Rotating Equipment Failure Analysis
Stop a minute and consider all the rotating machinery around you: motors, generators, engines, pumps, turbines, and the list goes on. These pieces of equipment are complex, expensive, and can break often. Envista Forensics has extensive experience investigating rotating machinery failures, which are often financially catastrophic due to the high level of physical damage a failure can cause.
Rotating Machinery Experts
Consider complex turbomachinery that rotates at thousands of revolutions per minute (RPMs). These systems consist of bearings, lubrication systems, and specially designed turbine blades, and are often connected to motor-generator sets. Additionally, these turbines may be propelled by steam or combustion gases (natural gas). Things as simple as excessive moisture in steam or small oil droplets in the natural gas can lead to unexpected turbine blade failures. Failures caused by turbine blade fatigue can be catastrophic when considering rotation speed and blade size. The blade fails and becomes a projectile inside the turbine.
Failures can occur due to:
- Excessive system vibrations
- Other support systems failures (lubrication)
- Improper startup, shutdown sequences, or maintenance
How We Can Help
Envista Forensics has highly experienced mechanical and equipment experts who can investigate the root cause of your rotating machinery loss. Our experts have assisted clients in various industries including power generation, utility, and manufacturing. Some of the equipment our team has assessed include:
- Engines
- Turbines
- Blowers
- Fans
- Centrifugal pumps
- Compressor
We can assess metallurgical failures and vibration, as well as further troubleshooting and problem-solving. During a rotary machinery analysis, we review relevant drawings and various mechanical components and elements, such as:
- Assembly drawings
- Bearings
- Gears
- Mechanical seals
After the root cause is determined, we will help you find an appropriate course of action and educate you on avoiding similar issues in the future. Our team will provide you with written reports and guidelines, ensuring a thorough understanding is reached and that proper incident documentation is recorded. Strong evidence to support our unbiased opinions and conclusions is included in these reports so that you can use it in potential commercial disputes or machinery insurance claims. In addition, we will help you preserve all incident components, take numerous photographs of the scene and take samples of oil and fuel as required.
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