Machinery Lubrication May June 2011 - Welcome to ECN Digital ...

LUBRICANT APPLICATION
Extending Component Life
on Heavy Mining Equipment
BY P.L. HOFFMAN, KUMBA IRON ORE, SISHEN MINE, KATHU, SOUTH AFRICA
AKomatsu WA 600 engine was tested at the Sishen Mine in
South Africa, and the expected life on all the main components
(engine, transmission and final drives) was 15,000 hours.
Tribology applications, condition monitoring, contamination
control and proactive maintenance are regarded as continual
support functions to help maintenance progress.
With support from the equipment supplier, the correct filters
and lubricants were selected for our dry, dusty environment. We
installed 15 micron beta 200 inline filters on the engine, a standard
on our engines. On the transmission, a 6 micron beta 200 filter was
installed. The target cleanliness for transmissions is ISO 14/12 (ISO
4406). On the final drives, we used a mobile bypass filter unit to
help circulate and clean the oil during services. The hydraulic filter
used was a 10 micron beta 200 with high flow rates, with a target
cleanliness of ISO 15/13, and with OEM cleanliness standards at
ISO 18/16 for transmissions and hydraulics. Our in-house oil laboratory
was used to perform regular oil analysis in order to closely
monitor the performance of the machine.
It was planned to run the machine for 15,000 hours and then
send it to the supplier for a complete rebuild.
After 15,000 hours, oil analysis results revealed that the machine
was still in good condition. A decision was made to run the
The timing gear on a Komatsu WA 600 engine shows minor wear.
The pistons on the Komatsu WA 600 show no
abnormal wear on the skirts.
Good injector spray patterns resulted in a minimum carbon
build up. The injectors can last for up to 28,000 hours, an
indication of good clean fuel.
machine up to 20,000 hours. After 20,000 hours, the machine was
still in good condition and inspections were done by using a
borescope to inspect the condition of the engine components, final
drive gears and transmission clutch plates.
After approval from the supplier, the machine was run up to
28,000 hours.
The oil lab on site enables the monitoring of the remaining useful
life of lubricants. Further benefits are accrued by simultaneously
monitoring other vital signs of machine health and oil condition such
as wear, lubricant contamination, wrong oil, etc.
16 May - June 2011 www.machinerylubrication.com Machinery Lubrication