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[April 2007] Former President of the Institution and past Chairman of the Tribology Group Michael Neale, of Neale Consulting Engineers Ltd, has distilled many years of experience in the trouble-shooting of rotating machinery into a recent paper “Learning from Rotating Machinery Failures around the World”. This paper is published on the Institution website under the ‘Presidents Choice' category.
In reviewing the investigation of 160 incidents over a period of 15 years the author emphasises how so many failures have a tribology component. The paper highlights the patterns of failure that were involved dividing them into ‘Design related’ and ‘Working related’ causes of failure. It is thought provoking to note that ‘Loss of clearance due to thermal instability’ was found to be the third most common cause of failure in the ‘Design related’ category accounting for about 15% of problems. The greatest proportion of ‘Working related’ incidents was attributed to manufacture and installation errors which probably resulted in early lifetime failures of the machinery. Thereafter lubricant related difficulties were the largest category accounting for nearly 25% of failures.
The paper continues with summary details of a wide range of incidents and concludes by showing how field data from a range of similar applications, in this case engine cylinder liner wear, can help in taking forward technological knowledge and at the practical level can be used as a tool to identify abnormal operation. The paper closes with encouragement for the engineering institutions to set up a system whereby their members can report major engineering incidents in such a way that the knowledge can be distilled into guidance on future design and technological developments, in a similar way to the ‘Air miss’ reporting of the aeronautical industry. Is this is a task that the Tribology Group should consider?
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