Title Industrial Implementation and Performance of PEEK‐Based Plain Bearings in 17 Industrial Units Over a 7‐Year Period

ABSTRACT The transition from Babbitt alloys to high‐performance polymer composite materials (PCMs) in hydrodynamic plain bearings represents a timely development for modern heavy machinery manufacturing. However, a substantial gap persists in scientific literature between laboratory/bench‐scale tribological research and the industrial adoption of polymer plain bearings (PPBs). This article presents an extensive field investigation, based on over 7 years of observational experience and the successful implementation of polyetheretherketone (PEEK)/carbon fiber (CF)30 bearings in more than 2000 industrial units across power generation, hydrocarbon transportation, metallurgy, and the chemical industry, and detailed physical data analysis of 17 pilot and flagship rotating machinery units (including gas, steam, and hydro turbines, compressors, and pumps). The obtained results demonstrate the advantages of PEEK‐based bearings: a multifold reduction in wear rate, a sustained increase in overall equipment efficiency, and high fault tolerance during oil starvation and emergency coast‐downs. The physical mechanisms of PCM operational behavior were analyzed: near‐zero adhesion to metal, elastic micro‐adaptation, high thermal stability, and a transformation of the Stribeck curve towards an expanded regime of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) and mixed lubrication. Their fundamental differences from Babbitt alloys are also presented. A direct influence of these tribological advantages on equipment operational techno‐economic indicators was established. This influence is manifested as reduced direct operational and capital expenditures (OPEX and CAPEX), and lower cost of downtime. An operational action matrix is proposed for the systemic modernization of rotating machinery to maximize the economic benefits from PPB implementation.