SPECIAL: BEST PRACTICE MAINTENANCE

From linear to circular

maintenance management
Downtime in a plant rarely pleases colleagues in the accounting department in
particular - after all, nothing is produced during these phases that can be sold later.
While planned maintenance work can still be easily integrated into the processes,
unexpected downtimes are highly unpleasant. With regard to girth gear drives, the
guest authors from three companies describe from their own practical experience
how the service life and performance of drives can be maximized. The authors
specialize in special lubricants, on-site mechanical processing and condition
monitoring.
AUTHORS: Nicolas Costa (Novexa), For ease of understanding, Klüber Lu- unwanted surprises during the opera-
Christoph Muschaweck, Nicolas brication (Global Leader in Speciality tion and to plan maintenance interven-
David (both Dalog), Dr Eva-Maria Lubricants), Novexa (Global Leader in tions based on the condition of the
Mautner, Özgür Ergün (both Klüber on-site Machining) and Dalog (Global drive. Online condition monitoring
Lubrication) Leader in Condition Monitoring) have systems can give detailed information
joined forces to provide an overarching about the health of the machine in real

L
arge girth gear drives have prov- view of how to maximize the lifetime time. Their main task is an early fail-
en effective in plant engineering and performance of gear drives. ure detection of wear and cracks at
for many decades and their reli- bearings and gears. In addition, even
ability and operational safety is of ut- Machine Monitoring slight changes in the gear meshing can
most importance. Given the total cost An objective machine health assess- be detected and the effects of repair
of such equipment as well as their im- ment of the drive system is the foun- works (e.g. repair lubricants, reprofil-
pact on production performance, steel dation for a cost efficient TPM system ing) can be evaluated. Conventional
manufacturers and metal processors (Figure 1). The goal is to prevent any vibration analysis at low speeds gener-
should adopt the right maintenance ally fails to detect vibrations caused by
strategy for each life stage of a gear. a faulty bearing due to its low energy,
Four maintenance strategies can be high and variable loading conditions
distinguished: and the high noise levels from the
1. Curative: repair after damage mechanical components of other
to return to normal opera- low-speed machines, such as
tion gear systems, in the vicinity.
2. Preventive: perform rou- Dalog uses a combination
tine maintenance for of acceleration and speed
sustainable operation sensors with a high-per-
3. Predictive: minimize formance online condi-
unplanned shutdown tion monitoring system
4. Proactive: implement to detect early-stage fail-
a Total Productive ures at low speed girth
Management (TPM) gears and bearings. The
system for continu- data logger system must
ous improvement be able to sample the sig-
To achieve the highest pos- nals at a high rate and per-
sible return on investment, form signal filtering. The
all of these strategies should output of the Dalog system is
be implemented at the right in the form of intuitive compo-
time and with the appropriate nent related indicators (e.g., pin-
Sources: Klüber Lubrication

resources in terms of people, sys- ion bearing indicator) that can be

tems used and organizational aspects. visualized on the operator screen in a
How does one make the right decision? reliability software and in the cloud to
Maintenance managers must often rec- give access to all stakeholders. This
oncile the views of internal experts and Figure 1: Open gear circular maintenance gives time to act and plan. Plants ben-
third parties with conflicting interests. management efit from less unplanned stoppages and

36 June 2024 / MPT International

 tribution, temperatures), Klüber Lubri-
cation’s inspections are mainly focused
on analyzing the lubrication condi-
tions, whereas Novexa’s focus is on the
geometry of gears and shafts.
Adequate lubrication and faultless
gear geometry (including correct align-
ment setting) are two essential param-
eters in the efficient monitoring of a
piece of equipment. Without the right
lubrication, equipment wear progres-
sion will be rapid and exponential.
Likewise, without good meshing con-
ditions ensuring sufficient load distri-
bution, equipment lubrication while
meshing will not operate optimally.

From Running-in To Repair

Large girth gear drives are ubiquitous
in steel processing. The reliability and
Figure 2: Full cost view operational safety of the drives, and in
consequence their lubrication, is of
a minimization of consequential dam- For example, a recurring speed varia- utmost importance. Functional relia-
age (Figure 2). tion detected on a gear by a sensor bility and damage-free operation of
The assessment of the failure is should trigger an immediate visual large gear drives highly depend on cor-
backed by experts in the Dalog Diag- inspection. This variation may be rect lubrication. An outstanding gear
nostic Center. Besides detecting the caused by excessive deformation of the protection starts long before the actu-
failure, their job is to evaluate its crit- tooth profiles due to a high wear rate. al first revolution, i.e. during transpor-
icality and determine consequential By reacting quickly to the first warning tation, storage and assembly, and ac-
actions. Many failures can be rectified signals, wear can be better controlled, companies the gear set over its entire
before they turn into a bigger problem. maintenance costs and the risk of un- lifetime. To ensure optimum lubrica-
Klüber Lubrication and Novexa can planned downtimes are reduced. tion at all life stages, Klüber Lubrica-
quickly intervene and verify the find- A complete inspection of the girth tion has developed a systematic five-
ings of Dalog with an on-site inspec- gear must take into account several step lubrication method for large gear
tion. parameters, including: drives, which is known under the
• lubrication conditions (quality, name of A-B-C-D-E system lubrication
Field Inspection consumption, lubricant distribu- (Figure 3).
Visual inspection is inseparable from tion, lubrication system, etc.) Priming lubricants protect the tooth
the accurate establishing of a diagnosis • meshing conditions (root clear- flanks in the first life stage from dam-
on a girth gear. Regardless of the warn- ance, contact pattern, pinion and age during storage and initial align-
ing mechanisms available to a mainte- gear alignment, etc.). ment of the gears. Lubricants can be
nance team, only an on-site inspection • gear surface faults (pitting, applied manually by brush or spatula.
will confirm or rule out the indicated spalling, scuffing, etc.) Running-in lubricants are applied to
cause of the fault. • vibration measurements new gears drives or after repair lubri-
Vibration and temperature are indi- • temperature measurements cation. Due to their special additives,
cators of the proper functioning of an • the kinematic wear state (bearing they cause a controlled, minimum
equipment, but they are also warning clearances, pinion/gear box align- amount of chemical wear. Thereby,
indicators that allow to plan an on-site ment, etc.) they improve the surface condition by
audit when the warning thresholds are The on-site inspections carried out by smoothening rough surfaces and en-
reached. In itself, the Dalog expertise Klüber Lubrication and Novexa are largement of the contact pattern. Both
and the level of technology they can complementary as they combine all reduces the possibility of gear damage
develop makes it possible to ensure parameters of an inspection. While in subsequent stages. During the reg-
technical monitoring of the equipment both types of inspection share com- ular operation of a large girth gear
and to react as quickly as possible. mon parameters (vibrations, load dis- drive, operational lubricants are the

Figure 3

MPT International / June 2024 37

 SPECIAL: BEST PRACTICE MAINTENANCE

tion the tooth flank surface (Figure 5).

They remove incrementally and evenly
asperities, scratches and scorings,
Figure 4: Pinion / which improves the contact pattern
girth gear with and helps avoid peak loads. Even pit-
Klüberfluid C-F 3 tings and plastic deformation can be
Ultra: inspection and smoothened up to a certain level.
documentation However, when the tooth f lank
made easy with damage is too excessive, chemical
strobe light or smoothening is often no longer suffi-
high-resolution cient and a mechanical intervention is
digital camera while required (in order to restore the initial
running. involute profile and right meshing con-
ditions) as load and lubricant distribu-
tion and lubricant circulation deterio-
rate. This condition is present, for in-
stance, if profile deformation, vibration
lubricants of choice. They are modern while running of the gear drive (Fig- level and/or temperature difference
adhesive lubricants tailored to suit the ure 4). between fixed bearing and loose bear-
operational conditions of girth gear ing side, on pinion and/or girth gear
drives. They meet all extreme pressure Gear greases containing solid exceed certain levels. In such critical
requirements of gear drives at very low lubricant situations, reprofiling is one of the few
consumption rates while keeping up These lubricants for open gearboxes applicable options.
wear protection. Hereby, two different are soap thickened and contain miner- In order to facilitate an inspection
lubricant technologies are distin- al or semi-synthetic base oils and solid of the tooth flank condition or to pro-
guished: lubricants. They offer operating relia- vide a cleaned surface for further re-
bility in different environments profiling, repair lubrication can be
High viscosity fluids around the world that has been proven used. Thereby, the cleaning process is
To meet the demands of large girth by decades of experience. Further- not only faster and more effective than
gear drives, Klüber Lubrication has more, these lubricants are the first manual cleaning, but can also be car-
developed a range of transparent open choice if cost efficiency is a target. An- ried out during operation of the open
gear lubricants. With a wide range of other advantage is that the contact gear. Additionally it enhances occupa-
available viscosities, the Klüberfluid pattern can be easily visualized in con- tional safety.
C-F Ultra series can be used in spray, trast to the gear material.
circulation, and immersion systems Flank surfaces may become dam- Reprofiling
in all climates. The modern high-vis- aged for a variety of reasons, which can Even though the wear rate and lifespan
cosity fluids offer low consumption in lead to an inadequate contact pattern. of an open gear can be managed, me-
combination with the best gear pro- To prevent breakdowns, Klüber Lubri- chanical wear is inevitable. Year after
tection on the market. Inspections can cation has a solution to repair the gear year, pinion and gear wear out due to
be conducted easily with strobe light while remaining in operation under metal-metal contact during meshing.
or a high-resolution digital camera full load. Repair lubricants re-condi- Gear profiles are slowly deteriorating,

Sources: Klüber Lubrication

Figure 5: Repair lubricants are not applicable when profile deformation is excessive

38 June 2024 / MPT International

 a b

Figure 6: a) Profile deformation before intervention : 4,7mm; b) Profile deformation after reprofiling by Novexa : accuracy 0,07mm

thus creating similar wear on each and worn gear. This situation often • Cost of production: a reduction of
tooth. Pinion / gear wear always shows generates very high vibrations coupled energy consumption exceeding 3%
in the form of: with shocks during rotation (mainly on through proper lubrication can be
• A pinion root notch mills which have an elevated rotation achieved and demonstrated using
• A recess below the pitch diameter speed). As long as the pinion’s and big data algorithms, a long-term
area gear’s profiles are not matched, vibra- reduction of lubricant consump-
• A hump on the tooth’s head, tions will remain. The pinion’s wear tion exceeding 50% compared to a
above the pitch diameter area speed will drastically increase until the conventional lubricant can be
This profile deformation generates pinion’s wear level reaches that of the achieved without the risk of dam-
modifications in the meshing condi- gear so that their profiles will finally age for the gear
tions and contact ratio. When wear match. By this time, the pinion’s wear • Cost of maintenance: remote moni-
reaches a critical level, one can also will be almost as high as it was before toring and field inspection make
notice: its replacement and customer will face the status of the large gear trans-
• An excessive vibration level the same issues as before the replace- parent and predictive. The system
• In some cases, and without inter- ment. In some cases, when the gear’s triggers ahead of time the need for
vention: appearance of fatigue maximum wear level does not exceed Inspection, Repair, Reprofiling or
cracks with risk of tooth breakage 0.5% of the module (i.e. 0.15mm for a Replacement to avoid costly emer-
The replacement or reversal of dam- module of 30), a chemical running in gency solutions. It also offers large
aged gears (when possible) is not the process by a running-in lubricant can possibilities for automation like
only available option. An intervention be carried out. Otherwise, only a me- condition-based lubrication sys-
called “Reprofiling” represents an al- chanical reprofiling intervention on tems to make Industry 4.0 a reality
ternative solution (assuming that the the girth gear will allow to restore the • Cost of unexpected shutdown: this
remaining thickness is sufficient) perfect involute profiles and bring a is likely to exceed 0.5 to 1 million
which is faster and substantially less sustainable solution (Figure 6). € combining the cost of replace-
expensive than replacement or rever- After a reprofiling intervention in- ment of the gear (purchasing cost
sal. cluding setting and alignment, all and installation), the loss of pro-
During the last 20 years, Novexa has meshing conditions have to be main- duction (lead time until installa-
developed a unique reprofiling method tained in their optimal state by means tion of the new gear) and various
which allows, in a few days only and of perfect lubrication conditions and additional costs (labour, third par-
without dismantling the gear, to re- permanent remote monitoring in or- ty and others)
store the original gear’s involute pro- der to enable optimum running condi- With the combined competences of
file, with a machining accuracy of tions over many years. Klüber Lubrication, Novexa and Dalog,
0.07mm. each of them being an acknowledged
This on-site machining technique is Summary global expert in their respective sectors,
specially recommended in cases of pin- “Circular Maintenance Management” steel manufacturers and metal proces-
ion replacement on a worn gear. Many is a holistic approach to get the best sors manufacturers are offered an inno-
clients do not take into account the out of rotary tubes in a more lasting vative approach in maintenance man-
girth gear’s wear when replacing their and transparent way without the risk agement. The combination of machine
pinion. In such situations, at restart- of unexpected shutdown. Beside the monitoring, on-site inspection, repair
ing, meshing conditions are complete- long-term gain of performance, this lubrication and reprofiling helps to re-
ly disturbed, and the contact pattern solution offers a large saving potential duce costs, makes maintenance more
is very poor due to the incompatibility making the payoff extremely attrac- efficient and thus supports the attain-
between the profiles of the new pinion tive. ment of sustainability goals.

MPT International / June 2024 39