FAILURE ANALYSIS APPLIED TO A VACUUM PUMP

Abstract

In general, companies are, increasingly, looking for high efficiencies in their systems. In this context, manufacturing systems seek to improve themselves by applying concepts related to excellence in reliability, failure analysis, preventive plans, etc. This article aims to show a successful case of applying a root cause analysis, or failure analysis, to a vacuum pump used in a company in the petrochemical segment. Several studies were carried out in an attempt to eliminate a serious problem in a pump, which had a high frequency of replacement bearings. After an implementation of protection systems against moisture ingress and the replacement of the grease that lubricates the bearings, a long lasting result was obtained for the entire system, demonstrating that the careful analysis of a failure brings positive results for the global strategies of the company.