Spherical plain bearings ensure 1300 m long suspension bridge over the Hardangerfjord

The bridge across the Hardanger Fjord in Norway will be one of the largest suspension bridges in the world following its expected completion in June 2013 with a wingspan of about 1310 m. Overall 128 pivot bearings from Federal-Mogul Deva ensure that the traffic 53 m above sea level on the "Norwegian Golden Gate Bridge" still can flow safely.

This joint-floating bearing connect since late last year, the road bridge over the hanger with the bridge cables, which are guided by the two 220 meter high bridge pylons. They compensate for the movements of the road surface, caused by wind or vibrations due to traffic. The application engineers work at the camps as a self-lubricating sliding Verbundgleitwerkstoffe. The high performance of the materials is maintained even under extreme conditions.

"The main challenge for the bridge over the Hardangerfjord is the one in the heavy loads, the suspension bridge by the special design of the  catch, "says August Stadlmayr, CEO of Federal-Mogul DEVA GmbH" These wind pressure coming through high winds, which can be expected because of the location, and the vibrations caused by traffic on the bridge. This lead to micro-motion at the bearing points, so bearings were not designed for such applications into account. "

Specifically for this application tailored to the requirements of solution was developed. It is 120 joint bearing with a pin diameter of 16 cm. For the main guys right next to the two bridge pylons eight spherical bearings are used with a pin diameter of 30 cm. All joint balls made of stainless steel, in which a plain bearing of "deva.bm" is pressed. The bearing housing is a two-piece ball ring that is also lined with deva.bm. However, the thrust washers are to absorb axial forces from "deva.metal" manufactured. deva.bm is a thin, self-lubricating Verbundgleitwerkstoff consisting of a steel, stainless steel or bronze backing with a deva.metal Overlay, a sintered material with uniformly solid lubricant.