ALL ABOUT TURBO

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...