scholarly journals Design and Calibration of a Full Scale Active Magnetic Bearing Based Test Facility for Investigating Rotordynamic Properties of Turbomachinery Seals in Multiphase Flow

Author(s):  
Andreas Jauernik Voigt ◽  
Christian Mandrup-Poulsen ◽  
Kenny Krogh Nielsen ◽  
Ilmar F. Santos

The recent move towards subsea oil and gas production brings about a requirement to locate process equipment in deepwater installations. Furthermore, there is a drive towards omitting well stream separation functionality, as this adds complexity and cost to the subsea installation. This in turn leads to technical challenges for the subsea installed pumps and compressors that are now required to handle multiphase flow of varying gas to liquid ratios. This highlights the necessity for a strong research focus on multiphase flow impact on rotordynamic properties and thereby operational stability of the subsea installed rotating machinery. It is well known that careful design of turbomachinery seals, such as interstage and balance piston seals, is pivotal for the performance of pumps and compressors. Consequently, the ability to predict the complex interaction between fluid dynamics and rotordynamics within these seals is key. Numerical tools offering predictive capabilities for turbomachinery seals in multiphase flow are currently being developed and refined, however the lack of experimental data for multiphase seals renders benchmarking and validation impossible. To this end, the Technical University of Denmark and Lloyd’s Register Consulting are currently establishing a purpose built state of the art multiphase seal test facility, which is divided into three modules. Module I consists of a full scale Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) based rotordynamic test bench. The internally designed custom AMBs are equipped with an embedded Hall sensor system enabling high-precision non-contact seal force quantification. Module II is a fully automatised calibration facility for the Hall sensor based force quantification system. Module III consists of the test seal housing assembly. This paper provides details on the design of the novel test facility and the calibration of the Hall sensor system employed to measure AMB forces. Calibration and validation results are presented, along with an uncertainty analysis on the force quantification capabilities.

Author(s):  
Andreas Jauernik Voigt ◽  
Christian Mandrup-Poulsen ◽  
Kenny Krogh Nielsen ◽  
Ilmar F. Santos

The recent move toward subsea oil and gas production brings about a requirement to locate process equipment in deepwater installations. Furthermore, there is a drive toward omitting well stream separation functionality, as this adds complexity and cost to the subsea installation. This in turn leads to technical challenges for the subsea installed pumps and compressors that are now required to handle multiphase flow of varying gas to liquid ratios. This highlights the necessity for a strong research focus on multiphase flow impact on rotordynamic properties and thereby operational stability of the subsea installed rotating machinery. It is well known that careful design of turbomachinery seals, such as interstage and balance piston seals, is pivotal for the performance of pumps and compressors. Consequently, the ability to predict the complex interaction between fluid dynamics and rotordynamics within these seals is key. Numerical tools offering predictive capabilities for turbomachinery seals in multiphase flow are currently being developed and refined, however the lack of experimental data for multiphase seals renders benchmarking and validation impossible. To this end, the Technical University of Denmark and Lloyd's Register Consulting are currently establishing a purpose built state of the art multiphase seal test facility, which is divided into three modules. Module I consists of a full scale active magnetic bearing (AMB) based rotordynamic test bench. The internally designed custom AMBs are equipped with an embedded Hall sensor system enabling high-precision noncontact seal force quantification. Module II is a fully automatized calibration facility for the Hall sensor based force quantification system. Module III consists of the test seal housing assembly. This paper provides details on the design of the novel test facility and the calibration of the Hall sensor system employed to measure AMB forces. Calibration and validation results are presented, along with an uncertainty analysis on the force quantification capabilities.


Author(s):  
Trond G. Gru¨ner ◽  
Lars E. Bakken

The development of wet gas compressors will enable increased oil and gas production rates and enhanced profitable operation by subsea well-stream boosting. A more fundamental knowledge of the impact of liquid is essential with regard to the understanding of thermodynamic and fluid dynamic compressor behavior. An open-loop impeller test facility was designed to investigate the wet gas performance, aerodynamic stability, and operation range. The facility was made adaptable for different impeller and diffuser geometries. In this paper, the wet gas test facility and experimental work concerning the impact of wet gas on a representative full-scale industrial impeller are presented. The centrifugal compressor performance was examined at high gas volume fractions and atmospheric inlet conditions. Air and water were used as experimental fluids. Dry and wet gas performance was experimentally verified and analyzed. The results were in accordance with previous test data and indicated a stringent influence of the liquid phase. Air/water tests at atmospheric conditions were capable of reproducing the general performance trend of hydrocarbon wet gas compressor tests at high pressure.


Author(s):  
Martin Gronek ◽  
Torsten Rottenbach ◽  
Frank Worlitz

Within a subproject of the RAPHAEL-Program, which is part of the 6th EURATOM Framework Program supervised by the European Commission it was investigated whether the use of a Hybrid Magnetic Bearing Concept (HMBC) will be beneficial for a blower application. As in the RAPHAEL program the subproject “Component Development” deals with R&D on components of High Temperature Reactor Technology (HTR), a major focus is on safety- and reliability-related issues. That implies special requirements for the support of high speed rotating shafts in HTR-Applications that only can be satisfied by using Active Magnetic Bearings (AMB). Regarding safety and competitiveness, AMBs are considered key components for the support of rotating HTR-components due to their technical features. AMBs are characterized by an electromagnetic actuator that is generating the bearing force depending on the clearance between stator and rotor, in which the rotor is levitated. Therefore an active control of the coil current is necessary. Furthermore, Touch Down Bearings (TDB) are needed to avoid damages in case of an emergency shut down or in case of energy supply losses. This contribution provides an internal insight on the advantages of a Hybrid Magnetic Bearing Concept that is characterized by a completely Active Magnetic Bearing-supported vertical arranged rotor and an additional permanent magnetic Radial Bearing. One benefit of the HMBC is an additional radial guidance of the shaft that may reduce the loads while dropping into the Touch Down Bearings e.g. in case of energy supply losses of the AMBs. Reduced loads on the TDBs will increase their life cycle and the availability of the AMB supported component. The Scope of this R&D-Project, which will be described more detailed in this contribution, includes the analytical modeling and simulation of the dynamic behavior of the Hybrid Magnetic Bearing System, the modification of the completely AMB-supported test facility FLP500 with a radial PMB and the experimental tests and validation of the analytical models to provide recommendations for the investigated blower application as an HTR-component. Furthermore, the effects occurring during the modification of the test facility and the approach that was necessary to solve unexpected problems will be described.


Author(s):  
N. R. Kesana ◽  
S. A. Grubb ◽  
B. S. McLaury ◽  
S. A. Shirazi

Solid particle erosion is a mechanical process in which material is removed from a surface due to impacts of solid particles transported within a fluid. It is a common problem faced by the petroleum industry, as solid particles are also produced along with oil and gas. The erosion not only causes economic losses resulting from repairs and decreased production but also causes safety and environmental concerns. Therefore, the metal losses occurring in different multiphase flow regimes need to be studied and understood in order to develop protective guidelines for oil and gas production equipment. In the current study, a novel non-invasive ultrasonic (UT) device has been developed and implemented to measure the metal loss at 16 different locations inside an elbow. Initially, experiments were performed with a single-phase carrier fluid (gas-sand) moving in the pipeline, and the erosion magnitudes are compared with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) results and found to be in good agreement. Next, experiments were extended to the multiphase slug flow regime. Influence of particle diameter and liquid viscosity were also studied. Two different particle sizes (150 and 300 micron sand) were used for performing tests. The shapes of the sand are also different with the 300 micron sand being sharper than the 150 micron sand. Three different liquid viscosities were used for the present study (1 cP, 10 cP and 40 cP). Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) was used to increase the viscosity of the liquid without significantly altering the density of the liquid. While performing the UT experiments, simultaneous metal loss measurements were also made using an intrusive Electrical Resistance (ER) probe in a section of straight pipe. The probe in the straight pipe is an angle-head probe which protrudes into the flow with the face placed in the center of the pipe. The UT erosion measurements in a bend are also compared with experimental data obtained placing an intrusive flat head ER probe flush in a bend, and the results were found to be in good agreement. Finally, the non-invasive NanoUT permanent placement temperature compensated ultrasonic wall thickness device developed for this work has the capability of measuring metal loss at many locations and also identifying the maximum erosive location on the pipe bend.


2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenton S. McLaury ◽  
Siamack A. Shirazi

One commonly used method for determining oil and gas production velocities is to limit production rates based on the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 14E (API RP 14E). This guideline contains an equation to calculate an “erosional” or a threshold velocity, presumably a flow velocity that is safe to operate. The equation only considers one factor, the density of the medium, and does not consider many other factors that can contribute to erosion in multiphase flow pipelines. Thus, factors such as fluid properties, flow geometry, type of metal, sand production rate and size distribution, and flow composition are not accounted for. In the present paper, a method is presented that has been developed with the goal of improving the procedure by accounting for many of the physical variables including fluid properties, sand production rate and size, and flowstream composition that affect sand erosion. The results from the model are compared with several experimental results provided in the literature. Additionally, the method is applied to calculate threshold flowstream velocities for sand erosion and the results are compared with API RP 14E. The results indicate that the form of the equation that is provided by the API RP 14E is not suitable for predicting a production flowstream velocity when sand is present. [S0195-0738(00)00203-X]


Author(s):  
Mariana Shtohryn ◽  
Myroslava Muchka

The lexical-semantic features of the English terms of oil and gas sphere are considered. Attention is drawn to the phraseological and metaphorical features that are characteristic of the terms of the oil and gas industry. It has been revealed that English oil and gas terminology is built on a heterogeneous model, that is, the result of the interaction of several areas of human knowledge. It includes geological, geophysical, geochemical terms, as well as terms related to drilling, washing, fastening and cementing of oil and gas wells, development of oil and gas fields, underground hydraulics, oil and gas production, processing methods, pipeline terminology, offshore drilling terminology, economic terminology. It is has been found out that the semantic categories of English oil and gas terminology are evidence that the terminology under study reflects a particular sphere of human activity that can be structured in some way by the means of language. In this process, the human factor is important. On the one hand, it is inherent in each of the categories, and serves as a basis for subjectivity in identifying the peculiarities of the content.The semantic categories of English oil and gas terminology are analyzed. These include: Human, Process, Equipment, Substance, Method, and Characteristics. The study showed that among the English oil and gas terms formed by metaphorization, we can distinguish terms conventionally grouped under the following lexical-semantic groups: “Parts of the human body”, “World of animals and birds”, “Clothes”, “Society”, “Cooking”, “Construction”, “Nature”, “Traveling”, “Weapon”, “Tool”, “Geometric figure”, “Hunting”, “Fishing”, “Medicine”, “Furniture” та “Quality”.


2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 570
Author(s):  
Ron Reinten

Safety is a core value at Esso Australia. We strive to observe the highest standards of safety to ensure that nobody gets hurt in our operations. We believe this goal can be achieved through a broadly shared commitment to personal and process safety—both of which are managed using our operations integrity management system (OIMS). In the Gippsland region of Victoria, Esso Australia operates oil and gas production facilities ranging from sub-sea completions to substantial staffed offshore facilities, an onshore crude stabilisation, three gas processing plants and a natural gas liquids fractionation plant, all interconnected by a network of offshore and onshore pipelines. Every day Esso’s Gippsland operations produce millions of litres of crude oil and millions of cubic meters of natural gas. Having all this fuel energy flowing through these plants each day at high pressures, and widely ranging temperatures, it is imperative that it is safely controlled and contained by the process equipment. How do we do this? With process safety systems. Process safety is a crucial component of OIMS that ensures Esso’s assets are operated and maintained in keeping with corporate and industry safety standards. In this presentation we show how process safety is managed within OIMS and how the people within Esso individually and collectively contribute to it. Our work in this area has recently been captured in a training package that includes a DVD shown at the conference. It was created to raise the awareness and understanding of all Esso employees about the principles that underpin Esso’s approach to process safety. This abstract outlines how we approach process safety across the life-cycle of our facilities and the role people play in managing this very important aspect of our work. Our training reinforces the message that responsibility for effective management of process safety lies with every employee and how OIMS is designed to assist people to achieve the desired results where all risks are appropriately managed. We have sought to connect the concepts used to manage personal safety, which are well understood by the workforce, with those that are needed to understand how to manage process safety.


Author(s):  
Levi André B. Vigdal ◽  
Lars E. Bakken

Adopting the innovative technology found in a compressor able to compress a mixture of natural gas and condensate has great potential for meeting future challenges in subsea oil and gas production. Benefits include reduced size, complexity and cost, enhanced well output, longer producing life and increased profits, which in turn offer opportunities for exploiting smaller oil and gas discoveries or extending the commercial life of existing fields. Introducing liquid into a centrifugal compressor creates several thermodynamic and fluid-mechanical challenges. The paper reviews some of the drive mechanisms involved in wet gas compression and views them in the context of the test results presented. An inlet guide vane (IGV) assembly has been installed in a test facility for wet gas compressors and the effect of wet gas on IGV performance documented. The impact of changes in IGV performance on impeller and diffuser has also been documented. The results have been discussed and correction methods compared.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Bakken ◽  
Tor Bjørge ◽  
Lars E. Bakken

The continuous demand for oil and gas forces the petroleum industry to develop new and cost-effective technologies to increase recovery from new fields and enhance extraction from existing fields. Subsea wet gas compression stands out as a promising solution for increasing production capacity, utilizing remote regions and reducing costs. A prerequisite for successful oil and gas production utilizing subsea wet gas compressors is operability. This includes the system’s ability to cope with operational changes, without having to shut down. One of the fundamental operational changes is the liquid content in the inlet pipe, which may fluctuate considerably at certain time intervals. The current study investigates how changes in liquid content impacts compressor performance. An experimental test campaign has been performed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The test facility is an open loop configuration consisting of a single shrouded centrifugal impeller, a vaneless diffuser and a symmetrical circular volute. The main objectives were to document how the presence of liquid impacts the compressor characteristics and further, how the operating point moves within the characteristics when solely subjected to an increase of liquid content. The compressor was exposed to liquid contents ranging from gas mass fraction 1.0 to 0.60. The test reveals that the compressor pressure ratio at wet conditions is higher in comparison to dry conditions. Care should be taken when analysing stability and surge margins at variations in fluid liquid content. Further, the compressor behaves in a predictable manner, revealing several linear trends, when subjected to stepwise changes in liquid content from a fixed operating point.


Author(s):  
Abdulaziz S. Al-Qasim ◽  
Fahad Almudairis ◽  
Abdulrahman Bin Omar ◽  
Abdullatif Omair

Abstract This paper discusses a method for optimizing production facilities design for onshore/offshore wells during new field development. Optimizing the development of new oil and gas fields necessitates the use of accurate predication techniques to minimize uncertainties associated with day-to-day operational challenges related to wells, pipelines and surface facilities. It involves the use of a transient multiphase flow simulator (TMFS) for designing new oil and gas production systems to determine the feasibility of its economic development. A synthetic offshore oil field that covers a wide range of subsurface and surface facility data is considered in this paper. 32 wells and two reservoirs are considered to evaluate the effect of varying sizes of tubing, wellhead choke, flowline, riser, and transport line. A detailed investigation of the scenario of emergency shutdowns to study its effect on the system is performed using TMFS. Other scenarios are also evaluated such as startup, depressurization, pigging, wax deposition, and hydrate formation. This paper provides a method to minimize the cost by selecting the optimum pipelines sizes and diameters, and investigating the requirements of insulation, risk of pipeline corrosions and other related flow assurance parameters. Different facility design scenarios are considered using TMFS tool to achieve operational flexibility and eliminate associated risks. Pressure and temperature conditions are evaluated under several parametric scenarios to determine the best dimensions of the production system. This paper will also provide insight into factors affecting the flow assurance of oil and gas reservoirs.


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