Turboexpanders with pressurized magnetic bearings for off-shore applications
- Rotoflow Corp., Gardena, CA (United States)
There are two primary parameters that encourage the use of magnetic bearings in turbomachinery: oil-free process and space requirements. For cryogenic processes such as hydrogen purification and ethylene plants, oil free process is the primary objective. In the case of off-shore platforms for oil and gas production, the occupied space and weight are of prime concern. In off-shore operations, the process gas density is usually higher than in normal process plants because the gas is untreated and at high pressure. High density process gas generates more windage loss and may also cause excessive radial load to journal bearings. The bearing assembly design should be suitable for sour gas environments as well. Furthermore, the thrust bearing system should withstand process fluctuations which are more severe due to high pressure. In this paper, the authors explain their experience of designing a turboexpander-compressor with magnetic bearings for an off-shore oil production platform. They will present side load analysis and their solutions for heat dissipation and coping with process fluctuations.
- OSTI ID:
- 390744
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950852-; TRN: 96:005769-0002
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 4. industrial conference and exhibition on applications of magnetic bearings, magnetic drives, and dry gas seals, Alexandria, VA (United States), 10-11 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the MAG `95 magnetic bearings, magnetic drives and dry gas seals conference & exhibition; PB: 384 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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