TOPIC:
Rotor Vibration Anomalies in Natural Gas Machinery
INSTRUCTOR(S):
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Wally Bratek is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Principal Consultant in Wood’s vibration, dynamics, and noise group in Calgary, AB.
His more than 25 years of design and field experience include turbomachinery design, acoustical (pulsation) analysis, finite element analysis, machinery diagnostics, rotordynamics and field troubleshooting. Wally has presented at multiple industry conferences including the Gas Machinery Conference (GMC), Vibration Institute Annual Training Conference (VIATC), Calgary Pump Symposium (CPS) and RATS Maintenance Reliability Operations (MRO) Conference. He has served on API Standards 618 and 688 committees and is a member of the GMRC Gas Machinery Conference Planning Committee.
DETAILS:
One (1) hour presentation, including up to 15 min. Q&A
DESCRIPTION:
This presentation provides case studies of rotating machinery diagnostics based on the interpretation of proximity probe measurements. The examination of bode, orbit, spectrum, waterfall and shaft centerline plots will be demonstrated, along with the application of these plots to understand the state of machinery and any underlying problems.
The presentation will describe several instances of unexpected rotor vibration anomalies observed in rotating machinery. The cases include a natural gas expander rotor, centrifugal compressor gearbox pinion, and an electric motor coupled to a reciprocating compressor. In each scenario, the vibration amplitude increased to exceed established guidelines, and the causes of the elevated vibration readings was surprising.
The case studies presented focus on technical aspects of proximity probe instrumentation and the interpretation of the measurements. The goal is to share these non-typical cases to help attendees arrive at correct conclusions regarding unexpected rotor vibration in machinery. Topics including anomalies in rotor runout and the selection of appropriate rotor vibration guidelines are discussed.