DEMONSTRATION OF THE ROTORDYNAMIC EFFECTS OF CENTRIFUGAL LIQUID SEPARATION AND GAS COMPRESSION IN AN OIL-FREE INTEGRATED MOTOR-COMPRESSOR

摘要

The application of oil-free-integrated motor-compressorshas become increasingly popular in recent years. One of thesignificant features of this class of machinery is compactness,providing space-savings compared to traditional-oil-lubricatedcompressors with associated gearboxes and lubrication systems.The integration of a turbo separator with such acompressor has resulted in the creation of a new class ofturbomachinery promising even greater system compactness.This new machine type provides further size reduction benefitsthrough the elimination of large static separation vessels oftenrequired on traditional compressor trains.A compressor manufacturer has successfully developed acentrifugal compressor with integrated turbo separator fromdesign, development, and prototype testing on a demonstrationrig through to manufacture, testing, and shipment of aproduction unit. This paper focuses on the details and results ofthe testing performed at the manufacturer’s factory thatconfirmed the soundness and acceptability of the design.Rigorous testing of the demonstration rig has confirmedacceptable rotordynamic performance including stableoperation over a wide range of operating pressures and liquidinjection rates. The rotordynamic performance of thismachinery type has been demonstrated to be virtuallyinsensitive to liquid injection.