In 2013, a major refinery was experiencing serious pump problems. The refinery had a massive thrust-bearing failure on a critical 3,560-rpm pump. The pump was designed and manufactured by a well-known..
The hidden heroes of hydrocarbon processing plants are the liquid analyzers, especially the pH and conductivity loops. Unlike their flashier cousins in gas analysis, these analyzers operate behind the..
A new maintenance engineer is assigned the task of overseeing large, critical rotating equipment in a petrochemical facility (Fig. 1). In this example, the facility has vent-gas compressors that, in g..
Equipment purchasers are always interested in meeting the cost and schedule targets for projects. However, there could be conflicting goals when purchasing compressor drivers and/or auxiliaries from v..
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..
Several case histories illustrate the pros and cons for maintaining rotating equipment under various plant conditions.Example 1In late May 2013, a US oil-mist provider in one of the Great Lakes states..
In turbomachinery, water is one of the most deleterious contaminants. Left unchecked, moisture can severely reduce the service life expectancy of oil-wetted rotating and reciprocating components by as..
Micro-sized dust particles, along with water, can ruin the best lubricating fluids. Contamination of lubricating fluids can occur due to the byproducts of combustion, metal wear, oxidation and more. T..
Purists among reliability professionals are sometimes concerned about the accuracy of the measurement of the mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of an asset. There are many ways to conduct this failure f..
In 2009, an automation journal commissioned an online survey asking industry observers and practitioners to rank technology trends in 2009 and beyond.1 Table 1 summarizes the respondents’ prefere..