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Failure Analysis of Reciprocating CO2 Compressor

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Abstract

This work presents failure analysis of a heavy-duty, four-stage, double-action, reciprocating CO2 compressor, which resulted in the shutdown of an ammonia plant. The failure occurred in the fourth stage of the compressor, during which the piston rod, piston rings, a suction valve, and associated valve cage are found fractured. The failure analysis includes details of site visit, visual inspection, dye penetrant test, fractography, and microstructural analysis. Furthermore, Xanthoproteic test was conducted on the extracts of the failed piston rings that confirmed the presence of bacterial cellular protein. When the morphology of the failed piston ring was studied using a scanning electron microscope, unique degradation features and the presence of bacterial metabolic products were observed conforming to the growth of bacteria. In-service biodegradation of the piston ring material (polyether ether ketone composite) is adjudged as the root cause for the compressor failure.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology for Karnataka, for providing experimental facilities for completing the work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, 575025, India

    Preetish C. Dsilva, Preethi Shetty, Pavankumar R. Sondar, B. Ganesh Kumar & Subray R. Hegde

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  1. Preetish C. Dsilva
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  2. Preethi Shetty
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  3. Pavankumar R. Sondar
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  4. B. Ganesh Kumar
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  5. Subray R. Hegde
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Correspondence to Preetish C. Dsilva.

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Dsilva, P. ., Shetty, P., Sondar, P.R. et al. Failure Analysis of Reciprocating CO2 Compressor. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 21, 595–603 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-020-01109-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-020-01109-z

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