Rotary Equipment Engineer

Sounds like a mechanical engineering background would serve you well.

Well you're in the correct section here at CR4. But you won't gain experience or more importantly a formal training in mechanical engineering here. Find for yourself a good school in your area and hit the books and the lab. But I wouldn't limit myself to just specializing in rotary equipment. I would use your fascination with rotary equipment to help guide you through a mechanical engineering curriculum.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you are already pursuing a mechanical degree. If that's the case, then as soon as the opportunity presents itself, get a job or an internship at a company that designs and manufactures rotating devices. Things like rotating pumps, for instance. Or motors, or turbines, etc.

Maybe go and work in a place where there is lots of maintenance. Nothing like getting in and getting your hands dirty and seeing what breaks first.

Rotary equipment is a part of Mechanical Engineering curriculum. If you want to pursue your carrier in design of these equipment ASME codes are good source of reference. For maintenance of these equipment hands-on field experiences under the supervision of experiences rotary equipment engineer is an asset.

I agree with the other responses leaning toward a mechancial engineering curriculum, and several specific courses will be very helpful. Mechanical vibrations, tribology (bearing and fluid films), and mechanical design will be very helpful. Tribology and vibrations are sometimes considered graduate courses but are essential in rotating equipment engineering.

You will also need to know about critical speeds (lateral and torsional) and bearing response. I can suggest some text books and handbooks, but the mechancial curriculum is the place to start.

If your country has a merchant marine academy or training school there is often a wide variety of training in rotating equipment as well as hands on training.

Another would be working in a refinery or large chemical plant in the maintenance department since they too utilize a lot of rotating equipment and often are going through a constant state of equipment repair and preventive maintenance.

Lastly, don't forget your countries Naval service since that too can be a source of training and hands-on experience.

As you know the rotating equipments are generally high speed machines like turbo compressors, blowers, fans, turbines, exhausters, pumps ect. For becoming rotary equipment specialist knowledge on following area are must:

- Thermodynamics/ thermal Engineering/ Heat Transfer

- Fluid Mechanics (particularly for pumps)

- Material Science, NTD's

- Design, trouble shooting and fault diagnosis of mechanical components like bearings, gears, couplings, seals, valves, heat exchangers, piping, filters, fasteners, tools and various related standards

- Hydrodynamic lubrication, lubricants its properties and tests, tribology

- Capacity control system, anti surge control system, protections from abnormal operation and related instrumentation

- Rotor dynamics, critical speeds, vibration and balancing

- Preventive, predictive and proactive maintenance system

- Use of fine measurement tools like vernier, inernal/ ext. michrometer, feeler gause, level gauge, dial gauge, laser alignment aid etc.

- Codes and standards ASME, EN, DIN etc. for rotary equipments

- Safety from hazards related with high speed, service fluid, temperature, pressure, noise etc.

hnetplanet... What is your current level of engineering experience or education? What is your situation?

We're all making assumptions here that may or may not be totally off-base.

hello all, i am a mechanical engineer passed out in 2005. Have 5 year experience in maintenance of rotary equipment. I have very low engineering knowledge as in engineering i have just enjoyed the college life. I am doing maintenance activity based on only common sense. As i am working in a chemical plant of soaps and detergent. I stuck when some technical problem comes. I want a guidence through some books so that i can have a reference. In engineering books i confuse as only big big equations come in front and i bored. Is there any books only for rotating equipments theory. Or any course that i can do. Please help me. I am right now in north gujarat india.

Sounds like you really did "pass out" during your college years. After only five years in the real world, you lost all of the academic knowledge given to you. (Sigh) If you did not retain any understanding at all about what those big big equations mean in your textbooks, then you need to at least take a refresher course in Algebra, linear Algebra, Ordinary Differential Equations and Calculus to understand what they are saying. I'm sorry that these equations bore you. They explain how the real world works. If that doesn't excite you, then go back to just maintaining your facility using only common sense.

"I am doing maintenance activity based on only common sense"

Would this be common sense that you aquired after "passing out" of college, cause it doesn't sound like you had any in college?

You wanted to know that is there any course or studies or anything that can make you confident that you are a rotary equipment specialist. At my comment at #8, I have given it in detail. Only thing I missed in the list was common sense, which you have already acquired. Every thing can not be found in one or two books. And only bookish knowledge can not make you specialist. If you want to become specialist then you have to do hard work and gather knowledge from multiple sources. Respect and learn from people having knowledge and experience. You can learn from not only seniors in post but from your peers and subordinate workmen as well.

Some organizations train their people through short term courses (2 to 6 days) on various aspects related to rotary machines, like condition monitoring, vibration analysis, alignment, maintenance of gear boxes, bearings etc. Such course are conducted by SKF, B&K and many others in India.

Just for starters, try the internet. When you see a piece of machinery in your plant, Google it. We have a few "experts" here where I work and of course we listen. But when I Google the manufacturers with model numbers etc. I quite often wander off into some of the threads and find a lot of info, not only for the particular item, but a lot of generic info too, that leaves the "experts" knowledge for dead. Rex Dev.