Case Study on investigation and resolution of Dry Gas Secondary Seal Failure

Case StudyDry Gas (DGS) Secondary Seal installed on one of the Flash gas compressor unit at an onshore gas treatment facility failed resulting in equipment downtime and process gas flaring. During detailed tear down inspection, primary seal was found heavily contaminated with sticky oily substance that reached into the secondary seal leading to contact between the seal faces causing thermal cracks. Failure analysis was performed and root causes were identified. Various solutions were implemented in the DGS operation and maintenance strategy. This case study will present the problem encountered, root causes analyzed, solutions implemented, results achieved and lessons learnt