All About
Turbo

On my last post I was admiring the simplicity and elegance of an architectural drawing for the Star that sits on top of the San Jacinto Monument in La Porte, TX (about 20 miles East of Downtown Houston) This star was designed to it could be admired as a 5 point shape regardless of vieweing angle. I wanted to model it for myself in Autodesk Fusion 360, which turned to be tougher than I expected at first. After a couple of practice runs and changing modeling philosophy I was ab

Picture of the architectural drawing of the star that sits on top of the San Jacinto monument. I live south of Houston and everyday on my way to work I drive by the birthplace of Texas. There is a monument called the San Jacinto monument and on top of it sits a 45' tall star. For hours and days I have been admiring and studying this drawing. And I have now decided I must draw and model this for myself in 3D on my computer, and for that I have to decipher the coordinates for e

In 2009 doing some random google research I came across a quote "Facts not opinions". It completely took me down a rabbit hole to discover an incredible story that as an engineer really resonated with me. I've always held that some of the best engineers I've met, and my favorite whiskey are from Scotland. And here is proof. Sir David Kirkaldy does not only fall in the category of "best engineer", but is a true pioneer. We owe this guy so much, his contribution to engineer

OG Wobulator (TK-3) by Bently Nevada On my last post I wrote about why and how we use displacement probes or proximity probes to monitor...

I have been thinking about this for months now, and I finally had time to sit at my desk this morning and type it out. Why do we...

I have been using MS PowerPoint for 38 years. (I'm not sure if this tragic or something to be proud of) I use it to make Scalable Vector...

Today I am going to show you what it looks like to record runouts with an indicator on a real shaft. Today I measured something really small in my garage! I am going to use it to illustrate how to measure mechanical runouts.

Today’s article was inspired by a question from a reader who asked: Does TIR include the electrical runout? The answer is no, but maybe,...

Let’s talk about runouts! What we measure, why we measure them. Rotating equipment needs to run smoothly. This statement can be...

Sample of the forms filled during a Phase I. Today, let me tell you about the dimensional inspections that are part of the API 687 Phase...

Why inspect? For someone in charge of an asset in a plant the answer may be obvious. But to understand WHAT we inspect and HOW we do it,...

In the next post, we will definitively get back to discussing API RP 687. Today, I want to get us ready by discussing equipment lifespans...

A few weeks ago, I was trying to illustrate how centrifugal compressors actually increase the pressure of a gas by accelerating and then...

In my last posts, we spent some time learning about steam turbines, and how useful they are because they can produce mechanical work....

In the last post, we saw how we use water and steam to generate power in the Rankine cycle. Today we dive inside the steam turbine itself...

In my last post, we met the guys that set the modern foundation for the steam cycle. Today we are going to dive a little deeper into what...

(I had some help from the non-registered and unlicensed engineers in the family, coming up with these Pokémon inspired cards for my...

There is no get out of Phase I free card! We have finally made it through Chapter 0, or as I call it, “the Introduction.” Today we begin...

On my last post, I was celebrating having completed the review of Chapter 0, API RP 687. It may have been a bit premature, since today I...

We see the light at the end of the Chapter 0 tunnel! These three sections provide a comprehensive roadmap for developing a precise work...

This week we get some interesting topics in our journey through API RP 687 Chapter 0. Section 13: Assembly Section 13: Assembly is more...

Annex G describes several restoration methods; in particular, methods that allow us to add material to a part. API RP 687 does not really...

This week, we tackle Chapter 0 Section12, which covers requirements for Repair Processes. Section 12: Repair Processes and New...

A few months ago, while I was still discussing Terms and Definitions from Chapter 0, I explained the term Maximum Continuous Speed (MCS)...

The word method is an awesome word. It has Greek origins, composed of two terms, meta : “in pursuit” and hodos : “a way”. Method = “in...

The first statement in Section 10 is a “Statement of Purpose”, and I have a bit of trouble with it because it contains the word “should”....

Remember that Chapter 0 will issue recommendations that apply to complete machines (case + rotor). Section 8: Receiving This short...

Section 4: The Process Chapter 0, Section 4 opens with a powerful statement that summarizes what I think reinstates the objective of the...

I think it’s worth doing a little recap of the journey so far into API 687.In terms of our journey, measured in number of pages, we have...

We have finally reached the end of the definitions in API 687 Chapter 0. Out of the 41 definitions, I have chosen to focus on 10 terms...

This week we take on three compound terms that begin with the word Phase. The first two, Phase I Inspection and Phase II Inspection, will...

(AI does not how to spell! ) Today we tackle two terms: Indications and Maximum Continuous Speed. Indications Non-destructive testing...

Thank you for reading my posts and for your positive feedback! While I think of the next topics and posts, it feels like an endless list....

The last post summarized the structure for Chapter 0. As I previously shared, I think it would have been best named “Introduction”....

This is a quick disclaimer, so people don’t start to worry. My intention is not to copy word-for-word or violate any copyrights on API...

I will begin with American Petroleum Institute (API) 687, because its first edition was just hot off the press when I joined the world of...

I've been in the rotating equipment service business for 23 years now. I have had the privilege of working alongside exceptional...