Offshore Bridge Bearings
Utilising our range of Fluorinoid® load-bearing low-friction materials for over 30 years, we have gained a global reputation for providing sliding support solutions for bridges, oil platform linkspans, sea terminals and pipelines to service a range of applications, including heavy industrial bearings for harsh environments.
Fluorocarbon supplies Fluoroglide® Bridge Bearings for link bridges, which connect and carry services between platforms.
In addition to our product offering, we provide our extensive experience in on-site installation support whilst training and knowledge sharing with your engineers.
- PTFE has the lowest coefficient of friction of any known solid 'engineering material' including lubricated metal.
- Fluoroglide® slide bearings have near-infinite life since chemicals and weather have no effect on PTFE - moisture absorption is less than 0.01% even under icing conditions or immersion, and the material is chemically inert.
- No maintenance is required. Fluorinoid® PTFE will never cold weld to itself and therefore requires no lubrication.
- There is no possibility of fatigue failure.
- Vibrations are dampened.
- Fluoroglide® slide bearings can accommodate some misalignment in construction without setting up stress corrosion along a leading-edge, as can occur in conventional bearings
- Depending on design and application the maximum loading can be up to 280Kg/cm2
- The addition of special fillers to PTFE reduces compressive creep, therefore, increasing the load-bearing potential
- Fluoroslip® FL414 is a very high molecular weight lubricant based on silicone oil that will not evaporate or dry out whilst in service.
- The relatively high viscosity is not changed by temperature over the range of 0 to 70oC hence the lubricant can be used in all environments.
Typical assembly consists of a Lower Plate with reinforced Fluorinoid® PTFE FL129 which can be either surface mounted or recessed for high bearing pressure. The top plate is either Fluorinoid® FL129 or polished Stainless Steel.
In many bridge-bearing applications, dimpled Fluorinoid® PTFE FL129 lubricated with Fluoroslip® FL414 is used on the lower plate, this slides against the polished Stainless Steel top plate or another Fluorinoid® PTFE plate and ensures long service life.
Fluorocarbon supplies Fluoroglide® Bridge Bearings for link bridges, which connect and carry services between platforms.
If required, an elastomeric element can be incorporated to accommodate some misalignment of the bridge during its life. This reduces the risk of overloading one section of the bearing material if the load becomes uneven due to external forces such as turbulent seas or high winds.
In addition to our product offering, we provide our extensive experience in on-site installation support whilst training and knowledge sharing with your engineers.
The following steps will provide an indication of the slide-bearing requirements for a particular application:
- Determine the total load of the structure - this will indicate the total slide-bearing area required at a suitable bearing pressure and temperature.
- Decide the number and positions of the slide bearings according to the rigidity and function of the structure.
- Take account of the operating environment and specify grades of steel for backing plates.
- Consider any unusual conditions affecting the slide bearings, such as the need for additional thermal insulation, vibration pads and deflection of the slide bearing surface.
- Decide the most appropriate method of mounting the slide bearings.
- Select the types of slide bearings required from the recommended design chart and specify their dimensions.
Supplying products to the Offshore Industry can be a challenging task. The whole process, from documentation and design to manufacturing and testing, must be done with extreme precision.
We produce Fluoroglide® Structural Bearings in a range of configurations using either virgin or glass-filled Fluorinoid® PTFE as the load bearing material.