Grout Systems For Rotating And Reciprocating Machinery

Multiple factors determine success in establishing, ensuring longevity in equipment foundations

Authors’ Corner: Neetin Ghaisas is a senior fellow – Rotating Equipment at Fluor. Chris Matthews-Ewald is an industrial applications engineer at ITW Performance Polymers. Fred Helfmann serves in technical sales for Chinook Industrial Ltd.

The reliability of plant equipment is a critical component of and has a direct impact on the profitability of industrial and production facilities. A large variety of rotating and reciprocating machines are installed in modern petroleum, petrochemical and gas processing units in general and special-purpose process applications. Owners and operators of machinery strive to attain and maintain higher efficiency and reliability of their equipment to achieve lower operating costs and realize greater productivity. Both have a direct and positive impact on the bottom line.

Rotating and reciprocating machines, their piping, auxiliary or support systems, equipment mounting, grouting, anchoring and foundations all have a constructive relationship with long-term reliability. Comprehensive engineering, robust specifications, proper selection and use of the best practices in design, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance contribute to optimum equipment performance.

Grout is an integrated component of equipment systems in that it forms monolithic contact between the equipment and their foundations for effective load transfer, energy dissipation and damping. The vital role of grout; specifically epoxy grout, in equipment performance, reliability and low life-cycle costs cannot be overemphasized.

Read the rest of the article here.

This article was originally published in the June 2020 issue of COMPRESSORTECH². We only publish a fraction of our magazine content online, so for more great content, get every issue in your inbox/mailbox and access to our digital archives with a free subscription. Click here for a new subscription or here to renew your current subscription.