Case Study on Remote Diagnostics in Resolving Random Vibration on a Steam Turbine

Abstract

Case Study 7: This case study narrates an incident of random vibration spikes which occurred in year 2014 on one of the steam turbine bearings of a propane refrigeration compressor train. The random vibration spikes caused the turbine high vibration to trip leading to a train shutdown. This case study outlines how the random vibration spikes were successfully diagnosed through remote monitoring center, the root cause for the high vibration trips, and finally how it was mitigated. The case study also discusses lessons learned with respect to the discovery methodology using expert system available at site, and the importance of monitoring key operating parameters.