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       Good reliability engineering is not the search for perfection—rather, it is the search for pragmatic solutions to business problems.

      H. Paul Barringer, Reliability Consultant

      Rotating machinery represents a broad category of equipment, which includes pumps, compressors, fans, gas turbines, electric motors, internal combustion engines, etc., that are critical to the efficient operation of process facilities around the world. These machines must be designed to move gases and liquids safely, reliably, and in an environmentally friendly manner. To fully understand rotating machinery, owners must be familiar with their associated technologies, such as machine design, lubrication, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, rotordynamics, vibration analysis, condition monitoring, maintenance practices, reliability theory, etc.

      The goal of the “Advances in Rotating Machinery Series (3 volumes)” book series is to provide industry practitioners a time-savings means of learning about the most up-to-date rotating machinery ideas and best practices. This three-book series will cover industry-relevant topics, such as design assessments, modeling, reliability improvements, maintenance methods and best practices, reliability audits, data collection, data analysis, condition monitoring, and more.

      Volume 1 of the series focused on design and analysis. Volume 2 covers important machinery reliablity concepts and offers practical reliability improvement ideas. Best-in-class production facilities require exceptional machinery reliablity performance. In this volume, exceptional machinery reliability is defined as the ability of critical rotating machines to consistently perform as designed, without degradation or failure, until their next scheduled overhaul.

      Specifically, Volume 2 contains the following content adressing machinery reliability:

      This volume provides readers with sound advice that can be used to assess and improve the reliablity of a broad range of process machiney, including process pumps and compressors, gas and steam turbines, and mechanical seals and their support systems. I hope readers will find this book to be a useful addition to their technical libraries.

      Robert X. Perez, Editor Fall 2021

      Acknowledgements

      I would like to thank all the contributors for their expert advice and their clear and insightful prose. Without them, this book series would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the publisher for believing in me and allowing me to develop this comprehensive book series. Finally, I would like to thank my wife for reviewing my drafts and for her encouragement.

Part I GENERAL RELIABILITY ADVICE

      1

      Machinery Reliability Management in a Nutshell

       By Robert X. Perez

      How to Think Like a Machinery Reliability Professional

Figure 1.1 Managing the risk associated with a site’s process machinery is a key role of a machinery reliability engineer.

An important role of a machinery reliability professional is to evaluate reliability performance of site machinery and provide clear feedback and recommendations to the owners to ensure process reliability goals are met (Figure 1.1). My aim here is to give the reader a sense of how machinery reliability professionals approach the assessment of site assets. By briefly covering the key machinery factors used in my evaluations, I hope to shine a light on the evaluation process. My process requires that each machine’s criticality, history, and current site safeguards be carefully reviewed and evaluated. Only when this process has been completed can a machinery reliability engineer provide useful feedback that will hopefully have a positive impact on the site’s overall reliability.

Criticality

      The first step in a machinery assessment is to determine how the machine fits into the process, i.e., 1) What is the machine’s function? 2) Is it unspared or spared? 3) If multiple machines are installed, then you must ask: Is there any standby capacity? A typical equipment description may look like this: A 2500 hp, multistage centrifugal hydrogen recycle compressor is unspared. If the compressor goes down unexpectedly, then there will be an immediate upset of the process, leading quickly to a unit shutdown. During this step, it is vital that you understand key machinery details, such as:

       Are

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