Basic Seal Oil Systems

OPERATION / SYSTEM DESCRIPTION:

 
The purpose of the seal oil system is to keep the
compressed gas from entering the bearing
assembly and escaping from the compressor to
the atmosphere. The seal oil system may be a
completely separate oil system, however in most
cases it is apart of the compressor (main) lube
oil system. The seal oil system can be considered
as having three major levels of operation: Seals,
Oil Supply, and Oil Return.
SEAL OIL SUPPLY SYSTEM:

The oil supply consists of a reservoir, pumps,

filters, pressure control valve, cooler, level
control valve and overhead tanks.
 Typical Seal Oil Supply System

The oil used is held in an tank, which is purged

to clear the tank of any gas at 3" w.c. vacuum by
a jet blower attached to the reservoir. Also
attached to the reservoir are two electric motor
driven pumps that are selectable to run from the
UCP (unit control panel), however, only
onepump should be selected to run at any one
time.
 Now all that is needed is to control oil pressure
to the seal. It is known that a greater oil
pressure must be supplied to the seal than the
gas pressure against the seal. So an overhead
tank has been added to accomplish this task. The
overhead tank is supplied with oil from the oil
supply cavity of the oil film seal through the seal
oil by-pass piping and with reference gas
pressure piped to the top of the tank from the
outboard side of the thrust balance piston.
 
In order to fill the tank with oil, the oil pressure
must be greater than the gas pressure. By
mounting the tank above the compressor, the oil
supply pressure to the seals must then be even
greater to overcome the added gravitational
force of oil in the by-pass line and tank.
To summarize, the supply of seal oil should be
equal to the gas reference pressure plus the head
of oil maintained in the overhead tank serving
each set of seals in each compressor. Seal
differential is the head of oil maintained in the
tank against the seal. 
  

COMPONENT DESCRIPTION:
Seals:
Cooper-BessemerÒ Compressors use the
labyrinth and oil film type seals working in
combination within a cartridge to seal against
gas leakage during operation whenever gas is
present in the compressor. Each end of the
compressor is equipped with a seal cartridge.
Cutaway of a typical Barrel Compressor
 Typical Labyrinth Seal
LABYRINTH SEAL:

A labyrinth seal has a series of teeth with a close

clearance to the shaft (See above illustration).
Labyrinth seal work similar to an orifice in a
pipe.

As the high pressure gas passes through the first

tooth the pressure is decreased to approximately
half its original pressure and velocity is
increased. The gas then enters the chamber
before the second tooth. A natural turbulence is
created, which reduces the velocity allowing the
gas to expand in the cavity between labyrinth
teeth. This process is repeated for each tooth of
the labyrinth. The result is a large reduction in
gas pressure across the seal.

OIL FILM SEAL CARTRIDGE:

The oil film seal is made up of two free floating

rings which are machined with a very small
clearance around the shaft (See following
illustration). Clean high pressure oil is squeezed
between the rings and shaft, and out both
directions. As long as the oil pressure is greater
then the gas pressure, the seal will not allow gas
to escape.
 Typical Oil Film Seal 
 
The seals are bench assembled as a cartridge.
The seal cartridge is put onto the shaft and in to
the compressor at each end. Because the oil film
seal requires an oil supply and drainage, the
casing and cartridge housing are machined and
drilled with matching annular ports, or, holes
(See above illustration). These annular ports are
 sealed from one another by Orings assembled
onto the O.D. of the cartridge. 
SEAL OIL Cartridge SUPPLY:

Seal oil is supplied and flows between the seal

rings (See following
illustration). The majority of oil will flow to the
low pressure side of the seal cartridge. The high
pressure side of the seal cartridge is where the
gas and oil come into contact with one another.
The labyrinth seal on the high pressure side of
the seal cartridge reduces the higher gas
pressure. This reduced gas pressure is sealed
from the system by the high pressure oil passing
through the gas side seal ring. Oil supply is
maintained at a greater pressure between the
seal rings than compressor suction pressure to
insure a positive seal and safe operation at all
times. 
 Typical Seal Oil Supply Flow

SEAL OIL RETURN:

SEAL OIL CARTRIDGE RETURN OIL FLOW:

 
The oil flowing to the bearing side (low
pressure) of the seal cartridge is not
contaminated with gas, and returns directly to
the reservoir. The oil flowing to the process side
(high pressure) of the seal cartridge is
contaminated with gas and goes to the degasser
system.
 
The return of oil from each seal is provided by
two ports off the
compressor housing. A 1-1/2" pipe is connected
 to the outboard side of the oil film seal. This
uncontaminated oil is returned to the reservoir.
This is where the majority of oil will flow. On the
inboard side of the oil film seal, the oil comes in
contact with a small amount of gas that has
leaked past the labyrinth seal. This
contaminated oil must be treated specially
before returning it to the reservoir. 
The first step of this treatment is the trap
system. The oil is sent from the compressor to
the trap through a 1" pipe.
Provided the pressure in the pipe is over 5 psig,
it will enter the trap. If less than 5 psig, it will
pass through an excessive flow valve and directly
to the degasser tank for gas removal. The
excessive flow valve is used to keep the seal from
flooding when the compressor case is not
pressurized.
 Trap System
The trap is a vessel that is level controlled and
ported at the top for gas venting and bottom for
oil drainage. The oil enters the trap and is given
some time to allow the gas to separate from the
oil, until the level of oil becomes too high and is
drained.
 This process is controlled by a level controller
that regulates 100 psig air supply to a 3-15 psig
control signal. This control signal is sent to a
dump valve that is adjusted to open at 12 psig
and to a high trap level alarm switch. The oil
drains through the dump valve and into a
common pipe with the other trap drains to the
degasser system. The vented gases from the
traps are passed through a final demister before
going to atmosphere.
DEGASSER TANK:

The degasser tank is the second stage of

removing gas from the oil. It is a tank with
baffles of various heights. The contaminated oil
enters into the first chamber and is heated. This
heating thins the oil and allows the gas to
separate faster and easier. The element used for
heating the oil is controlled through the Motor
Control Center (MCC), which will control the
temperature using an adjustable temperature
switch. The temperature is also monitored by
the UCP that will generate an alarm for low or
high temperatures. Should the oil level in this
chamber drop below 12 inches, a level switch
will disconnect the power to the heater. The oil
 will pass over the other baffles that will agitate
the oil and release all the gas. The final chamber
oil level will be monitored by a level switch that
will generate a low level alarm at the UCP. Once
in the final chamber, the oil will be drained back
to the reservoir for re-use. 
The degasser tank also requires a purge of gas
that is supplied off the suction header through a
separator and filter. This purging gas keeps the
gas content in the tank at a high
enough level so it is not explosive. The purge gas
supply is controlled and monitored by the UCP
through a solenoid and pressure switch.
BALANCING:

SEAL BALANCING:

The gas pressure in on the inboard side of the

seal cartridges is equalized by an
interconnecting pipe called the seal balance line.
This allows for one seal system to supply both
end seals during operation rather than two
separate systems, one serving each seal. 
A gas reference line is piped from the thrust
balance port on the discharge end of the
compressor to a supply of seal oil maintained in
an overhead tank approximately 5-6 meters
above the horizontal centerline of each
compressor. While the unit is running and the
compressor case is pressurized, the reference
gas represents the pressure used to seal against.
 Typical Seal Balance Piping
THRUST BALANCE:
Suction gas pressure is piped from the suction of
the compressor to a port behind the thrust
balance piston by the thrust balance piping. The
thrust balance line is used in conjunction with
the thrust balance piston and labyrinth to
reduce excessive forces of the thrust toward
suction that develops during normal operation.
The gas pressure behind the thrust balance
piston will be suction pressure plus a small
amount of gas leakage across the balance piston
from the last stage impeller. Under any
circumstances, the pressure behind the thrust
balance piston represents the pressure
necessary to seal against.
 Typical Thrust Balance Piping
OPERATION:

Should one of the pumps fail during operation,

A pressure switch would operate and show a seal
oil supply low alarm and start the other pump.
Should the filter become plugged, a differential
pressure switch will send a signal to the UCP and
an alarm will be sounded. The filter should be
selected to the spare and the dirty one cleaned
or replaced.

Now that the tank is elevated and has this added

gas pressure, the oil within the tank will supply
emergency oil to the seals for a period of time
should the pumps shut off. Now what is needed
during operation is a controller to maintain the
correct oil level in the overhead tank. This is
done by a Fisher pneumatic level controller that
will regulate a 100 psig air supply to 3-15 psig
depending on the level in the tank. This signal is
then connected to a controller valve that will
regulate the oil pressure going to seals. The
controller must be set to maintain the
recommended level in the overhead tank serving
each compressor. This is done by loosening the
 spring to fill the tank higher or tightening the
spring for a lower level. There is also added a
main regulating valve which may be adjusted by
tightening the spring to raise the levels of both
tanks or loosening to decrease levels.
Startup of the Coberra Gas Turbine Unit is
initiated by startup of the electric motor driving
selected L.O. pump to deliver oil to the
compressor overhead seal oil rundown tank via
the seal boost pump, this fills the system and
ensures proper supply of oil to the machinery.
During this phase of startup, the lube oil
rundown tank serving the disc end journal
bearing on an emergency shutdown involving
loss of power, is also filled.
Establishing correct L.O. pressure as well as seal
and lube oil tank levels
is required for the startup control sequence to
progress. The supply must be sufficient to
ensure against the escape of any gas within the
compressor, maintaining a positive sealing of
the gas within the casing during operation or
shutdown if the cases remained pressurized.
 
During normal operation only one of the seal oil
pumps is on-line.  The other pump, depending
upon selection, functions as a back-up pump
should alarms occur.
Once the system has been proven during start
the following will occur:

1. Arm the Lube and Seal Oil Low & High Level
 and Pressure alarm and shutdowns in the
system.

2. The Unit is ready for further sequencing as

follows:

· System ready for compressor case purge and

pressurization cycles

· Unit valve sequencing can begin.

· When purging and pressurizing of the

compressor case is
completed and valves are in correct position it is
they permissible to start the gas generator.