Maintenance & Reliability
Case 48: Troubleshooting a roller-bearing failure
Life to failure and design life aren't the same thing
Developments in metal-seated valves for severe-service applications
The most recent design emphasis has been on protecting or removing the seats and seating members from direct impingement by particles in the flow stream
HP Reliability: Recognizing advantageous API seal flush plans
A feature article in the May 2008 issue of HP dealt with sealing issues of interest to industry.1 It explained the energy conservation and environmental benefits described in the API literature. The p..
Failure analysis of above-ground storage tank bottom plates
Here are the field performance assessments and remedial measures
HP Reliability: Consider oil mist for positive-displacement blowers
       Positive-displacement blowers (Fig. 1) are often used to move air ranging in pressures from slightly negative to about 15 psig (~ 1 bar) positive. These rotary-lobe machines..
Case 47: Refrigeration system vibration
A systematic procedure can identify the vibration source
HP Reliability: Remembering Flixboro: part 2
Last month's column attempted to make the point that reliability professionals must search for answers to questions as to why equipment failed. It related when one of six cyclohexane oxidation reactor..
Innovative approach solves CCR regenerator pinning problem
The root cause was regenerator gas blower oversizing
Remembering Flixboro: part 1
At a recent gathering of over 500 reliability professionals in Texas, we invited questions from the audience. I was asked what I thought of installing flexible piping (or connectors) on centrifugal pu..
Caustic injection relocation project
Corrosion and fouling in the second preheat exchangers were eliminated
- Valero Energy Q4 profit beats estimates; shares surge 1/30
- Dow launches "Transform to Outperform" to raise the competitive industry benchmark for productivity and growth to enable improved returns 1/30
- Russian oil refineries' peak maintenance expected in January and September 1/30
- U.S. lifts some Venezuela sanctions to ease oil sales 1/30
- Keppel, Aster plan sustainable aviation fuel project in Singapore 1/30
- Boeing, Israel's Technion to develop sustainable aviation fuel, as sector grapples with 2050 goal 1/30
