New MAN TURBO test bed for

turbomachinery and gas turbines

New MAN TURBO test bed for turbomachinery and gas turbines
A few years ago, the three turbomachinery and gas turbine manufacturing shops of MAN TURBO sited on
different locations, were combined
into one entirely new, state-of-theart fabrication shop. The three former test beds were likewise combined into one for better integration
into the works structure and commissioned in the year 1986 (Figs. 1
and 2).
Installation of an additional gas turbine test bed became necessary
after MAN TURBO acquired the gas
turbine programme from the French
firm Hispano Suizaas well as entering into a cooperation agreement
with the American firm Turbo Power
and Marine Systems, Inc. (TP&M),
a subsidiary of United Technologies.
THM 1203 (5.6 MW) and THM 1304
(9.25MW) - two double-shaft gas
turbines of Hispano Suiza - are now
being completely fabricated and
tested under full load in the new workshops of MAN TURBO.
In collaboration with TP&M, MAN
TURBO is currently developing a
three-stage power turbine in the
triple-shaft 25 MW gas turbine class,
for driving production machines.
Based on its nominal driving speed
of 5500 rpm, the power turbine is
designated FT8-55. An industrialized
version of the tried-and-tested aeroengine JT8D servesas a gas generator.
In future, the gas turbine FT8-55 as
well as the 25 MW gas turbines for
generator operation, FT8-30 (3000
rpm) and FT8-36 (3600 rpm), will

also be fitted with peripheral equipment in the MAN TURBO workshops

and tested under full load conditions. Both the gas turbine workshop and the test bed are fully
equipped for this purpose.
Both single machines such as steam
turbines, compressors and gas turbines and complete machine trains
can be tested on the new MAN
TURBO test beds where attention is
mainly focussed on demonstrating
mechanical functions and thermodynamic behaviour of the machines.
These shop tests - which are extensive and wide-ranging - form a vital
link in the chain of quality assurance
measures accompanying the products in every phase of fabrication.
The run up to and performance of
these tests are followed with great
interest by our clients and their
inspecting agencies. In particular,
our high-performance test beds,
equipped with technologically advanced equipment, and operated by
highly experienced staff, ensure that
the tests satisfy the most stringent
demands of our customers.
The new test beds at MAN TURBO
are spread over an area of about
2200 sq.m, corresponding to about
10% of the overall area of the new
fabrication shops, and are located
adjacent to the erection and shipping bay. The size of the test bed
area is based on our experience of
two decades in testing of single
machines, machine trains and their
ancillary units. It also takes account
of the bill of quantities and the type
and number of the machines to be
fabricated.

Fig. 1: Test bed for turbo machines

The vicinity of the test beds of the

erection and shipping bay helps to
minimize the handling distance.
Operating on a three-shift basis, the
test beds are fitted with extensive
noise-abating equipment designed
to meet the statutory noise regulations.

Fig. 2: Layout of the

turbomachinery testbed

Reasons for shop testing

MAN TURBO subject their machines
to extensive shop tests prior to shipment for a variety of reasons. The
trial runs have also to meet stringent
demands in terms oft the later production environment of themachine,
quality specifications of the client as
well as the experience gained in
testing similar machines. Every so
often, we are awarded orders by
virtue of our test bed performance

which ensures that all the testing

requirements of the clients are
reliably met.
The spectrum of the tests performed
by us covers simple mechanical test
runs, in which the machines are
tested under conditions more or less
dissimilar to their later use, including
testing up to the maximum admissible speed, which is generally the
tripping speed, as also full-load
testing of multi-cased turbomachinery including ancillary units.
Quite often we test machines under
conditions very similar to their later
use. These tests are designed to
establish in particular the suction
flow volumes, pressure ratios, stability limits, efficiencies and coupling

power over a large operating range

with varying speeds and/ or guide
vane positions since, in many cases,
the actual field conditions do not
offer any opportunity for conducting
such tests. The significance of these
tests is highlighted by the fact that
at times they provide the only basis
for assessing the combined operation of machines and the machine
trains into which they will later be
integrated. On top of that, the test
runs also provide an assessment of
the boundary values the machine is
capable of achieving in later operation as well as providing suitable
data for the possible extension of
the machine train capacity.
Another reason why the testing of
complete machine trains including
ancillary units and related control
and safety systems is performed in
the manufacturer's works is that by
doing so the duration of field commissioning can be reduced very considerably since the control functions
of all the peripheral equipment can
be set and matched simultaneously
on the testbed in advance.
The test conditions and procedures
are laid down in standards such as
DIN 1943, VDI 2045, ISO 2314 as
well as the relevant ASME and API
codes for the various machines and
their ancillary units. Every so often,
special agreement is made between
the purchaser and the supplier, over
and above these specifications, at
the time of placing an order.
Machine test bed
The factor governing the design of
the new test bed was the drive
power to be provided and the nature
of the drive. The drive power is related to the requirement of testing
axial compressors by means of

suction-side throttling which, under

normal suction conditions, absorb
up to 50 MW power. The acutal
drive power to be provided was
reduced to only a third of the nominal power, i.e. approx. 16 MW, by
reducing the intake pressure through
suction-side throttling to about a
third of the atmospheric pressure.
The type of the drive selected had to
meet the requirement of performing
the machine tests one by one, i.e.
driving the MAN TURBO compressors with steam turbines manufactured by both MAN TURBOand other
suppliers. In cases where the jobrelated driving unit is not available
for driving high-power compressors
during shop tests, a 16 MW condensing steam turbine of MAN TURBO
make, integrated into the test bed,
is used in the speed range of
3000 rpm to 5140 rpm. A thermal
power plant, located nearby, supplies live steam (50 bar, 500 C,
60 t/h) via a 1.6 km long pipeline.
The steam turbine drive system
further incorporates three specialpurpose gearboxes capable of
extending the speed range of the
steam turbine from 1200 rpm to
7800 rpm, a condensing unit, steam
pressure reducing and safety systems, a complete oil supply unit
(4000 l/min.) and a cooling tower
plant having a capacity of 72 MW.
In addition, two 2.5 MW electric
motors (tandem power 5 MW),
equipped with speed control and
compatible gearboxes (output
speeds of 600 rpm - 20800 rpm)
are available for driving mediumpower compressors.
Most of the preparatory work for
turbomachinery testing is devoted

to the erection of interconnecting

piping between the machine to be
tested and the test-bed suction and
measuring line system. Since the
machines to be tested are of different sizes, and have different nozzle
arrangements and machine connections for media supply, the test bed
set-up must offer the required flexibility to cope with each case. For
this reason, the solution shown in
Fig. 2 was selected. The machines
to be tested are installed on two
steel foundations of the same height
but having different lengths. One
foundation is 44 m long and has a
free height of 4.25 m or 8.25 m. The
levels marked 0.0 and - 4.0 in
Fig. 2 are meant to accommodate
ancillary units, such as for example
oil supply units and coolers as
shown in the foreground in Fig. 1.
Smaller-sized machines are tested
on the foundation, 22 m long, located alongside.
A foundation height of about 4 m
has proved to be satisfactory for
laying the interconnecting piping
between the machines to be tested
and the ventilation systemlocated
below the concrete floor. Air suction
ducts are embedded in the bay floor
and covered with removable concrete slabs. These air ducts are connected to the atmosphere via a
sound-insulated suction chimney.
Both the incoming air and extracted
air systems are designed for air
volumes of up to 250000 Nm3h.
Instrumentation and
control system
The machine tests are controlled
and supervised from a control room
located atthe end of the bay. This
control room incorporates a state-ofthe-art electronic system for controlling and regulating the machines to

be tested, the ancillary units and test

bed peripheral equipment as well as
for detecting, processing and evaluating the measuring values during
the tests. It was thus possible to
achieve considerable savings in
terms of power and staff as compared to the former test beds.
A stored-programme controller
(SPC, Fig.3) coodinates all the not
time-critical controland regulation
processes for the cooling-water and
oil supply units as well as the individual units for the test bed motors
and/or the steam turbine and for the
machines and machine trains to be
tested. All operations having a direct
impact on the safety of the machines to be tested are, as a rule,

A number of visual display units are

available to evaluate at a glance the
behaviour of the test bed peripheral
equipment and the machines to be
tested (Fig. 4).

processed and documented, all by

computer control, via the measuring
chain: sensor signal cable adapter cabinets glass-fibre cable
computer network screen printer.
In the adapter cabinets are located
microprocessor-controlled measuring
point selectors and high-resolution,
low-interference digital voltmeters
which are connected for data transfer to the superimposed computer
network via glass-fibrecable.

All the measuring data is recorded

and evaluated on-line with the help
of a high-performance measuring
value detection and processing
system. The results of evaluation are
displayed on the screen at about
1-second intervals making it very
easy to operate, adjust and measure
the different test points. The individual measuring values are detected,

Transient functions can be monitored, recorded and documented by

means of a further measuring
system using selected measuring
points. This measuring system processes signal frequencies up to
10 Hz and is used in particular for
determining the "surge limits" of
compressors and for trend analysis
of important variables.

performed by hand. These include

target value settings for speed
adjustments, for steam temperatures
and pressures, for oil pressures as
well as the actuation of control and
throttle valves and fittings.

Among the main activities during the

mechanical test runs are measurements of vibrations and vibration
analysis to demonstrate the mechanical characteristics of turbo and
screw compressors as well as gas
turbines. A measuring system is
incorporated in the test bed for
measuring and analyzing the shaft
and casing vibrations of these
machines; it is capable of detecting
up to 64 measurement results and
storing them for later analysis and
documentation.
The levels of admissible shaft and
casing vibrations during the test run
are governed by the boundary limits
specified in the relevant codes of
practice or modifications as stipulated in the contracts signed between
the purchaser and the manufacturer.

Fig. 3: Stored programme controller

Fig. 4: Control desks and visual display
units

The data measured during the test

run not only allow to judge the balancing condition of the rotors, the location of their "critical speeds", the condition of the bearings and supports,
but also serve as reference values for
later operation in actual service.
For demonstrating the guaranteed
suction flow volumes, permanent
metering pipes (DN 300 to DN 1000)
are provided together with converters and compatible orifices, with the
help of which it is also possible to
measure large suction flwo volumes
of MAN TURBO axial compressors.
The compressed atmospheric air is
expanded behind the orifices via
remote-controlled throttles and released into the atmosphere through a
noise-insulated chimney. The metering pipes are also used as part of
closed circuits when thermo-dyna-

mic test runs have to be performed

with gases other than air (e.g. N2,
CO2, He or gas mixtures) for maintaining comparable thermo-dynamic
conditions.
In the case of multi-casing turbomachine sets, the scope of the peripheral measuring instruments such as
temperature sensors, pressure
transducers, vibration measuring
instruments, shaft displacement
proximitors, flow volume counters,
etc. can extend up to 500 measuring points, the signals of which are
scanned, processed and display/
documented virtually simultaneously.
A computer-controlled calibration
system servers for calibrating the
individual transducers, sensors, etc.
before and after each test.

Gas turbine test bench

The gas turbine test bench, located
in the immediate vicinity of the compressor test bed, was commissioned
in the year 1989. It consists of two
units: one test stand for full-load
testing of THM gas turbines and a
testing area for gas turbine packages including peripheral equipment
and related compressors with power
inputs of up to 25 MW.
Due to the high noise levels during
the test, the THM gas turbines are
housed in an enclosed test cell
(Figs. 5 and 6). The cell is fitted with
the following equipment.

Supply air system with silencer,

filter and measuring section for
determining the intake flow volume,
Exhaust gas system with silencer
and chimney,
Steel foundation with integrated
lube oil supply ofor accommoda
ting the gas turbine to be tested,
Starter unit with diesel engine,
hydraulic-clutch and gearbox,
Feeding system for fluid and
gaseous fuels,
Fluid friction dynamometer inclu
ding peripherals,
Fire-fighting system,
Instrumentation and control
system for the gas turbine to be
tested, test bench peripherals
and equipment for acceptance
testing.

The instrumentation and control

system on this test bench is based
on the same principles described
above for the compressor test bed.
However, a microprocessor is additionally integrated into the gas turbine test bench to control the fuel
supply and gas turbine speeds as a
function of the specified target
values for the turbine speed and the
load of the fluid friction dynamometer.
During the gas turbine testing, the
main focus is on the demonstration
of the ISO performance and thermal
efficiency. Recording and processing
of the measured data is on an online basis on this test bed, too.

Thanks to the special-purpose test

bed equipment, specifically tailored
to suit gas turbines, it is possible to
install, test and dismantle the gas
turbines within a matter of a few
days while the actual testing takes
just a few hours.
Fig. 7 shows the test set-up of a
package unit for an offshore platform, comprising a gas turbine with
related compressors, set up on the
package testing area (approx.
550 m2) of the gas turbine test bed.
This package unit consists of a THM
1304 gas turbine which drives a
double-casing centrifugal compressor via a gear. The gas turbine also
caters for the lube oil supply of the
centrifugal compressors. A separate

buffer oil system including elevated

tanks supplies buffer oil to the floating ring seals of the compressors.

Fig. 5: Gas turbine test bed,view of the

THM-1304-10 gas turbine
Fig. 6: Gas turbine test bed,view of the
fluid friction dynamometer

According to the contract with the

client, the shop tests for the machine set comprising three packages
had to include the following individual tests:
No-load testing of the gas turbine,
Mechanical test rund of the entire
package unit, and
Thermodynamic test run of the
centrifugal compressors.

Prior to performing the above tests,

the three gas turbines had already
been subjected to mechanical and
thermodynamic tests under full load
and the compressors to mechanical
test runs under vacuum conditions.
During the thermodynamic test, the
four stage groups of the doublecasing centrifugal compressors were
simultaneously tested with nitrogen
in four closed circuits for maintaining
comparable test conditions.
Coolers integrated into the test bed
were available for setting up the closed circuits. During the test runs,
nitrogen was continuously fed into
the circuits in order to replace the
leakage amount into the atmosphere
occurring via the buffer gas system.
For this purpose, and for filling the
circuits, a liquid nitrogen supply

10

system with an evaporator was

used.
During the commissioning phase
and the testing, the major components of the overall complex system,
such as, for example,the buffer oil
unit, were tested under the expected
service conditions and adjusted
accordingly. Subsequently, all the
three package units were installed in
the modules envisaged for the purpose on the dockyards of the platform manufacturer, and once again
tested under nominal load conditions
prior to shipment (Fig. 8).
FT8 gas turbine testing
In the package testing area of the
gas turbine test bed, FT8 gas turbines will also be tested in future
under full-load conditions. In planning the test bed peripherals, atten-

Fig. 7: Testing of a package unit for an

offshore platform
Fig. 8: Module with integrated package
unit for an offshore platform

tion was mainly focused on the

question as to which machine
should best absorb the gas turbine
power. Out of the three possibilities
explored - generator, fluid friction
dynamometer, compressor - the
compressor version was finally
selected since it allows for maximum
flexibility with regard to different
speeds for testing the FT8 gas turbines. Besides, an option had to be
left open for power turbines having
either right of left direction of rotation.
Fig. 9 shows a schematic representation of the test bed set-up for
testing FT8 gas turbines. The position of the gas turbines in the package testing area is determined by the
connection of the exhaust gas nozzle to the permanently installed
exhaust gas chimney. The peripherals of the gas turbines, comprising
the air starter, fuel pump unit, lube
oil supply and water injection system
for NOx reduction, are arranged to
correspond to the actual configuration in later service. The gas turbine
package itself is fitted with suction

silencer, air filter and package ventilation.

Fig. 9: Schematic of a closed circuit for

full-load testing of FT8 gas turbines

A precision dynamometer, located

between the power turbine and a
three-shaft special gearbox, is used
for measuring the power turbine torques. The gearbox steps up/down
the output speeds of the gas turbines to correspond to the speed
range of 3870 rpm to 5400 rpm of
a double-stage pipeline compressor
designed for 25 MW drive power
and operated in a closed circuit with
nitrogen at pressures between 28
and 76 bar.

speed. Based on past experience,

the system selected is expected to
afford a very stable control with
closed circuits. This system is scheduled for commissioning in spring
1992 for the first testing of an FT830 gas urbine under full load.

The heat of compression is first

removed from the recycle gas in a
closed-circuit cooler followed by a
reduction of the built-up pressure to
suction pressure by means of a
throttle valve. Load variation on the
compressor end is performed by filling/emptying the closed circuit with
nitrogen supplied by a suitable
source. The gas turbine governor
controls the fuel supply and the
speed according to the target values
specified for the power turbine

11

MAN Turbomaschinen AG
Steinbrinkstrasse 1
46145 Oberhausen / Germany
Phone: +49. 208. 692-2385
Fax: +49. 208. 692-9786
compressor_sales@de.manturbo.com
www.manturbo.com

In the interest of technical progress subject to change without notice.

Printed in germany.
November 2002
TURBO ... ??????