Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
Split-Case Process Pump Rebuild After Repeat Bearing Failures
A plant's spared process pump had failed twice in one year. Teardown showed the failures were a symptom, not the cause.
- Industry
- Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
- Equipment
- Horizontal split-case centrifugal pump
- Location
- Southcentral Alaska
- Work
- Shop
The problem
What the customer was facing
The customer reported rising bearing temperatures and vibration followed by failure within weeks of each rebuild. The unit was pulled and shipped to our Soldotna shop.
Inspection findings
- Bearing journals worn beyond acceptable clearance
- Shaft runout outside tolerance at the coupling end
- Wear rings opened well past design clearance, increasing recirculation
- Evidence of previous field repair with mismatched components
What IPA did
- Complete teardown, cleaning and dimensional inspection
- Shaft machined and sleeved to restore journal fits
- New wear rings machined to design clearance
- New bearings, seals and gaskets installed
- Rotating assembly balanced and reassembled to specification
Testing and verification
- Rotation and freedom checks
- Assembly clearance verification
- Documented inspection and parts record supplied with the unit
Outcome
Result
The pump returned to service with correct internal clearances and a documented baseline the customer can compare against at the next inspection.
Related
Services used on this project
Tell us what failed, and we'll tell you what it takes.
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