The Howden Thomassen Free Floating Piston is a proven unique technolgy that turns the weakest point to one of the strongest, which removes rider bands wear at a stroke.
BASF is one of the world’s largest diversified chemical companies. At their plant in Freeport, Texas, they operate an Ingersoll Rand HSE-2-NL non-lube compressor in hydrogen service.
Without lubrication, the conditions within the cylinders can radically enhance wear, causing extreme damage, especially to the rider bands.
The piston rider bands in this specific compressor were found to be wearing out far more quickly than expected, typically after five to six months of operation.
On several occasions, the accelerated rider band wear brought the piston into contact with the cylinder liner, resulting in significant damage, cost and delays.
The maintenance engineers on site recognized that some way of increasing the service life of rider bands was urgently required, and they consulted Cook Compression for technical support.
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