Case Studies
Over the years we have encountered a number of memorable situations on site that simply would not have been detected without our measurement techniques and years of experience.

Screw Compressor producing no air, but pulling high power
In a very recent survey site had reported that they were running more compressors than they had previously, but production had not increased. They had lost pressure to the factory twice causing loss of product and did not understand why as they appeared to have more than sufficient compressor capacity.
Air Technology noted that there were anomalies in the stage temperatures and recommended testing the machine to confirm its output. On testing the machine was found to produce no air at all and would only make a pressure of 2.6barg. Investigation within the machine revealed the 1st stage dump valve was open, venting all of the air to atmosphere. The actual problem was a corroded bolt on the control air feed to the solenoid. Once rectified the machine performed as would be expected of a machine of its type and age.
The compressor control panel (and the system controller) was showing that the compressor was fully loaded and site cold not understand why they were experiencing problems. A simple hour fix was all it took to bring the compressor back to a working condition. The machine had been running like this for an estimated 5months costing an estimated £12,500.
Centrifugal compressor running at surge limit constantly
One of our engineers conducted a single day survey at this facility. It was noted that the power and assumed flow readings did not tie up. Further investigation with flow and power metering along with interrogation of the compressor panel revealed that the machine was running fully turned down almost all of the time, and was thus, running extremely inefficiently. Performance testing later confirmed this.
On the back of this an entirely new compressor house was commissioned with state of the art compressors and dryers utilising heat recovery. This provided scope for further expansion and a more efficient compressed air system
Screw Compressor stage dump valve open - reducing capacity to 60%
During acceptance testing it was noted that the machine was performing very poorly. Inspection of stage temperatures/pressures revealed a discrepancy and it was revealed that a dump valve was passing from the first stage. The fault was tracked down to a glitch in the software. When rectified the machine tested extremely well.
Incorrectly working dewpoint meter indicated -70oC PDP, was actually +15oC
On a instrument air that was critical to site operation it was discovered that the site dewpoint meter had been jammed by debris in the pipework. On clearing this and measuring with our own dewpoint meter it was found that the supposedly extremely dry instrument air system was operating on air with a +ve dewpoint. This had caused numerous production outages in the past, costing significant amounts of money. A new dryer was recommended as the old unit was found to be beyond economic repair.