Oil and Gas Archives | ACE Controls

ACE Industrial Shock Absorbers Improve Oil Refinery Safety Valves

ACE Controls — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 14:16:29 +0000

Overpressure in refinery pipes can be catastrophic—which is why safety valves need to be able to open in a fraction of a second. But when it comes to controlling these valves, pneumatic drives tend to be too slow. Electric drives and brakes are also out of the question, as even the smallest spark can trigger an explosion. Doedijns Group International (DGI), a company that develops hydraulic power and motion control solutions, recently designed an actuator that can open its 24-inch safety valve within half a second. To absorb the shock of the piston when this happens, DGI integrated industrial shock absorbers from ACE Controls.

Here’s how these components met the demands of the actuator—and improved the overall safety of the oil refinery:

Special Safety Valves Open 50 Times Faster. The oil refinery, located in Yanbu, condenses and liquefies natural gas for transport using explosion-proof compressors, which regulate the pressure in the pipes. If the pressure dips too low, the compressors switch on. If the pressure gets too high, they switch off. To ensure these compressors maintain the right working pressure while simultaneously avoiding overpressure, DGI developed special pneumatic actuators. Should overpressure occur, the system’s built-in pneumatic cylinder opens the large, 24-inch safety valve. Normally, throttle valves open at a speed of one second per inch—but DGI designed its valves to open 50 times faster.

At the same time, DGI needed a way to safely absorb the energy generated by the valves as they opened. The company teamed up with ACE Controls to incorporate hydraulic shock absorbers that could emergency-stop the piston rods on the cylinders.

MAGNUM Shock Absorbers: The Last Line Of Defense. Due to the small size of the actuators, ACE engineers selected their compact, yet powerful MAGNUM industrial shock absorbers (type MA3325). When the valves open, the rod makes contact with the shock absorbers, which engineers positioned in the front and rear of the cylinder. The dampers then fully stop and control the piston rod as it moves horizontally.

Without the absorbers in place as the system’s final safety measure, a number of devastating things could happen. The cylinder, actuator and compressor could experience irrevocable damage. Toxic gas could also leak out and potentially trigger an explosion—endangering personnel, the environment and other nearby facilities.

For these reasons, ACE shock absorbers are part of the Yanbu success story—and have improved the overall safety of the plant. To learn more about this application, download our latest case study.

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ACE Mounts Protect Oil-Pump Test Bench From Unwanted Vibration

ACE Controls — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 15:11:58 +0000

Students at the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences have an ambitious goal: they want to reduce the fuel consumption of combustion engines by making oil pumps more efficient. As part of their research, they constructed a large testing station consisting of oil pumps, motors and other equipment on top of a large bench. But the problem was the motor that drove the pumps caused the entire bench to shake—threatening the equipment and making it difficult to obtain accurate measurements.

To overcome this challenge, the university team added low-frequency pneumatic leveling mounts (PLMs) from ACE Controls to the bench. Here’s how these components successfully prevented unwanted vibration:

Vibrating Test Bench Threatened Equipment
According to the research team, the key to making drives more efficient lies in the engine’s oil pump—by reducing flow rate, then it is also possible to reduce power consumption. The students analyzed the hydraulic, volumetric and mechanical characteristics of various oil pumps to see how they could improve flow behavior—particularly, how to avoid leakage and reduce friction. As part of the test setup, they constructed a large 1,500-kg test bench and placed various equipment on top of it, including oil pumps and an electric motor that drove the pumps at a speed of 300 to 7,000 revolutions per minute.

These speeds, however, caused the bench to vibrate. Not only did the vibration cause the bench to shake, threatening the equipment on top of it, but the vibrations were strong enough to affect other test benches in the room.

ACE Leveling Mounts Reduce Vibration
The university team turned to ACE Controls. For the test bench, ACE engineers opted for six low-frequency pneumatic leveling mounts (PLMs), which isolate machines from undesirable vibrations and impact forces while maintaining perfect leveling. These components are suitable for low-frequency applications between 3 and 10 Hz, including high-speed presses, measuring tables, fans and air compressors.

Since integrating the ACE mounts, the test bench no longer shakes. The students can carry out their research without fear the vibration will affect their equipment and have been able to take important steps towards achieving more energy-efficient drive systems.

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The post ACE Mounts Protect Oil-Pump Test Bench From Unwanted Vibration appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

ACE Industrial Shock Absorbers Protect Oil Rig Pipelines

ACE Controls — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 19:54:32 +0000

The ductile connection between oil rigs and their pipelines are the achilles heel of an offshore rig system. These connections are susceptible to shock and vibration damage. Using the right kind of shock absorber is one way to protect this connection and keep oil rigs running safely.

For a recent undersea pipeline application, one offshore engineering company created a new connector system using face-seal technology for improving the safety on oil rigs. This new design allows crews to safely disconnect in dangerous conditions. The system is based around 10 MAGNUM self-adjusting shock absorbers from ACE Controls.

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