Sofronas, A.
Tony Sofronas, D. Eng, was the worldwide lead mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil Chemicals before retiring. He now owns Engineered Products, which provides consulting and engineering seminars on machinery and pressure vessels. Dr. Sofronas has authored two engineering books and numerous technical articles on analytical methods.
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 80: Sudden temperature change in a centrifugal compressor
A process upset occurred that caused the gas temperature of a centrifugal compressor to increase from the design condition of Tstart = 300°F to Tinf = 600°F in t = 0.25 hours. Some engineers..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 79: Integral compressor failures
Recently, the author received information regarding the failure of a large reciprocating compressor. In this example, the pistons for power and compressor cylinders are powered by the same crankshaft...
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 78: Writing concisely is a definite work skill
How is it possible to collect and condense so much technical information onto a single page? Answer: It is not by chance. Getting through long speeches or tedious articles are not enjoyable experience..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 77: Random deck vibration with beats
When something vibrates, it is usually in a predictable manner. Motors, pumps, compressors, turbines and centrifuges all vibrate when they are out of balance. Vibration analysis can help predict the s..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 76: Simple troubleshooting analysis tips are useful
Analyzing failed parts or poor operation requires the proper skills and equipment. Sometimes these investigations are not always very difficult. Often, troubleshooting a failure just requires a logica..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 75: Analyzing wear when troubleshooting
Wear occurs frequently on machinery. In its simplest terms, it is the undesirable removal of material. When troubleshooting the root cause of wear in equipment, the engineer’s interest should be ..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 74: How to determine impact forces when troubleshooting
When troubleshooting failures, it is not unusual for the metallurgical report to indicate that the failure was the result of an impact type of force. The investigator who receives this information mus..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 73: Useful troubleshooting tools to keep at hand
Over the past 45 years, the author has pursued troubleshooting machinery and pressure vessels. It has also been the subject of this column. The troubleshooting tools used in this endeavor have been an..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 72: Interaction between disciplines when troubleshooting
When troubleshooting, we can become fixated on the discipline that we are most familiar—in the author’s case, mechanical engineering. Investigating the failure of a machine may have a group ..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 71: Statistical visual data can be useful in troubleshooting—Part 2
In “Case 71: Statistical visual data can be useful in troubleshooting—Part 1,” the editorial focused on how taking data and analyzing it could determine the cause for high reject rates...
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