Seeking advice on the causes of compressor failures
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Hello, owner: One of our reciprocating hydrogen compressors, model 2DW-334/26-35, is producing abnormal noises during operation. After an emergency stop, inspection revealed that the bolts securing the big-end bearing cover had broken, causing the cover to fall off and damaging a part of the slide rail above; the crankcase also developed cracks as a result of the impact. The big-end bearing cover was deformed due to arching. Upon removing the piston assembly, it was found that the piston nut was loose, with a gap of 0.50 mm as measured using a feeler gauge. Before this accident occurred, the compressor did not produce any significant abnormal noises; the noises only appeared at the time of the accident. Upon inspection, there were no obvious changes in oil temperature and oil pressure at the time of the accident – the oil pressure was slightly low, but still within the specified range. I would like to ask whether the aforementioned accident could occur due to loose piston nuts, which in turn cause the bolts securing the connecting rod big end caps to break? If not, what could possibly have caused this accident?
There’s a problem with the image, but based on your description, I personally don’t think it was caused by loose pistons. As the original poster said, a 0.5 looseness in the piston is a very small amount relative to the clearance of the cylinder itself, and it is not enough to cause collisions. This actually fits the situation where piston impact after the accident caused the piston to loosen. It was probably an accident caused by a broken connecting rod bolt.
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It should be caused by a broken connecting rod bolt
It was probably an accident caused by a broken connecting rod bolt.
I think it’s probably fatigue fracture of the bolt covering the large-head tile
Personally, I think it was fatigue fracture of the connecting rod bolt; we have encountered such incidents before. That’s why we now conduct non-destructive testing on components such as the crankshaft and connecting rods during compressor maintenance. I suggest that you also strengthen efforts in this area
I can’t view the image! Based on the description, it is likely that the linkage bolt was the first to fail, which then led to a series of subsequent problems. We have encountered similar problems before as well.