proper saturation is critical for water lubricated bearings.
This collapsed timeline was proven critical when LVNA was asked to provide 55 thrust and main guide bearings for the 1912 Historic Blewett Falls Hydro Station operated by Duke Energy. LVNA reverse engineered, produced working drawings, manufactured, and delivered in 30 days from PO. These new lignum vitae bearings will continue to produce clean renewable energy for many more decades.
Lignum Vitae North America provides Longevity, Reliability, and Performance to both the Hydro and Marine Industries. Contact us to see how the Lignum Vitae North America personalized approach can lead to the solution for your needs.
Lathe, King of Machine Tools!
Lignum Vitae Availability
This week on Mythbusters Lori Ann and James debunk the lignum vitae availability myth. While walking through the shop they uncovered 500 tons of premium bearing grade material. If you thought you could no longer obtain genuine lignum vitae, THINK AGAIN! #hydro #lignumvitae #bearing #thrustbearings #material
Polymer Bearing Failures: How Many Excuses Are You Willing to Accept?
- It’s The Water Temperature
- It’s The Water Condition/Silty
- It’s The Marine Growth
- It’s The Shaft Quality
- It’s The Air Entrainment
A simple and cost-effective way to address ongoing premature failure, degradation and performance problems in polymers is shifting to lignum vitae bearings and seals.
The no-excuse solution lignum vitae is inherently able to adapt to extreme and dynamic operating environments:
- Zero Clearance
- Run of river water, No Filtering*
- Zero Wiping or Smearing of Material
- High Resistance to Shock, Edge Loading/Vibration issues
- Low Coefficient of Friction
- Oil/Grease-Free Operation
- No Hydrolysis Degradation/perfect memory
- Conforms to Worn Shafts
- Only industrial Renewable Bearing
- Mixed-mode of Lubrication/Dry Start & Hydrodynamic
- First water-lubricated bearing – 1854, the same for centuries
Our team of engineers and specialists collaborates with plant operators to understand their unique challenges to design long-term solutions made with lignum vitae. Contact us to see how the Lignum Vitae North America personalized approach can lead to the superior solution for your needs.