CASE STUDIES

OF
FAILURES IN
COMPRESSORS
AND
LESSONS LEARNT
BY - ASHOK ARYA
 FAILURE
 Machines fail for a variety of reasons. ... The term
"machinery failure" or "malfunction" usually implies that the
machine has stopped functioning the way in which it was
intended or designed. This is referred to as “loss of usefulness”
of the machine or component

We are consider the general failure of compressors

 Valves failures
 Packing failures & Piston Ring Failures
 Case study on exceptional failures in compressor
 VALVE FAILURES
 Compressor valves are devices placed in the cylinder to
permit one way flow of gas either into or out of the
cylinder. There must be one or more valves for inlet and
discharge in each compression chamber (cylinder end).

 When valve failure analysis is undertaken, component appearance

must first be investigated to determine causes of failure.
 Wear and fatigue
 Foreign materials
 Abnormal mechanical action
FATIGUE AND OPERATIONAL
FAILURE

 Problem – Chattering sound from

compressor valves

 Observation - On dismantling valve

the observations are
 Crack observed on the valves body

 Reasons –
 On further inspection the valve
retainer was found in loose
condition due to damage of gasket
causing chattering sound. Due to
prolonged chattering sound lead to
fatigue failure.
 FAILURES DUE TO FOREIGN
MATERIAL
S.N Type of Foreign
Reasons Action
o materials
Slug flow, carryover from interstate separators be
Liquid carryover
interstage coolers, flow drained regularly. Manual
1 & excessive
changes and excessive drainage at specified
lubrication
lubrication intervals is preferred

Solid particles act as Continuous check on DP

2 Dirty gas grinding compounds and gauge and cleaning of filter
interference debris / strainer

Replacement of oil or
High temperatures, oils,
adjusting the feed rate of
3 Carbon formation and gases make
oil for cylinder/packing
carbonaceous debris
lubrication
VALVE FAILURE DUE TO OVER
LUBRICATION
 Root Cause: Over-lubrication
 Effect: Oil sticking causing
delayed opening of valve
plate/rings resulting in increased
impact speeds
 Failure pattern: Broken valve
plate/ rings primarily at outer
diameters
 How to detect: high oil
accumulation in discharge valve
seat noticeable during removal
of valve, increased valve
temperature due to valve
breakage
VALVE FAILURE IN COMPRESSOR
 Problem – Second stage discharge pressure
low in compressor

 Observation – Dismantled the valves found

second stage valve plate and seat scoring
marking observed.

 Reason – Second stage valve plate and seat

have slamming marks caused excess
lubrication. Gumming effect cause wear
marks on seat of valve and plate
 Analysis – Oil presence and secondary lub
feed rate is adjusted.
 PACKING AND PISTON RING
FAILURE
 Packing is used to Seal the compression chamber
 Piston ring used To seal the surface between the wearing parts and
higher wear resistant counter faces

 Main reason for packing and piston ring failures are

 Over lubrication
 Under lubrication
 Temperature
 Improper arrangement
PISTON RING AND PACKING
FAILURE
 Root Cause: Over-lubrication

 Effect: Excessive oil in packing cups is

causing hydraulic locking of packing
rings. Rings trap gas and start to radially
pulsate.

 Failure pattern: Broken packing ring

garter springs due to fatigue fracture.

 How to detect: Increased packing

leakage, high oil accumulation in
distance piece, scuffed piston rod
PISTON RING AND PACKING
FAILURE
 Root Cause: Under-lubrication

 Effect: High coefficient of friction

between rings and counter surface due
to insufficient lubrication.
 Failure pattern:Accelerated wear of rings

 How to detect: Colorization of cylinder,

liner, piston rod or packing back-up rings
due to excessive temperatures, absence
of oil in the cylinder or packing box
during inspection, valve pockets and/or
rings covered in greasy paste or
completely dry
FAILURE OF PACKING RINGS
S.No Parts failure
1 Pressure breaker
Radial Rings &
2 4) Piston rod scoring marks and
Tangential
3 Tangential Tangential
4 Oil crapper
Failure Reason How to detect
1) Improper lubrication
2) Improper packing cup
groove
3) Depth and scoring marks on
1) Heavy heated gas passing
surface
from packing vent line
4) Piston rod scoring marks
and increase in run out)
5) Contamination in gas and oil
line
1) Improper lubrication
2) improper packing cup groove
3) depth and scoring marks on
1) Gas passing from packing
surface
vent line
2) White smoke from
increase in run out
breather
5) Contamination in gas and oil
line
6) Proper arrangement of rings
1) Improper lubrication
2) improper packing cup groove
3) depth and scoring marks on
1) Gas coming from crankcase
surface
breather
4) Piston rod scoring marks and
2) Gas coming in packing vent
increase in run out
line
5) Comtamination in gas and oil
line
6) Proper arrangement of rings
1) Piston rod scoring marks
2) Proper installation (Grove 1) high oil consumption
towards crankcase side)
PACKING & SEALING RING FAILURE
 Problem– Gas observed in packing
coolant line

 Reason :
 As evident, gas in coolant line could
only be possible to come thru
packing cups, hence both LP & HP
packing checked before dismantling,
found gas to be leaking to coolant
line thru HP side packing

 Packing cup O rings found worn out,

making escape of compressor gas to
auxiliary coolant line
 HP side piston rod run out checked,
found 0.10mm

 Analysis – temperature variation

 LESSON WE LEARNT
 Over and under lubrication must be avoided … !!

Problems with over lubrication …

➢ Oil sticktion, fouling/clogging of valves

➢ Pressure build up between piston rings and piston
➢ Knocking in Cylinder from excessive oil build up (Oil Knock)
➢ Oil accumulation in downstream piping system

Problems with under lubrication …

➢ Gumming of packing
➢ Excessive wear of piston rings, rider rings, packings, piston rods,
cylinder/ liners, pistons, valves
ACTION ON LESSON LEARNT
 Previously we have five pumps for
lubricating various stages but safety
trip is only available in one of five
pumps and compressor will
continue to run even if four
remaining feed pumps are outfitted

 DNFT based automatic lubrication

system installed in compressor
which increases the life of packing
and piston rings.
 SAVING WITH AUTOMATED DNFT
 Field reports indicate that up to 80% of all compressor failures are in
conjunction with improper lubrication.
 Packing and piston rings consumption is reduced to 30 % & 50 % after
installation of DNFT
 Valve failures reduced to 46% after DNFT installation

Parts consumption Before After

S.no % reduction
(approx.) Modification Modification
Packing consumption
1 140 98 30.00%
(HP)
Piston ring Reduction
2 1018 510 49.90%
(HP)
Compressor valves (all
3 178 96 46.06%
stages)
CASE STUDY : FAILURES IN
COMPRESSORS

 Title : Abnormal sound coming from

compressor KPCL(1200 MD)

 Background : At 09:40 hrs, 18.01.2020,

a complaint was lodged by station
technician of Narela Mega station
regarding abnormal sound from KPCL
compressor. The station comes under
Dheerpur Control Room and package
Operation and Maintenance is
undertaken by M/S KPCL.
FINDINGS OF THE INVESTIGATION
After reaching at site, Compressor crankcase cover
plate dismantled.
 LP side Connecting rod found blackened.
 Found metal chips in the crankcase oil.
 On dismantling; Connecting rod big-end bearing
found worn-out.
 LP side Crank-shaft journal found worn out.
 Compressor Oil pressure set point checked found
2.5 Bar.
 Parameter log book checked found 1 week before
oil Temperature reached temp @ 80.04 deg C and
pressure dropped to 3.07 bar.
 Oil cooler; thermostat and associated lines checked;
sludge found.
INVESTIGATION TEAM
CONSIDERATION
 Oil cooler cleaning was not done at
the time of package commissioning,
which is evident as sludge found in oil
cooler and thermostat housing. Sludge
in oil cooler lead to improper cooling,
and also restricted oil flow leading to
pressure reduction.
 Compressor oil pressure reached to
3.07 bar and temperature reached 80
deg. C on 07.01.2020. Due to low
pressure, oil film formed was
inadequate for proper lubrication and
caused friction between bearing and
crank shaft. Prolonged moderately high
temperature and inadequate
lubrication lead to failure.
 CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN
 Oil cooler, thermostat housing and associated lines cleaned using
pressurized air.
 Crankshaft sent to M/s Rai Prixim for re-metallization and surface
polishing and ultrasonic testing done for any internal crack(s).
 Crankshaft assembled and Crankshaft End play with respect to thrust
bearing checked; found under limit (0.13mm)
 LP side connecting rod - its big end bearing replaced and weight
balancing done. Found LP side 250 g heavier than HP side; so a 250 g
weighing spacer added to HP side for balancing purpose.
 Connecting rods ,piston rods, valves and other accessories assembled.
 Crankcase oil and oil filter replaced and manual oil pump priming done.
RECOMMENDATIONS & LESSON LEARNT
✓ Lube Oil Pressure (after Oil filter) low tripping point should be set to 3.5
bar as recommended by OEM.
✓ Machine should be operated in manual mode only and manual oil pump
priming should be done before every start command.
✓ Oil cooler tubes should be checked for sludge formation during every 6000
hours scheduled Compressor Maintenance.
✓ Packages which have not been commissioned for a long period of time
should only be started after oil cooler cleaning/ flushing work to check
sludge formation.

✓ LESSON LEARNT

✓ Preservation Maintenance is an important factor for maintaining the

package and to reduce major breakdowns . It must include the Flushing of
oil cooler and vessels also.
 CASE STUDY ON COMPRESSOR
FAILURE
 Title :Delta 1200 E Compressor LP side cylinder head bolts broken

 Location :Kair DTC

 Compressor :Delta 1200 E
 Incident Date :12.04.2015 @2:30 am
 Running hrs :3433 Hrs
 Investigation Team :Vimal Raj Goyal , Ashok Arya ,Vikas
Vashist , Mahesh Jeena
DELTA 1200 E COMPRESSOR LP SIDE
CYLINDER HEAD BOLTS BROKEN

 Background

 On 12.4.15 at 03:00 Hrs, a complaint was received from station, stating

that all the bolts of compressor LP side cylinder head has broken with
head assembly forced out of block along with pocket clearance
assembly. (Actual prime facia picture shown below).
 OBSERVATION OF INVESTIGATION
TEAM
On reaching the site, following were observations:-
 7 out of 8 head bolts were broken while one had come out intact
 The cylinder head was completely off the cylinder & the supporting stand of
LP side was bent
 Machine had tripped due to high vibration alarm immediately as the incident
happened
 There were no contact/ hitting marks between piston crown and head end
 No traces of considerable moisture found in and around cylinders
 All valves dismantled and checked, found ok without any sign of wear/
damage
 All parameters history checked for last 4-5 days, no abnormalities observed
 ANALYSIS
 All other compressor components checked thoroughly and also PLC
and interlock were checked
 Piston rod checked for its tightness on crosshead, lock nut found intact
(as shown in figure).Other potential cause areas inspected including
cross head gudgeon pin, small & big end bearing, all found to be ok
without any sign of cause or damage
 After above investigations, all the broken bolts were closely inspection, 7
out of 8 bolts had broken except one, which clearly indicates its
loosening and coming off the head initiating the incident. (picture shows
the damaged bolts vs loosened bolt)
 ANALYSIS
 Further investigation was carried out, which revealed that two head bolts are also used to fasten
the LP side support stand with the head, due to which the effective thread length of these two
bolts gets reduced by around 10mm i.e. equal to the thickness of stand’s face. (as shown in
figure)
 In the picture, comparison of other bolt’s available threads versus the two bolts that holds the
stand to the head is shown and quite apparently it may be concluded that the mentioned two
bolts have very less thread area and are always at risk of getting loose, as happened in this case
 Initially, the two bolts mentioned might have got loosened, causing unbalanced stress over the
cylinder head which eventually resulted to the shearing of remaining 6 bolts
 To Know the unbalance stresses we have also carried out weight balancing of the components.
 BALANCING OF LP & HP SIDE
 The Vibration level in Delta Engine driven packages are more compared
to the other packages. For finding the reason of high vibration the delta
compressor dynamic balancing done. To check the dynamic balancing of
compressor, dismantle the LP & HP side Piston Rod, cross head, &
connecting rod assembly. Measure the weight of Individual part &
assembly of each side.
LP side (weight in HP side (weight
S No Part Description
KG) in KG)
1 Cross Head 4.350 4.300
2 Cross Head Pin 0.750 0.750
3 Cross Head Centre Bolt 0.250 0.250
4 Connecting Rod 7.425 7.400
5 Piston Rod 11.750 9.700
6 Piston Lock Nut 0.450 0.450
7 Piston Ring 0.300 0.250
Total Assembly Weight 25.275 23.100
Weight Difference 2.175
BALANCING OF LP & HP SIDE
 To balance the weight of LP & HP side
assembly following steps taken:
 After measurement it was found that
weight can be increased in the HP piston
between 2nd stage piston and 3 stage
piston.
 A hollow cylindrical part with dimension
(ID 48.05 mm x OD 89.50 x length
42mm) was developed at Rai Premix
work shop & measured the weight which
was found 1.460 Kg.
 For shrink fitting of newly developed
cylindrical part on HP side piston rod use
oils bath method & for additional
precaution tightened by 03 grub screw
with Piston Rod.
BALANCING OF LP & HP SIDE
 After installation the same, still weight
difference persist approx 0.715 KG
between HP side assembly and LP side. To
achieve the balance, a spacer of 0.775 kg
with dimension (ID 36 mm x OD 132 mm
x Length 8.2mm) was developed and
installed between HP side cross head &
piston locknut .

 After installation of the new spacer now

the difference between the HP and LP side
weight is 60 grams.
VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF LP AND HP
CYLINDER
S.No PARAMETER BEFORE VALUE AFTER VALUE
1 CRANKCASE (NON DRIVE END) VERTICAL 5.7 3.7
2 CRANKCASE (NON DRIVE END) AXIAL 3.8 2.8
3 CRANKCASE (NON DRIVE END) HORIZONTAL 6.8 3.8
4 CRANKCASE (DRIVE END) HORIZONTAL 7.4 4.8
5 LP CROSSHEAD VERTICAL 6.9 5.0
6 LP CROSSHEAD HORIZONTAL 7.8 5.8
7 HP CROSSHEAD VERTICAL 6.9 5.1
8 HP CROSSHEAD HORIZONTAL 8.3 7.1
9 LP CYLINDER VERTICAL 9.2 6.3
10 LP CYLINDER AXIAL 8.5 6.9
11 LP CYLINDER HORIZONTAL 8.3 5.9
12 HP CYLINDER VERTICAL 7.4 6.2
13 HP CYLINDER AXIAL 7.9 7.1
14 HP CYLINDER HORIZONTAL 8.0 7.7
15 1ST STAGE SUCTION VALVE 6.5 6.2
16 1ST STAGE SUCTION VALVE 9.0 6.5
17 1ST STAGE DISCHARGE VALVE 7.4 6.8
18 1ST STAGE DISCHARGE VALVE 8.9 7.0
19 2ND STAGE SUCTION VALVE 9.7 8.3
20 2ND STAGE DISCHARGE VALVE 10.8 8.2
21 3RD STAGE SUCTION VALVE 14.9 9.2
22 3RD STAGE DISCHARGE VALVE 15.8 9.4
23 1ST STAGE GAS COOLER SUCTION 10.6 8.4
 ACTION TAKEN
 All damaged, affected components were checked
 While the head bolts got broken, they also carried material from the
cylinder block (as shown in figure), hence it was decided to replace the
complete block.
 Also the variable pocket clearance piston stud had bent
 All valves were checked, found absolutely fine, hence installed back with
new gaskets
 As during breakdown analysis, it was concluded that two head bolts had
inadequate lengths due to which they got loosened, hence it was decided to
install longer bolts, along with other
 Bolts of earlier length (Previous size of all bolts M 17x50, increased length
of two bolts- M 17x62)
 KEY LEARNINGS
 The breakdown analysis suggests the prime reason of incident is
loosening of two bolts which ultimately lead to the failure of all other.
 Evidences concludes that two bolts which clamps the stand to cylinder
head are of same length as other bolts, due to this the effective bolt
threads are too less and pose a risk of getting loosened even under
normal vibrations, to avoid such an incident in future lengthier bolts
must be used which also caters to the cylinder support stand.
 Weight Balancing of LP and HP side would result in significant decrease
in vibration level as well as cooler and other failures.
THANK YOU !!