Compressors
"Robodynamics" company is engaged in the full cycle of work on the design, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of compressor equipment. It offers comprehensive solutions for organizations of various industries, setting a goal to provide its clients with the most reliable and efficient systems.
Supply of compressor equipment
Compressor equipment supply rules
Compressors must be supplied in accordance with developed technical specifications, which provide for their full assembly, running-in, and testing at the manufacturer's plant. In the absence of the necessary test bench for the working gas, it is permissible to test the compressor directly at its place of operation.
If the dimensions of the compressors allow for transportation in an assembled state, they should be delivered fully assembled, preserved, and ready for installation without the need for disassembly, revision, and de-preservation.
Separate compressor units exceeding transport dimensions or not directly connected to the compressor should be disassembled after testing, preserved, and sent in a fully assembled form, not requiring fitting and revision during assembly. Control pins should be installed at the joints, and a set of gaskets at the disconnects.
All pipes supplied separately must undergo control assembly, washing, cleaning, and treatment at the factory. They should be delivered as fully prepared units with appropriate protection of the internal surfaces.
The preservation and packaging of compressors should ensure their protection against corrosion for a period of no less than 18 months from the time of shipment. The packaging should prevent deformation and mechanical damage during transportation and storage.
Installation of piston compressors
The compressor installation occurs after all construction and installation work has been completed, and also after the foundation has completely solidified and has been cleared of construction debris and formwork. The foundation surface on which the compressor base and guides will be installed should be prepared, including the procedure of notching and cleaning, to ensure a reliable connection with the underlay. There should be no traces of oil on the foundation.
Compressors, which are assembled from individual elements, are installed without prior disassembly, provided they have no defects. Preservative lubricant is removed before installation.
Surfaces that will be in contact with the foundation are treated to remove fat deposits. After placement on the foundation, the horizontal position of the compressor is checked. Assembled compressors are installed in parts.
Foundation bolts are arranged according to a template that matches the holes in the base and guides. The base and guides are installed on the foundation using a level. Once the base and guides are in the correct position, they are secured and poured with a cement solution.
After the compressor shaft is installed with the motor shaft on the bearings, the position of the support bearing is checked. The shaft is installed after the final fixation of the base and guides. The horizontality of the working surfaces of the cylinders should not differ by more than 0.1 mm per 1 m length.
Before installing bearings and other parts, oil channels are checked, which are then washed and processed. The clearance between the pistons and cylinders is checked in the extreme positions of the pistons using lead prints. If there is a deviation of more than 0.03 mm between the shoe and the guide, the misalignment of the parts is corrected using gaskets. When assembling nodes, including main bearings and connecting rod bearings, established clearances must be observed. The crankshaft is connected to the motor shaft using flanges. The runout of the neck of the shaft should not exceed 0.1 mm per 1 m length. The air gap between the stator and the rotor poles should not exceed ±10%. Pipelines are installed without creating additional stresses in the machine. Before starting, the gas pipeline is cleaned of dirt and scale.
Installation and maintenance of a reciprocating compressor
Starting the compressor after installation or repair involves initial rolling without valves and gas lines. The importance of preparing and checking the lubrication system cannot be underestimated, as this is a key condition for long uninterrupted operation. This process includes cleaning and preparing the oil pipelines, cooler and filters, as well as filling the system with clean filtered oil.
When starting the pump, it is checked whether oil is delivered to all lubricated points. Then the bypass valve is set to the set pressure, and the drain pipes are checked. After checking the system, it is stopped and the condition of the filters is checked.
The preparation of the cylinder lubrication system and seals includes washing and blowing out the oil pipeline. This continues until all pipes are filled with oil, and the leaking oil becomes clean. Then they proceed to prepare the cooling system, filling the entire system with water.
Before starting the compressor, its assembly is checked by rotating the shaft with a special mechanism. During rolling, the operation of all mechanisms is checked, and the pressure in the lubrication system, oil temperature and bearing temperature, oil level and filter cleanliness are also monitored.
After rolling, an oil change is made in the systems. After that, the compressor is ready for a gradual load. It is important to manage the loading process taking into account the temperature and pressure and to carefully monitor the operation of all components.
The compressor can be stopped for a short time, long time or in an emergency. In any case, after stopping the compressor, a thorough inspection and cleaning must be carried out, and all detected defects must be eliminated.
Compressors require shutdowns when deviations from normal operation occur, such as a drop in the pressure of the oil, cooling water, gas at the first stage, air of the electric motor, and an increase in the temperature of the bearings. To prepare for starting, the lubrication system is cleaned and prepared, with a check of the oil supply to all lubricated points. After rolling, the oil is changed, and the compressor is ready for a gradual load. After stopping, an inspection and cleaning are carried out.
The main maintenance includes periodic checks of the circulating lubrication systems and lubrication of the cylinders and seals, as well as adjusting the supply of water to the compressor. Periodic cleaning of the valves and valve boxes, inspection of the compressor installation and laying, checking the oil clearances in the bearings, the condition of the sealing rings, valves and piston rings are carried out.
Special attention is paid to checking all the devices and safety valves installed on the compressor, as well as inspecting and cleaning all parts of the machine, vessels and pipelines from oil deposits. Every eight years, hydraulic pressure tests are carried out. Attention should be paid to the bends in the high-pressure pipelines.
During maintenance, various defects can be detected, such as cracks in the cylinders and valve heads, wear of the bushings, breaks of the connecting rod bolts, etc. Regular inspections and maintenance are important to detect and eliminate these problems.
Repair of Compressor Equipment
Special attention is paid to the gland seals and high pressure piston rings, working at a pressure of more than 15 MPa. If the wear of these components exceeds 30% of their original thickness, they should be replaced. The connecting rods are also checked for fatigue cracks annually.
During the major overhaul, a deeper and more careful examination of the compressor is carried out. This includes determining the nature of the foundation subsidence and the presence of cracks, checking the position of the frame and guides by level and tightening the foundation bolts, checking the centering of the cylinders relative to the guides and the frame, measuring the wear of the working surfaces of the cylinders and bushings. High pressure cylinders and valve heads are checked in places of stress concentration for fatigue cracks, studs, threads, sealing surfaces are checked. The cooling surfaces of the cylinders are cleaned from non-washable deposits and scale, a full revision of the condition of the crankshaft and main bearings, a full check of the pistons and rods, measuring the wear of the Babbitt support surface of the sliding piston.
It is also important to determine the residual elongation of the connecting rod bolts and carry out a crack fatigue test. An elongation of the connecting rod bolt more than 0.0005 of its original length is considered unacceptable.
Low pressure seals are checked. An internal examination and cleaning of gas pipelines, fittings, and equipment is carried out no less than once every three years. Refrigerators with ribbed tubes and gas pipelines leading to safety valves require more frequent cleaning. For installations working on contaminated and aggressive gases, the terms are set depending on the speed of pollution.
All these procedures are important to ensure reliable and efficient operation of compressor equipment, extend its service life and prevent possible malfunctions and accidents.
Reliability of Compressor Operation
The performance of compressor equipment is determined by its utilization rate, measured by the ratio of the actual working hours per year to the total number of hours per year. Most enterprises in the nitrogen industry have a utilization rate of large compressors in the range of 0.94-0.945. Some foreign companies claim that the utilization rate of their compressors reaches 0.98, which is possible due to the effective organization of the supply of high-quality spare parts, in particular, those that wear out quickly.
The reliability of large compressors used in the chemical industry is critically important, as unplanned shutdowns due to component failures can lead to a reduction in production. For example, increasing the utilization rate of large gas compressors by 1% (from 0.94 to 0.95, which corresponds to 3 days of compressor operation) allows a compressor with a capacity of 11 m³/s, compressing a nitrogen-hydrogen mixture for the production of ammonia, to increase the annual production of ammonia by 1000 tons.
Modern large piston compressors must have high reliability so that they can be operated without reserve even at chemical enterprises, where they must constantly supply compressed gas for several months.
It is important to consider issues of reliability and durability together with issues of economic efficiency, since increasing reliability and durability entails additional costs for equipment and its maintenance. At the same time, economic efficiency is determined by the costs of all repairs over the entire service life of the product compared to the cost of the product itself.
The main problem of unreliable and uneconomical operation of the machine is the lack of a consistent connection between the service life of individual parts. This is important to consider when preparing to work with compressor equipment.
Assembling Centrifugal Compressors
Assembling Centrifugal Compressors The correct installation and initial testing of a centrifugal compressor are key for its continuous and correct operation. The installation of compressor equipment includes the process of centering and connecting all components of the device on the main plate, including the compressor, reducer (if it is included in the complex) and motor, as well as the installation of the collection system, regulation and cooling of gas, water and oil pipelines, measuring and protective equipment, and the management system of the compressor unit.
Before starting the installation, individual elements (usually bearings and seals) require cleaning from anti-corrosion grease. During the centering process, it is necessary to consider the possibility of axial displacement of the rotor due to heating and rotation, as well as the impact of this displacement on the operation of bearings and seals.
The installation of ties and fittings should be carried out in such a way that temperature deformations do not affect the compressor casing. Before operation, the tightness of fittings connections and the functionality of measuring and automation equipment are checked. Oil system cleaning is carried out using an auxiliary oil pump, which passes oil through a filter.
Before regular operation, a test start of the compressor is carried out to assess the quality of manufacture and functionality of individual units of the device, as well as to check the assembly work. During the test launch, the temperature of the bearings and the vibration of the machine are measured, a detailed check of the condition of the seals, the operation of the oil system, regulating, signaling and protective devices is carried out.
Installation and Maintenance of Centrifugal Compressor
The process of putting a compressor into regular operation involves several main stages: pre-startup preparatory actions, initialization of operation and bringing the device to standard rotation speed, as well as ensuring the optimal functioning of the machine.
Preparation before startup includes the following operations:
— Carrying out a control inspection of the position of the throttle gate on the intake channel and the regulating valve on the outlet compartment;
— Checking the condition of the filter in the intake compartment and the check valve on the outlet compartment.
After this, the water cooling system is activated, serving gas and oil coolers, and air is removed from the pipeline system. The operability of the oil lubrication system is checked, which provides lubrication of the compressor and motor bearings, as well as the reducer. The auxiliary oil pump is started and the pressure in the lubrication system is monitored.
Regular functioning of the lubrication system and the supply of the necessary amount of oil to the bearings and the reducer are checked through specialized drain pipes. The operation of the oil reducer is monitored, as well as the operability of measuring and protective equipment.
All operations included in the preparation for the compressor startup are performed according to the manufacturer's factory instruction.
Effective operation of the compressor requires regular monitoring of key parameters, including oil temperature after the cooler and at the outlet from the bearings, as well as oil pressure in the lubrication system. It is also important to monitor the condition of such elements as filters, regulators, and check valves.
Modern compressor models are equipped with automatic control systems that can detect unacceptable parameter deviations and automatically disconnect the device if necessary.
Regular preventive inspections help to ensure reliable and long-term operation of the compressor, allow timely detection and elimination of possible malfunctions. They include checking the condition of bearings, oil pumps, filters, heat exchangers, and other key components.
Compliance with safety regulations and operating standards is also critical for the reliable and efficient operation of the compressor.
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