[1F3] Liquefied natural gas plant maintenance: a case study of gas turbine centrifugal compressor thrust bearing failure analysis
J Nilsa Coutinho Pereira
Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
Maintenance is essential for preserving gas turbine engineering system functionality during the lifecycle of the equipment. Heavy-duty gas turbine (HDGT) engineering systems are often quite complex to maintain. Therefore, an effective condition-based maintenance (CBM) programme is vital to reduce downtime, to improve equipment reliability and for cost optimisation. It is estimated that 50% to 75% of gas turbine maintenance costs are related to the replacement and repair of hot section parts. Furthermore, the maintenance intervals of the engine are governed by the hot section material durability and the replacement of these components is the largest contributor to determining maintenance-related equipment availability. This paper investigates multiple thrust bearing failures of gas turbine driven centrifugal compressor application in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.
A root cause failure analysis (RCFA) approach is conducted to determine the failure mode and its consequences. Process instability is believed to be the cause of several thrust bearing failures. Downtime analysis is presented to estimate the loss of production (LPO).
Keywords: maintenance, life cycle, reliability, condition-based maintenance, downtime analysis, availability, root cause failure analysis, failure mode, thrust bearing failures, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.
A root cause failure analysis (RCFA) approach is conducted to determine the failure mode and its consequences. Process instability is believed to be the cause of several thrust bearing failures. Downtime analysis is presented to estimate the loss of production (LPO).
Keywords: maintenance, life cycle, reliability, condition-based maintenance, downtime analysis, availability, root cause failure analysis, failure mode, thrust bearing failures, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.
