Hi,
I have a drum containing pressurised oil that rotates on a vertical shaft on either bronze or PEEK bushes. The leakage of the oil through the journal / bush clearance lubricates the surfaces and in effect creates a form hydrostatic bearing on either end of the drum. On occasions the oil in the drum can be highly contaminated with particles having a hardness upto approximately 65 Rc which understandably cause considerable damage to the bearing surfaces. I cannot prevent the particles form getting into the oil and so am looking for a way of keeping the particles from getting into the bearings. Also, I cannot introduce a great deal of additional friction into the system as this will causes the drum to slow down so conventional sealing techniques may be out of the question. Anybody have any ideas or know of any means to prevent / reduce the ingress of particles into the bearing?
I have a drum containing pressurised oil that rotates on a vertical shaft on either bronze or PEEK bushes. The leakage of the oil through the journal / bush clearance lubricates the surfaces and in effect creates a form hydrostatic bearing on either end of the drum. On occasions the oil in the drum can be highly contaminated with particles having a hardness upto approximately 65 Rc which understandably cause considerable damage to the bearing surfaces. I cannot prevent the particles form getting into the oil and so am looking for a way of keeping the particles from getting into the bearings. Also, I cannot introduce a great deal of additional friction into the system as this will causes the drum to slow down so conventional sealing techniques may be out of the question. Anybody have any ideas or know of any means to prevent / reduce the ingress of particles into the bearing?