Tag: rcm

Attention — the Essential Energy to Achieve & Improve Anything.

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Complexity, Critical Thinking, Dibyendu De, Education, Engineering, Failure Analysis, Industry 4.0, IOT, Maintenance, Management, Rapidinnovation, rcm, reliabilityLeave a comment

Information enters our consciousness either because we intend to focus attention on it or as a result of attentional habits based on biological or social instructions.

For example, driving down the extremely busy and often chaotic streets of Kolkata, we pass by hundreds of cars without actually being aware of them. Their shape, size and colours might register for a fraction of a second, and then they are immediately forgotten the next moment.

But our primary objective is to reach from one place to another without an accident or suffering a scratch. But how do we achieve that goal?

So while driving, we occasionally notice a particular vehicle, perhaps because it is moving unsteadily between lanes or because it is moving too slowly or because it looks strange in some way.

The image of the unusual vehicle enters our focus of consciousness and we become intensely aware of it unusual behaviour.

In our minds, such visual information about the car (the abnormal behaviour) gets related to information about other errant cars stored in our memory, which helps us determine into which category the present instance fits. Is this an inexperienced driver, a rash driver, a drunken driver, a momentarily distracted (talking on a mobile phone) but competent driver?

As soon as the event is matched to an already known class of events, it is identified. Now it has to be evaluated: Is this something to worry about? If the answer is yes, then we must immediately decide on an appropriate course of action: Should we speed up, overtake, slow down, change lanes, stop?

All these complex mental operations must be completed quickly and in real time. But it doesn’t happen automatically. There seems to be a distinct process that makes such reactions possible. This process is called attention. It is attention that selects the relevant bits of information from a potential of thousands of bits available.

It takes attention to retrieve the appropriate references from memory, to evaluate the real-life event and then choose the right thing to do.

Despite its great powers, attention can’t step beyond the limits as already described. It can’t notice or hold in focus more information that can be processed simultaneously. Retrieving information from memory and bringing it into the focus of awareness, comparing information, evaluating, deciding — all make demands on the mind’s limited processing capacity. For instance, the driver who notices an errant car will have to stop talking on his cell phone if he wants to avoid an accident, which is, in fact, his goal.

Some people learn to use this priceless resource very efficiently while others simply waste it. The mark of a person who is in control of his/her consciousness is the ability to focus attention at will, to stay away from distractions, to concentrate as long as it takes to achieve a goal and not longer. The person who can do this effortlessly usually enjoys the normal course of everyday life and can effectively meet the challenges of everyday life.

Improving reliability of industrial equipment needs such keen attentional energy which Reliability Centred Maintenance helps one to achieve. It, of course, depends on how well a Reliability Centred Maintenance System is designed, developed and implemented.

But what is essential is the development of memory bank, which can be only developed through comprehensively designed training and education system run over a long period of time.

Computerised Maintenance systems, Condition Based Maintenance technology, rigorously developed Maintenance Planning, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence can all help but without a broad-based deep memory bank of different types of failures, failure modes, interactions and mechanisms that create failures, methods to detect failures, interpretation and evaluation of relevant information and deciding the right course of action –improving reliability of industrial systems would remain as a desire only,

Attention is the key to achieving desired outcomes and improving any system. It can’t be ignored.

 

By Dibyendu De

Short Quiz on RCM

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Maintenance, Management, rcm, reliability1 Comment
Max marks = 10
1 mark for one right answer
-1 mark for a wrong answer
1. Which of the following statements is true?
a)  RCM does not bother about the consequence of a failure
b)  RCM does not try to achieve the inherent reliability of a system
c). Time-based Preventive Maintenance is the cornerstone of the RCM output
d)  RCM does not believe that failure rate increases with the age of the equipment
2. Which of the following statements is true in case of RCM?
a) Age of individual components can not be determined in a statistical manner
b) RCM believes that run-to-failure strategy is often the best strategy
c) RCM is not bothered about consequences of a failure
d) RCM is not interested in achieving the inherent reliability of equipment
3. Waddington Effect states:
a) The performance of an equipment improves upon regular overhauls
b) The failure rate goes up if an equipment is regularly maintained by time-based preventive maintenance
c) The failure rate goes down if an equipment is regularly maintained by time-based preventive maintenance
d) The failure rate remains the same with regular time-based preventive maintenance
4. The most important piece of information in RCM is:
a) Number of critical equipment
b) Failure Modes
c) Mean Time Between Failures (MTTF)
d) Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)
5. Most failures in a plant are:
a) Early
b) Wear Out
c) Random
d) Constant
6) Which of the following is not a failure mode?
a) Bearing seized
b) Bearing problem
c) Shaft sheared
d) Circuit opened
7) Which of the following must not be included in the Function of a machine?
a) Design Data
b) What the user wants an equipment to do?
c) Parameters that define the standard of performance
d) Operating Context
8) Secondary Functions are:
a) Additional functions an equipment is supposed to do
b) Functions of other machinery that ensure performance of a critical machine
c) Functions that are undesirable
d) Functions that are desirable but not essential for the performance of a machine
9) Which strategy might be the cornerstone of an RCM strategy?
a) Time-based maintenance (scheduled replacement/repair)
b) Condition Monitoring or Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)
c) Detective Maintenance (Inspections of Hidden Failures)
d) Design Out Maintenance (DOM)
10) To improve the inherent reliability of a system the best strategy is:
a) Condition Based Maintenance
b) Design Out Maintenance
c) Time-based Maintenance
d) Run-to-Failure
@Dibyendu De
Answers:
1) d 2) a 3) b 4) b 5) c 6) b 7) a 8) b 9) b 10) b

A Movement towards RCM

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Complexity, Dibyendu De, Education, Engineering, Failure Analysis, Industry 4.0, IOT, Maintenance, Management, reliabilityLeave a comment

29th December 2017, Kolkata

On 29th December 1978, F. Stanley Nowlan, Howard F. Heap, in their seminal work Reliability Centered Maintenance, revealed the fallacy of the two basic principles adopted by traditional PM (Preventive Maintenance) programs – a concept that started from World War II:

  •  A strong correlation exists between equipment age and failure rate. Older the equipment higher must be the failure rate.
  •  Individual component and equipment probability of failure can be determined statistically, and therefore components can be replaced or refurbished prior to failure.

However, the first person to reveal the fallacy was Waddington who conducted his research during World War II on British fighter planes. He found that failure rate of fighter planes always increased immediately upon time-based preventive maintenance, which for the fighter planes was scheduled after every 60 hours of operation or flying time.

By the 1980s, alternatives to traditional Preventive Maintenance (PM) programs began to migrate to the maintenance arena. While computer power first supported interval-based maintenance by specifying failure probabilities, continued advances in the 1990s began to change maintenance practices yet again. The development of affordable microprocessors and increased computer literacy in the workforce made it possible to improve upon interval-based maintenance techniques by distinguishing other equipment failure characteristics like a pattern of randomness exhibited by most failures. These included the precursors of failure, quantified equipment condition, and improved repair scheduling.

The emergence of new maintenance techniques called Condition Monitoring (CdM) or Condition-based Maintenance (CBM) supported the findings of Waddington, Nowlan and Heap.

Subsequently, industry emphasis on CBM increased, and the reliance upon PM decreased. However, CBM should not replace all time-based maintenance. Time-based or interval based maintenance is still appropriate for those failure cases, exhibiting a distinct time-based pattern (generally dominated by wear phenomena) where an abrasive, erosive, or corrosive wear takes place; or when material properties change due to fatigue, embrittlement, or similar processes. In short, PM (Time based or interval based maintenance) is still applicable when a clear correlation between age and functional reliability exists.

While many industrial organizations were expanding PM efforts to nearly all other assets, the airline industry, led by the efforts of Nowlan and Heap, took a different approach and developed a maintenance process based on system functions, the consequence of failure, and failure modes. Their work led to the development of Reliability-Centered Maintenance, first published on 29th December 1978 and sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics). Additional independent studies confirmed their findings.

In 1982 the United States Navy expanded the scope of RCM beyond aircraft and addressed more down-to-earth equipment. These studies noted a difference existed between the perceived and intrinsic design life for the majority of equipment and components. For example, the intrinsic design life of anti-friction bearings is taken to be five years or two years. But as perceived in industries life of anti-friction bearings usually exhibit randomness over a large range. In most cases, bearings exhibit a life which either greatly exceeded the perceived or stated design life or fall short of the stated design life. Clearly in such cases, doing time directed interval-based preventive maintenance is neither effective (initiating unnecessarily forced outage) nor cost-effective.

The process of determining the difference between perceived and intrinsic design life is known as Age Exploration (AE). AE was used by the U.S. Submarine Force in the early 1970s to extend the time between periodic overhauls and to replace time-based tasks with condition-based tasks. The initial program was limited to Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines. The use of AE was expanded continually until it included all submarines, aircraft carriers, other major combatants, and ships of the Military Sealift Command. The Navy stated the requirements of RCM and Condition-based Monitoring as part of the design specifications.

Continual development of relatively affordable test equipment and computerized maintenance management software (CMMS like MIMIC developed by WM Engineering of the University of Manchester) during the1990s till date has made it possible to:

  •  Determine the actual condition of equipment without relying on traditional techniques which base the probability of failure on age and appearance instead of the actual condition of an equipment or item.
  •  Track and analyze equipment history as a means of determining failure patterns and life-cycle cost.

    RCM has long been accepted by the aircraft industry, the spacecraft industry, the nuclear industry, and the Department of Defense (DoD), but is a relatively new way of approaching maintenance for the majority of facilities outside of these four areas. The benefits of an RCM approach far exceed those of any one type of maintenance program.

    Fortunately, RCM was applied in India for a few Indian manufacturing Industries from 1990 onwards with relatively great success. I am particularly happy to have been involved in development and application of RCM in Indian industries, which has continually evolved in terms of techniques and method of application to meet contextual industrial needs.

    I am also happy to report that RCM for industrial use has now reached a mature stage of its development, which can be replicated for any manufacturing industry.

    I am of the opinion that this maturity would provide the necessary stepping stone to develop Industry 4.0 and develop meaningful IOT applications for manufacturing industries.

    Wish RCM a very happy birthday!

    by

    Dibyendu De

Case of Missing Gear Mesh Frequency

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Complexity, Dibyendu De, Engineering, Maintenance, reliability, Uncategorized, vibration analysisLeave a comment

Question:

“Why don’t we see the Gear Mesh Frequency (GMF) on the output side of a splash lubricated slow speed gear box?”

This is quite puzzling since common sense dictates that such peaks should be present.

My Answer:

The principles involved are the following:

1. Air, water and oil produce turbulence when worked on by machines like pumps, gears, fans, propellers etc.
2. Such turbulence creates damping force.
3. This is proportional to the square of the velocity.
4. But this damping force acts in quite a funny manner.
5. For slow speed machines (say below 750 rpm; slower the better) damping is positive that is it goes against the motion and so neutralizes the entropy as seen by the decrease in the vibration levels. Hence the gear mesh frequencies vanish. Coriolis Effect on the output side of the gear box also helps in attenuating the vibration.
6. But for high speed machines damping is negative. That is it goes in the direction of the motion and therefore enhances the entropy as seen by the increase in the vibration levels.
7. So, for low speed machines it goes against the motion and suppresses the GMF. In some cases it suppresses the fundamental peak as is found in the case of the vertical Cooling Water Pumps of Power Plants. GMF is produced when the fundamental frequency is superimposed onto the vibration generated through gear impacts.
8. It therefore follows that for high speed gear boxes it magnifies both fundamental and GMF peaks.

Missing peaks therefore indicate fluid turbulence, which might also be indicated by other peaks like vane pass frequencies. The condition monitoring of such gear boxes might best be done through Wear Debris Analysis/Ferrography.

So, this is the mystery of the missing GMF in splash lubricated slow speed gear boxes.

Therefore, splash lubrication for a low speed gear box is a good idea. It enhances the life of the gear box since it balances the entropy in the system.

But at the same time, with higher oil level in a splash lubricated high speed gear box the vibration level would increase, specially the fundamental and the GMF. That would spell trouble.

Similarly, it is better to have a turbulent air flow in low speed fans and blowers. It suppresses the vibrations and therefore enhances the life of bearings.

Nature also uses these principles of fluid turbulence and damping? Applications?

1. Bird’s nest are made up of loosely placed twigs and leaves usually not bound to each other. But these don’t break up or fall off in turbulent winds. Damping keeps them in place and provides the necessary security to birds.

2. Swift flowing rivers allow fishes to grow bigger and better.

3. Winds, storms etc neutralize the increase in entropy.

Design Ideas for Reliability & Sustainability?

1. Low speed gear boxes might best be lubricated by splash lubrication.
2. High speed gear boxes might best be lubricated by spray lubrication
3. Hotter and turbulent air might best be handled by low speed fans and blowers.

Fractional Gear Mesh Frequencies

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Complexity, Dibyendu De, Education, Engineering, Failure Analysis, rcm, reliability, vibration analysisLeave a comment

Recently I received an email which asked me give my option on a phenomenon the analyst observed.

Quote

Observing high vibs on pressing and lifting pinion Drive End (DE) and Non Driven End (NDE) bearing on a ball mill. Motor and main Gear Box drive are OK. Clear predominant gear mesh frequency is appearing in the spectrum along with harmonics and side bands. But 1st GMF (Gear Mesh Frequency) is predominant. side bands with pinion speed is also seen. no Girth Gear speed side band was observed

Some of the vibration data, spectrums and photos shown in the attachment. Phase measurements indicate inconsistency in the readings near pressing pinion bearing. Impacts were also seen in time waveform data along with modulation.pinion speed 122 rpm.  On pressing side bearing 2.03 Hz side bands are seen, On lifting side i can see side bands spaced at 6.09 Hz (That is 3 times of pinion speed). Both Pinion lifting and pressing bearings are behaving differently. the vibs are high on DE as compared to NDE on both pinions. Can we suspect eccentric moment of the pinions with looseness. Why am i seeing 2.03 side bands on pressing and 6.09 side band on lifting side bearings. What is the significance of this. One sample of GG tooth photo shows uneven shining surface on either side (refer photo). In this case I am seeing  (30 T = 1 X 2 X 3 X 5) and (210 = 1 X 2 X 3 X 5 X 7) 2 X 3 X 5 as the common factor. Pinion 30 teeth and GG has 210 teeth. Will this create gear ratio issues uneven locking and releasing of 2 mating teeths. But no 1/2 or 1/3 or 1/5 GMF seen in the data.

Unquote

My reply was:

Quote:

But after a quick look this is what I see as the problem: –

1. We are seeing 1/2, 1/3 and 1/5 of GMF — these appear due to common factors 2, 3, 5 as you wrote.

This means that the pinion is badly worn out and as the common factor teeth mesh they generate these fractional frequencies.

It also means that the GMF and the natural frequency are not separated by 2.5 times. [The natural frequency in the horizontal direction = 28.5 Hz; natural frequency = 30.9 Hz; Gear Mesh Frequency = 60.6 Hz]

Looking at the signatures it is clear that the GMF falls within 2.5 times the natural frequencies.

Also note how the GMF (60.6 Hz) falls right between two natural frequencies in both the vertical and horizontal  directions. (31.1 Hz and 83 Hz). This makes the situation worse.

2. From the time waveform, we can see vibration relaxation waves. It means that the wear out or damage is towards the addendum region of the pinion/gear
3. This means that the spray nozzles are wrongly placed or jammed. The nozzles must be placed after the gear mesh not at or before the gear mesh. Also ask the client to check for jamming of the nozzles and the present viscosity of the grease/oil and the quantity that is fed per hour.
4. We can also suspect eccentricity of the pinion and looseness.
5. There is a strong resonance. This appears to have generated from the top cover.
Regards
Dibyendu De
dde@rgbwaves.com
9836466678
 Unquote
Deeper Lessons:

It is important to question as to what else we can do other than detect a problem or detect an incipient fault?

With the above analysis and information we can easily see the relationship between fractional GMF and lubrication and wear. It means we can build an algorithm that would warn us about an imperfect lubrication system that would in fact accelerate wear and put the system out of service.

Further, we can refine the specification of a purchase a gear box. The specification should state  — a) number of pinion teeth should be a prime number to prevent accelerated wear b) if a prime number can’t be achieved then the natural frequency in the three directions must be away from the GMF by at least 2.5 times the GMF.

Similarly, we can specify the gear box top cover natural frequency should be at least 4 times the GMF.

Scheduled running checks may include — a) rate of lubricant flow b) motor current c) placement of lubricant nozzles etc.

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Details of the case: (relevant data)

VIBRATION STUDIES OF CEMENT MILL

Steps for vibration measurements

Impact test was carried out at selected locations on the torsion bar to know its natural frequency
Normal vibration signatures were recorded with motor speed being 994 rpm and pinion speed 122 rpm

Vibration data was recorded on selected bearing locations of motor, gearbox and pinion bearings
Data was recorded along horizontal, vertical and axial direction with 90% load on the mill

Phase measurements were recorded to know the behavior of pinion DE with respect to pinion NDE of pressing and lifting side

OBSERVATIONS

Vibration signatures recorded on Pinion DE and NDE of both pressing and lifting side bearing shows predominant gear mesh frequency and its harmonics
Side bands were observed along with gear mesh frequency and its harmonics
Gear mesh frequency 60.9 Hz is appearing predominantly in all HVA direction

Time waveform recorded on pinion DE and NDE bearings clearly shows modulation which occurs due to above phenomena
Impacting of the gear teeth was also observed. Refer time plots provided in this report in subsequent pages

Only Side bands of pinion speed (2.03 Hz or 122 rpm) are seen, no side bands of Girth gear was seen in the data
The phase measurements recorded on pressing pinion DE and NDE along axial and horizontal direction shows the phase is not consistent with time suspecting looseness due to uneven movement of pinion

Vertical vibrations recorded on pinion DE bearing lifting side shows the vibrations are low (5 mm/sec) on one end while its high (11 mm/sec) on the other end even though it’s a common top cover of that bearing
For any normal 2 mating gears the selection of no. of teeth on each gear should be such that when factorizing is done no common factor should be found apart from 1

In this case pinion has 30 teeth and Girth gear has 210 teeth o Then as per calculations
Pinion 30=1x2x3x5,GG 210=1x2x3x5x7
So common factors are 2x3x5

 

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Improving Inherent Reliability of a System

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Complexity, Dibyendu De, Education, Engineering, Failure Analysis, Maintenance, Management, rcm, reliabilityLeave a comment

The inherent reliability of a system is determined by the system’s design. It means that the design of the system would determine the upper limit of reliability the system exhibits during operation. Suppose, for example, a system, with the best possible maintenance is able to achieve availability of say 90% we can say that this is the upper limit of the system’s capability that is determined by its design. A good “preventive maintenance” plan can never improve a systems inherent reliability. In other words, preventive maintenance, contrary to what many believe, cannot make a system “better”. It may, at best, only help realise the inherent reliability as determined by the physical design.

Hence the suggested process to “improve” the inherent reliability of a system, may be framed as follows: –

Understand the dynamics through tools like vibration analysis
Monitor changes and rate of change
Eliminate unnecessary maintenance tasks
Change the design of the system interactions to eliminate inherent “imperfections” and revise the maintenance plan.

In most cases, this would be the general approach.

Until we can effectively undertake some design changes (Design Out Maintenance – DOM) or take measures to eliminate inappropriate maintenance actions (Review of Equipment Maintenance – REM) it would not be possible to go beyond inherent reliability of an equipment, specially if it is undesirable in the business context. For example, a vertical pump of a power plant kept failing very frequently or had had to be stopped quite often when vibration shot beyond the trip limits. This behaviour of the system is determined by the design of the system. Unless the design (specifically the interactions between components) is corrected for improvement; the system (vertical pump) would continue to behave in that manner for all times. Likewise if the MTBF of a machine is say 90 days, it would not be possible to considerably improve the MTBF way beyond 90 days unless some undesirable interactions (which I call system “imperfections”) are corrected for improvement and a proper review of existing maintenance system is carried out. 

Such “imperfections” can be both physical and non-physical. Design features, most importantly, the interactions between physical/non-physical components are arguably the most important characteristic of a system that determine a system’s inherent reliability.

In addition, there are many physical design features that influence reliability like redundancy, component selection and the overall integration of various pieces of the system.

In the context of RCM, design extends far beyond the physical makeup of the system. There are a number of non-physical design features that can affect, sometimes profoundly, the inherent reliability of a system. Among these are operating procedures, errors in manufacturing, training and technical documentation. When a proper RCM analysis is conducted on a system or sub-system, there’s a good chance that the resulting maintenance actions will enable the system to achieve its inherent reliability as determined by its physical design features. However, if the inherent reliability is below user’s expectation or need then the design features are to be improved to achieve the desired level of inherent reliability.

Moreover, if unwarranted maintenance tasks are eliminated as it will greatly reduce the risk of suffering the Waddington Effect. There is also a good chance that if operating procedures, training, technical documentation and so forth are found to negatively impact inherent reliability, these issues will be identified and corrected. As evidenced by the Waddington Effect. In virtually every case, less than optimal, non-physical design features almost always have a negative impact on inherent reliability. Therefore, in RCM analysis a through review of existing maintenance plan (REM) along with DOM is necessary to improve inherent reliability of a system.

In brief, right amount of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) tasks, Scheduled Inspections (which is a part of CBM activity) REM and DOM would not only help us realise the inherent reliability as determined by the physical design but also improve it, if the original inherent reliability is below business expectation.

 

Dibyendu De

Structure of a 2 day workshop on RCM

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn Dibyendu De, Engineering, Maintenance, Management, rcm, reliabilityLeave a comment
Day 1 
Session 1 – Introduction to RCM, History and 7 Questions
* Definition of Reliability, RCM and the 7 Vital Questions
* Maintenance Strategies
* Waddington Effect
* Nowlan & Heap’s Failure Patterns
* Inherent Reliability and its improvement strategy
Session 2 — Operating Context and Functions 
* Introduction to Operating Context
* Operating Context for a System
* Elements to be included
* Operating Context and Functions
* 5 general operating context
* Operating Context and Functional Failures
Session 3 – Failure Modes and Failure Effects  
* Introduction to Failure Modes
* Few thoughts about data
* Exploring Failure Modes
* 4 Rules for Physical Failure Modes
* Failure Effect
* Evidence that failure is occurring
Session 4 — Failure Consequence and Risk 
* Introduction to Decision Diagram
* Risk assessment — how each failure matter
* Is the function hidden or Evident
* Relation of time and Hidden vs Evident
* Safety and Environmental Consequences
* Operational and non-operational Consequences
Day 2 
Session 5 — Strategies and Proactive Tasks 
* Introduction to Proactive Tasks and PF interval
* CBM/On-condition tasks
* Scheduled Restoration and Scheduled Discard Tasks
* Determining Task Effectiveness
* Risk and Tolerability
* General Rules for following the decision diagram
Session 6 — Default Actions 
* Introduction to Default Actions
* Default tasks for hidden failures
* Failure Finding Task
* Failure finding Interval
* Design Out Maintenance — to do or to be
* Walk around checks with right timing
Session 7 — RCM Audits 
* Introduction to Audits
* Fundamental of Technical Audit
* Technical Audit process
* Fundamentals of Management Audit
* General Management Audit process
* What RCM achieves
Session 8 — Setting up a Successful Living Program 
* Using the power of facilitated group
* RCM Training
* Knowledge development and its process
* Failure Modes and Design Maturity
* RCM during scale up or expansion
* Summary and Conclusion

The Sad Story of the HFO pump

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn #powerofsee, Complexity, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Dibyendu De, Education, Engineering, Failure Analysis, Maintenance, Management, rcm, reliabilityLeave a comment

This is a HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) screw pump used in Power Plant for running boilers. There was a catastrophic failure of the pump. Though this pump was regularly monitored by vibration (in velocity mode — mm/sec) it didn’t give any indication of the impending failure.

The screws of the pump rubbed against each other and the case hardened layers of both screws were crushed. The force was so great that the body of the pump also cracked. Evidence of corrosion was also noticed.

What caused it? 

For want of HFO oil, the plant personnel were forced to pump LDO (Light Diesel Oil) through this HFO pump for the past one year.

Hence the I, A, R factors that contributed to this catastrophic failure are the following:

Initiator(s) — I — factor(s), which triggers the problem — low viscosity of LDO compared to that of HFO was the significant ‘initiator’ in this case. While viscosity of LDO ranges from 2.5 to 5 cSt, the viscosity of HFO varies between 30 to 50 cSt (depending on the additives used). Use of lower viscosity oil ensured metal to metal contact thereby increasing Hertz stress that led to collapse of the hardened layer of the screws.

Accelerator(s) — A — factor(s), which accelerates the process of failure —  a) Indian HFO does not contain friction modifiers such as vanadium and magnesium. Their absence causes higher friction between the screws (approximately 70 times increase in friction), which accelerates the wear process. b) Moreover, presence of vanadium and magnesium additives in HFO and LDO acts as anti-corrosive agents. Notice that the failure happened a year after the management decided to pump LDO rather than HFO through the HFO pump — enough time for corrosion to take effect. So, we may say that there are at least two factors that accelerated the failure process. There are other effects too on system performance, which we shall discuss in a moment (refer “Note”).

Retarder(s) — R — factors that slow down the failure process — a) surface finish of the screws b) right clearance of the bearings c) presence of chromium in the screws.

Surface finish plays a very important role in reduction of metal to metal friction and also allows fluid film development. Ideally the surface finish should be between 3 to 6 microns CLA (Centre Line Average) for best effect. This can be introduced as a specification of the MOC (Material of Construction).

Similarly, excessive clearance in bearings would modify the hertz stress zone or profile — both in width and depth, which would cause shear of the hard layer (depth of which depends on the type of hardening and the type of steel used) and the soft layer (core material). Depth and type of hardening might also be specified in the MOC to prevent failures and extend life of the equipment. Presence of chromium in the metal would help formation of Vanadium – Oxygen – Chromium bond which would effectively enhance the life by providing better lubricating property which in turn would ensure a high level of  reliability of the equipment.

Hence, once the I, A and R s are identified appropriate measures can be taken to modify maintenance plan, MOC etc to ensure long life of the equipment without negative safety consequences (heart of reliability improvement).

Example:

  1. Specify addition of Vanadium and Magnesium in the HFO during supply or these may be added at site after receipt of supply. (Material specification during purchase)
  2. Ensure the right viscosity of oil to be pumps through HFO pumps. (Monitor viscosity of the supply oil — not higher than 50 cSt and not lesser than 30 cSt)
  3. Specify surface roughness of the screws — 3 to 6 microns (CLA).
  4. Specify depth of hardness of the screws (below 580 microns so that the interface between the hard layer and the soft core remains unaffected by the Hertz stress) during procurement and supply. Preferable type of hardening of the screws would be nitriding.
  5. Specify chromium percentage in the screws (during purchase).
  6. Monitor bearing clearance on a regular basis and change as needed (by vibration analysis based on velocity and acceleration parameters).
  7. Monitor the body temperature of the pump to notice adverse frictional effects
  8. Monitor growth of incipient failures in the screws by vibration monitoring (acceleration and displacement parameters)

Note

1. (Effect of IAR on system performance — i.e. the boiler – superheater – pipes):

Problems of high temperature corrosion and brittle deposits drastically impair the performance of high-capacity steam boiler of Power Plants, using HFO. Research* shows that heavy fuel oil (HFO) can be suitably burned in high capacity boilers. However, if HFO is chemically treated with an anticorrosive additives like Vanadium and Magnesium, it diminishes high temperature corrosion that affect some operational parameters  such as the pressure in furnace and pressure drop in superheaters and pipe metal temperature, among others like atomization and combustion processes. Therefore, inclusion of right additives like Vanadium and Magnesium have been found to diminish high-temperature corrosion and improved system performance.  It therefore makes sense to monitor these parameters, which can provide direct information on the degree of fouling, as well as of the effectiveness of the treatment during normal boiler operating conditions.

*Source

2. Effect of Vanadium Oxide nano particles on friction and wear reduction

Ref:

  1. Two approaches to improving Plant Reliability:
  2. Rethinking Maintenance Strategy:
  3. Applying IAR Technique:

By Dibyendu De

Two approaches to improve — Plant wide Equipment Reliability

On By Author of #PowerofSeeIn #powerofsee, Complexity, Education, Engineering, Failure Analysis, Maintenance, Management, rcm, reliability, vibration analysis1 Comment
The first approach is to conduct a series of training programs along with hand-holding. During such programs, participants apply the concepts discussed in the programs on the critical machines to modify the existing maintenance plan or methods to improve equipment reliability over a period of time. It is effective if the organization fulfills two vital conditions. First, the organization has in place a reasonably competent condition monitoring team and the use of condition based maintenance strategy is quite widespread in its acceptance and application throughout the plant. Second, the number of failures/component replacement in the plant in a year is not more than say 60. We would call this method — The Interactive Training Method.
The second approach is a more hands-on, direct and intensely collaborative. Each critical equipment is thoroughly examined in its dynamic condition to find out its inherent imperfections that cause failures to happen. Such imperfections, once identified by deep study, are then systematically addressed eliminate the existing and potential failure modes to improve MTBF and Safety. Based on the findings, the maintenance plan is formulated or appropriately modified to sustain the gains of implementing the findings. This activity is to be done during the program. This approach is effective when the failure rate in the plant is random and high (more than 60 failures/component replacement in a year) and/or maintenance load is heavy and repetitive along with high maintenance cost in spite of having a reasonably equipped condition monitoring team in place. We would call this — The Deep Dive Approach.   
 
Outline of the two methods: — The processes involved along with approximate costs. 
 
The Interactive Training Method:  
 
1. Such training sessions are conducted once every two months for a duration of 4 days each over a period of 24 months.
2. The training programs would essentially focus on the following == a) the RCM process focussed on Failure Modes b) Vibration Analysis c) Lubrication analysis and management d) Bearing failures and practical reasons e) Root Cause Failure Analysis method — FRETTLSM method. f) Friction, Wear Flow, Heat, g) Foundations and Structures. h) Condition Monitoring of Electrical failures i) Maintenance Planning based on nature of Failure Modes j) Life Cycle Costing k) Auditing RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety).that would help in self auditing the process — in total 12 programs
3. Accordingly, there would be 12 visits to the plant. During each visit one of the above topics would be covered. Once the improvement concepts are delivered, the participants (assigned for focussed plant improvement) would collaboratively engage in designing appropriate measures to improve or modify the existing maintenance plan of each critical machine to improve its MTBF and Safety. This activity that involves a fair amount of handholding would be done during the visit. Number of critical machines to be taken up for each visit would be decided by the management or participants. Number of participants = 10 maximum
4. Subsequent paid audits to refine the process would be optional — after the completion of 24 months intervention period.
The Deep DIve Approach:  
 
Such interactive sessions would be conducted once every two months for a duration of 4 days each over a period of 18 months.
2. Each interactive session of 4 days duration would focus on one critical equipment at a time. In total 9 critical equipment would be covered during the 18 months period with a selected group of people, assigned to the project of improving reliability. During each sessions each of the critical equipment would be examined deeply and in totality to find the inherent imperfections that cause different failures in the system.Once, these imperfections are identified, time is taken to appropriately address the “imperfections” and simultaneously formulate or modify the existing equipment maintenance plan for sustaining the gains on an on-going basis. This collaborative activity would be done during the program. In this process, participants learn by doing.
3. In total there would be 9 visits to the plant. During each visit one critical equipment would be taken up for the deep dive study taken to its full logical conclusion. Number of participants = 10 maximum.
4. Subsequent paid audits of the progress is optional.- after the completion of 18 months intervention period.