About the authorFault Finding Analysis
When your ammonia refrigeration system exhibits a recurring problem issue, how do you solve it? Do you look for the the underlying factors that cause the component to react in the manner it did, or do you replace the component because it did not operate as intended?
The major concern with fault finding analysis is to uncover the contributing factors that affect the equipment. In some instances it is common to immediately judge the equipment to be at fault. However, the majority of equipment failures are often due to the operating conditions experienced by the equipment.
If you have repeat issues with cavitation of refrigerant pumps, is it due to the pump design or the manner in which the pump was installed? Or, is the cavitation induced by virtue of the operating conditions the pump experiences?
When the system experiences high discharge pressure is it a condenser problem? Or, is the condenser operating with moist air recirculation, fouling on the heat exchange surface, or non-condensables in the condenser coil? What if the condenser is piped wrong and does not provide adequate gravity drainage?
When the valve plates break in a compressor it must be obvious the compressor is a reject? After all, a good compressor would not have valve plates breaking, right? Well, what happens if the compressor was slugged with liquid refrigerant? Does this mean you have an accumulator issue? And if so, why would an accumulator allow this to happen?
It is important to recognize any single component will react to dynamic operating conditions in some manner. The contributing factors may be induced by any number of concerns such as:
- Piping installation methods used
- Parameters utilized for equipment selection
- Location of equipment on site
- Method of control or the algorithm’s used, or
- They may be influenced by the facility’s use of the refrigeration system
When the refrigeration system does not operate the way you think it should, is the problem rooted in the equipment itself or in the way it is used or installed?
Tags: analysis of refrigeration systems, cavitation, operating issues
