How process plant machines work: ten 60-second 3D films

Row after row of compressor blades squeeze the air, stage by stage.

In the combustor, fuel burns in the compressed air.

The high pressure turbine drives the compressor on the same shaft.

A separate power turbine takes the rest and turns the generator.

Two shafts, one gas stream, no mechanical link between them.

Around it: lube oil, fuel gas, starting, and fire and gas protection.

Isolation from any point: live, trapped or isolated, worked out on the model.

Liquid comes in at the suction and leaves at pressure through the discharge.

Cut it open. A spinning impeller flings the liquid outwards.

The vanes add speed. The spiral volute slows the liquid and turns that speed into pressure.

Where the shaft leaves the casing, a mechanical seal keeps the liquid in.

Bearings in an oil bath carry the shaft and keep it running true.

The whole rotating unit comes out without disturbing the pipework.

Most pump trouble starts on the suction side. Starve it and it cavitates.

Inside, a rotor turns within a fixed stator wound with copper coils.

A turning electromagnet sweeps the stator coils and makes the voltage.

Three coil sets spaced round the stator give three phases, evenly out of step.

Frequency follows speed and pole count. Hold the speed, hold the frequency.

Pilot exciter, regulator, exciter and rectifier feed the field with no brushes.

The regulator senses the output and trims the excitation to hold the voltage.

A shaft fan pulls cooling air through the rotor and the stator ducts.

Power comes in through the incomer, an air circuit breaker for the whole board.

Copper busbars, three phases and a neutral, carry it along the top.

Droppers feed a breaker for every circuit, and each leaves by its own cable.

A fault on one circuit. Its own breaker trips, and only that circuit goes dark.

Discrimination: the breaker nearest the fault is set to act first, so the rest stays on.

Steel compartments help contain a fault, and keep people away from live parts.

Before work, the board is isolated, locked off and proved dead, under the permit.

Cut it open. Six pistons turn one crankshaft through connecting rods.

Intake: the piston falls and draws in air. Compression: it rises and squeezes it.

No spark plug. Fuel sprayed into the hot, squeezed air lights on its own.

Power: burning gas drives the piston down. Exhaust: it pushes the gas out.

The cylinders fire in turn, so the crankshaft gets a smoother push.

Exhaust spins the turbine. Its compressor packs in air, and the cooler makes it denser.

Cooling water carries heat away. A film of oil keeps metal off metal.

Oil comes in at the inlet and leaves under pressure at the outlet.

Inside, two meshing gears turn in opposite directions.

Oil is carried round the outside of each gear, in the pockets between the teeth.

At the mesh, oil is squeezed out and the teeth seal the outlet from the inlet.

Every turn moves a fixed amount of oil. This is positive displacement.

Do not run it against a closed outlet. The relief valve is only a safeguard.

The close clearances do the sealing. Dirt and dry running wear them away.

Steam enters through the valves at the top, turns the rotor, and leaves below.

The nozzles turn heat into speed. Fast jets drive the first wheel round.

Fixed and moving rows take turns. As the steam swells, the blades grow longer.

Cold tubes turn the steam back into water, pulling a deep vacuum.

The governor valves open one by one. More steam in, more power out.

On a fault, the trip valve slams shut and cuts off the steam.

Labyrinth glands keep steam in at one end, and keep air out at the other.

Three screws: a power rotor in the centre, an idler either side.

Threads mesh in a close-fitting housing, trapping the oil in sealed cavities.

Each cavity travels along the rotors like a nut on a turning bolt.

Carried, not churned: a smooth, steady flow and quiet running.

On this arrangement oil pressure turns the idlers, with little load through the threads.

A balance piston on the power rotor offsets the end thrust.

Oil lubricates the screws, so never run it dry. Follow your site procedure.

Every stroke of the plunger displaces a fixed volume. That is positive displacement.

Pulling back opens the suction valve. Pushing in opens the discharge valve.

The crankshaft and crosshead turn rotation into a straight push and pull.

Three plungers a third of a turn apart overlap their strokes and smooth the flow.

A pulsation dampener soaks up most of the remaining ripple on a cushion of gas.

Rings of packing in the stuffing box seal the moving plunger.

Check the line-up to your procedure: never start against a closed discharge.

Liquid enters the suction housing and leaves through the discharge branch.

A single helix steel rotor turns inside a double helix rubber stator.

Rotor and stator touch along sealing lines, trapping liquid in sealed cavities.

The cavities progress steadily, carrying thick liquids and solids gently.

Two universal joints take up the motion as the rotor axis orbits.

The liquid cools and lubricates the rubber stator. Never run it dry.

Positive displacement: never run against a closed valve. Follow your site procedure.