Preserving turbines in optimal working condition and prolonging their lifespan is achieved through diligent turbine preventive maintenance. In industries heavily reliant on machinery, this type of maintenance guarantees that potential issues are addressed early, preventing them from escalating into significant problems that result in expensive interruptions. Meanwhile, consistently conducting alignment assessments is crucial to avert unplanned turbine repair work.

Why Does Misalignment Cause Issues?

Essentially, the entire issue lies in misalignment,

which is the leading cause of failure for turbines and other rotating machinery. Improperly aligned shafts result in heightened vibration, rotor distortion, and a domino effect of issues that culminate in early bearing failure and diminished seal longevity. As misalignment is a progressive problem, ignoring it can ultimately lead to complete equipment breakdown and the necessity for replacement. For that reason, prioritizing turbine preventive maintenance is fundamental in addressing this concern.

Precision Shaft Alignment for Turbine

Turbine preventive maintenance must incorporate accurate shaft alignment as a key aspect. Diligently observing components and conditions enables equipment operators to decrease the frequency of unforeseen turbine repairs. Key monitoring elements encompass flow rate, vibration, lubrication & lubricant, rotor speed, load, power, noise levels, and auxiliary system functioning. Recognizing shifts in these factors can assist in identifying early signs of alignment issues.

On the other hand, various causes can lead to shaft misalignments in turbines, such as alterations in thermal growth, piping stress, or misalignment during installation or overhaul.

Turbine Preventive Maintenance: Striking a Balance!

Alignment is critical to turbine preventive maintenance, ensuring the motor shaft’s centerline aligns with the drive shaft’s centerline. There are two primary types of misalignment: parallel or radial, further categorized as vertical or horizontal, and angular, also classified as vertical or horizontal. Misalignment may be caused by offset, angular, or a combination of both factors.

In parallel misalignment, the motor and drive shafts either move away from each other vertically while remaining on the horizontal plane (parallel vertical misalignment) or horizontally while staying parallel on the horizontal plane (parallel horizontal misalignment). Angular misalignment occurs when the shafts are at angles to one another, either on the vertical plane (angular vertical misalignment) or the horizontal plane (angular horizontal misalignment).

Although turbine preventative maintenance could cause an interruption in operations, the cost savings that occur from the subsequent decrease in the number of turbine repairs are considerable. There are two primary methods for performing alignments: static and dynamic.

Static

During this turbine preventive maintenance, equipment alignment typically occurs when the machine is inactive. Addressing soft foot problems, significant misalignment, and restoring the system to optimal tolerance levels are best accomplished during this static alignment phase.

Dynamic

During this type of turbine preventive maintenance, shaft alignment is conducted while the machinery remains in operation. This is favored among the two alignment methods since it allows technicians to observe alterations, thermal expansion, and shaft displacement as the equipment functions. The machine’s transition from a “cold-to-operating” state is determined and incorporated within the alignment parameters by implementing dynamic alignment. Eventually, this contributes to establishing precise tolerance differences, facilitating proactive monitoring.

Final Words

Regardless of the method used for attaining alignment, remember that most machines have stringent requirements regarding the tolerant range of alignment deviations. This highlights the importance of accurate shaft alignment in turbine preventive maintenance and restoration efforts.

Select Laser Alignment is the company to call for precise alignment and preventative maintenance on your turbines and other rotating equipment. Our focus is restoring and maintaining your rotating machinery’s optimal operation. Contact us if you want to find out how we can assist you.

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That’s where Select Laser Alignments laser tracker contractor services come into play. As a service provider for 3D metrology for refinery and petrochemical industries and many other industries that benefit from the speed and precision of the laser trackers. We have the capabilities to gather concentricity, ovality, dimensional changes, flange locations, equipment interferences and other important areas in need of inspection down to the thousandth (0.001”). We can diagnose equipment problems and help optimize your equipment. Select Laser Alignment can help optimize by:

• Shaft to shaft alignment
• Component to component alignment
• Foundation stability studies
• Thermal growth studies
• Machinery Installation
• Piping inspection, flatness analysis, & flange orientation
• Baseplate inspections & aid in field machining
• Internal gearbox & compressor alignment
• Bolt layout, centerline layout, & elevation benchmarks

Every dimensional metrology inspection comes with a written report and detailed drawings of the findings to help you optimize your process and machinery and to have a fast ROI.

Contact us to learn more about how Select Laser Alignment optimizes refineries and petrochemical plants with the use of our laser tracker services.

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How often should alignment checks be performed?

There are guidelines for how often the alignment should be checked. According to Mr. John Piotrowski and his Shaft Alignment Handbook, for newly installed machinery the alignment should be checked following 500 to 2000 hours of off and on operation, or 1–3 months of nonstop operation. If there was no found shift in the alignment, then the following check should be made between 4500 and 9000 hours of off and on operation or 6 months to 1 year of nonstop operation. If no found shift occurred at any time, then measurements should be made every 2–3 years. This pace can of course be influenced by factors such as equipment importance etc.

If a mediocre shift in alignment happened at any time, then the equipment should be aligned to within tolerances. If a massive shift happened, then additional research should begin to determine what is causing the movement (root cause analysis). For example, any sign of excessive wear will also be a sign of “inadequate” machinery installation.

The importance of reporting.

To have reports on alignment checks is critical to avoid repeating the same install errors, or to find and follow up on the same problems over and over. As you of course know, there is no precise answer to the headline question. But the reporting will give you a solid understanding of what occurs on the way and help to keep your machinery aligned in optimal conditions as long as possible. We will provide you with an in-depth written report and drawings on every alignment check to compare as the equipment ages.

The post How Long Does Rotating Equipment Stay Aligned? appeared first on Select Laser Alignment.