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A Data Manager® 2000 (DM2000) system was recently installed on a gas turbine at a pipeline compressor station in Argentina.
Additionally, a velocity transducer was installed on the gearbox used for both the seal oil pump and lubrication oil pump
for the turbine. A month after the DM2000 installation, operators observed an increase in vibration on train #1.
The facility’s internal machinery specialist, located 300 kilometers away at the company headquarters, connected to
the system via modem and verified that gearbox vibration had in fact increased compared to historical data. With that
information, the machinery specialist left for the plant with a new gearbox. While he was in transit, the system went
into alarm and later was shut down due to excessively high vibration levels at the gearbox. Disassembly of the unit
revealed a worn out rolling element bearing. The gearbox was replaced with the new one, and the unit was put back online
in less than six hours.
Without the DM2000 system’s data, it is likely that the downtime for repairs would have been at least twice as long while
the troubleshooting and diagnosis were performed to pinpoint the root cause of the vibration. Once identified, a new
gearbox would still have needed to be obtained from another location. Based on a recent planned outage that cost the
plant 500,000 USD per day, the Data Manager 2000 system saved the plant considerable expense.
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