TOPIC:
Optimization of pressure packing designs in consideration of rod temperatures
INSTRUCTOR(S):
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John Ladd is an Engineering Manager for North America, specializing in service and upgrades on reciprocating compressors ensuring the optimal performance and reliability customers’ equipment. Prior to his current position, John held roles as a Compression Engineer and Field Engineer, where he gained extensive experience in the field, providing technical support and solutions to complex engineering challenges.
John received both a B.S. and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University. Additionally, he holds an MBA from Rice University.
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Georg Meyer is a Senior R&D Expert at HOERBIGER Vienna, specializing in mathematical modelling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of compressor components and operations. His research interests are gaining extensive fundamental understanding of the underlying processes, as well as transferring this knowledge to engineering tools for the development and design of compressor components for optimal efficiency and reliability in field operation. Prior to his current position, Georg held various research and post-doc positions where he gained extensive experience in advanced mathematical modelling in the field of fluid mechanics including aspects like gas dynamics, shock-boundary-layer interaction, combustion and spark ignition.
Georg received a M.S. in Chemical Engineering and holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Vienna University of Technology.
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Bernhard Fritz studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Vienna and obtained his Ph.D. at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer in 2019. He joined the HOERBIGER Research and Development (R&D) department in 2012. Within the R&D department, he was leading the Advanced Simulation Group, supporting various projects of R&D and Product Management. Since 2021 he has been a part of the global HOERBIGER Service Engineering team and works closely with the local entities, providing his expertise in advanced engineering and simulation methods.
DETAILS:
One (1) hour presentation, including up to 15 min. Q&A
DESCRIPTION:
Typical engineering standards for compressor rod packings rely on rules of thumb and selection tables. While there is consensus that piston rod temperatures are one of the important design criteria for the lifetime of packing rings, they are generally unknown. With the Packing Performance Prediction Tool, an essential step towards developing a sophisticated design tool for pressure packings is underway. It allows detailed estimation of piston rod temperatures as a function of specific design parameters (number of rings, ring design, etc.). While the tool is still under development, first results are very auspicious. In this paper, a case study shows that the average lifetime of a compressor’s rod packing could be greatly increased by upgrading to pressure-balanced rings. The tool is used retrospectively to estimate the rod temperatures for both ring types in the adopted solutions. Simulation results suggest that the mean rod temperature was indeed significantly lowered by the redesign. Based on the premise that lowering the rod temperature is one important aspect of increasing the packing lifetime, other possible future packing optimizations are discussed in theory.