A Turkish geothermal plant will be installing Vesconite’s Hitemp 160 bearings
A Turkish geothermal plant plans to install specially designed pump bearings that are manufactured using a material that can withstand high temperature of between 160 ºC to 200 ºC.
Geothermal energy, usually associated with hot springs, is heat energy that is transferred from the earth’s core to the earth’s surface. Turkey has 55 geothermal power plants and is recognized as a leader in this type of energy generation in Europe.
About 26 different bearings have been ordered by the power plant and are to be installed on four different vertical-turbine pumps at different stages along their lengths.
The bearings are manufactured using Vesconite’s high-temperature bearing material, known as Hitemp 160. The material is designed to operate in extreme temperatures, is resistant to abrasive material, and has been tested in a pump that has received South African Bureau of Standards certification.
The installation follows an order received from an original equipment manufacturer pump supplier, which stipulated that it required a bearing material that could cope with temperatures as high as 90 ºC for its client’s pumps.