Event Overview
To eliminate the risk of a piping fatigue failure and loss of containment, it is often necessary to confirm vibration and pulsation in a new or modified compressor station are acceptable. A conclusive method to ensure safe operation is to collect a comprehensive set of measurements simultaneously throughout the entire station.
Most stations do not operate at a single, steady-state condition. Each compressor has multiple load steps to control capacity, and some compressors shut down under certain operating scenarios. Each compressor also has an operating speed range that will determine the excitation frequencies. Combined with changing pipeline pressures, the number of possible operating scenarios becomes overwhelming. Collecting data individually during each of these possible scenarios and speeds with a route-based approach is not practical.
The most efficient way to measure vibration throughout a station’s operating range is to utilize multi-channel data collection. A typical station may require 56 and sometimes as many as 240 channels of simultaneous vibration and pulsation measurements. Once the required transducers are installed, operators can cycle the station through various scenarios and compressor speeds, and the multi-channel analyzer will record how the station reacts in terms of pulsation and vibration, including any transient events that may occur as process valves open and close.
While there is great value in obtaining such comprehensive data on pulsation and vibration in a compressor station, meaningful insights can be difficult to generate given the volume of data that needs to be analyzed. Post-processing analytics and data mining are necessary to correlate data on vibration, pulsation, revolutions per minute (RPM) and process conditions so that anomalies can be efficiently reported and diagnosed. The goal of this training course is to share best practices for data collection and post-processing to identify and correct vibration problems in a compressor station. Case studies will be provided that demonstrate the utilization of thorough vibration and pulsations datasets to identify potential fatigue issues before failures occur, and support mitigation decisions.
Attendees will receive 1.5 Professional Development Hours upon completion.
Meet the Instructor
Jeff Barss
Wood Vibration Dynamics & Noise (VDN)
Jeff is a Team Lead who focuses on troubleshooting rotating machinery at Wood Vibration Dynamics & Noise (VDN).
He graduated from the University of Western Ontario and then moved into the gas machinery industry. Jeff has been investigating issues with reciprocating compressors, centrifugal pumps, and piping systems for more than 6 years. This includes in-depth vibration analysis on problematic machinery and piping to identify sources of excitation and provide practical mitigations.