LNG TURBOMACHINERY

TutorialThe International Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trade is expanding rapidly. Projects are being proposed worldwide to meet the industry forecasted growth rate of 12% by the end of the decade. LNG train designs in the coming years appear to fall within three classes, having nominal capacities of approximately 3.5, 5.0 and 8.0 MTPA (Million Tons Per Annum). These designs may co-exist in the coming years, as individual projects choose designs, which closely match their gas supplies, sales, and other logistical and economic constraints. The most critical components of a LNG liquefaction facility are the refrigeration compressors and their drivers which represent a significant expense and strongly influence overall plant performance and production efficiency. The refrigeration compressors themselves are challenging to design due to high Mach numbers, large volume flows, low inlet temperatures and complex sidestream flows. Drivers for these plants include gas turbines that range in size from 30 MW units to large Frame 9E gas turbines. Aeroderivative engines have also been recently introduced. This paper covers the design, application and implementation considerations pertaining to LNG plant drivers and compressors. The paper does not focus on any particular LNG process but addresses turbomachinery design and application aspects that are common to all processes. Topics cover key technical design issues and complexities involved in the turbomachinery selection, aeromechanical design, testing and implementation. The paper attempts to highlight the practical design compromises that have to be made to obtain a robust solution from a mechanical and aerodynamic standpoint

Magnetic Bearings

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Magnetic Bearings

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World’s First Aeroderivative Based LNG Liquefaction Plant – Design, Operational Experience and Debottlenecking

LectureThe Darwin LNG Facility is the world’s first liquefaction facility to utilize high efficiency aeroderivative gas turbines for its refrigeration compressors. The plant’s design, startup, successful operation for over four years, upgrade, and debottlenecking are described in this paper. The application of aeroderivative engines allows a significantly lower CO2 footprint of 20-30% compared to the use of simple cycle industrial (heavy duty) gas turbines. This paper will cover the design of all of the turbomachinery, testing of machinery, startup, operational experiences, and debottlenecking activities in which the engines were upgraded. The plant was successfully commissioned and the first LNG cargo was shipped on February 14, 2006. Debottlenecking activities were completed in 2010

Shop Field Testing of Gas Turbines and Compressors

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Gas Turbines and Compressors Performance Testing

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Dry Gas Seals for Compressors

Discussion GroupHow to specify an integrally geared compressor Typical process applications Controlling an integral gear compressor - IGV, VFD Rotordynamic consideration

Dry Gas Seals

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