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PRCI PR-253-9622
- 100,000 Hour Design Life of Turbo Compressor Packages
- Report / Survey by Pipeline Research Council International, 01/01/1998
- Publisher: PRCI
$198.00$395.00
L51783e
Liburdi Engineering Ltd
Need: The gas pipeline industry continues to respond to the challenges of competitive markets and the need to manage the cost of service effectively. A major cost element being reviewed by the industry is the operating and maintenance expense for its fleet of older turbo compressor units. Many turbo-machinery manufacturers and operators typically quote 100,000 hours as a design limit for service life of turbo compressor components. The Pipeline Research Committee initiated this study to review the life limiting criteria for certain critical components and determine if the design target of 100,000 hours can be safely and reliably met or extended with special component management practices.
Benefit: The first phase of the project was to select the turbomachinery components that would be included in the review. Committee members were surveyed with a detailed questionnaire designed to identify critical components based on: high hours (eg. at or approaching 100,000 hours), the most common engine types operated by the member organizations, and the components of greatest concern from a risk and expense point of view. The selection made covers a wide range of engine types that are of interest to most of the committee companies. This selection represents some 78% of the "high hour" units operated by the committee and includes components from GE Frame 3 and Frame 5, Solar Saturn, Rolls Royce Avon, and Cooper RT56 engines.
Result: The report goes into detail regarding the various damage mechanisms which can be the main life limiting factor of the component; creep, fatigue, environmental attack, wear and microstructure instability. For each of the component types selected, the study identifies the life limiting criteria and outlines how the components may be managed for extended life. Many of the selected components can be reliably operated beyond 100,000 hours by following the management practices set out in the report. The decision to continue to operate components or replace with new components is usually based on either a predetermined engineering life limit or retirement for cause. Operating life limits are based on engineering calculations that establish the component life, beyond which the risk of failure is high. Such limits assume a standard, or most often, a worst case set of operating conditions to be conservative for all types of service. Retirement for cause is based on specific inspection techniques applied at appropriate intervals to ensure that damage below a defined limit is identified and the parts are then removed for either refurbishment or retirement.
Liburdi Engineering Ltd
Need: The gas pipeline industry continues to respond to the challenges of competitive markets and the need to manage the cost of service effectively. A major cost element being reviewed by the industry is the operating and maintenance expense for its fleet of older turbo compressor units. Many turbo-machinery manufacturers and operators typically quote 100,000 hours as a design limit for service life of turbo compressor components. The Pipeline Research Committee initiated this study to review the life limiting criteria for certain critical components and determine if the design target of 100,000 hours can be safely and reliably met or extended with special component management practices.
Benefit: The first phase of the project was to select the turbomachinery components that would be included in the review. Committee members were surveyed with a detailed questionnaire designed to identify critical components based on: high hours (eg. at or approaching 100,000 hours), the most common engine types operated by the member organizations, and the components of greatest concern from a risk and expense point of view. The selection made covers a wide range of engine types that are of interest to most of the committee companies. This selection represents some 78% of the "high hour" units operated by the committee and includes components from GE Frame 3 and Frame 5, Solar Saturn, Rolls Royce Avon, and Cooper RT56 engines.
Result: The report goes into detail regarding the various damage mechanisms which can be the main life limiting factor of the component; creep, fatigue, environmental attack, wear and microstructure instability. For each of the component types selected, the study identifies the life limiting criteria and outlines how the components may be managed for extended life. Many of the selected components can be reliably operated beyond 100,000 hours by following the management practices set out in the report. The decision to continue to operate components or replace with new components is usually based on either a predetermined engineering life limit or retirement for cause. Operating life limits are based on engineering calculations that establish the component life, beyond which the risk of failure is high. Such limits assume a standard, or most often, a worst case set of operating conditions to be conservative for all types of service. Retirement for cause is based on specific inspection techniques applied at appropriate intervals to ensure that damage below a defined limit is identified and the parts are then removed for either refurbishment or retirement.
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