Environmental compliance and operational uptime are two of the greatest priorities for modern hydropower generation. As regulatory frameworks increasingly penalize river pollution, plant managers across Malaysia face the ongoing challenge of eliminating grease migration from submerged turbine components into local waterways.
Traditional greased bronze bushings have long served as the industry standard, but they come with significant overhead. They require constant manual or automated re-lubrication, pose ongoing water contamination liabilities, and remain vulnerable to edge-loading wear during start-stop sequences.
Trelleborg’s Orkot® advanced composite bearings solve these issues directly at the component level, providing a dry-running, self-lubricating system engineered specifically for aggressive aquatic installations.
The Environmental and Engineering Imperative
Environmental compliance and operational uptime are two of the greatest priorities for modern hydropower generation. As regulatory frameworks increasingly penalize river pollution, plant managers across Malaysia face the ongoing challenge of eliminating grease migration from submerged turbine components into local waterways.
Traditional greased bronze bushings have long served as the industry standard, but they come with significant overhead. They require constant manual or automated re-lubrication, pose ongoing water contamination liabilities, and remain vulnerable to edge-loading wear during start-stop sequences.
Trelleborg’s Orkot® advanced composite bearings solve these issues directly at the component level, providing a dry-running, self-lubricating system engineered specifically for aggressive aquatic installations.
The Environmental and Engineering Imperative
In traditional hydro turbine designs, grease pumped into bronze bushings inevitably leaks past worn seals and mixes into the discharge water. Aside from violating environmental protection mandates, oil and grease film attracts abrasive suspended river sediment, accelerating wear on adjacent steel shafts.
Orkot® materials, specifically grades like TXMM and TLMM, replace metallic contact with synthetic fabric-reinforced thermoset resins impregnated with solid lubricants.
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Zero Lubrication Required: Orkot® operates completely dry or water-lubricated. It contains no grease, oil, or toxic substances, eliminating contamination risk entirely.
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Low Swell in Water: With a dimensional swell of only 0.1% of wall thickness, Orkot® maintains tight running clearances without binding or seizing.
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High Load Tolerance: Boasting a compressive strength of up to 280 to 300 N/mm² normal to laminate, it accommodates heavy static and dynamic loads up to 120 MPa edge loads.
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Misalignment Compensation: Unlike brittle bronze bushings that score shafts under deflection, Orkot’s composite elasticity dampens vibration and absorbs shaft misalignments cleanly.
Key Applications Across Turbine and Dam Assets
Orkot® composite materials are deployed across Francis, Kaplan, and Pelton turbine schemes, as well as downstream civil structures:
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Wicket Gates and Guide Vanes: Upper, intermediate, and lower guide vane bearings handle high-frequency oscillation under severe radial loads without requiring grease lines.
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Turbine Main Guide & Main Shaft Bearings: Orkot TXMM provides continuous, low-friction operation to avoid metal-to-metal contact during low-speed rotation or prolonged standstill.
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Distributor and Regulating Rings: Segmented wear pads reduce operating friction on regulating rings, ensuring responsive governor actuation.
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Penstock Valves and Spillway Gates: Trunnion bearings in butterfly valves, spherical valves, and radial spill gates maintain exceptionally low breakout friction even after months of stationary rest.
Proven in Global Hydro Assets, Supported Locally in Malaysia
Orkot® marine and hydro bearings carry over 70 years of manufacturing history and more than two decades of proven performance in hydro plants globally, trusted by OEMs like Andritz Hydro, Voith Hydro, and Alstom.
For power producers, independent power producers (IPPs), and maintenance engineers in Malaysia, access to Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Singapore (TSSS) engineering and inventory is direct and localized.
Beetle Technology Sdn Bhd is the officially appointed authorized dealer for Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Malaysia. Through Beetle Technology, local operators receive full application engineering support, custom sizing consultations, machining services, and prompt delivery to keep outage windows minimal and asset life cycles optimized.
Upgrade Your Plant Operations
Whether you are retrofitting older bronze bushings during scheduled overhaul or specifying wear components for a new run-of-river mini-hydro build, Orkot® delivers maintenance-free, eco-compliant performance.
Get in touch with us to review your component drawings and calculate clearance requirements for your upcoming plant turnaround.
