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Turbomachinery
Intermediate, Complete Unit
and Performance Tests
Main cost / benefit guidelines helping Customers select the tests
Pasquale Bove
Technical Authority & Machinery Knowledge Owner, Eni SpA
In the design and construction of a oil & gas plant
the main rotating machinery (turbo-alternators,
turbocompressors etc.) keep a key role in
the production. Any package, for example a
“turbocompressor train” after the fabrication
and assembly at the Manufacturer’s factory,
need to be inspected and tested before shipment
to the field. We are talking about the Performance
Tests, that make final acceptance by Client’s side.
The execution of the test is not mandatory; the purpose
of the tests is to check the functionality of the package,
according to the requirements of the technical
specification and the guaranteed performance.The
Performance Test will be as useful as it better simulates
the real operating conditions of the train installed in the A list of the tests that the Manufacturer can
field and connected to the plant.
1. When is it advisable
to test a package at the
Manufacturer’s factory or at
field?
The main tests are described with a brief explanation
ANIMP and the Italian chapter of
the Society of Petroleum Engineers
have recently started collaborating
in numerous areas. One of them is
the exchange in interesting technical
publications. We are therefore very
pleased to publish here a paper by Mr.
Pasquale Bove, which will also appear
in SPE’s Quarterly Bulletin.
D. B.
of the basic criteria to decide which tests have to
be performed at the Manufacturer factory and
which at field after the package is installed and
connected to the plant.
The concepts and criteria highlighted below are
guidelines; variations and customization depend
of course on the test facilities available at the
Manufacturer’s factory.
For the sake of simplicity we will focus on a
centrifugal turbocompressor train, driven by a gas
turbine. For this type of package, mainly two types
of tests can be performed: thermodynamic tests
and mechanical tests, along with electrical and
auxialiaries tests.
perform in the factory in the presence of the
customer is presented. Each of these tests
have their own prerogatives and purposes. The
preliminary functionality tests are performed
internally by the Manufacturer, and usually not
witnessed by the Client:
• preparation and visual checks;
• rotor balancing test;
• vibration measurements;
• leak test;
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