Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable

Education to the national gas industry

Eastern Gas
Compression Roundtable

technical tuesday

Technical Tuesday: Fire Detection

Technical Tuesday

“It’s getting hot in here…” There are many ways to detect a fire in a compressor building, but the ones that can be found on the mountain tops of West Virginia win awards for ingenuity. This application uses a sprinkler head; but instead of water, it is hooked to an air-line that is pressure monitored by the panel. If a fire ignites and trips the sprinkler device, the panel senses the loss of air pressure and commences the emergency shutdown process. Want to meet the vendors and experts of fire detection? Visit us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 7-9, 2024 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Fire suppression

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Technical Tuesday: No Shortcuts

Technical Tuesday

Close enough for government work? Not in our industry. How do you definitively know the position of a compressor device? Does your panel use automation to detect an issue, or does it use instrumentation like in the photo? There are many ways to get the job done — let us tell you about a few of them. Visit us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 2-4, 2023 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Prox sensor for pocket indication

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Technical Tuesday: Liquid Smoke

Technical Tuesday

“The smoke got out of it…” We have all worked with an electrician that used that phrase to describe a failed part. Keep a bottle of this handy to present to him during such times of need. The electrician will not be amused, but others will! Want to learn more humorous stories from the past, as well as tips that are actually helpful? Visit us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 2-4, 2023 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Have a tip? Do you have a technical tip to share? Submit your tip, along with an associated image and we may include it in our Technical Tuesday social media posts, blog posts and emails.

Technical Tuesday: Tight, but not too tight.

Technical Tuesday

When the job calls for a torque wrench, but the 1” impact is handy… This photo shows failed threads on a bolt caused by over-tightening which can — and usually does — lead to a failure with varying degrees of damage based on what the fastener was fastening. Want to learn more about proper torquing techniques, bolt stretch, material capabilities, tooling, etc.? Come see us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 2-4, 2023 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Failed threads on a bolt

Have a tip? Do you have a technical tip to share? Submit your tip, along with an associated image and we may include it in our Technical Tuesday social media posts, blog posts and emails.

Technical Tuesday: Tips to reduce fluid-system safety incidents

Technical Tuesday

Up to 42% of fluid-system safety incidents are due to preventable errors. We have some tips on how to lower risks for your workers, facilities, and valuable assets: 1. Never bleed system pressure by loosening a fitting nut or lug; 2. Never make up and/or tighten fittings when a system is pressurized; 3. Never mix tube fitting and tubing materials or leakage/galvanic corrosion could occur; 4. Never force tubing into a fitting. Learn more at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, May 2-4, 2023 in Pittsburgh.

Thank you to Rudy Frank from Swagelok Pittsburgh | Tri-State Area for this Technical Tuesday tip.

Have a tip? Do you have a technical tip to share? Submit your tip, along with an associated image and we may include it in our Technical Tuesday social media posts, blog posts and emails.

Technical Tuesday: Monitoring Health Status of Gas Turbine Bearings

Technical Tuesday

Oil Debris Monitors (ODM) enable gas turbine operators to maximize equipment availability by providing the earliest advance warning of potential damage. As shown in this image, the full flow, online ODM sensor was the only sensor to detect the issue and the early warning allowed the engine operator to schedule the engine shutdown while monitoring. The damage on the #1 bearing correlated with the ODM damage alarm indicator. Learn more at the EGCR, May 2-4, 2023 in Pittsburgh.

Oil Debris Monitor

Thank you to Manuel Aboud from Gastops for this Technical Tuesday tip.

Have a tip? Do you have a technical tip to share? Submit your tip, along with an associated image and we may include it in our Technical Tuesday social media posts, blog posts and emails.

Technical Tuesday: Ring Grooves

Technical Tuesday

“It’s Groovy Baby…”

Measuring ring grooves and piston rings prior to installation is critical to a quality job. These measurements serve as a baseline for future inspections and are critical in a failure investigation. Whether it’s your favorite British spy parody or ring groove specs, we can quote lines with the best of them. To learn more, plan to attend the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Piston rings
Measuring ring grooves

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Technical Tuesday: Measuring Bearing Temps

Technical Tuesday

There are a lot of different strategies for measuring bearing temps. In this picture, the operator chose to install 2 rtd’s that touch the back of the bearing. The thinking is that the oil channel in the bearing could delay heat transfer on a failure if it occurred on the opposite side of the channel from the temperature sensor. What do you think? For more tips and tricks, join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Bearing

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Technical Tuesday: Hinges

Technical Tuesday

“Just a Swinging…”

An engineer fresh out of school came up with this idea, and several vendors are installing them now. These hinges allow the heavy crankcase doors to swing open, and they’ve been very helpful in speeding up time/heat sensitive tasks such as web deflections, as well as reducing awkward lifting of the doors, etc. For more tips and tricks, join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Crankcase door hing

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Technical Tuesday: Liner Install

Technical Tuesday

How do you wash your liners before installation? It’s extremely important to remove all of the preservative from the running surface. The surface porosity captures and holds oil to lubricate the piston movement and if that porosity is filled with preservative, the life span of the components will be short. Everybody has a method, let’s hear them! For more tips and tricks, join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Liner

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