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Machine Reliability in Parallel Operations: Re (%) 100 PF Liability P

This document discusses machine reliability in parallel operations. It defines reliability and availability formulas and explains that reliability increases when machines are run in parallel rather than series. For two 100% machines in parallel, the individual reliabilities are not multiplied since only one machine needs to run. For three 50% machines, the first two act as a series due to capacity needs, while the third acts as a parallel unit. The same applies for four 33.33% machines. Overall reliability is higher when machines are run in parallel rather than relying on a single machine.

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75 views4 pages

Machine Reliability in Parallel Operations: Re (%) 100 PF Liability P

This document discusses machine reliability in parallel operations. It defines reliability and availability formulas and explains that reliability increases when machines are run in parallel rather than series. For two 100% machines in parallel, the individual reliabilities are not multiplied since only one machine needs to run. For three 50% machines, the first two act as a series due to capacity needs, while the third acts as a parallel unit. The same applies for four 33.33% machines. Overall reliability is higher when machines are run in parallel rather than relying on a single machine.

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ankur2061
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Machine Reliability in Parallel Operations

Reliability

PF
Re liability (%)   100
P

where:
P= hours in measurement period
F= hours of downtime caused by forced outages in period

Availability

PF S
Availability (%)   100
P

where:
S= hours of downtime in period caused by scheduled outages (maintenance)

Explanation
The period P is often taken as the expected length of a continuous run of the plant
in which the rotating machinery is installed. However, most published reliability and
availability values are based on average annual downtimes. In the case of availability,
averaging is necessary because a particular machine probably does not have
consistent maintenance needs from year to year. For example, a hypothetical machine
may only require 100 hours of downtime annually for routine inspection and
maintenance for the first four years. But in the fifth year, it might need fifteen days or
more of downtime for a major overhaul. The availability of the machine should be
compatible with the desired availability of the plant.

If possible, the cost of downtime in terms of lost production should be determined.


This will provide a better perspective of the requirements for reliability and availability.

In some process plants, a forced outage may pose a risk of losses in addition to
production losses.

For example, an emergency trip of a recycle compressor could cause a damaging high
temperature excursion in the reactor if the backup quench system failed to respond
soon enough. This might be a rare double-jeopardy situation, and it would be difficult
to do a numerical evaluation of the risk because there would probably have to be a
number of excursions before the reactor failed. Nevertheless, a qualitative
consideration of the potential catastrophic loss might give reliability the utmost
priority among the major factors to be considered in selecting the compressor.
The availability and reliability of equipment in a particular service can, of course,
be improved by increasing the number of machines performing the service duty.
Two 100%-capacity machines installed in parallel would obviously be more reliable
than single machine. Likewise, the reliability of three 50% machines in parallel
would be better than that of one 100% machine.
Calculations for Machine Relaibility vs No. of Machines
Nomenclature:
R = Reliability
U = Unreliability
Reliability factor assumed as 0.9
One 100% Machine numbered a

Ra  0.9 (converted to a decimal value)

Two 100% Machines numbered a & b

Ra  Rb  0.9

U a  U b  1  Ra  1  Rb  1  0.9  0.10

Rab  1  U a  U b  1  (0.10)  (0.10)  0.990

Three 50% Machines numbered a, b, & c


Ra  Rb  Rc  0.9

U a  U b  U c  1  0.9  0.10

Rab  Ra  Rb  (0.9)  (0.9)  0.81

U ab  1  Ra  Rb  1  0.81  0.19

Rabc  1  U ab  U c  1  (0.19)  (0.10)  0.981

Four 33.33% Machines numbered a, b, c, and d

Ra  Rb  Rc  Rd  0.9

U a  U b  U c  U d  0.10

Rabc  (0.9)  (0.9)  (0.9)  0.729

U abc  1  Rabc  1  0.729  0.271

Rabcd  1  U abc  U d  1  (0.271)  (0.10)  0.973


Explanation
Two Machines in Parallel
In the case of two 100% machines, the system is treated as two fully parallel units
because only one machine has to be running at any given time to achieve 100%
capacity. Therefore, the individual or unit reliabilities are not multiplied by each
other. When two 100% machines are in series in a system, the overall system reliability
is the product of the individual reliabilities.

Three Machines in Parallel


In the case of three 50% machines, two machines are treated as though they are in
series, despite the fact they are piped in parallel. Two machines must run simultaneously
to achieve 100% capacity. Therefore, to make 100% capacity, they act as though they are
piped in series. The spare 50% machine is treated as a unit inparallel with the other two.

Four Machines in Parallel


The same priniple applies as for three machines.

Case of One Machine in Series for Capacity Boosting of Three Parallel Machines
If a 100%-capacity booster machine with an individual reliability of 97% were put in
series with the three 50% machines in the foregoing example, the overall reliability
would be 0.952 (0.97 x 0.981).

Prepared by: Ankur Srivastava


Chemical Engineer
Email: [email protected]

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