Hypercompressor

Fretting issues on conrod bearings

Country:

Louisiana USA

Application:

Poly-Ethylene production

Compressor type:

Clark Reciprocating compressor

Service

Ethylene make up

Power:

3 MW

Pressure:

2000 bara

Hypercompressor

Problem

Fretting phenomena on the back side of connecting rod bearings and conrod body
Big end casted aluminum bearing failure

Solution

RCA to assess the cause of the failure and confirm the fretting phenomena by FEM simulations
Big end bearing, studs and body reverse engineering and redesign to optimize contact pressure and avoid relative movement between bearing and big end