Análise FMECA Aplicada a Chillers de Condensação a Ar, Caso de Estudo na LMGE

José Pedro Rodrigues Andrade Correia

Key information

Authors:

José Pedro Rodrigues Andrade Correia (José Pedro Rodrigues Andrade Correia)

Supervisors:

José Manuel Da Silva Chaves Ribeiro Pereira (José Manuel Da Silva Chaves Ribeiro Pereira); Virgínia Isabel Monteiro Nabais Infante (Virgínia Isabel Monteiro Nabais Infante)

Published in

November 21, 2022

Abstract

Maintenance is a fundamental aspect of facilities management, especially given the complexity and needs of commercial and industrial buildings. A large component of these buildings are Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems, which are responsible for controlling indoor air and temperatures. In order to improve the maintenance interventions in HVAC systems for which LMGE - Gestão de Edifícios, Lda. is responsible, this study analyzed the main failure modes of air-cooled chillers, in order to implement appropriate Predictive Maintenance Plans. RAMS methodology (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety) together with the Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), were used to identify the potential failure modes, their main causes and effects, and to conduct a Criticality Analysis of each failure mode. During the study, three critical failure modes were identified: pipe fracturing, water pumping failure to the evaporator and bearing fracture in the compressor. The Risk Mitigation Actions proposed at the end of the study focused on Predictive Maintenance technologies, which involve the monitoring of equipment performance indexes in order to detect possible changes caused by the occurrence of failures. In bearing fracture and water pumping failure, vibration analyses stood out. As for pipe fracturing, the detection methods focus on general operating parameters monitorization, namely changes in normal pressures and temperatures.