Core Expertise

Key Areas of Expertise

Machinery – Engineering Feasibility, Design Appraisals, Construction, Testing, Installation, Commissioning, Operation, Maintenance, Condition Monitoring & Performance Evaluation, Troubleshooting/Diagnosis & Prognosis, High Severity Incidence/Failure Analysis, Reliability & Mission Time, Best Practices, Economics, Remaining Life Assessment, Life Cycle Analysis.

Elite Skills

  1. Rotordynamics – conceptual design of rotor/bearing/seal, manufacturing, validation through shop/field tests, high speed vacuum testing.
  2. Aero-thermodynamics & Hydraulic Mechanics.
  3. Machinery Diagnosis and Prognosis (troubleshooting of problems of running plant machinery and test-stand issues).
  4. Machinery Engineering Studies & Solutions (Modelling/Simulation, Machine Design, Solid Mechanics, Stress Analysis, Gas dynamics, Lubrication, Applied Elasticity) .
  5. Machinery Components Failure Analysis and Prevention.
  6. Structural dynamics & Modal Analysis.
  7. Best Practices of Rotating Equipment Condition Monitoring & Maintenance Management.
  8. Remaining Life Assessment (RLA) of Rotating and Stationary Components.
  9. Machinery Economics.
  10. Machinery Controls.
  11. Site Installation, Commissioning, Testing and Warrantee Period Performance Review.
  12. Machinery Appraisals – design audits, bids review, selection, specification, standards (API, ASME, ISO, PIP, AGMA, ASTM).
  13. Creation of Enabling Documents [Best Practices, Company Internal Engineering Standards, Specifications].

Machinery Supports & Services

A. Run-Maintain-Improve

Definitions:

  • Run (while machine is in under steady state operation/production).
  • Maintain (while machine is out-of-service for correctional reason).
  • Improve (performance upgrades).

A-1. Assist in Setting up of Corporate Goals Related to Critical Machinery Assets

  • Reliability: Assess current reliability level of critical turbomachinery island and develop plans to increase the reliability (target is to stay 100% reliable during mission time).
  • Mission Time: Carry out appraisal of prevailing mission duration (time between major overhauls) of critical machines and recommend consistency. Target is to extend mission duration > 10 yrs. for machines of clean service application.
  • Performance Surveillance: Identify deficiency in the existing performance monitoring capabilities through field survey of critical machinery assets and recommend improvements/enhancements.
  • Maintenance Outage Duration: Minimize turbomachinery maintenance outage duration by identifying and removing road-blocks.
  • Spare Parts: Develop methodology of replacing spare parts during planned/up-planned outages. Target is to minimize the consumption and inventory of spare parts.
  • Startup Attempt: Establish procedure (or revisit, as applicable) to ensure one attempt startup. Goal is to bring the machine to production condition in “One-Attempt”.
  • Do-It-Right-First Time: Develop and deploy “Best Practices” of carrying out maintenance/correction of critical machinery assets to ensure reviving of machinery performance in one cycle of repair.
  • Rehabilitation: Identify critical machinery hardware life consumption and seek improvement through rehabilitation (or modernization) to remain reliable during the mission time.
  • Life Cycle Cost Reduction: Develop procedure(s) for technical and economics evaluation of machinery life cycle analysis. The goal is to reduce the total cost of ownership over the service cycle.
  • Remaining Life Assessment (RLA): Recommend techniques and procedures that estimate RLA and help in decision making (replace or rejuvenate or repair or retire).

A-2. Machinery Services for “Run” Mode

Tasks include:

  1. Periodic evaluation/reporting of running condition and identification of critical change(s).
  2. Troubleshooting of unplanned shutdown/slow down. Establish reason(s) of trouble and recommend if unit can be safely restarted for production or requires correction.
  3. Develop technical schemes to measure running efficiency and determine performance gaps.
  4. Assist in planning and scheduling of machinery outage based on the tracking of running performance.

A-3. Machinery Services for “Maintenance Outage” Mode

Tasks include:

  1. Assist in planning of inspections & corrective actions to be done at ensuing major shutdowns.
  2. Review work plan to ensure all necessary skills, personnel and tools are at site prior to initiate shut down for maintenance.
  3. Review and suggest critical and non-critical spares required for major maintenance correction.
  4. Identify component repairs/refurbishments based on site inspection along with preparations to carry out intended tasks.
  5. Suggest comparative studies of mechanical and aero-thermo/fluid dynamics of unit at pre and post overhaul; including plotting of performance on machinery curves and identify gap(s) for improvement.
  6. Perform studies of spare parts interchangeably between similar machines.

A-3. Machinery Services for performance “Improvement”

Tasks include:

  1. Modeling & simulation of high impact cases for root cause determination and correction.
  2. Technical studies to maximize throughputs based on existing design limits.
  3. Redesign studies for higher reliability.
  4. Performance alteration study based on new operating point of plant process.
  5. Develop schemes for spare parts inventory reduction program.

B. Machinery Appraisals (Project Phase) – Design/Manufacturing/Testing of New/Revamp Acquisitions

Notes:

  1. Major OEMs of SABIC’s turbomachines are located within the driving distance from my home in Allegany, New York, USA. If required, I can attend design review meetings, shop inspections and testing at Dresser-Rand, Elliott, GE, Air Products, Cameron, Atlas Copco, Goodrich + more.
  2. The following specialized services are available for high performance machines: Compressors, Expanders, Gas Turbines, Steam Turbines, Blowers/Fans, Pumps, Gearboxes, Couplings, Electric Motors/Generators, Centrifuges etc.

B-1. Conceptual Design, Selection and Analysis of Rotordynamics Hardware

  1. Setting up of shaft profile and geometry.
  2. Hardware attached to shaft (impellers, bladed disc, balance piston, thrust disc, gas seals, and rotating labyrinth seals).
  3. Journal and thrust bearings (tilting-pad, fixed lobe, floating ring, gas bearing) dynamic properties (stiffness and damping coefficients), metal temperature and performance determination.
  4. Couplings.
  5. Lateral rotordynamics analysis and report generation as per applicable specs and standards of client.
  6. Torsional rotordynamics analysis and report generation as per applicable specs and standards of client.
  7. Train lateral rotordynamics analysis.

B-2. Conceptual Design, Selection and Analysis of Aero-Thermodynamics Hardware

  1. Preliminary aero-thermodynamics selection/analysis (overall performance).
  2. Stage-by-stage calculation.
  3. Detail design of aerodynamics hardware.
  4. Performance simulation.
  5. Validation of aerodynamics components performance through testing.
  6. Design and off-design performance simulations.

B-3. Detail Designing of Machinery Components and Stress Analysis.

  1. Shaft and Shaft ends (tapered, straight).
  2. Hydraulic fitted hubs (pull up, slip torque).
  3. Discs (bladed).
  4. Impellers.
  5. Thrust Disc.
  6. Balance piston.
  7. Sleeve/Spacer.
  8. Thermal clearance.
  9. Labyrinth seals (stationary and rotating).

B-4. Manufacturing/Construction of Rotating and Stationary Components

  1. Materials compatibility.
  2. Geometric tolerances.
  3. Thermal gaps design (sleeves, spacers, shear rings, impellers, disc, balance piston).
  4. Design of shrink length and amount (attached components).
  5. Stepped shaft section radius of curvature (stress concentration).
  6. Radial and axial eccentricities (out of roundness, skewness/obliquity).
  7. Rotor final construction/assembled state (checks and inspection).
  8. Bearing housing, Casing, Pedestal, I-Beam, Foundation.

B-5. Low/High Speeds Balancing and Rotordynamics Substantiation

  1. Low speed balancing of individual rotating components (shaft, impeller, disc, coupling).
  2. Low speed balancing of complete assembled rotor.
  3. High speed (or at speed) balancing of job rotor in job bearings.
  4. Rotordynamics validation (unbalance response from slow roll to trip speed) at high speed testing facility.

B-6. Shop Testing (Mechanical and Aerodynamics)

  1. Testing/validation of centrifugal compressors aerodynamic performance envelop.
  2. No-Load mechanical spin testing (compressors, turbines, expanders) as per applicable specs and standards of client.
  3. Full -Load testing of contract/job train (driver + gearbox + compressors).
  4. Special testing (research and development of new hardware)

B-7. Inspection

  1. Machinery hardware inspection – during manufacturing phases, pre and post shop tests.
  2. Pressurized tests of casing.
  3. Non-destructive testing/inspection.

B-8. Site Commissioning & Testing

  1. Site start up supports (inspection/review of pre-commissioning matters).
  2. Site performance validation – vibration, rotordynamics, structural dynamics and aerodynamics.

C. Machinery Diagnosis and Prognosis

C-1. Rotordynamics modelling and simulation of machinery malfunctions for field diagnosis

  1. Rotor sensitivity to unbalance.
  2. Rub induced vibration.
  3. Rotor synchronous stability.
  4. Integrally geared compressor overhung rotordynamics.
  5. Bow induced vibration.
  6. Turbo expander rotordynamics (integrally squeezed film damper).
  7. Rotor modelling for excessive deflection evaluation.
  8. Rotor-bearing-seal modelling for stability sensitivity evaluation.
  9. Steam turbine rotor pedestal vibration analysis.
  10. Rotordynamics modelling for step-rise & high unbalance vibration.
  11. Electric motor rotor thermal stability/unbalance response analysis.
  12. Tail gas expander rotordynamics evaluation with spiral grooved bearings.
  13. Vertical motor assembly-pedestal stiffness interaction for critical speed determination.
  14. Vertical pump shaft whirling analysis.
  15. Steam turbine intermittent vibration (rub) analysis.
  16. Rotor stability threshold analysis and improvement.
  17. Setting up of shaft vibrations limits.

C-2. Quality Data Acquisition, Diagnosis and Technical Interpretations (Vibration/Pulsation and Process Parameters)

  1. Write up and execution of testing agenda/plans and sequences to extract feature(s) of machinery problem(s).
  2. Proper setting up and acquisition of vibration and process data to troubleshoot machinery problems.
  3. Data reduction (plots of vibration and process parameters), technical interpretation, comparison with prediction, corrective action and generation of reports.
  4. Machinery stationary structures Operating Deflection Shapes.
  5. Piping vibrations and pulsations.
  6. Piping deflections (forces & moments).

C-3. Modal Testing (Structural Dynamics)

  1. Calculation of dynamic compliance (stiffness) of supporting structures (bearing pedestal).
  2. Frequency Response Function (FRF) test of rotating structures (rotors, gears, impellers, discs (bladed and un-bladed), couplings).
  3. FRF tests of non-rotating structures (pedestals, exhaust case, foundation supports).
  4. Determination of modal properties (frequency, mode shape and damping).
  5. Finite element model verification through FRF measurements.
  6. Structural dynamics modifications.

D. On/Off line Condition Monitoring Package Development, Commissioning of Computerized Condition Monitoring and Best Practices

  1. Development, installation and commissioning of on-line aero-thermodynamics performance monitoring of critical process compressors and turbines (clean and fouled states). Practical example: Petrokemya olefin-I CGC on-line performance tracking and trending system.
  2. Establishment of computerized condition monitoring databases (on-line and off-line) of IRD/Entek, SKF, CSI systems.
  3. Development of condition monitoring scheme for specialized applications (e.g. monitoring dynamics of blades of last row of condensing steam turbine, slow speed gear etc.).
  4. Development of best practices of rotating equipment condition monitoring using detective technologies (vibrations, noise, lube oil, ultrasonic, thermography, recip-trap, aero/hydro dynamics performance).

E. Machinery Economics

  1. Life Cycle Analysis.
  2. Economics of parallel and series operation of machines.
  3. Option of buying or leasing machine.
  4. Economics of machinery operation, maintenance and condition monitoring.

F. Supplementary Engineering Services

  1. Mass flow calculation through orifices and flow nozzles to quantify flow passing through machine.
  2. Shaft alignments – cold and hot conditions.
  3. Ancillary systems problem diagnosis and resolution (lube oil circuit, seal oil/gas circuit, governing system, control).
  4. Pressure/flow pulsation estimation, measurement, analysis and resolution.
  5. Development of system resistance curve.
  6. Centrifugal compressors parallel and series operation recycle and surge point optimization.
  7. Compressors/pumps reverse rotation avoidance during soft or hard shutdown.
  8. Pump NPSH, parallel and series operational problem study and solution.
  9. Anti-friction bearing frequencies, stiffness properties and life estimation.
  10. Coupling guard temperature and windage losses prediction at design stage.
  11. Pump mechanical seal failure and reliability study and resolution.
  12. In-situ single plane and two planes balancing of rotors.