Piston rod load analysis of process reciprocating machines

Abstract A new analytical method is presented to evaluate the dynamic deformation and elastic—plastic stress and strain in a reciprocating machine piston rod. This new method has the ability to account for geometric non-linearity, initial rod imperfection, elastic—plastic deformation, and dynamic effects. The proposed method can be used for the evaluation of piston rod performance for various reciprocating machines under different operation situations. Rod load curves and the maximum allowable rod load are calculated with the proposed method for a special purpose reciprocating compressor in a refinery critical service.