Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical means relating to movement, or mechanics or its parts that is operated by a machine or machinery, or connected with machines or its parts. 

Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that applies principles of science, technology, and industrial engineering practices for the mechanical design and engineering, focuses on the machines, equipment, devices, and mechanical systems. A Mechanical Engineer is responsible for the development of mechanical data sheets and bid evaluations for procurement, and involvements in the manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance of the equipment and mechanical systems.

Critical Equipment is any equipment, instrumentation, controls, or systems whose malfunction or failure leads a catastrophic accident that is essential in preventing the occurrence of or mitigating the consequences of an uncontrolled event, and significantly impact the ability to safely meet business objectives; adversely affect quality levels; violate environmental standards of the business organisation. (e.g., flares, alarms, interlocks, fire protection equipment, etc.)

Engineering Drawing is a graphical language used communications by all disciplinary engineers and other technical personnel associated that is used to clearly and accurately capture all geometric features for the requirements of the equipment and components. The Engineering Drawing conveys engineering ideas during the design process and information necessary for the analysis of machines, structures, or systems for the engineering, manufacturing, and construction. The Engineering Drawing is a deliverable document of the Detailed Design and Engineering developed by a Mechanical discipline.

Equipment Failure Analysis is the process of collecting and analysing equipment failures to determine the failure mechanisms and root causes that determines corrective actions or liabilities.

Equipment List is a listing of all tagged equipment with equipment number, service description, capacity, dimension and size, weight, required power, PO number, reference P&ID numbers as well as key summary information of those tagged equipment items. The Equipment List is initiated and developed by the process team through FEED, and updated and finalised by the equipment engineering (mechanical, etc.) team through EPC. The Equipment List is a deliverable document of the FEED and Detailed Design and Engineering generated by a Process and Mechanical disciplines.

Material Selection Diagram (MSD) is an engineering drawing which shows the material selection information and specification of the piping and equipment in the process and utility facility that is a step in the process of designing any physical object of the material. The main goal of Material Selection is to minimise cost while meeting product performance requirements, and the systematic selection of the best material for a given application begins with properties and costs of candidate materials. A MSD is normally developed from simplified Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) by the Process Engineer, Material Engineer and Metallurgist of a project. The Material Engineer uses the Material Selection Diagram to assign a line class and specification to each line on the Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) (or Process Engineering Flow Scheme (PEFS)).

Mechanical Datasheet (Data Sheet) is a basis of equipment purchasing and fabrication by vendor or manufacturer that is developed by the mechanical engineer after a process engineer initiated and provided the equipment process datasheets with other disciplines' information. A Mechanical Engineer uses the process datasheet and further develops mechanical details including the equipment size and associated detail information for each equipment item, and provides detailed sized equipment list for other engineering disciplines to complete their detailed engineering and design (e.g., piping engineers uses the equipment list to create a plot plan and electrical engineers uses it to design the electrical systems, etc.). (Refer to the Datasheet, Equipment List, Process Datasheet and Vendor Datasheet)

Burner Management System (BMS) is a control system that uses to monitor and manage the safe star-tup, operation and shut down of process burners.

Mechanical Schematic Diagram is a set of detailed drawings using appropriate standard symbols and connecting lines that is a tool for analysing complex systems used for the construction. The Mechanical Schematic Diagram presents mechanical and other functional operation, structural loading, fluid circuitry, or other functions that contains design information. The Mechanical Schematic Diagram is a deliverable document of the Detailed Design and Engineering developed by a Mechanical Engineering discipline.

Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) is the difference between liquid pressure at pump suction and liquid vapor pressure, expressed the height of liquid column. Suction head is the liquid pressure at pump suction in terms of height of liquid column that must be provided on the suction side of the pump to prevent cavitation.

Tagged Item is all equipment and major electrical and instrumentation items, except bulk materials that has a specific tag number and treated individually for the tracking and tracing purposes. (Refer to the Engineered Item)

Equipment is a set of hardware which is designed to perform a specific processing function for a particular purpose that is defined in terms of mechanical, electrical or instrumentation components contained within its boundary. The Equipment includes devices, machines, tools, and vehicles that is identified with a unique number. (Refer to the Tagged Item)

Heat Transfer Equipment is used for transfer of heat from a hot fluid to cold fluid that is the exchange of thermal energy between physical systems. The flow of heat represents the movement of energy from one place to another, and temperature is the measure of thermal energy available. There are three primary mechanisms for heat transfer: conduction or diffusion, convection, and radiation. The most commonly used type of Heat Transfer Equipment is a shell and tube heat exchanger, and other heat transfer equipment are an intercoolers and heaters; condensers and boilers in steam plant; evaporators; regenerators and refrigeration units; automobile radiators; oil coolers of heat engine, etc.

Chiller is a heat transfer equipment for cooling, especially maintain at low temperature, just above freezing point.

Absorption Chiller is a type of air cooling device that uses a heat source to generate chilled water rather than electrical source.

Condenser is a piece of equipment that reduces gases to their liquid or solid form. The Condenser is a large heat exchanger designed to keep exhaust steam from a turbine below the boiling point that the latent heat is given up by the substance, and will transfer to the condenser coolant.

Coolant is the liquid or gas circulated through facilities to transfer heat from the equipment or piping system to other equipment or piping system. Coolants include water, air, gases, or fluids.

Evaporator is a heat transfer equipment used for a liquid to change to the gases by external heating.

Heat Exchanger

Baffle is an auxiliary device installed in tank which suppress the effects of slosh dynamics.

Bundle is a package for a number of things. A Tube Bundle is a package of tubes fastened or held together.

Coil is 1) a component of a heating or cooling appliance, rows of tubing or pipe with fins attached to deliver heat or cooling energy through a heat transfer fluid; 2) a length of rope or wire arranged into a series of circles.

Cylinder is a surface traced by a straight line moving parallel to a fixed straight line and intersecting a fixed planar closed curve.

Engine is a machine with moving parts that converts power into motion.

Fin is 1) a thin sheet of material (metal) of a heat exchanger that conducts heat to a fluid; 2) a thin vertical part sticking out of the body.

Gasifier is a device for converting a solid into gaseous fuel.

Gear

Allowable Stress or Allowable Strength is the maximum stress (tensile, compressive, or bending) that is allowed to be applied on the stationary equipment and structural materials.

Alloy Steel is an iron based alloy containing carbon (usually less than 2.5 % by weight), manganese (usually greater than 0.25 % by weight), and a variety of elements in total amounts between 1.0 % and 50 % by weight to improve its mechanical properties. Low Alloy Steel (less than 5 %) to increase strength or hardenability, and High Alloy Steel (over 5 %) to achieve special properties, such as corrosion resistance or extreme temperature stability.

Brayton Cycle is a thermodynamic cycle using constant pressure, heat addition and rejection in a gas turbine type heat engine named after George Brayton.

Burner Capacity is the maximum heat output (in Btu per hour) that can be released from a burner while burning with a stable flame and satisfactory combustion.

Centrifuge is the solids removal equipment that turns a container round very quickly, causing the solids and liquids inside it to separate by centrifugal action.

Equipment Boundary is the edge or limit of the equipment defining components and interfaces with piping, electrical, and instrumentation systems.

Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) is the maximum pressure at which the weakest point of the equipment, system or a vessel can handle at a specific temperature and the walls may safely hold in normal operation. A MAOP is less than a MAWP (Maximum Allowable Working Pressure).

Maximum Allowable Working Pressure (MAWP)

• Engineering Drawing *
• Equipment List *
• Material Selection Diagram (MSD) *
• Mechanical Datasheet (Data Sheet) *
• Mechanical Schematic Diagram *

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has served in its capacity as administrator and coordinator of the United States private sector voluntary standardization system for more than 90 years. Founded in 1918 by five engineering societies and three government agencies, the Institute remains a private, non-profit membership organization supported by a diverse constituency of private and public sector organizations (Source: www.ansi.org)

American Petroleum Institute (API) is the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry. More than 600 corporate members, from the largest major oil company to the smallest of independents, come from all segments of the industry. They are producers, refiners, suppliers, pipeline operators and marine transporters, as well as service and supply companies that support all segments of the industry. For more than 85 years, API has led the development of petroleum and petrochemical equipment and operating standards. These represent the industry’s collective wisdom on everything from drill bits to environmental protection and embrace proven, sound engineering and operating practices and safe, interchangeable equipment and materials. API maintains more than 500 standards and recommended practices. Many have been incorporated into state and federal regulations; and increasingly, they’re also being adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, a global federation of more than 100 standards groups. (Source: www.api.org)

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is a not-for-profit membership organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all engineering disciplines, toward a goal of helping the global engineering community develop solutions to benefit lives and livelihoods. Founded in 1880 by a small group of leading industrialists, ASME has grown through the decades to include more than 140,000 members in 151 countries. Thirty-thousands of these members are students. (Source: www.asme.org)

Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association, Inc. (TEMA) is trade association of leading manufacturers of shell and tube heat exchangers, who have pioneered the research and development of heat exchangers for over sixty years. The TEMA Standards and software have achieved worldwide acceptance as the authority on shell and tube heat exchanger mechanical design. TEMA is a progressive organization with an eye towards the future. Members are market-aware and actively involved, meeting several times a year to discuss current trends in design and manufacturing. The internal organization includes various subdivisions committed to solving technical problems and improving equipment performance. This cooperative technical effort creates an extensive network for problem-solving, adding value from design to fabrication. (http://www.tema.org/)