Description: Bottom‑end radial guide bearing for steep‑tank top‑entry agitators. Key consumable spare‑part within steeping section; it only delivers radial‑direction guidance and carries zero axial thrust loads.
Mounted on tripod support framework at steep‑tank conical bottom; supports lower terminus of long agitator shaft. Restrains agitator‑shaft radial‑deflection, reduces shaft bending‑deflection magnitude and suppresses shaft‑vibration amplitude, lowering mechanical‑seal load at agitator‑shaft top end.
Large steep‑tanks feature extra‑long agitator shafts. Absence of tank‑bottom guide‑bearing produces excessive shaft‑swing: rapid mechanical‑seal degradation, impeller oscillation colliding against heating coils and weld‑joint fatigue cracking, drastically shortening full agitator‑system service‑life. The complete bearing assembly is fully immersed within sulfurous‑acid corn‑particle mixed steep liquor.
1. Bearing housing (mounting interface for tank‑bottom tripod support)
2. Sliding‑bush liner (core consumable wear‑part)
3. Particle‑deflector protective shroud: blocks corn‑kernel inflow into friction clearance gap and prevents jamming incidents
4. Locating fastener hardware
Note: This is purely sliding‑guide bearing (no rolling‑element balls / rollers). Rolling‑bearings are almost never used inside steep‑tanks; fine‑debris entrainment easily seizes rolling‑element assemblies.
Agitator shaft rotates at low rotational‑speed; narrow clearance gap exists between shaft outer‑diameter and sliding‑bush inner‑surface. Tank‑internal steep liquor infiltrates clearance gap and establishes hydrodynamic liquid‑lubrication film to realize sliding radial guidance and constrain shaft radial offset. Particle‑deflector shroud diverts corn‑kernels and fine‑protein‑debris away from friction‑pair clearance gap to prevent liner abrasive wear or shaft seizure.
‑ Medium: Sulfurous‑acid steep liquor, corn kernels, protein suspended‑solids; mildly corrosive environment
‑ Operating temperature: 48‑52 ℃; atmospheric pressure
‑ Agitator rotational‑speed: 20‑60 r/min; low‑speed hydrodynamic‑sliding operating regime
1. Bearing‑housing support structure: 316L stainless‑steel
2. Sliding‑bush liner material: Silicon‑carbide (SiC) / corrosion‑resistant PEEK polymer. Conventional bronze is not recommended; copper‑alloy suffers sulfurous‑acid corrosion, releasing copper‑ions which contaminate corn‑starch process‑materials.
3. Shaft‑wear‑sleeve mating surface (agitator‑shaft protective sleeve): 316L stainless‑steel with polished surface finish
4. Equipped with anti‑ingress particle‑deflector shroud to block corn‑particle entry into friction‑pair gap
5. Operates via process‑media self‑lubrication; external grease‑lubrication is strictly forbidden.
1. Pure sliding‑guide architecture for submerged‑tank service; eliminates grease‑contamination risk, meeting food‑grade starch‑production‑process specifications.
2. SiC / PEEK bushing material resists sulfurous‑acid corrosion plus fine‑particle abrasive erosion.
3. Particle‑deflector‑shroud hardware mitigates jamming hazard induced by corn‑fine‑debris entrainment.
4. Effectively constrains long agitator‑shaft radial‑run‑out, protecting top‑mounted agitator‑shaft mechanical‑seal and lowering overall‑unit vibration magnitude.
5. Sliding‑bush is standalone consumable spare‑part, replaceable without swapping‑out complete tripod base assembly.
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