High Bearing Temperature Troubleshooting of Centrifugal Heat-Pump Compressor

Case StudyOn September 2013, a centrifugal heat-pump compressor began showing an abnormal temperature rise in its tilting pad journal bearing (DE-side). The phenomenon appeared when increasing the rotor speed following a process of load-up. This case study presents the chronology of the investigation conducted to identify the root cause of the unacceptable temperature rise: Troubleshooting the cause of High Bearing Temperature. The troubleshooting process took several months while there were severe economic losses as the compressor could not deliver its full load