6/9/2019 Energy-Tech Magazine

Energy-Tech Magazine

Home Features Article E-mail to a Friend

E-mail Us

December 2013 Go to Page 1 2 3 4

Undetected bearing wear leads to catastrophic

compressor failure
PATRICK J. SMITH

Preventing machinery failures requires a good machinery condition

References monitoring program, a good machinery protection system and good
maintenance practices. However, sometimes the signs of
1. Smith, Patrick J., “Rotating machinery
progressive damage are very subtle and difficult to detect. In these
condition monitoring basis”, Energy-
cases, a machine might fail without warning. The compressor that is
Tech magazine, June 2006.
the subject of this article ran reliably for many years before it failed
2. API-670, “Machinery Protection
suddenly on a normal start-up. There were no obvious signs of an
System”, Fourth Edition, December
impending failure leading up to the incident.
2000, API, Washington, DC.”

Introduction
This case study pertains to a centrifugal compressor train consisting of a 1,490 rpm, 4,500 hp induction motor,
gearbox, high pressure compressor and low pressure compressor. The gearbox drives the high pressure and
low pressure compressors, which operate at 15,186 rpm. This basic train arrangement is shown in Figure 1.
The high pressure compressor rotor consists of 3 closed impellers in between two radial bearings on a single
shaft with rotating labyrinth gas seals and
stationary labyrinth oil seals at each end. The low Advertisement
speed compressor rotor consists of 5 closed
impellers in between two radial bearings, also fitted
with rotating labyrinth gas seals and stationary oil
seals at each end. The impellers in both
compressors are fitted with rotating labyrinth eye
seals and rotating labyrinth seals at the backside of
impellers. The gas seals and impeller seals run
against stationary bushings that are coated with a
soft metal in the bores to allow for some minor
contact with the rotating seal teeth. The gearbox
includes a helical type bullgear and pinion. The
pinion has thrust collars that transmit the combined
compressor and gear axial forces to the bullgear.
The only thrust bearings in the machinery train are
on the low speed bullgear rotor.

The compressor shaft end gas seals are a 3-port

design. Nitrogen seal gas is injected into the atmospheric end of the seal, followed by a vent port and then a
process seal gas port. A minimum differential pressure between the nitrogen injection port and the vent port
prevents process gas from leaking to the atmosphere, and a minimum differential pressure between the process
seal port and the vent port prevents process side contamination.
The compressor and gearbox pinion utilize tilting pad type journal bearings. The instrumentation includes a
single, non-contacting proximity type shaft vibration probe adjacent to each compressor and pinion radial
bearing. Each compressor and pinion radial bearing also is fitted with a temperature probe. The gearbox thrust
bearings are fitted with temperature probes and there is an axial position probe that is used to monitor shaft
position. There are alarms and shutdowns associated with high vibration, high bearing temperature and shaft
position.

History
The compressor was in clean, dry process gas service and was commissioned in the late 1990s. It was initially
in continuous service, but due to a change in the customer demand, the compressor was changed to time of day

portal.energy-tech.com/article.cfm?id=65092 1/2
6/9/2019 Energy-Tech Magazine
operation a couple of years later. During the next 12 years the compressor was started and stopped almost
3,000 times.

After about 7 years of service, there was a modest increase in the gearbox pinion bearing temperatures. Some
minor damage was discovered and these radial bearings were eventually replaced with a higher capacity,
upgraded design. The compressor was never disassembled for inspection prior to the failure. The compressor
mechanical and thermodynamic performance was reviewed monthly and the efficiency, rotor vibrations and
bearing temperatures appeared stable.
The failure occurred on a normal machine start-up. The machine ran for 10 seconds and then the control system
automatically shut down the compressor due to low seal gas differential pressure.
Prior to this there were no issues maintaining the required seal gas differential pressures.

Discussion
The damage to the compressor and gearbox was extensive. The labyrinth seals and seal bushings in both
compressors were badly rubbed and had to be replaced. The bullgear and pinion teeth had also failed. See
Figure 2. And the couplings between the gearbox and high pressure compressor and between the high pressure
compressor and low pressure compressor were twisted and bent.

Go to Page 1 2 3 4

portal.energy-tech.com/article.cfm?id=65092 2/2