IEMDC IN-LINE ELECTRIC MOTOR DRIVEN COMPRESSOR

This report contains the final project summary and deliverables required by the award for the development of an In-line Electric Motor Driven Compressor (IEMDC). Extensive work was undertaken during the course of the project to develop the motor and the compressor section of the IEMDC unit. Multiple design iterations were performed to design an electric motor for operation in a natural gas environment and to successfully integrate the motor with a compressor. During the project execution, many challenges were successfully overcome in order to achieve the project goals and to maintain the system design integrity. Some of the challenges included limiting the magnitude of the compressor aerodynamic loading for appropriate sizing of the magnetic bearings, achieving a compact motor rotor size to meet the rotor dynamic requirements of API standards, devising a motor cooling scheme using high pressure natural gas, minimizing the impact of cooling on system efficiency, and balancing the system thrust loads for the magnetic thrust bearing. Design methods that were used on the project included validated state-of-the-art techniques such as finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics along with the combined expertise of both Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Corporation and Dresser-Rand Company. One of the most significant areas of work undertaken on the project was the development of the unit configuration for the system. Determining the configuration of the unit was a significant step in achieving integration of the electric motor into a totally enclosed compression system. Product review of the IEMDC unit configuration was performed during the course of the development process; this led to an alternate design configuration. The alternate configuration is a modular design with the electric motor and compressor section each being primarily contained in its own pressure containing case. This new concept resolved the previous conflict between the aerodynamic flow passage requirements and electric motor requirements for support and utilities by bounding the flowpath within the compressor section. However most importantly, the benefits delivered by the new design remained the same as those proposed by the goals of the project. In addition, this alternate configuration resulted in the achievement of a few additional advantages over the original concept such as easier maintenance, operation, and installation. Interaction and feedback solicited from target clients regarding the unit configuration supports the fact that the design addresses industry issues regarding accessibility, maintainability, preferred operating practice, and increased reliability