Last week the new forklifts were delivered at the Zwijndrecht Workshop. The previous generation forklifts had to be replaced and, with regards to health and environment, our preference was to select new electric powered forklifts.

After an analysis of different alternatives on the market, the best solution could be found in our own group. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ forklifts met all our demands and use the latest technologies. Besides this, the MHI forklifts are low maintenance, resulting in more reliable machines than our previous forklifts.

The new forklifts will result in an improvement in terms of safety, health and environment. More info can be found at De Ronde en Drubbel’s website.

Earlier this year we were contacted by a refinery about a failing reciprocating compressor. This reciprocating compressor is a critical part of customer’s production process, so every unplanned shutdown leads to losses in production.

Audit

Maintenance Partners proposed to perform an audit on the reciprocating compressor to determine the cause of failing. During these audits, vibration measurements, visual inspections and checks of the compressor’s foundation are performed. Besides this, the maintenance planning, technical data and use of wearable parts are reviewed. These comprehensive compressor audits allow us to draw up the compressor’s condition and propose potential solutions.

The audit showed that an overhaul of the reciprocating compressor was necessary to prevent wear of  moving parts and auxiliaries would lead to an unplanned shutdown. Additionally, it was advised to renew the compressor’s foundation.

To ensure continuous operation, the customer decided to schedule the overhaul and foundation renewal in this autumn.

Urgent overhaul: Back in operation after 28 days

A regular check after the audit showed that the maximum allowed vibrations were exceeded, caused by a failing foundation. Action on short notice was required to prevent a breakdown of the reciprocating compressor. The scheduled overhaul was performed 4 months earlier than originally planned. Within a month, the major overhaul and foundation renewal were completed and the reciprocating compressor was back in operation after 28 days.

Extension of Maintenance Intervals

Meanwhile, possibilities are evaluated to extend the time between maintenance intervals from 8000 running hours to 16000 running hours. This extension can be achieved by upgrading wearable parts, adjusting filter systems and installing condition monitoring equipment. For the customer, this means that the reciprocating compressor can be kept in operation longer, resulting directly in increased production.

One-stop-shop for reciprocating compressor maintenance

This case shows that Maintenance Partners can offer total solutions for reciprocating compressor maintenance, from performing audits to full overhauls and proposals for reliability improvement. Besides overhauls, field works and audits you can also contact us for foundation renewals, diagnostic maintenance, condition monitoring and spare parts. Our services are not limited to a single brand or make, we can work on any brand of reciprocating compressor.

Spare Parts

It is often difficult to find the right spare parts for reciprocating compressors. Moreover, finding spare parts gets more difficult as the equipment gets older. In many cases, the original parts can not be delivered within the required planning.

A solution for this problem can be offered by re-engineering, in addition this can also allow for improvements to the original part. In our engineering department, we have combined all the necessary knowledge and expertise to perform projects like these completely, from drawing to part manufacturing. This allows us to deliver spare parts with shorter lead times and a high quality.

Contact us

Are you interested in an audit of a reciprocating compressor or are you looking for possibilities to increase the time between maintenance intervals? Contact us via +32(0)3 744 1501 or through the contact form below:

MP builds complete 12MW stator

Maintenance Partners shows its engineering capabilities by building a new stator for a motor that drives a hyper compressor at Sabic’s plant in Geleen (Netherlands). Frank Claus, Technical manager – engineering department, who followed up the project technically and commercially: ”In Sabic’s production process a hyper compressor is used with a pressure of >2000 bar.

The project concerns a synchronous motor that is DC powered and runs at 187,5 RPM constantly. Measurements one year prior to the stator swap showed that the rotor was still in good condition, but the stator proved to be in very poor condition. ”We got the order to build and install a new stator”, says Frank.

10 months from engineering to realisation

In 10 months time a completely new stator was built from engineering to realisation by an extensive team. During the rewinding, the the new stator was built. The works were supervised by the Dutch KEMA-DEKRA.

”This concerned a motor with an Ex n certification, a ‘non-sparking motor’. KEMA could provide the Ex n certification, because the new stator is fully compliant with the orinial specifications.  An absolute must to get the job”.

Reverse engineering

The winding of the stator required one of Maintenance Partners’ specialties: reversed engineering. ”There were original drawings, says Frank, ”but there was no data available on the windings. During a shutdown to extend the motor’s lifetime, we recorded all the necessary data.”

The transport to Sabic’s facilities in Geleen proved to be a challenge, due to the large external dimensions: 6.30m tall, 5.20m wide and a depth of 1.5m. During a planned shutdown, the stator was loaded and transported to Sabic.

Spectacular installation

Maintenance Partners had 14 days to install the new stator. During the installation, a group of 7 worked in two shifts around the clock. The rotor and the existing stator (combined weight of 65-70T) had to be lifted simultaneously. After this, the old stator had to be replaced by the new one and everything had to be assembled. A special lifting plan was drawn up, because the roof had to be removed before the machine could be lifted.

During the installation of the new stator, the team noticed that the motor’s exciter was in bad condition. Because the exciter is essential for the motor to run, the decision was made to rewind the exciter in the Zwijndrecht workshop during the shutdown.

Despite this unforeseen problem, the exciter rotor was rewound within a week without delaying the original installation planning of the project.

Energy Savings

Measurements conducted by Sabic show that the new stator’s power consumption is reduced by 450kW per hour at full load. The energy savings were realised by using the best available materials and by an improved stacking of the magnetic stator core. This has increased the density of the core, resulting in improved efficiency.

Team Effort

The project went really smoothly thanks to the good cooperation between the teams that worked on the stator. Completing projects like these shows that MP has the necessary engineering knowledge and expertise to peform overhauls on critical equipment and even apply improvements.

Cooperation with Sabic

”This was a very nice project, mainly due to the pleasant and intensive cooperation with the people at Sabic. We were able to use our experience from previous projects (MP overhauled a hypercompressor motor at Sabic before and built two generators at the Swedish paper manufacturer Smurfit Kappa). Moreover, we have gained more experience by completing this project. Experience we’ll certainly use in the future, because there clearly is a demand in the market for interventions like these”, concludes Frank.

More information

For more information about the repair of electric motors, visit our e-motor page. If you would to know more about the maintenance of high voltage motors or our engineering capabilities, please contact us through the form below:

In cooperation with seebaWIND Service, Maintenance Partners offers LTSA maintenance contracts for wind turbines. These contracts are based on availability guarantees and performance improvements.

‘’The Premium Plus service contracts offer optimal LTSA maintenance to the German market’’ explains seebaWIND Service CEO Severin Mielimonka. ‘’Run to failure belongs to the past as Premium Plus allows complete predictive maintenance’’.

Maintenance Partners’ WINTELL intelligent data management system links all production, reliability and weather data and makes early prediction of disorders, failures and performance deviations possible. “With the help of WINTELL we can increase yields, improve the availability of the wind turbines and allow operation over the 20 years to come” says Mielimonka.

SeebaWIND Service handles the 24/7 monitoring of the wind turbines via their remote control center. On top they take care of preventive and corrective maintenance including spare parts. Maintenance Partners is taking care of all main components, covers machine breakdown, wear and tear and business interruption costs. Both companies create added value by utilizing the Wintell system and in-depth analysis of historical data of the windturbine controller.

Long-term revenue optimization

The first joint Maintenance Partners-seebaWIND Service Premium Plus project in Germany has been launched on April 1 2014 in Neuengörs in Schleswig-Holstein.

The wind farm that was commissioned in 2001 consists of six turbines of type Senvion MD70 (formerly REpower ) with a total of nine megawatts. All wind turbines have been upgraded with the WINTELL data management system. Through real-time data access, all data supplied by WINTELL will be monitored accurately.

The second step in the project is the optimization of systems to improve efficiency. In this phase seebaWIND service plans a site-specific optimization of systems to improve efficiency. “The Premium Plus LTSA maintenance contract by seebaWIND Service and Maintenance Partners has given us the new approach that convinces with a very transparent and predictive maintenance” says Joachim Fröhlich from Denker und Wulf AG, the company that takes care of the wind farm’s technical operation. “The concept is to operate the plants as long as possible.”

Maintenance Partners and seebaWIND Service have cooperated for projects in other European countries, including France and Spain, since 2013. “With seebaWIND service, we have found a partner that is service-oriented, responds quickly, solves problems, and has the necessary technical competence” says Pascal Collin, Business Development Manager at Maintenance Partners’ Wind Department.

Contact

For more information on our maintenance contracts or our Wintell system, please contact us at +32 (0)3 744 1501 or by using our contact page.

Tuesday November 19 is a memorable day for two companies in the port of Antwerp. Maintenance Partners and Silvertrans have joined forces to transport a turbogenerator rotor with an Antonov An-124 cargo plane from India to Belgium.

The rotor is part of a 120MW Westinghouse generator that is being used for power generation in the Middle East. The generator is driven by a gas turbine. With a length of 9 meters and a weight of 38 tonnes, it is a rotor of considerable size.

On Tuesday November 19 at 11h03, the Antonov An-124 landed at Brussels Airport. After unloading and customs clearance, the rotor was immediately transported to the Maintenance Partners workshop in Zwijndrecht for repairs.

The Ukrainian cargo plane Antonov An-124 carried the cargo of 47.300 kg (rotor including its canister) from India to Belgium. This plane has been chartered, because the rotor is damaged and the generator rotor is essential for power generation.

Rotor Repair: 75 days, 24/7

The Zwijndrecht workshop has the specific compentences, required to successfully complete such complex electro technical projects.

After the rotor has been delivered to the Zwijndrecht workshop, a team of specialists and engineers will work for 75 days and 7 days a week on the rotor. On average, 5 to 6 people are working continuously on the rotor during the project. During the project, the rotor’s insulation system is repaired. After this, the rotor will also be balanced at high speed.

Interview Kanaal-Z (Dutch)

Source: Kanaal-Z

Unique Project

For Maintenance Partners, this is a unique project that allows us to show our expertise and compentences in electrical repairs. The transport is not just unique for Maintenance Partners, but also for our partner Silvertrans and the Zaventem airport. We have cooperated with a company nearby, allowing for a smooth cooperation between both companies.

News items & Interviews

The Belgian media have also covered the rotor’s transport. Articles and news items have been published by different media, including Kanaal-Z, Het Laatste Nieuws en de Standaard.Silvertrans has released a series of photos showing the transport.

Would you like to learn more about our rotor repair capabilities or about electrical maintenance? Contact us at +32 (0) 744 1501 or visit our contact page.

On Friday November 15, a very large stator was delivered in our Zwijndrecht workshop. This delivery is the beginning of building a 12 MW electro motor that drives a critical hypercompressor at one of our customers in The Netherlands. With a width of 6.3 meters and a height of 5.2 meters, this is a motor of considerable dimensions and unique specifications:

Type Alternating Current
Power 12 megawatts
Voltage 10 kilovolt
Speed 32 pole / 188 rpm
Protection Ex (non sparking)

Partial Discharge in Existing Stator

The existing stator is replaced, because measurements have detected partial discharges. Partial Discharges are a sign of wear or aging of the insulation and can lead to ozone emissions. The ozone emissions are a potential hazard for the working environment. Moreover, ozone is a highly aggressive gas that affects the insulation material and speeds up the aging process of the material.

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Critical

The driven hypercompressor is a critical machine and is necessary for the customer’s production. Because the hypercompressor is highly critical, the customer has decided to build a new stator with the exact same dimensions and specifications. The new stator will replace the existing stator in order to reduce production downtime as much as possible.

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Stator built according to Ex specifications

In the next months, the stator will be finished. This mainly consists fo winding the stator and applying the insulation. Because the motor is installed in an hazardous environment, the stator will be built according to Ex specifications. To ensure the protection of the motor, DEKRA (the former Kema) will follow up the process to assess if the motor is built according to Ex specifications.

In the first quarter of 2014, the motor will be transported to the customers’ production facility. The stator will be placed, after which the rotor is installed and the motor is commisioned. After commissioning, the motor can run reliably and safely for years.

Do you want more information on rewinding motors or repairs of Ex equipment? Contact us at +32 (0) 3 744 1501