Know Your Turbomachinery’s Operating Environment!

Abstract

Not accounting for detrimental environment factors in the design and environment degradation are two of the most common causes of Turbomachinery component failures. This paper discusses the importance of knowing the operating environment that the Turbomachinery will be operating in. The lack of proper definition in the design phase can result in the manufacture of machinery that cannot perform or survive in the actual operating environment. While the effects of the Turbomachinery environment are quite broad and reaching, this paper is intended to highlight the importance of knowing and controlling the environment in and around the machinery to assure maximum reliability. Several examples of environment degradation failures are discussed to highlight the complexity of the problem and how it reaches across all types of Turbomachinery. Suggestions are made as to what the Turbomachinery operators and manufacturers can do to minimize the potential for Turbomachinery environmental degradation and failures.