OISD-122

(Rev.1)

FOR RESTRICTED
CIRCULATION

No.

INSPECTION OF
FANS, BLOWERS, GEAR BOXES & AGITATORS

OISD STANDARD-122
First Edition, January 1990
Revision 1, August, 1999

Oil Industry Safety Directorate

Government of India
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
 OISD- STANDARD-122

First Edition, January, 1990

Revision 1, August, 1999

FOR RESTRICTED
CIRCULATION

No.

INSPECTION OF
FANS, BLOWERS, GEAR BOXES & AGITATORS

Prepared by

COMMITTEE ON
INSPECTION OF ROTARY EQUIPMENT

OIL INDUSTRY SAFETY DIRECTORATE

2ND FLOOR, “KAILASH”
26, KASTURBA GANDHI MARG
NEW DELHI-110 001.
 NOTE

OISD publications are prepared for use in the oil and gas industry under
Ministry of Petroleum & Chemicals. These are the property of Ministry of
Petroleum & Chemicals and shall not be reproduced or copied and loaned
or exhibited to others without written consent from OISD.

Though every effort has been made to assure the accuracy and
reliability of the data contained in these documents, OISD hereby expressly
disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting from
their use.

These documents are intended to supplement rather than replace the

prevailing statutory requirements.

Note 1 in superscript indicates the modification/changes/

addition based on the amendments approved in the 17 th
Safety Council meeting held in July, 1999.
 FOREWARD

The Oil Industry in India is 100 years old. As such a variety of practices
are in vogue because of collaboration/ association with different foreign
companies and governments. Standardisation in design philosophies operating
and maintenance practices at a national level were hardly in existence. This,
coupled with feed back from some serious accidents that occurred in the recent
past in India and abroad, emphasised the need for the industry to review the
existing state of art in designing, operating and maintaining oil and gas
installations.

With this in view, the then Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 1986
constituted a Safety Council assisted by Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD)
staffed from within the industry in formulating and implementing a serious of self-
regulatory measures aimed at removing obsolescence, standardising and
upgrading the existing standards to ensure safer operations. Accordingly OISD
constituted a number of functional committees comprising of experts nominated
from the industry to draw up standards and guidelines on various subjects.

The present standard on Inspection of Fans Blowers, Gear Boxes and

Agitators was prepared by the Functional Committee on Inspection of Rotary
Equipment". This document based on the accumulated knowledge and
experience of industry members and the various national and international codes
and practices, is meant to be used as a supplement and not as a replacement for
existing codes standards and manufacture's recommendations. It is hoped that
the provision of this standard, if implemented objectively, may go a long way to
improve the safety and reduce accidents in the Oil and Gas Industry. The users
of this document are cautioned that no standard can be a substitute for a
responsible and experienced engineer. Suggestions are invited from the users
after it is put into practice to improve the standard further. Suggestions for
amendment, if any, should be addressed to:

The Coordinator
Committee on
“Inspection of Rotary Equipment"
Oil Industry Safety Directorate
2nd Floor, “Kailash”
26, Kasturba Gandhi Marg
New Delhi-110 001.

This standard in no way supercedes the statutory regulations of CCE,

Factory Inspectorate or any other Statutory body which must be followed as
applicable.
 COMMITTEE ON
INSPECTION OF ROTARY EQUIPMENT

List of Members

_________________________________________________________________________
Name Designation & Status
Organisation
__________________________________________________________________________

1. Sh.K. Gopalakrishanan [Link]-CRL Leader

2. Sh.B.P. Sinha Chief Project, MGR-MRL Member

3. [Link] Lal Chief Engineer - ONGC Member

4. Sh.R.C. Chaudhary Office Engg. MGR-BPCL Member.

5. Sh.K.M. Bansal Chief Maint. MGR-IOC Member.

6. [Link] Director-OISD Member

7. Sh.R.M.N. Marar Joint Director-OISD Member

Co-Ordinator.
__________________________________________________________________________

In addition to the above, several other experts from industry contributed in the
preparation, review and finalisation of this document.
 INSPECTION OF FANS, BLOWERS, GEAR BOXES &
AGITATORS
CONTENTS

SECTION

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Scope

3.0 Definitions

4.0 Fans and Blowers

5.0 Gear Boxes

6.0 Mechanical Agitators

7.0 Differing Schedules

8.0 References
 INSPECTION OF FANS, BLOWERS, GEAR BOXES &
AGITATORS

1.0 INTRODUCTION iii) Bearing cooling water flow and cooling

water temperature
The Rotary Equipment plays a vital role in Note 1
hydrocarbon processing industry. Clause (I), (ii), (iii) are deleted.
iv) Motor amperage
Timely inspection and maintenance of
Rotary Equipment will go a long way in v)Grease lubrication of bearings.
ensuring safer operations of the installations
in Oil Industry. vi) Bearing vibration

vii) Grease lubrication for damper shaft

2.0 SCOPE
bearings.
This standard covers the minimum 4.1.2 After every 1000 hours
requirements for inspection and
maintenance of installed fans, blowers, i) Repeat the checks given at 4.1.1
mechanical agitators and gear boxes of
rotary equipment. It does not intend to ii) Foundation bolts for tightness
supercede API and other applicable
standards, technical specifications and iii) Freeness of dampers
manufacturer’s recommendations.
4.1.3 After every 2000 hours
3.0 DEFINITIONS
i) Repeat the checks at 4.1.1 and 4.1.2
i) FAN: The word ‘fan’ is used to describe
a machine with pressure rise upto 1 ii) Condition and cleanliness of bearing
psig. cooling water system

iii) Condition of bearing oil

ii) BLOWER: The word ‘Blower’ is
used to designate a machine, which
iv) Condition of lube oil filters
raises pressure from 1 psig to 5 psig.
v)Cleanliness of suction strainers
4.0 FANS AND BLOWERS
vi) Suction/discharge damper bearings for
proper grease lubrication.
4.1 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
SCHEDULE 4.1.4 After every 4000 hours

Bearing Temperature, Bearing cooling i) Repeat the checks at 4.1.3

water flow & cooling water temperature and
motor amperage should be checked daily. ii) Alignment
Note 1
iii) Bearing condition
The following checks shall be carried
out for fans and blowers, after specified
iv) Lube oil filters (replaced or not)
hours of operation as given below:
v)Condition of vane control damper (rollers
4.1.1 After every 200 hours
to be checked and repaired, as
necessary).
i) Bearing oil for contamination and level
4.1.5 After every 8000 hours
ii) Bearing temperature
i) Repeat the checks at 4.1.4
 iv) The ring shall be checked for
ii) Condition of bearings (change, if ovality/distortion of pins, (in case the
needed) arms are operated by a ring).

iii) Alignment (repair coupling, if needed, Note:

pins-bushes, toothed hub-cover/hubs The necessary repair of arm (levers),
shall be changed, if needed) actuating pneumatic cylinders, control
valves and flappers, should be carried
iv) Condition of bearings of damper- out.
shafts (change if needed)
4.2.2 Shafts
v)Condition of turbine bearings in case of
steam turbine and change, if needed i) The bearing portion, lock nut threading,
key portion and coupling portion shall
vi) Condition of shaft seals. be checked for wearing out,
vii) Check coupling guard & rectify if corrosion/pitting (If the worn out part is
necessary. Note 1 beyond fitment limit, repair/ change
the shaft.
viii) Check Belt guard and rectify, if
necessary. Note 1 ii) The shaft shall be checked for trueness
before fitting with impeller (Trueness
4.1.6 After every 16000 hours limit is to be maintained as per
manufacturer’s recommendation.
i) Repeat all checks at 4.1.5 However, run-out should not exceed
0.02 mm.)
ii) Replacement of bearings
4.2.3 Impellers
iii) Condition of shafts, impeller and
casing i) The impellers shall be cleaned by
compressed air/water blasts or can be
iv) Condition of suction and discharge wire brushed and repaired.
dampers
ii) Blade thickness and casing cover
v)Alignment thickness should be checked for
assessment of corrosion. Critical
vi) Lubrication system zones for examination are:
Complete overhauling shall be carried out, a) Leading edge of the blade
which includes partwise inspection as b) Trailing edge of blade
detailed in 4.2 c) Cone sheet/flange/shround ring
4.2 PARTWISE INSPECTION Note:
If the thickness reduction is more than
Partwise inspection shall be carried 10%, necessary repair shall be done.
out during complete overhaul and the Wherever possible, protective coating
following items shall be checked/inspected: like painting, epoxy coating, FRP
lining, etc. should be done. The
4.2.1 Vane Control System impeller, after major repair, should be
balanced along with shaft coupling.
i) Vane control/variable inlet control should
be checked for proper functioning. 4.2.4 Casing
ii) Rollers shall be checked for proper i) The casing shall be checked for wear
grease lubrication. and tear (Repair wherever necessary).
iii) Levers and other parts shall be ii) The casing shall be cleaned and if made
checked for proper movement. of mild steel, remove old paint and
renew painting of internals. (If the
casing is split, renew packing at the
joints, If it is lined, renew/repair lining).
 ii) In case where the damper ducting is
having inside refractory lining, the
lining shall be checked and repaired
as necessary.

4.2.5 Bearing iii) Arms, main shaft bearings, pins,

bushed rollers and individual flappers
i) The bearings shall be checked for shall be checked and repaired as
clearances and rectified as required.
recommended by manufacturer.
4.2.10 Instruments
ii) The bearing housing internal diameter
shall be checked for possibility of All instruments (like pressure gauges,
looseness of bearings. (Change, if temperature gauges, flow meters, vibration
clearances have gone high. In case of
ball/roller bearings, it is a good monitors etc.) shall be calibrated.
practice to change bearings.)
5.0 GEAR BOXES:
iii) Check for looseness of bearing over
the shaft sealing. (Rectify if required 5.1 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
by metal spraying or any other SCHEDULE
suitable method to attain proper fit of
the bearing over the shaft as per the The following schedule shall be
bearing fitting standards). complied with after specified hours of
operation as noted below:
4.2.6 Seals

Renew/repair the seals. (If it is a felt 5.1.1 After every 2000 hours
type seal, renew the felt while checking
bearings, etc. If it is a labyrinth type, the Inspection (through window and end covers)
worn out strips should be changed or if wear for:
is excessive the set of seals shall be
changed.) i) Condition of the gear and bearings
ii) Coupling and alignment
4.2.7 Foundation iii) Oil level

i) Check for tightness of bolts of casing 5.1.2 After every 16000 hours
supports, bearing pedestals, motor
and base plate. Complete overhauling of the Gear Box shall
be carried out.
ii) Check alignment before start up after
tightening the motor and fan casing Note: During overhaul, Partwise Inspection
foundation bolts. as detailed in 5.2 and all the checks
covered in 5.1.1 shall be carried out.
4.2.8 Lubrication System
5.2 PARTWISE INSPECTION
i) Check the system of lubrication for
proper functioning, (where lubricating Partwise inspection as given below shall
oil is used, same shall be changed.) be carried out during complete overhaul.

ii) Check oil pump with piping (in the case 5.2.1 Pinions & Gears
of forcefeed lubrication system).
a) Pinions and gears shall be inspected for
4.2.9 Suction and discharge dampers wear and cracks of teeth. (Cracks
should be inspected with the help of
i) Condition of damper plates, shaft, magnifying glass on all teeth faces. In
bearings, pointer (indicator), ducting, cases of critical services, dye penetrant
and ducting joints shall be checked. test on all teeth should be conducted. In
case of cracked tooth, the gear/pinion
should be replaced.)
b) Tooth faces should be checked for the Mechanical agitators consist of speed
wear on the tooth faces and determining reduction unit and agitators of various
the backlash. (Double ended gear shaft designs. These agitators are mounted on
permit reversal of the gear to reduce the the top, side or at the bottom of the vessel.
backlash. Excessive backlash requires Agitation is achieved by using impellers,
replacement of the gear). marine propeller, paddle, gate, turbine
anchor or saw cutter depending on
c) Meshing of the teeth shall be checked specification of fluid to be agitated.
by Blue matching to ensure 70%
meshing. In the case of side entry or bottom
(While dismantling the gear match entry agitators the shafts are sealed by
marks are put on the face of the gear to using stuffing box or mechanical seals. In
ensure that after assembly, the meshing the case of long shafts steady bearings may
of the teeth does not get disturbed). be used. Therefore, agitators can be
subdivided for the purpose of preventive
5.2.2 Bearings maintenance schedule into Gear boxes and
sealing arrangements.
i) Anti friction bearings-Refer-OISD-RP-
123 6.2 GEAR BOXES
(Inspection of Rotating Equipment
Components) The maintenance schedule mentioned for
gear boxes in 5.0 will be applicable to
ii) Babbited bearings-The following shall be mechanical agitators also.
checked:
6.3 SEALING
a) Signs of wear, damage such as
spalling etc. The maintenance schedule mentioned for
mechanical seals will be applicable to
b) Clearances (restore if necessary) sealing of shafts of mechanical agitators
also.
c) Bearing seals (Ensure no leakage
can take place)
7.0 DIFFERING SCHEDULES
5.3 INSPECTION OF SPARES

Spares supplied by equipment In case of differences between this

manufacturers shall be used. However, standard and the manufacturers'
where spares other than from original recommendations, the instructions given by
supplier are required to be used due to the manufacturers shall govern. The
equipment being obsolete, it shall be maintenance schedules given in this
ensured that: standard are very broad based on present
experience and practices and may be
i) Heat treatment and hardening are done modified from time to time. The schedule
prior to gear cutting and finishing. indicates the maximum interval of time
between two inspections. Organisations, on
ii) Heat treatment and hardening are the basis of historical records and analysis
carried out to an AGMA material of failures may alter the inspection interval
hardening factor of 1.97 or less. accordingly. All organisations shall maintain
records of history cards and specification
iii) Gear material is selected equivalent to sheets, with respect to problems on
original material used. equipment in different services. Based on
the feed back so obtained, the committee
iv) Blue matching of gear meshing is will attempt to further sophisticate inspection
carried out to ensure 70% matching. schedules and producers.

6.0 MECHANICAL AGITATORS

8.0 REFERENCES
6.1 GENERAL
The following codes, standards and iv) Balancing of fans- A Schenek
publications have either been referred to or publication No. AB 1094, Germany.
used in the preparation of this standard, and
the same shall be read in conjunction with v)'Fans and Blowers' by Robert Pollak,
this standard: Chemical Engineering, January 22,
1973.
i) API standard 512 High Speed special
purpose gear units for refinery service. vi) Fans and Fan Systems by John E.
Thompson, C.J. Trickler, Chemical
ii) American Gear Manufacturers Engineering-March 21, 1981.
Association (AGMA) standard 420
Helical & Herringbone gear speed vii) 'Fans' a special report power, March
reducers. 1968.

iii) Fan Engineering-An Engineer's viii) 'Fans' and Blowers' - An Engineering

Handbook edited by Robers reference from "The Oil and Gas
Jorgensen, Buffalo Farge Co. USA. Journal".
NOTES
NOTES