The sealing environment for down-hole pumps, compressors, valves and pipelines represents some of the most aggressive conditions to which elastomer seals are exposed. Temperatures may range from -50°C to 250°C and pressures may exceed 20,000 psi, creating a physically demanding environment. Additionally, hydrocarbon based gaseous mixtures present in the process stream often contain hydrogen sulfide and carbon […]
No, it is not the place where good alignments get lost – never to be seen again! It is a way of thinking about locating machinery feet so that the shafts are in alignment, even when the feet of the moveable machine may be a few thousandths up, down, left, or right of perfect. Shaft […]
Plant engineers sometimes ask how to best justify purchasing a precision laser alignment tool and training. My first answer is usually to point to a pump in the plant, and say, “How much is the mechanical seal in that pump?” Normally, the answer is a few thousand dollars. To which I then say, “If you […]
There are many types of tools with which we can perform an accurate shaft alignment
I’ve been in the millwright business for many years. In all that time, I never heard anyone blame a dial indicator for not getting repeatable alignment results. But I have heard mechanics blame a laser alignment tool for inconsistent results. And my response to them goes something like this:
Why do we need to align a coupling in the first place? If you ask the mechanic, maintenance manager, reliability technician, or plant engineer, you might get four different answers! But these are probably common:
Explosive decompression (ED), also referred to as rapid gas decompression (RGD), is a failure mechanism of elastomer seals which is due to the rapid decompression of gaseous media. When elastomer seals are exposed to high-pressure gas at elevated temperatures for a prolonged period of time the gas absorbs into the polymer compound. When the external pressure is reduced, the gas dissolved within […]
You hear about it everywhere – design optimization. The world requires more and more efficient and reduced emissions products, as with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Engine Testing Regulations and European Commission Ecodesign Directive. Wouldn’t it be great to automate your pump design optimization? You can by using relatively new three-dimensional (3D) inverse design technology. This FAQ explains […]
Concerns regarding the amount of energy that is consumed – and potentially wasted – by industrial facilities in the United States officially reached the highest levels of the federal government on Aug. 30, 2012, when Pres. Barack Obama signed an Executive Order titled “Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency.” Noting that “the industrial sector accounts for (more than) 30 percent of […]
Pump engineers have a wide range of sealing options available to them which cater for the diversity of pump applications. In designing pumps and other associated equipment like compressors and valves which need maximum efficiency and long-lasting performance, the flexibility of elastomers sets them apart from other pump sealing materials available. It is the ability […]
Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE) is pleased to present technical data on measuring the Sour Gas resistance of their range of high performance EnDura and Perlast elastomers.