Xylem celebrates 120 years of Flygt pump innovation
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This year Xylem is celebrating the 120th anniversary of its market-leading Flygt brand, which has driven innovation across the water sector for more than a century. Since the early 1900s, Flygt has built a strong legacy having continuously pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in water and wastewater management. Flygt solutions have reached every corner of the world, helping customers from Pennsylvania to Western Asia solve their most critical water issues. In 2019, Flygt solutions were integral to the development of the Beijing Daxing International Airport “Green City” project. As the largest single-structure terminal in the world, the airport required an efficient and reliable drainage system that could support resiliency and sustainability requirements. To support fast and efficient drainage during instances of heavy rain, Xylem was selected to provide eight rain-water pump stations, including 34 sets of Flygt pumps. Installed during the construction of the airport, the reliability of the Flygt pumps proved integral to the effective operation of the drainage system. Flygt was the brand of choice as the pumps also had to be energy efficient to help meet the environmental impact goals of the entire airport project. While Xylem’s Flygt brand has always been committed to developing innovative solutions that produce measurable operational benefits, the true measure of its success is the impact those solutions have had on communities
worldwide. In 1959, more than 1.5 million people were impacted when Typhoon Vera struck Japan. The storm's intensity was deemed one of the worst on record and left the city of Nagoya submerged underwater. To support disaster relief efforts, the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo procured a Flygt pump to help drain the city. Without delay, a 650 kg (1,400 lb) pump was flown on the Scandinavian Airlines polar route from Sweden to Tokyo, and a successful dewatering operation commenced just two days later under the watchful eye of a team of Flygt engineers. In 1965, when a serious incident occurred during a tunnelling project in the city centre of Stockholm, two construction workers became trapped more than almost 40 metres (130 ft) below ground level. Flygt pumps were deployed to support the rescue mission, but despite hours of successful pumping to clear the tunnel of water, large volumes of sand in the tunnel’s shaft began to impact the rescue mission. To reach the trapped workers, the sand needed to be removed. The only solution was to return the water to the tunnel and mix the sand to create a sludge that could be pumped out. With no other option, the water was returned and Flygt pumps were deployed to remove the sludge. After three days and more than 9.5 million litres (2.5 million gallons) of sludge water removed, the construction workers were successfully rescued. From aiding rescue missions to supporting some of the world's most impressive infrastructure projects, Flygt’s past achievements have paved the way for its success today and its continuous innovation. Today, Flygt customers have access to a complete range of products and solutions for moving water and wastewater, as well as advanced monitoring and control equipment to optimize performance and energy efficiency. Commenting on the milestone, Jonas Romfelt, Director of Product Development, Transport, at Xylem said, “We are incredibly proud to reach this milestone and acknowledge the impact Flygt has had on countless communities. From aiding disaster relief efforts to supporting complex infrastructure projects, our solutions have helped solve water around the world. We look forward to continuing our work in driving innovation and developing sustainable solutions that can make a difference.” Xylem, makingwaves@xyleminc.com, www.xylem.com
We offer valves for precision processes - and demandingapplications Our valves fulfill the highest of standards and are designed for many years of safe and reliable operation. Our service specialists regularly check, monitor and maintain all relevant system components - depending on what has been agreed. Our modular framework agreements offer you individual service and spare parts concepts. And we even go one step further. We additionally check systems for efficiency in order to reduce operating costs and increase productivity. For example, with the SES System Efficiency Service.
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Drive-train solutions for vehicles and machines in the agriculture industry must meet a variety of performance demands that typically centre on high torque and high loads. Bearings for transmissions, differentials and prop shafts must therefore offer the highest levels of reliability and service life. NSK, based on decades of experience in supplying bearings for automotive drive trains, has successfully transferred its knowledge and experience to applications in the agriculture industry, bringing several distinct advantages to OEMs and end-users alike. There are numerous emerging trends in the agriculture sector, which is now starting to follow the lead set by automotive. By way of example, there are growing calls for increased levels of downsizing to improve fuel economy, while EU legislation on CO2 emissions is constantly tightening. However, by sourcing bearings that offer attributes such as a high load rating and low-friction running, it is possible to meet these challenges head-on. Specific demands While experience in automotive is advantageous, there are several important differentiation when it comes to applications for the agriculture sector. Whereas road vehicles demand good acceleration/speed performance and travel on smooth surfaces, farm vehicles must cope with rugged terrain and carry/pull high loads, which means that high torque replaces high speed as the primary drive-train requirement.
Many pitfalls can arise if drive trains use poorly specified or incorrectly selected bearings. Common failures of transmission bearings include flaking, fretting, cage damage and creep, all of which have undesirable consequences. With modern agriculture so dependent on high productivity through maximised vehicle uptime, the potential costs and lost operational hours due to a failed bearing are a little short of catastrophic. For the OEM, it could mean warranty call-outs and damage to professional reputation. In drive trains, flaking occurs when bearing material fragments chip away from the smooth surface of the raceway or rolling elements due to rolling fatigue, subsequently creating regions with a coarse texture. This failure mechanism can result from a variety of sources, including excessive load and penetration by foreign matter.
State-of-the-art materials Further NSK solutions that are ideal for gearbox manufacturers serving the agriculture sector include NSKHPS spherical roller bearings and HST thrust ball bearings. The former use state-of-the-art material technology that provides suitability for applications necessitating high loads. In fact, as NSK’s highest load-rating spherical roller bearing (25% higher), it is possible to downsize in some applications. HST high-reliability cage-equipped thrust bearings are specifically for applications in hydraulic static transmissions (HST), found commonly in machines/vehicles for the agriculture sector.
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BEARINGS
The agriculture sector can boost drive-train reliability with NSK bearings
The bearing provides twice the life of conventional thrust bearings, thanks in part to the use of EP steel supported by a special heat treatment that resists sub-surface fatigue of the inner and outer races. Added value NSK not only offers an extensive range of proven products for drive-train applications in the agriculture industry but can provide added-value solutions for initiatives that include downsizing, lower friction and reduced CO2. Through innovations such as special materials, advanced heat treatment and innovative manufacturing processes, NSK has been benefitting the automotive sector with its expertise in transmission bearings for many decades, with growing numbers in agriculture also now gaining from this industry-proven resource.
High-load bearings To overcome the potential for flaking, NSK solutions include HR series high-load bearings, which provide excellent performance in drive-train applications for the agriculture sector. Offering a higher load-carrying capacity and longer operating life not only prevents flaking but adds value through its ability to support downsizing initiatives. HR series tapered roller bearings use conical rollers guided by a back-face rib on the cone. These bearings are capable of taking high radial and axial loads in one direction as the rollers are larger in both size and number. The HR series is also available as a deep-groove ball bearing, which offers a 7-19% higher dynamic load rating and a 22-68% increase in ISO L10 life. To help counter the ingress of contamination, which is another common cause of flaking in drive-train bearings, NSK’s TM series is proving popular. The seal is particularly effective in the transmission systems of vehicles for agriculture applications, where it can facilitate 2.5 times more service life than open bearings. The innovative design of the seal lip structure prevents contaminants such as gear dust from entering, while simultaneously allowing the passage of lubricating oil. In addition, the sealed-in grease has a high affinity for transmission oil to aid initial lubrication. Poor or improper lubrication is yet another contributor to flaking.
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NSK South Africa (Pty) Ltd, +27 (0) 11 458 3600, nsk-sa@nsk.com, www.nskeurope.com