Sofronas, A.
Consulting Engineer, Houston, Texas
Tony Sofronas, D. Eng, was the worldwide lead mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil Chemicals before retiring. He now owns Engineered Products, which provides consulting and engineering seminars on machinery and pressure vessels. Dr. Sofronas has authored two engineering books and numerous technical articles on analytical methods.
Wear occurs frequently on machinery. In its simplest terms, it is the undesirable removal of material. When troubleshooting the root cause of wear in equipment, the engineer’s interest should be ..
When troubleshooting failures, it is not unusual for the metallurgical report to indicate that the failure was the result of an impact type of force. The investigator who receives this information mus..
Over the past 45 years, the author has pursued troubleshooting machinery and pressure vessels. It has also been the subject of this column. The troubleshooting tools used in this endeavor have been an..
When troubleshooting, we can become fixated on the discipline that we are most familiar—in the author’s case, mechanical engineering. Investigating the failure of a machine may have a group ..
In “Case 71: Statistical visual data can be useful in troubleshooting—Part 1,” the editorial focused on how taking data and analyzing it could determine the cause for high reject rates...
I’ve spent many years troubleshooting equipment, along with investigative research. In research-statistical design, data analysis is frequently used when test information is available. This artic..
In previous Engineering Case History columns, I have discussed checklists and their value in avoiding errors during startups. While the rules cannot replace common sense or a logical and methodical ap..
This column has suggested using simple analytical models to troubleshoot equipment. However, in some cases, a more detailed solution may be required. The following case histories examine the heat up o..
Use caution on what defines a true ‘safe distance’
Understanding what is happening can lead to a solution