SKF S2M Magnetic Bearings on display at LNG 18

At LNG 18 in Perth, 11-15 April, SKF will be presenting a range of active magnetic bearings that help customers increase reliabilityand prolong service intervals. SKF S2M Magnetic Bearings are the industry standard for oil-free turboexpander compressors used in major LNG projects worldwide, including the world's largest floating LNG facility. Magnetic bearings bring many advantages such as increased reliability, reduced footprint, weight and maintenance. Unlike oil-lubricated bearings, these bearings are operating directly in the process gas; the oil-free solution eliminates the risk of contamination of the process gas.

Today, more than 600 turboexpanders worldwide are equipped with SKF S2M Magnetic Bearings. These oil-free turboexpanders differ in size (small-size frames of several hundred kW and large-size frames over 14 MW) and can achieve high rotation speeds (up to 65,000 rpm). Applications include natural gas treatment, dew point control, and ethylene production. SKF’s technology provides superior availability and reliability (99.9% is reported in many cases), resulting in less downtime and increased savings for plant operators.

Among the products presented at LNG is also the new generation E300V2 control cabinet, launched last year, which includes new features: remote monitoring, on-line data measurement and easy post-processing functionalities providing a high degree of autonomy for plant operators. The magnetic bearing control system has inherent health monitoring and diagnostics possibilities that measure the machine’s critical parameters, such as rotation speed, vibrations and temperatures.