Maintenance & Repair

Technologies are emerging to perform maintenance, repairs, retrofits, and overhauls while gauging asset health remotely. Drones are being deployed for inspections. Some parts can be scarce, so plant operators are increasingly seeking alternatives.

Turbomachinery International has been a regular visitor to the Baker Hughes Annual Meeting (AM) in Florence, Italy. But this year, a virtual format had to suffice.

There are many reasons for turbomachinery problems and failures. Resonance, for example, is often overlooked.

A stable renewable-rich grid needs transmission build-out, and incentivized ancillary services.

The ERCOT grid in Texas works well with renewable energy. But increasing the volume of renewables further may not be practical. More generation of all types and greater attention to winter readiness is needed.

The benefits of a digitalized, software-driven world for turbomachinery include the capacity to handle large amounts of data. Now, engineering teams can run larger, more complex simulations using cloud services and pass data seamlessly between teams.

How to cope with increasing cycling, start and ramp-up issues plaguing heat recovery steam generators.