Tech Transfer was founded in Houston in 1985. Thirty-five years is a long time in any industry, and in reciprocating compressor engineering it represents a span that encompasses the transition from slow-speed integral compressors to high-speed separables, the development of digital acoustic simulation tools, and the evolution of API 618 through multiple editions.
What Changed
The most significant technical change over 35 years has been the widespread adoption of digital acoustic simulation. When Tech Transfer was founded, pulsation analysis relied heavily on analog acoustic models and simplified calculation methods. Today, full digital simulation of complex multi-unit systems is routine.
What hasn’t changed is the fundamental physics. Pressure waves propagate at acoustic velocity, reflect at geometric discontinuities, and create resonance conditions that can be predicted by the same equations that were understood in 1985. The tools are better; the physics is the same.
What We Got Right Early
Tech Transfer’s early recognition that lightweight skid construction was a root cause of high-speed compressor vibration problems proved to be correct. The heavier skid designs and concrete fill practices we recommended in the late 1980s and early 1990s became industry standard, and the vibration levels on high-speed packages improved substantially as a result.
What the Industry Still Gets Wrong
Despite four decades of accumulated knowledge, the same fundamental mistakes continue to appear. Analysis performed after fabrication rather than before. Small-bore connection fatigue overlooked in design. Variable speed operation evaluated only at rated speed. These are not new problems — they are problems that the industry has known how to prevent for decades but continues to repeat.
Our goal at Tech Transfer is to help our clients not repeat them.
