Condition Monitoring, Troubleshooting and Reliability in Rotating Machinery

10Troubleshooters Need to be Well Versed in the Equipment They are Evaluating

By Robert X. Perez

Let me begin by stating that there is no universally accepted approach to rotating machinery troubleshooting. Every machinery professional develops their own approach of solving field problems through years of study and practice. An experienced troubleshooter knows they must take a broad view of the machine and its subsystems if they wish to uncover the true nature of the problem. Typically, a process machine (see Figure 10.1) is merely part of a larger system this is carefully designed to meet specific process requirements. Therefore, to understand how a machine is performing, we must understand the entire process system. All system components (Figure 10.2) need to work together and function reliably to meet the production goals.

It’s possible that there may be factors that give the illusion that the problem is mechanical in nature, when in fact it’s not. Here is a list of common causes of machinery problems that I have encountered:

1. Machine defects, which are internal machine defects, must be corrected to restore the machine back to original working order. Examples of machine defects are failing bearings, loss of internal clearances, internal plugging, gear failure, cracked shaft, loose components, etc.
2. System issues, which are caused by external defects or temporary conditions that must be corrected to return to normal operation. Examples of system issues are line plugging, a ...