Schaeffler, a precision bearing manufacturer, will supply more than 240 ELGES spherical plain bearings with outside diameters ranging from 400mm to 1060mm, for the topsides lift system (TLS) on the Pioneering Spirit, a purpose-built ship used for the installation and decommissioning of offshore oil platforms. The spherical plain bearings are certified by Lloyd’s Register to meet the safety requirements of the marine industry.
Built by offshore contractor Allseas, Pioneering Spirit (formerly Pieter Schelte) is the world’s largest working ship. As well as installing oil platforms and laying pipelines, the vessel is equipped with a TLS that has a capacity of up to 48,000-tonne. This enables the installation of extremely heavy platform topsides, while its jacket lift system (JLS) can remove and install steel platform substructures weighing up to 25,000-tonne each.
Schaeffler is supplying large spherical plain bearings with an ELGOGLIDE sliding layer to Allseas for the TLS levers, and to Bosch Rexroth for the TLS hydraulic cylinders.
ELGOGLIDE is a sliding layer consisting of a lattice of PTFE and support fibers within a synthetic resin matrix and attached by a high strength adhesive bond to the steel support body.
As the ship moves into position alongside an offshore oil platform, which is firmly anchored to the seabed, the movements of the ocean waves cause enormous loads on the ship. The function of the TLS levers is to compensate for these loads. In turn, the TLS hydraulic cylinders ensure that the platform topsides can be elevated and lifted off safely without causing any damage. This means the bearings must provide very high load carrying capacities in order to compensate for these loads and to allow for movement of the hydraulic cylinders.
Image: Pioneering Spirit/SilverBullet PR
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