Tuned Mass Absorber for pumps in Power Plants

TMA for pumps in Power Plants

TMA (Tuned Mass Absorber) have been used to reduce vibrations in existing critical installations in Power Plants, motors & pipes (in Belgium and France). Overall, the main issues for the design of a TMA to be installed in Powerƒ Plant facilities are as follows :

• Allowed materials: Materials used for the manufacturing of the TMA must be approved by the end-user. This is a long process but it can be reduced by using exactly the same material as the existing one. This can be problematic whenever the material grade does not exist anymore or whenever it is not fit for long-term fatigue loading.
• Fatigue computation: Safety is a critical issue in power plants and TMA are subjected to a significantly high number of cycles (>billions). A dedicated fatigue analysis must be performed to determine the lifetime of key components of the TMA (flexure bars) and to define adequate replacement periods, compatible with the machine maintenance schedule.
• Installation and Maintenance with accredited people: In order to operate in a power plant, the manpower must have special accreditations that are required for the installation and related documentation. To perform these operations, we have a partnership with the Belgian company I-Care.