The standard, titled " Pulsation and Vibration Control for Positive Displacement Machinery Systems for Petroleum, Chemical, and Natural Gas Industry Services ," focuses on the design of pulsation and vibration control for systems using reciprocating compressors, pumps, and screw compressors. Key Editions and Current Status
The primary goal of API 688 is to prevent mechanical fatigue, failure, and structural damage caused by pulsations and vibrations. It defines structured design approaches to assess: API 618 & API 688 Compressor Pulsation Analysis api 688 pdf
Technical Report on API 688 (Pumps - Shaft Sealing Systems) API 688 The standard, titled " Pulsation and
Pulsations are pressure waves that can cause high-frequency shaking forces. Engineers use API 688 to: Avoid Resonance Engineers use API 688 to: Avoid Resonance Fundamentals:
Definitions and theory of acoustic and mechanical vibration.
No federal law explicitly mandates API 688. However, many state oil & gas commissions (Texas RRC, Colorado COGCC) consider violation of industry standards as evidence of negligence in incident investigations.
Before API 688, the fracturing industry relied on fragmented guidelines from pump manufacturers, general vibration standards, or internal company best practices. The result was inconsistent reliability, frequent fatigue failures of piping components, unplanned downtime, and safety incidents involving hose whip or fitting rupture.