Chart launches predictive maintenance solution
Published by Callum O'Reilly,
Senior Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering,
At the recent GPA Midstream event, Chart presented its patent pending Smart LayerTM, a predictive maintenance solution intended to provide prior warning that a brazed aluminium heat exchanger (BAHX) is getting towards the end of its normal service life and will require repair or replacement.
When operated in accordance with manufacturer’s guidelines, a Chart BAHX will provide many years of trouble-free service and there are thousands that have been in the field for 25+ years. However, thermal shock events will weaken the unit’s integrity and can lead to external leaks developing. Typically, because these operating upsets go un-noticed, the leaks manifest without warning. Smart Layer works by containing the leak path and simultaneously triggering an alert that remedial action is required. It also enables the requisite operation to be planned and avoids the significant cost and upset of an emergency shutdown.
Chart has also introduced an annual service plan option through Chart Lifecycle, which incorporates modern analysis techniques to interpret plant data and identify any regular operating patterns and irregular incidents that are outside manufacturer’s guidelines and potentially detrimental to the exchanger’s service life.
Addressing the GPA, Andy Moriarty, President of Chart Energy and Chemicals, said: “Throughout the downturn in the natural gas processing industry Chart continued to invest in both technology and capacity to ensure that our customers can maximise their opportunities as the markets recover. In addition to developing new technologies, such as Smart Layer, we’ve expanded the La Crosse, USA facility. Our new brazing furnace improves the heat exchange duty that can be performed in a single unit”.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/product-news/17052018/chart-launches-predictive-maintenance-solution/
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