PVDC Monterio Power Plant

Frequency Failure Analysis

Fuel Injection Pumps
Engine type: MaK 9CM43

Prepared by: Miguel Bueno

October 2015
Summary

Since the start of the operations of the power plant in 2002, the failure of the fuel
injection pumps has been a recurrent problem. The main mode of failure is a cracking
of the pump barrel in the area of the spill port. There have been multiple root cause
analysis and brain storming sessions over this problem.

The Plant has managed to receive assistance from the engine manufacturer
(CATERPILLAR), as well as from another highly qualified pump manufacturer (LOrange).
The results didnt offer any new information or solution of the problem.

The report from CATERPILLAR suggested that the problem was a heavy loss of material
through cavitation at the radial bores of the spill ports on the barrel. Most likely root
cause for this kind of damage is the composition of the fuel oil. The records show that
the fuel (HFO #6 with 2% sulfur content) complies with the specifications of the engines
manufacturer.

On the other hand, the report from LOrange suggests that the problem is the lack of a
proper surface hardening process in the area around the spill ports. Natural cavitation
erodes the material in the area of the spill port to the point of failure.

Neither of these RCA explains the fact that the hours between failures can differ
greatly. For example, from just over 1,000 operating hours to 20,000 operating hours. The
failures do not occur after a certain amount of operating hours or more often on a
specific cylinder or an engine. It is completely random.

With the objective to establish an accurate time to replace or repair the parts, a tool
was used to estimate the mean time between failures and therefore set up a more
efficient maintenance schedule on the fuel pumps.

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Failure Analysis
For this analysis we will be using the collected data on the fuel injection pumps that
failed throughout 2014. Only the pumps that failed due to a cracked barrel will be
considered. This type of failure represents the 96% of the total.

Its important to know that the Plant purchases the pump elements from two different
manufacturers (in this case, MaK and LOrange). These will be analyzed separately.

Weibull Distribution
The Weibull distribution is extremely useful for maintenance planning, particularly
reliability centered maintenance. It is used extensively in reliability applications to model
failure times.

Based on the data collected, the characteristic life () and the shape parameter ()
will be determined using the Weibull distribution.

The characteristic life () or the typical time to failure is defined as the age at which
63.2 % of the failures will occur. It is indicated in the plot with a horizontal dashed line.

The shape parameter () determines which member of the family of Weibull failure
distributions best fits or describes the data. It represents the type of failure.

< 1, indicates infant mortality or early stage failure due to design problems, incorrect
installation, etc.

= 1, indicates random failures (independent of age).

> 1, indicates a wear out or fatigue related failure.

We will use the software called PTC Windchill to graph the charts and calculate the
necessary parameters.

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LORANGE PUMP ELEMENTS 2014

Operating
Hours
Pos. Pump No. Engine Cylinder Comments
before
failure
1 17569411 6783 10 2 Cracked barrel
2 15540277 5953 4 2 Cracked barrel
3 15618302 4502 5 9 Cracked barrel
4 17401318 5539 2 2 Cracked barrel
5 17531167 9767 6 1 Cracked barrel
6 17569406 1340 12 2 Cracked barrel
7 17281656 8363 12 2 Cracked barrel
8 17569417 3965 3 7 Cracked barrel
9 17517570 11631 10 2 Cracked barrel
10 17285432 12521 12 8 Cracked barrel
11 15376658 10803 12 1 Cracked barrel
12 17531162 3988 2 4 Cracked barrel
13 15514469 2675 10 9 Cracked barrel
14 17531178 4964 12 1 Cracked barrel
15 15511960 5889 7 2 Cracked barrel
16 15352387 1079 2 1 Cracked barrel
17 15359803 4912 9 1 Cracked barrel
18 15404829 1655 2 5 Cracked barrel

Chart 1 - This chart contains important information in regards to the equipment location,
running hours and type of failure. The information necessary to generate the plot are
running hours until the failure.

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 LORANGE PUMP ELEMENTS 2014

Figure 1 Probability vs Time Data plot for the for the LOrange pump elements that failed
throughout 2014.

This data plot shows a characteristic life () of 6,685 operation hours. This represents the
age at which 63% of the units will fail. The chart shows a large number of the events
spread out along the curve, meaning they have the characteristics of a random failure.
The shape parameter () is close to 1.

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 LORANGE PUMP ELEMENTS 2014

Figure 2 Reliability vs Time data plot for the LOrange pump elements that failed throughout
2014.

The Reliability vs Time data plot may be of interest if you want to determine the time at
which X% of the population will have failed. In this case, we arbitrarily used 70%
reliability and the result was a mean time to failure of 3,597 operation hours. For these
events, even though > 1, we can see that a large number of the events are spread
out along the curve. Fatigue related failures are usually closer to a to 3. In this case,
we can assume that this is an early stage failure.

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MaK PUMP ELEMENTS 2014

Operating Hours
Pos. Pump No. Engine Cylinder Comments
before failure
1 17281666 17447 9 1 Cracked barrel
2 17517572 12599 13 9 Cracked barrel
3 17517567 19211 3 8 Cracked barrel
4 17517581 8170 7 2 Cracked barrel
5 17285428 19132 6 6 Cracked barrel
6 15329768 9772 12 2 Cracked barrel
7 15390791 8951 10 9 Cracked barrel
8 17517574 14904 13 2 Cracked barrel
9 13708814 9233 6 8 Cracked barrel
10 17531168 9924 13 8 Cracked barrel
11 16638731 20063 13 9 Cracked barrel
12 17517578 14093 13 7 Cracked barrel
13 17132345 19239 3 7 Cracked barrel
14 17531173 13450 12 3 Cracked barrel
15 17281663 4610 1 5 Cracked barrel
16 17531164 4851 1 8 Cracked barrel
17 15404829 6418 13 1 Cracked barrel
18 17285425 4802 13 8 Cracked barrel
19 17569417 13405 3 2 Cracked barrel
20 15365370 8655 2 4 Cracked barrel
21 17569403 14715 3 1 Cracked barrel
22 15540279 8599 13 2 Cracked barrel
23 17285429 10162 3 1 Cracked barrel
24 17401309 6642 1 1 Cracked barrel
25 17531159 14564 7 3 Cracked barrel
26 17401310 4319 6 2 Cracked barrel
27 17531161 14636 7 9 Cracked barrel
28 17531165 8282 3 1 Cracked barrel
29 15557403 10358 7 8 Cracked barrel
30 17531164 11040 10 5 Cracked barrel
31 15357030 5758 11 2 Cracked barrel
32 14414025 9319 7 1 Cracked barrel
33 17198378 17364 3 7 Cracked barrel
34 15279337 7391 7 4 Cracked barrel
35 15350763 8807 7 1 Cracked barrel
36 15378361 12023 7 5 Cracked barrel

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Chart 2 The chart in the previous page contains important information in regards to
the equipment location, running hours and type of failure. The information necessary to
generate the plot are running hours until the failure.

Figure 3 Probability vs Time data plot for the MaK pump elements that failed throughout
2014.

This data plot shows a characteristic life () of 12,483 operation hours. This represents the
age at which 63% of the units will fail. The shape parameter () is 2.84. This is a typical
fatigue related failure.

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 LORANGE PUMP ELEMENTS 2014

Figure 2 Reliability vs Time data plot for the LOrange pump elements that failed throughout
2014.

The Reliability vs Time data plot may be of interest if you want to determine the time at
which X% of the population will have failed. In this case, we arbitrarily used 70%
reliability and the result was a mean time to failure of 8,697 operation hours. This plot
can be useful to establish a safe and efficient preventive plan, in the cases where a
breakdown is a critical problem.

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CONCLUSIONS

After a review of the data obtained, the following conclusions have been noted:

1. The pump elements from MaK have an average life cycle of 12,483 operation
hours. In contrast to the pump elements from LOrange, whose average life
cycle is 6,604 operation hours.

2. Considering the availability of the Units to be a key performance indicator, it is

recommendable to use the pump elements from MaK, since they provide a
notably more extensive life cycle.

3. Considering that the difference in cost for the parts, between the two
manufacturers is not very substantial (around 20%); it is recommendable to use
the pump elements from MaK, since they provide a notably more extensive life
cycle.

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