Latest Case Studies & White Papers

Abstract

One of the major challenges faced by maintenance engineers across many industries is the extremely limited amount of time in which an urgent repair, such as a pipe or tank leak, must be carried out. In the real world, when a rapid repair is required, ideal surface preparation is not always an option. However, many available polymer repair solutions are not compatible with minimal surface preparation, and therefore, can often lead to failure. This article focuses on the latest epoxy technology of a new two-component paste grade material which achieves a quick, durable repair also in oil contaminated, cold, wet and underwater areas. This cold curing system achieves excellent adhesion to manually prepared substrates where grit blasting is not possible. Due to its low temperature cure and capability of being applied underwater, this product is ideal for the long-term repair of offshore structures, splash zones and marine vessels.

Fluid handling equipment may suffer from multiple problems including physical and mechanical damage as well as general or localized erosion and corrosion. These problems are linked to decreased efficiency and poor performance, leading to increasing operational costs. Minimising performance deterioration is therefore an important factor for pump manufacturers and end users.  Indeed, hydraulic losses account for most of the efficiency decrease (9% for a mixed flow pump to 20% for radial flow). Coating technology can help in decreasing these losses, increasing the pump’s performance and reducing operational costs.

Severe corrosion kept at bay with hard-wearing epoxy material

The pipework at a coal fired power station in the UK was experiencing severe corrosion issues caused by abrasive limestone slurry material. Due to the extent of the damage, the average lifetime of the pipes had been dramatically reduced to less than six months before the pipe spool pieces had to be completely replaced. The station required a repair solution that would provide extremely robust protection against the abrasive material and therefore significantly increase the working life of the equipment.

Leaking oil tanks repaired in-situ with fast-curing epoxy composite

A UK oil supplier was faced with a major dilemma when a transformer oil storage tank began to leak in several places. As the tank was located in a confined space, it would be highly dangerous to repair the damage in-situ using hot work. If the tank was removed and repaired offsite, not only would this incur large amounts of downtime, but the cost of welding alone would be over £15,000.

The reliability of most rotating equipment is almost inevitably linked directly to bearing life, and it is estimated bearing failure is responsible for almost 21% of these equipment failures (Bloch, 2011).  

Research into bearing failures  shows that just over half of these are a result of contamination of the bearing oil (Fig 1). Clearly it is therefore essential to ensure that contamination of the bearing lubricant is minimised and if possible eliminated if optimum bearing life is to be achieved thereby improving the equipment reliability (MTBF).

Swedish paper mill Holmen Paper Hallsta has extensive experience in condition monitoring and has worked closely with SPM for many years. Now the mill is upgrading the monitoring of a number of Nash pumps to a newer online system. (Read More)

The art of measuring low-frequency vibrations

Rotor blades in wind turbines are growing longer – but also slower.

Multimegawatt wind turbines turn even more slowly. This means that reproducible low-frequency vibration monitoring will gain in importance not only for the main rotor but also for the slow-operating gearbox components and roller bearings. Reliably measuring low frequencies, however, can be rather tricky.

Molten sulfur is present in an ever widening range of industries and liquid sulfur storage tanks are used worldwide in crude oil refineries and natural gas plants to store liquid sulfur in very large volumes. Sulfur storage tanks are most commonly utilised as part of the Gas Treating System in sour crude oil refineries and gas sweetening facilities to temporarily store liquid sulfur produced in the sulfur recovery plant. These tanks are usually field erected and most commonly constructed of carbon steel.

Helium has the lowest boiling point of all gases at -269 °C. As a result, liquid helium is frequently used as a cooling medium. This is the case at the Jülich Research Centre (FZJ). “Nowadays we mainly use liquid helium for cooling superconductors in computer tomographs, for example for brain research and biotechnology”, says Ulrich Sieberichs, supervisor in the supply department for cryogenic gases at the FZJ.

At the Renström mine in northern Sweden, Swedish mining company Boliden monitors the mechanical condition of the multi-rope friction hoist using SPM HD and vibration analysis.

In 2012, Boliden tested a number of condition monitoring systems on an autogenous mill at its mine in Garpenberg, Sweden. The tests led to a strategic decision to implement condition monitoring solutions from SPM for mining equipment within Boliden. As a result of this decision, the Intellinova online system was installed on the mine hoist in the Renström mine last year. Mats Johansson, Maintenance Manager, about the investment: "The main hoist is critical equipment (A-rated) for us and the heart of our business. If the hoist malfunctions, production more or less comes to a halt. On this type of equipment, we need good control and that makes online monitoring necessary."

The hoist is a process critical application used in underground mines for transporting materials or personnel. This case study describes the friction hoist application in the Renström mine; currently Sweden’s deepest mine at 1340 m. Using the SPM HD measuring technique and vibration analysis, the online system monitors hoist bearings and gears to ensure around the clock operation and provide automatic alarms.

The combination of vibration and shock pulse technologies is optimal for this type of application. Shock pulse transducers pick up bearing related signals very clearly, yielding crisp and easily interpreted readings, while vibration transducers pick up gear mesh frequencies in the gearbox, unbalance in the drum and other low frequency vibrations.

Find out more here.