Technical Challenges for Compressors and Steam Turbines for Efficient and Sustainable Operation in Mega Ethylene Plants

摘要

Changing markets, industry demands for increased efficiency and long term operation, and availability of new technology have all contributed in development of more efficient and reliable turbomachines. The authors present ethylene plants trends, demonstrate the challenges faced by the turbomachinery equipment manufacturers and highlight various advancements in the turbomachinery technology. History maps are introduced for design advancements, verification tests, and application results in terms of transient fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, rotor dynamics, and blade vibration strength evaluation. In addition, after recognizing the need for long term operation and related typical damage and deterioration modes, the authors explain various practical technologies (such as effective on-line washing, flow path surface treatment, combination of anti-corrosion and erosion prevention, stage performance enhancement by partial component replacement, NDE techniques for both compressors and steam turbines, and a unique casing replacement technique on the same footprint for increasing capacity) used to provide more efficient and reliable machines.