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Turbines

HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 82: Be cautious when purchasing ‘first of kind’ equipment

Consulting Engineer: Sofronas, A.

What is the definition of “first of kind” when discussing equipment and products? The definition used in this editorial is the “first built for your company,” and it can often have..

Update on control and safety systems for turbomachinery

Compressor Controls Corp.: Staroselsky, S.
Compressor Controls: Jacobson, W.  |  McWhirter, J.

All plant workers want to reduce the safety risk associated with turbomachinery operation while avoiding nuisance trips. The goal is to run machines in an efficient manner. In this context, safety ris..

Raise profitability through continuous performance evaluations

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.: Bhachu, U.

Reliability engineers use a wide variety of tools to support plant equipment and to optimize unit uptime and availability. Sound reliability programs assist organizations to be more competitive in the..

Improve monitoring and troubleshooting of reciprocating compressors

Consultant: Geitner, F. K.
Professional engineer: Bloch, H. P.

The terms surveillance and monitoring for reciprocating compressors can be used interchangeably. With few exceptions, the monitoring and/or surveillance tasks are assigned to the unit operators. They ..

HP News

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

IChemE awards highest professional honor to Shell The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) awarded its highest honor to Shell in recognition of the company’s worldwide skills and profession..

Update on secondary seals for fluid machines

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.
AESSEAL plc: Carmody, C.

Elastomer-based O-rings are used as secondary sealing components in millions of fluid machines. Although O-ring seals are primarily intended for fluid containment between different but nonrotating com..

HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 80: Sudden temperature change in a centrifugal compressor

Consulting Engineer: Sofronas, A.

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 Viewpoint: Optimize control systems with preventive maintenance

Compressor Controls Corp.: Parisi, P.

Ensuring equipment integrity by conducting thorough maintenance provides multiple benefits, from maximizing machine uptime and minimizing process shutdowns, to prolonged equipment service life and imp..

HP Reliability: Things to know and do before starting new initiatives

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

HP editors frequently attend technical conferences to keep informed on the many factors impacting the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI). The focus of these conferences often differs. However, one ..

Automate furnace controls to improve safety and energy efficiency

Phillips 66: Mickity, D.

Furnace firing is the biggest single operating expense in any refinery. Consider a medium-size refinery (250,000 bpd) that consumes 2,000 MMBtu/h. At a cost of $5/MMBtu, that’s $87.6 MM/yr being ..