Technical notes

Although overall vibration trending is an excellent tool for monitoring the health of rotating machinery, it is not generally effective for monitoring reciprocating machinery. There are several reciprocating machinery faults that do not significantly increase a machine’s overall vibration level until severe damage has occurred. This paper describes improved shock monitoring technology that is very sensitive to these faults in their early-stages of development and is particularly effective in monitoring reciprocating compressors. These fault conditions are primarily characterized by mechanical looseness that results in impacting within the machine and include: loose rod nuts, loose bolts, worn pins, broken parts, liquid in the cylinder, and cylinder scoring. It also introduces the Reciprocating Machinery Protector that implements these techniques.