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Mechanical Technology — October 2015
⎪
Power transmission, bearings, bushes and seals
⎪
Intelligent bearing trialled in
railway and wind sectors
Oil-free, energy-efficient magnetic bearing system
S
KF has launched a new magnetic
system, an oil- and contact-free drive
solution for centrifugal compressors
in chillers.
Combining a high-speed permanent
magnet motor and active magnetic bear-
ings with integrated controls, the magnetic
system can operate with variable speed
drives from various manufacturers to
deliver energy savings of at least 10%
compared to conventional centrifugal
compressor designs. In addition, the
system’s vibration- and virtually
friction-free performance capa-
bilities enable extremely quiet
operation.
“Our magnetic sys-
tem can help OEMs
streamline product
design, development
and assembly, as they
produce new highly en-
ergy efficient centrifugal
compressor chillers. This
innovative technology also
reduces maintenance costs for
the user and provides reliable and cost-
effective air conditioning,” says Richard
Law, SKF global segment manager, Fluid
Machinery.
Electromagnets levitate the compressor
shaft, allowing it to rotate without contact.
By eliminating the mechanical contact and
the losses that occur with oil-lubricated
bearings, the magnetic system from SKF
significantly reduces energy use
and costs, as well as im-
proving heat transfer efficiencies in the
evaporator and condenser.
The permanent magnet motor at the
heart of this SKF solution is more energy-
efficient than induction motors – at full and
partial loads – and offers a higher power
factor and lower current draw. It can also
operate with a smaller variable speed drive
than induction motors.
The system’s active magnetic bear-
ings are capable of speeds in excess of
40 000 rpm and can accommodate
instant and frequent start-ups
and transient surge forces. An
active control system tracks
and maintains rotor position
to micron accuracy at up
to 15 000 times per sec-
ond, eliminating vibration.
High-speed permanent
magnetic motor solutions
from SKF use technology pio-
neered by S2M, one of the world’s
leading producers of magnetic bearings
and high-speed permanent magnet motors.
Acquired by SKF in 2007, S2M has been
refining contact-free, levitating bearing
technology for more than 30 years.
q
SKF Insight is a revolutionary bearing health management
technology.
Insight uses self-powered, intelligent wire-
less sensors in the SKF bearing to provide
instant condition monitoring data via the
Internet.
SKF’s magnetic
bearing system is
an oil- and contact-
free drive solution ideally
suited to centrifugal compressors in chillers.
At the Hannover fair, SKF demonstrated how its revolutionary SKF
Insight technology is improving bearing health management in the
railway and wind energy sectors.
S
KF has begun to apply
SKF Insight – its revo-
lutionary bearing health
management technology – in
several high-end industry applications.
The technology, which uses self-pow-
ered, intelligent wireless sensors in the
SKF bearing to provide instant condition
monitoring data via the Internet, is un-
dergoing trials in challenging projects in
the wind turbine and railway industries.
Applying SKF bearing health manage-
ment algorithms to the data provided
by SKF Insight enables an adaptive ap-
proach to maintenance. While traditional
condition monitoring detects bearing
damage, SKF Insight spots the abnormal
conditions that cause the damage, which
allows early action to be taken to prevent
damage.
“Insight technology goes beyond
current sensorised bearing technology
by integrating a broader range of sen-
sors, and can include self-powering and
intelligent wireless technology,” says
Ronnie Spolidoro, business development
manager of SKF Insight “These bear-
ings are connected to the SKF Cloud,
giving customers access to a range of
SKF diagnostic and support services,
which ensure complete bearing health
management.”
SKF Insight monitors dynamic para