ARIEL UPS TRAINING TEACHING THE FUTURE MIRATECH’S BEAST

NEW LEARNING CENTER HIGH DEMAND FOR GRADS NEW CATALYST VIA MERGER

JULY 2018
A KHL Group publication

Panama CanaLNG:
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JULY 2018

ARIEL UPS TRAINING TEACHING THE FUTURE MIRATECH’S BEAST

NEW LEARNING CENTER HIGH DEMAND FOR GRADS NEW CATALYST VIA MERGER

JULY 2018
A KHL Group publication

COMPRESSORtech2 is the premier resource for gas compression news and information.

LNG Technology
14 A New (Common) Sight
On The Waterway

Panama CanaLNG: Partners In Training

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A New (Common) Sight

M/ SU
/S

22 Demand Rising
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22 Training Programs
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32 Ariel Levels Up Training Space

COMPRESSORtech2 (ISSN 1085-2468) Volume

23, No. 6 — Published 10 issues/year (January-
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February, March, April, May, June, July, August- 20 NEA Forecasts Diversified,
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Product Focus 36
www.compressortech2.com 46 Miratech Rolls Out The Beast

Follow @COMPRESSORtech2 on: Departments

44
6 The LNG Cometh
9 The Ups And Downs
Of Tree Sitting
11 Gas Lines
12 Events & Meetings
43 Prime Movers 36
MEMBER OF … 47 Scheduled Downtime
47 Marketplace
50 Cornerstones of Compression
– The White Hat Specials

46
COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 5
 EDITORIAL
PUBLICATION STAFF
comment FROM THE EDITOR
Publisher:
Associate Publisher ................... Mark Thayer
Michael J. Brezonick
Senior Editor ................................... DJ Slater
mike.brezonick@khl.com
Senior Editor ................. Michael J. Brezonick
Tel: +1 262-754-4112
Associate Editor ........................... Klinton Silvey
Cell: +1 262-366-9452
Associate Editor ............................... Jack Burke
Senior Editor:
The LNG Cometh
Associate Editor ............................Chad Elmore
DJ Slater
Copy Editor ............................... Jerry Karpowicz
dj.slater@khl.com
Digital Publishing Manager ........... Paul Damon
Senior Editor:

T
Advertising Manager .................. Katie Bivens here’s no going back. The LNG floodgates have burst open and everyone
Jack Burke
Circulation Manager ...................... Sue Smith
jack.burke@khl.com seems to be getting into the mix.
Graphic Artist ...........................Brenda Burbach The United States, Russia and Australia added a combined 3.4 Bcfd
PRODUCTION
Graphic Artist .................................Carla Lemke
Production & Circulation Director: (96.2 X 106 m3/d) of LNG capacity via five new liquefaction trains, according to
Graphic Artist ............................... Alyssa Loope
Saara Rootes the U.S. Energy Information Administration. LNG is also coming out of Malaysia
PUBLICATION HEADQUARTERS
saara.rootes@khl.com thanks to Petronas’ floating liquefied natural gas (PFLNG) Satu vessel. Canada,
20855 Watertown
Production Manager Road, - KHL SuiteGroup: 220
RossWaukesha,
Dickson Wisconsin 53186-1873 Russia and East Africa also are looking to enter the fray, according to IHS Markit,
ross.dickson@khl.com
Tel: (262) 754-4100 Fax: (262) 754-4175 an analytics company that serves multiple industries.
Production Manager - KHL Americas: The thirst for this resource comes west of the United States, specifically Japan
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Brenda Burbach
Norm Shade – Cambridge, Ohio and Asia. Those suppliers appear plentiful, and with the expanded Panama
brenda.burbach@khl.com
Mauro Belo Schneider – Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Canal, countries like the United States can now send LNG tankers through
Design Manager:
Patrick Crow – Austin, Texas
Jeff Gilbert the locks.
HOUSTON, USA The United States took advantage of the Panamanian gateway. Last year, the
CIRCULATION
Mark Thayer, Associate Publisher
Subscriptions: United States exported 14.7 million tons of LNG, with 6.9 million tons passing
Tel: +1 (281) 890-5287
subscriptions@khl.com through the Panama Canal, according to IHS Markit.
9597 Jones Road #924
Circulation & Data Manager:
Houston, TX 77065-4818
Helen Knight
The United States doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.
helen.knight@khl.com
GERMANY According to the EIA, U.S. exports of natural gas, including LNG, were up 8% in
Office Manager: Advertising Manager
Lisa Hochkofler, the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year. Exports averaged
May HydeTel: +49 711 5062 4982 9.6 Bcfd (0.27 X 109 m3/d) in the first quarter this year or 0.7 Bcfd (19.8 X 106
may.hyde@khl.com
Gabriele Dinsel, Advertising Manager
m3/d) more than the same time frame in 2017, and 3.8 Bcfd (0.10 X 109 m3/d)
SALES Tel: +49 711 3416 7471
more than the first quarter of 2016.
Vice President, Sales
Niemöllerstr. 9
Alister 73760
Williams Ostfildern, Germany Demand is also poised to remain strong. In 2017, global LNG imports reached
Tel: +1 843 637 4127 289.8 million tons, increasing by 9.9% (or 26.2 million tons) compared to 2016.
UNITED KINGDOM
Cell: +1 312-860-6775
Ian Cameron, Regional Manager/Editor It’s the strongest growth rate since 2010, according to a new annual report from
alister.williams@khl.com
Linda
Katie Cameron, Advertising Manager
Bivens the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL).
Regional Tel: +44
Sales 20 31 79 29 79
Manager What I wonder is how all of this will play out in the years to come. The United
40 Premier Avenue
Tel: +1 262-754-4130 States won’t be reclaiming its import status anytime soon (if ever again) for LNG.
Cell: +1 262-327-4899
Ashbourne, Derbyshire,
katie.bivens@khl.com
DE6 1LH, United Kingdom But with all these suppliers coming online now and in the near future, will the
Gabriele Dinsel United States be able to retain its share of the LNG pie?
ITALY
Regional Sales Manager The Panama Canal helps, but will it be able to handle the increasing supply
Roberta Prandi, Regional Manager/Editor
Tel: +49 711 3416 74 71
Tel: +39 0464 014421
gabriele.dinsel@khl.com
of LNG through its locks? The immediate term could cause
Linda Cameron Via Cerere 18 problems, especially when LNG takes up a small
Regional Sales38062 Arco, Italy
Manager percentage of its overall vessel traffic. Would the
Tel: +44 20 31 79 29 79
SWEDEN Panama Canal Authority sacrifice some of its prime
linda.cameron@khl.com
Bo Svensson, Field Editor/Business Manager
vessel traffic to accommodate more LNG tankers?
Tel: +46EXECUTIVE
CHIEF 70 2405369 Fax: +46 122 14787
OFFICER
James King
Dunderbacksvagen 20
It’s clear they’re taking the matter seriously as talks
of another expansion are already taking place. No
CHIEF 612-46 Finspong, Sweden
FINANCIAL OFFICER
Paul Baker JAPAN matter how this breaks, there is an absolute. More
Akiyoshi Ojima,
PRESIDENT Branch
& CHIEF Manager
OPERATING LNG is coming. Where it all goes and how it gets there
Tel: +81
OFFICER 45 624 3502 Fax: +81 45 624 3503 is the mystery.
51-16-301
Trevor Honmoku Sannotani, Naka-ku
Pease Get your popcorn ready. CT2
Yokohama, 231-0824 Japan

KOREA
D. S. Chai, Sales Manager
Dongmyung Communications Inc.
Tel: +82 2 391 4254 Fax: +82 2 391 4255
KHL GROUP AMERICAS LLC
82 Pyeongchangmunhwa-ro, Jongno-gu DJ Slater
3726 E. Ember Glow Way,
Seoul, 03011 Korea
Phoenix, AZ 85050 USA senior editor
KHL GROUP AMERICAS LL
e-mail: americas@khl.com dj.slater@khl.com
President & CEO .................... Michael J. Osenga
Executive Vice President ....Michael J. Brezonick

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Monitoring Government
The Ups and Downs
of Tree Sitting
Federal courts asked to resolve
Appalachian pipeline disputes
BY PATRICK CROW
pponents of Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) took
O their objections to new heights this spring.
In a few locations, tree sitters obstructed MVP’s
efforts to clear the right-of-way for a 303 mile (487 km)
pipeline from northern West Virginia to a connection with
Transcontinental Gas Pipeline in southern Virginia.
The US$3.5-billion-plus project, which is due completion
later this year, would move 2 Bcfd (56.6 x 106 m3/d) of
Marcellus and Utica shale gas. The 42 in. (1 m) diameter
pipeline would require three West Virginia compressor
stations totaling 171,600 hp (128 MW).
MVP had obtained full legal rights to begin clearing the
pipeline route across national forest and private lands.
Some of its most vocal opponents had lost lawsuits
challenging MVP’s exercise of eminent domain.
At various times, perhaps eight people built and occupied
platforms in trees that were due to be cut on the right-of-
way. All but two of them declined to give their names. Some
wore masks.
The most publicized of the “tree huggers” were a mother
and daughter who lived for a month atop separate trees on
family property in Roanoke County, Virgina.
Teresa “Red” Terry, 61, and her daughter Minor Terry,
30, finally abandoned their arboreal abodes after U.S.
Dist. Judge Elizabeth Dillon threatened them with fines
of US$1000/day. Judge Dillon ordered Teresa Terry’s
husband, Cole Terry III, to pay US$2000 for sustaining their
demonstration.
Their civil disobedience cost much more than that. MVP
lawyers told the judge that the Terrys’ protest had cost
the pipeline more than US$40,000. Also, law enforcement
agencies spent nearly US$84,000 to maintain order.
In a separate case, Judge Dillon fined landowners Ian
and Carolyn Reilly US$1000 each for supporting, or at
least abetting, anonymous tree sitters on their property
in Franklin County, Virginia. The judge said the Reillys’
testimony about the activity had been “purposefully evasive
Patrick Crow is an Austin, Texas, writer and a former COMPRESSORtech2
editor. He has reported for oil and gas publications since 1967 and has
written extensively about energy issues before Congress, federal agencies
and the courts.
COMPRESSORtech2
and sometimes blatantly misleading.”
In Giles County, West Virginia, objectors erected a pole
in the middle of a gravel road in Jefferson National Forest.
A platform was attached 30 ft. (9.1 m) high and a woman
took occupancy – all to prevent construction vehicles from
using the road.
Cheerleaders for the unidentified woman dubbed her
“Nutty,” supposedly because her pod reminded them of a
large nut in a tree. Of course, there could have been other
reasons.
Lots Of Lawsuits
Apart from the tree sitters, federal courts have received a
half-dozen lawsuits involving MVP, most of them smelling
of sour grapes. The lawsuits questioned government
decisions about impacts on streams, the crossing of forest
lands, the temporary closure of a road, the use of eminent
domain, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) finding that the pipeline was in the public interest.
Pipeline objectors complain that they face a regulatory
conundrum: The Natural Gas Act prohibits lawsuits from
being filed in federal court challenging FERC’s approval of
a pipeline until the agency has time to consider requests for
a rehearing.
Since FERC allows pipelines to proceed with construction
while it reviews rehearing requests, opponents say “the
damage could be done” by the time rehearings are denied
and lawsuits can be filed.
Although FERC approved a record 2739 miles (4408 km)
of interstate pipelines last year, it is not unsympathetic to
public complaints. It has observed “increased concerns”
of landowners and communities affected by proposed
projects.
The commission currently is reconsidering its
pipeline certification procedure, with an emphasis on
landowner concerns and the justification for projects
(CompressorTech2, January-February 2018, p. 6).
FERC may find it difficult to allow third parties more
opportunity to challenge proposed pipelines earlier in the
process. It also is under a mandate to expedite its system,
thanks to a directive form President Donald Trump. CT2
JULY 2018 9
Gas Lines
Baker Hughes Rig Count
Egypt Boosting Natural Gas Production
1400
In Hopes Of Exporting Again 1200
he latest report on Egypt from the U.S. Energy Information 1000

T Administration (EIA) notes that although the country

became a net importer of natural gas in 2015, substantial
natural gas discoveries may potentially boost production and
800
600
400
allow Egypt to become a net exporter again in the medium term. 200
The Egyptian government has fast-tracked the development of 0
the Zohr and Atoll fields and the West Nile Delta (WND) project. May-16 May-17 May-18
Discovered in August 2015 and labeled as the largest offshore North America International
natural gas field in the Mediterranean, the Zohr gas field has an Source: Baker Hughes

estimated reserve of 30 Tcf (849.5 X 109 m3) and is currently

producing 0.4 Bcfd (11.3 X 106 m3/d).
Henry Hub Natural Gas
Natural gas production began in 2017 and peak plateau
Spot Price (US$/MMBtu)
production is estimated at 2.7 Bcfd (76.5 X 106 m3/d) and
is expected to be reached by the end of 2019. Natural gas $5.00
production at the Atoll field also began in February 2018 and is
currently producing 0.35 Bcfd (9.9 X 106 m3/d) of natural gas and $4.00

10,000 b/d of condensate. Developed as two separate projects

$3.00
to speed up development, the WND project started producing
natural gas in March 2017; the two projects are expected to be $2.00
fully online in 2019, producing close to 1.5 Bcfd (42.5 X 106 m3/d)
to feed into Egypt’s national electricity grid. The government $1.00
hopes the new discoveries will allow the country to resume natural May-16 May-17 May-18
gas exports. CT2 Source: EIA

Brent Crude Oil Price

(US$/Barrel)

$80.00

$70.00

$60.00

$50.00

$40.00
May-16 May-17 May-18
Source: EIA

US Natural Gas Storage (Bcf)

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
January December
2018 Five-Year High Five-Year Low
Source: EIA
Graphics: Egypt Natural Gas Production, consumption

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 11

 Don’t replace.

Events & Meetings

Boldface indicates shows and conferences in which COMPRESSORtech2 is participating

JUNE July 30-Aug. 1 Sept. 18-20

June 25–29 SGA Operating Conference Turbomachinery and Pump
World Gas Conference Tampa, Florida Symposium
Washington D.C. +1 (972) 620-8505 Houston, Texas
+44 20 7978 0019 southerngas.org +1 (979) 845-7417
wgc2018.com
tps.tamu.edu
SEPTEMBER
June 26–28
Sept. 11-13 Sept. 18–20
Sensor + Test
Nürnberg, Germany
Southwest Energy Institute Gas Compressor Short Course
+49 (0) 5033 9639-0 Short Course Industry Training University of Oklahoma
sensor-test.de Liberal, Kansas +1 (405) 325-0673
+1 (620) 417-1170 pacs.ou.edu/gas-compressor
June 26-28 swenergyinstitute.org
Sensors Expo & Conference Sept. 18–20
San Jose, California Sept. 12–14 Power-Gen Asia
+1 (617) 219-8300 EFRC Jakarta, Indonesia
sensorsexpo.com
Madrid, Spain +1 (918) 831-9160
recip.org asiapowerweek.com
JULY
July 2-5
Sept. 17–20 Sept. 30–Oct. 3
Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference &
Exhibition Gastech Exhibition & Conference Gas Machinery Conference
Abuja, Nigeria Barcelona, Spain Kansas City, Missouri
+44 20 7978 0083 +44 (0) 203 615 5914 +1 (972) 620-4026
cwcnog.com gastechevent.com gmrc.org

12 JULY 2018 COMPRESSORtech2

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Find a distributor near you at www.altronic-llc.com

For a complete listing of upcoming events, please visit our website at www.compressortech2.com/events/

OCTOBER DECEMBER +1 (620) 417-1170

Oct. 23-24 Dec. 4-6 swenergyinstitute.org
Black Sea Oil & Gas Power-Gen International
Bucharest, Romania Orlando, Florida March 13-15
+44 845 868 8234 +1-888-299-8016 Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition &
globuc.com/blackseaoilgas power-gen.com Conference
Perth, Australia
Oct. 28–30 2019 +61 3 9261 4500
Syngas Technologies Conference aogexpo.com.au
Colorado Springs, Colorado FEBRUARY
+1 (703) 276-0110 Feb. 11-13 March 19-22
globalsyngas.org Egypt Petroleum Show GCA Expo & Conference
Cairo, Egypt Galveston, Texas
NOVEMBER +971 4 445 3781 +1 (972) 518-0019
Nov. 12–15 egyps.com gascompressor.org
ADIPEC
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Feb. 25-28 March 26-28
+971 2 444 4909 Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning International Petroleum
adipec.com Conference Technology Conference
Norman, Oklahoma Beijing, China
Nov. 14–16 +1 (405) 325-4414 +60 3 2182 3030
20th Korea Rotating Machinery https://pacs.ou.edu/lrgcc iptcnet.org
Symposium
Seoul, South Korea MARCH March 27-29
+82-2-579-6271 March 5-7 OMC 2019
krmea.or.kr/engmain/main.php Southwest Energy Institute Ravenna, Italy
+1 (918) 831-9160 Short Course Industry Training +39 0544 219418
asiapowerweek.com Liberal, Kansas omc2019.it

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 13

LNG Technology
■ As of March 2018, 134 LNG vessels have used the
Panama Canal in fiscal year 2018. The prior fiscal year
saw 163 LNG tankers pass through the locks.
Expanded
Panama Canal
accommodating
increasing LNG
vessel traffic
A New (Common) Sight On The Waterway
BY DJ SLATER
he Panama Canal Authority
T didn’t have the United States
on its radar 17 years ago when
it began researching the feasibility of
LNG tankers passing through its future
expanded waterway.
LNG and the United States weren’t
commonly used together back in 2001.
At the time, the United States imported
the liquefied resource from Qatar
and other middle eastern countries.
Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Peru,
were potential users, but the volumes
weren’t large enough to warrant much
14 JULY 2018
discussion, said Silvia de Marucci,
the executive manager, economic
analysis and market research division,
Panama Canal Authority.
“We decided to delete LNG from
the forecast,” she said. “We didn’t
include it because we thought that
traffic wouldn’t come. Maybe 10
transits a year. We decided to have a
conservative forecast for LNG through
the new canal.”
The LNG community knows what
happened next. The United States
unlocked its natural gas flow, which
in turn allowed the country to consider
dabbling in the LNG trade. Now, 17
years later, the United States has two
operational LNG terminals – Sabine
■ Panama Canal Authority associates
pose with the LNG Sakura tanker as
it passes through the new locks. The
authority has had as many as three LNG
vessels transit the locks in a day.
Pass in Louisiana and Cove Point in
Maryland – with several more on the
horizon.
What once seemed like an
unexpected scenario has now become
the reality. The United States is primed
to be an energy exporter, with LNG
as one of its primary resources and
the Panama Canal as its gateway to
several energy hungry nations.
“I remember going to conferences
and people would laugh at the
engineers and CEOs whenever they
had a presentation about an LNG
terminal (out of the U.S.) that they
were converting,” de Marucci said. “It
was so nice when they finally got their
permits and they moved forward with
their project.
“Nobody saw this coming,” she said.
“I belong to a very very large group
of people who did not see the U.S.
becoming a net exporter of gas until
recently.”
COMPRESSORtech2
 LNG Technology

■ The new expanded

Panama Canal locks can
accommodate much larger vessels
(Neopanamax), including LNG tankers.
Photos by The Panama Canal Authority.

MODULAR
RELIABLE
EFFICIENT
■ The United In an economy where it is important to reduce operational
Importer to exporter States’ shift from costs, the ZVI unloader does so by reducing down time, reducing
The United States’ shift from LNG LNG importer to maintenance costs and improving efficiency. The ZVI piston-style
importer to exporter didn’t happen exporter is aided unloader valve can be used in all brands of compressors, at any
instantaneously. In fact, a common by the expanded
speed, for both lubricated and non-lubricated applications
fear in the early 2000s was a natural Panama Canal.
gas shortfall, a move that lead to the
construction of several LNG import
terminals, said Andres Rojas, a director
with IHS Markit, an analytics company
that serves multiple industries.
“The view was the U.S. would be
short on domestic gas and prices
would skyrocket,” Rojas said.
But the answer to the United States’ WWW.ZAHROOFVALVES.COM
continued on page 16 SALES@ZAHROOFVALVES.COM
COMPRESSORtech2 +1 713.554.2678
LNG Technology
looming energy problem was beneath
everyone’s feet the entire time. The
issue was extracting it, a problem that
was soon solved by “The Father of
Fracking” George Mitchell. To access
the natural gas in the continent’s shale
formations, Mitchell merged horizontal
drilling and fracking, a combination
that shifted the conversation from
energy crisis to energy boom.
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“In the mid-2000s, increasing shale
gas production eventually caused
prices to drop,” Rojas said. “LNG
imports weren’t needed anymore
outside of New England, but a few
people had the idea to start exporting
LNG.”
The shift had begun, one that put
the United States on a firm path to
LNG exporter. Jumping to 2017, global
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■ Container vessels make up 48%
of the expanded Panama Canal’s
traffic, with LNG traffic accounting
for 11% based on 2018 figures.
Photo by Jason Anderson.
LNG trade has increased to 38.2 Bcfd
(1.08 X 109 m3/d), a 10% increase from
2016 numbers, with the United States
and Australia accounting for three-
quarters (2.7 Bcfd [76.4 X 106 m3/d])
of that increased supply, according
to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA).
Collectively, the United States,
Australia and Russia added five new
liquefaction trains (combined 3.4
Bcfd [96.2 X 106 m3/d]). The Petronas
floating liquefied natural gas (PFLNG)
Satu vessel also started producing
LNG from Malaysia’s gas reserves
on Dec. 5, 2016. Based on last year’s
data, there are 19 LNG-exporting
countries and 40 LNG-importing
countries, the EIA said.
Asia was the top LNG importer in
2017, accounting for 74% or 2.6 Bcfd
(73.6 X 106 m3/d) of the increase. The
largest import market for LNG is Japan,
but China had the largest growth in
LNG imports globally, increasing its
intake by 1.5 Bcfd (42.5 X 106 m3/d)
or 46% from 2016 to 2017, according
to the EIA. China also overtook South
Korea as the world’s second largest
LNG importer in 2017. Most of that can
be attributed to China’s government’s
initiatives to switch from coal to natural
gas.
“In China, we saw significant coal
to gas switching in the industrial
and heating sectors because local
governments were under pressure
to meet environmental targets by the
end of 2017,” said Matthew Shruhan,
a senior LNG analyst at IHS Markit.
COMPRESSORtech2
 LNG Technology

transiting the expanded canal for Gatun Lake.

almost two years, the Panama Canal
Authority is still getting comfortable
processing these vessels through
the locks. The authority has several
restrictions in place for LNG tankers,
which include only allowing day time
transits and having a tugboat escort.
LNG tankers also can’t pass other
vessels in the Culebra Cut or dock in
These restrictions, however, were
imposed for LNG vessels when the
new locks opened in 2016, de Marucci
said, adding that they will likely be
eased as the Panama Canal Authority
becomes more familiar with this type
of traffic.
That comfort level seems to be
improving. At first, the Panama Canal
continued on page 18

Increasing LNG traffic

The surge of LNG imports in Asian
markets coupled with the United
States’ newfound export capabilities
worked out well for the Panama Canal
Authority, which opened the new locks
on June 26, 2016.
The first LNG vessel, the Maran Gas
Apollonia chartered by Shell, passed
through the expanded waterway
nearly a month later on July 25, 2016.
It was the first of 17 LNG tankers,
which totaled 550,000 tons, to make
the trek in the fiscal year of 2016. The
Panama Canal Authority compiles its
transit data in fiscal years, which run
from October 1 to September 30. For
example, fiscal year 2016 starts on
Oct. 1, 2015 and ends on Sept. 30,
2016.
LNG transits jumped to 163 in fiscal
year 2017, totaling 6.3 million tons.
Fiscal year 2018 is already on pace
to top those figures, with 134 LNG
vessels navigating the expanded
canal from October 2017 to March
2018, according to the Panama Canal
Authority.
The United States hasn’t been shy
about using the expanded canal for
its LNG exports. In 2017, the United
States exported 14.7 million tons of
LNG. Of that amount, 6.9 million tons
passed through the Panama Canal,
with 4.7 million tons going to Asia,
according to IHS Markit.
“The Panama Canal (with the
expansion) opens up the whole market
for U.S. LNG,” Rojas said.
While LNG tankers have been

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 17

LNG Technology
Authority only allowed one LNG vessel
per day but have authorized as many
as three in a day since that time,
Rojas said. The expanded Panama
Canal averages 6.4 vessels per
day, according to the Panama Canal
Authority.
“This is still a new type of tanker for
them,” Rojas said. “They are handling
this as carefully as they can.”
LNG’s place amongst the transits
Despite LNG vessels gaining a spot in
the Panama Canal Authority’s transit
logs, they only take up a small portion
of the canal’s traffic. Container ships
are the primary users of the expanded
Panama Canal, making up 48% of the
transits, de Marucci said. LPG vessels
follow with 25%, while LNG tankers
account for 11%.
That’s only the vessels passing
through the new locks. When factoring
in the original and expanded Panama
Canal locks, LNG transits make up
an even smaller amount. In fiscal
year 2017, 11,992 vessels used the
Panama Canal. Of that amount, 163
were LNG tankers or about 1.4% of
the total traffic.
But LNG seems to be vying for
its share of the transit pie. Based
on the most current fiscal year 2018
numbers, LNG makes up 11% of the
vessels that have used the expanded
locks from October 2017 to March
2018. When factoring in all of the
transits through the Panama Canal
in the same time period (7101), LNG
traffic makes up 1.9%.
While those percentages are
small now, there is an abundance of Gibraltar, Philippines, Ghana and
liquefaction capacity coming online Bahrain. Bangladesh already joined
in the United States in the next few the importing pool in April 2018.
years, Shruhan said. Additionally, “Beyond what’s already existing
the EIA forecasts that six countries and under construction in the U.S.,
are expected to start importing LNG there are a lot of proposals vying to be
in the next two years, a move that part of the second wave of U.S. LNG,”
would add 2.1 Bcfd (59.4 X 106 Shruhan said. “It’s likely that their
m3/d) of new regasification import customers will want to use the canal
capacity to the marketplace. Those for a portion of their sales, but how
six countries are Panama, Russia, much at this point is uncertain.”

■ With more LNG
operations coming online,
LNG traffic is expected to
increase, especially through
the expanded Panama Canal.
Photo by Jason Anderson.
Another expansion?
With an LNG-hungry world, especially
in Asia, the big mystery is where will
the United States’ LNG go. Logically,
it would appear to be headed to Asia
and other soon-to-be LNG importers.
But it’s not that simple, Shruhan said.
“That’s the billion-dollar question,”
Shruhan said. “U.S. projects are
competing with others around the
world, some of which are much closer
to Asia.”
The top four importers of LNG in
2017 were Japan, China, South Korea
and India. Of those four, their top
suppliers west of the Panama Canal
included Australia, Malaysia, Qatar,
Nigeria and Oman, according to data
from IHS Markit. Several other areas,
such as Canada, Russia and East
Africa, are also seeking to become
major LNG suppliers.
“U.S. LNG exports to Asia will
increase as more projects come online,
but the amount will depend on prices,
who the customers are and how many
new projects move forward,” Shruhan
said. “U.S. LNG is destination-flexible,
so companies can optimize their
portfolios and send cargoes to where
margins are highest.”
Competing with others suppliers
isn’t the only challenge for the United
States, however. The second comes
in the form of how many LNG vessels
can the Panama Canal accommodate
amongst its more popular cargo
carriers.
So far, the Panama Canal Authority
has found a way to process as many
COMPRESSORtech2
as three LNG vessels a day, but that
might not cut it in the future, Rojas
said.
“There’s a limited number of slots
per day right now,” he said. “LNG is
competing against other tankers …
and there’s a lot of LNG coming.
“If those future volumes are heading
to Northeast Asia, more LNG transits
will need to be accommodated,” Rojas
said.
de Marucci expects that the Panama
Canal will see three to five LNG
transits per day in the coming years,
possibly as early as 2020 or 2021.
Currently, about 90% of LNG transits
come out of the United States to the
Asian markets, she said, with the other
10% going from Peru to Europe or
Trinidad and Tobago to Chile.
The might work in the short term,
but de Marucci and the Panama Canal
Authority are already looking well into
the future – in the form of another
expansion.
“We are studying the possibility,”
she said. “We have requested a
long-term advance study and have
been working with a consultant for six
months.
“We are looking at the opinion
of the market from an independent
consultant,” de Marucci said. “We
want to know if there will be demand
in the long term for a new set of locks.”
■ Panama Canal Authority associates
review the Panama Canal’s lock and
water-saving basin operations.
LNG Technology
The decision won’t take long if the
demand is there for another expansion.
de Marucci, however, didn’t want to
put an exact timetable on it as multiple
factors, not just market considerations,
must be reviewed before authorizing
another set of locks.
While nothing is official yet, the
Panama Canal Authority left plenty of
room on the west side of the Pacific
locks and on the east side of the
Atlantic locks for the expansion.
LNG traffic, however, continues
to increase, which could force the
Panama Canal Authority to add more
LNG slots.
One certainty, though, is the
Panama Canal Authority won’t let
the opportunity of accommodating
increasing traffic pass by. The authority
saw the need for an expansion in the
early 2000s and it appears to be in a
similar spot nearly two years into the
opening of its new locks.
“We don’t rule out anything,” de
Marucci said. “We are always looking
at ways to keep our position as a
preferred transit route and we always
look to strengthen that position.” CT2
JULY 2018 19
Company Outlook
NEA Forecasts Diversified,
Digital Future
Alexander and Stefanie Peters, managing
partners of Neuman & Esser, discuss their
company, growth strategies, new challenges
BY ROBERTA PRANDI
euman & Esser in Aachen,
N Germany (NEA), is a privately
owned company since 1830,
when it was founded by Johann
Leonhard Neuman. A year later,
brother-in-law Theodor Esser joined
the company. In 1891, Oscar Peters
acquired the company, and the Peters
family – now in the fourth generation
– is still leading the company with
siblings Alexander and Stefanie
Peters as managing partners.
Alexander Peters said the company
is on a path to internationalization
along with the expansion of its core
business: compressor technology.
“Our Strategy 2020 plan includes
the extension of technological
leadership, profitable growth, quality
in products and processes, and
cost savings via intelligent designs,”
Peters said. “One key pillar of our
strategy is digital technology, with the
launch of a new business unit NEA-X.
20 JULY 2018
The expansion of our two other
divisions – Mechanical Processing
Technology and Sealing Technology
– are essential for our future as well.”
(see COMPRESSORtech2, May 2018,
p. 39).
Hofer’s Influence
The NEA Group has 1050 employees
in 11 countries worldwide, with
700 people based in four German
production sites. Although the key
activity for the group is gas compressor
technology, the company specializes
not only in the conventional oil & gas
business, but also in process and
technical gases, such as hydrogen for
petrochemicals and refineries; oxygen;
mobile solutions with biogas, pipeline
evacuation and seismic exploration;
and CO2 including Carbon Capture
and Storage (CCS) solutions.
One of NEA’s significant integration
efforts came after the acquisition of
Hofer in 2015, another family-owned
German manufacturer of diaphgram
compressors for the abrasion-free
compression of gases and gas
mixtures and dry-running piston
compressors.
“Our diaphgram compressors
operate leakage-free and are
■ Alexander and Stefanie
Peters, managing partners
of Neuman & Esser,
said their company
is moving toward
internationalization,
as well as expanding
its compressor
technology
business.
■ NEA’s production site at the
company’s headquarters in Übach-
Palenberg, Germany.
suitable for high-purity, explosive,
toxic or expensive gases such as
hydrogen, helium, argon, ethylene
fluorine, hydrogen sulphide, chlorine,
monosilane or nitrogen trifluoride,”
said Klaus Hoff, managing director
of Andreas Hofer Hochdrücktechnik
GmbH.
He added: “Hofer is a specialist
in hydrogen compression and this
is a very promising market for the
future, thanks to the increase from
automotive applications. The smaller
hydrogen filling stations use hydraulic
compressors, but the bigger ones
utilize diaphgram compressors.
“For even larger filling stations, we
have launched an hybrid compressor
concept, composed of a leakage-free
diaphgram head on a conventional
gas-tight reciprocating crankcase by
Neuman & Esser.”
As for digital technology, the new
company NEA-X, founded in Aachen
in July 2017, represents the foundation
for internal digital transformation, but
also offers digital services, such as
condition management and customer
platforms to third parties.
Stefanie Peters, member of the
board of NEA-X, explained that the
company – independent from the rest
of the NEA Group – wants to position
itself as a condition management
consultant, highlighting the difference
from conventional suppliers of
COMPRESSORtech2
 Company Outlook

emphasized by Alexander Peters smaller machines thus requiring

who estimates that the downstream
business in the oil & gas industry will
drive future additional growth. But
positive signals come also from other
applications: “The overall market in
2017 has been positive if not brilliant,
thanks also to the contribution of
new applications. The previous
years had seen a trend towards
more engineering efforts,” Peters
said. “For the future, we expect more
revamping business in Europe and a
positive outlook in Asia, in particular
in South-East Asia, Korea, China
and India, which is doing quite well
in the refineries business. Forecasts
are quite good for North America
as well.” CT2

O P OF
condition monitoring systems. T !
“Our condition-based maintenance
strategy is founded on compressor
CLASS
technology, process know-how and
expertise in diagnosis and service,
something we believe only OEM
can reliably provide,“ she said. “Our
philosophy is centered on the work
of service technicians, who directy
take actions after measurements and
evaluations and take charge of the
efficiency of the whole process. Our
solution is meant to be as minimally
invasive as possible, while assuring
maximum level of effectiveness with
the final target of keeping downtimes
as short as possible.“

Digital Offerings
Thanks to the expertise of NEA with
a number of different technical gases,
the solutions of NEA X are available
for all types of gases, such as in oil &
gas applications, renewable energies,
mobility and more. #1 in Emissions Testing & Tuning
“The digital solutions from NEA-X
• Most dependable
are being implemented at NEA and
Portable Emission Analyzers
can be adapted to any specification of
thirs parties. It is a big challenge for a
Unmatched...
• Specifically for rich / lean burn
compressor manufacturer to go digital
as digitalization is not a common topic
inengines and applications
Emission Testing
• Longest calibration stability
in mechanical and plant engineering
• Best network / combustion
• Emission tuning
industries yet,“ Stefanie Peters said.
for training and support
“But we believe in its potential and • State and Federal compliance testing
think it is time for the big leap. With • TECsoft Software
• O2, CO, NOx, SO2, HC, H2S, CO2
NEA X we have the pragmatic solution for Compliance Reporting
provider in-house.“
According to NEA, the market Fi d out more at www.testo350.com
Find m
outlook looks promising, as

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 21

Partners In Training

Demand Rising for

Compression School Grads
Fewer students available in the
education pipeline
BY PATRICK CROW
lthough college-based alone program a couple years ago.

A compression training schools

are still feeling the pain of the
last gas industry downturn, they are
bullish about the future.
Educators said compression
companies are snapping up their new
graduates, yet there is concern about
declining enrollment in their programs.
Poor numbers forced two schools
to fold their compression programs,
while a third school put its program to
declare a hiatus.
Zane State College at Cambridge,
Ohio, and Westmoreland County
Community College at Mount
Pleasant, Pennsylvania, ended
their programs. Western Wyoming
Community College at Rock
Springs, Wyoming, has indefinitely
suspended its offerings. San Juan
College at Farmington, New Mexico,
discontinued compression as a stand-
Geography appears to be a factor.
The community colleges that offer
compression training are localized.
They draw students from nearby areas
and their graduates prefer nearby
jobs. Low demand for compressor
professionals in a region directly
affects school enrollment.
Another factor is that compression
training schools ride the same boom-
and-bust cycle as the overall gas
industry with a long time delay.
The industry rebounded from the
downturn of three years ago and its
demand for compression professionals
seems to be growing. size in North America is greater than
Major publicly traded companies, 10 million hp (7457 MW) today and
in recent briefings for stockholders, expect approximately another 1 million
were ebullient about prospects for the hp (7.4 MW) will be added through
compression sector. 2018 and 2019.”
CSI Compressco said, “We estimate Archrock said, “The Energy
that the overall compression fleet Information Agency (EIA) is forecasting

Training Programs Atlas Copco

Atlas Copco Gas and Process
offers a variety of comprehensive
Partners In Training showcases colleges, companies and organizations training programs for turbomachinery
with compressor training programs that participate in our annual equipment users worldwide. The
Compression Technology Sourcing Supplement (CTSS). These programs training programs, dedicated
make the CTSS, the industry’s leading reference source for purchasers, to integrally-geared centrifugal
packagers and training providers, available as part of their course material. compressors, radial inflow
More information on the companies below and the colleges mentioned turboexpanders, non-geared
elsewhere in this issue can be found at ctssnet.net. centrifugal compressors, and positive
displacement compressors, are
Ariel Corp. available. Classroom courses focus
Ariel offers product training as a facilities in Australia, Canada, China, on specific disciplines to support
value-added service exclusively to Russia and the United Arab Emirates. management, planning, operations
Ariel industry partners and customers Ariel also offers remote training and maintenance. Training with live
worldwide who own, lease or courses throughout the U.S. at the demonstration is available at Atlas
service Ariel equipment. Training customer’s request. Training courses Copco locations. Also, training on
is conducted at Ariel’s new training are available online at arielcorp.com/ customer sites can be scheduled by
center in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and training. special request.

22 JULY 2018 COMPRESSORtech2

 Partners In Training

■ OSU Institute of Technology students

train and learn on equipment donated by
Targa Midstream Services and Spartan
Controls.

We think the future is extremely rosy

for the compression business due to
associated gas short term and then
dry gas intermediate and longer term
in the future.”
Those optimistic views have not yet
filtered down to mechanically inclined
high school graduates who are
weighing their career options.

New Pennsylvania
compression program
The Central Pennsylvania Institute
of Science and Technology (CPI)
has launched the first new college
gas compression program in several
years.
Located at the center of the state
in Pleasant Gap, CPI began offering
a two-year specialized technology
continued on page 26
that U.S. natural gas production will
be 7.5 Bcfd (212 x 106 m3/d) higher
in 2018 than it was in 2017, with
additional growth throughout at least
([SHULHQFH5HOLDELOLW\,QWHJULW\
2022.”
USA Compression said, “The drivers
for demand are all moving upward.

Borsig
Borsig offers a training program
that is specially designed for
customers’ operating and
maintenance staff. Courses include
safe operation and professional
maintenance of BORSIG ZM
compressors, introduction into
machine-specific features,
professional handling of particular
components and new technologies
and innovations.

Burckhardt Compression
Customized training from The AXH manufacturing complex consists of
Burckhardt is designed for six plants, totaling 559,100 SF on 67 acres.
newcomers to experienced
participants who want to learn
how to optimize the efficiency
)D[ZZZD[KFRP

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 23

Metallic Plates|Thermoplastics|Springs|Buttons|Poppets|Kits|Center Bolts|Pins|Lift Washers|O-Rings
 24
7hrs

days

www.kbdelta.com
800-632-3994
310-530-1539

Torrance, California USA

info@kbdelta.com
sales@kbdelta.com
 Partners In Training
degree last year with an emphasis
on Caterpillar and Ariel equipment.
The 95-credit hour Natural Gas
Compressor Technician Program
provides an array of electrical,
mechanical, process control and
safety training.
Cleveland Brothers Equipment
Co. (the largest Cat dealer in
Pennsylvania), Ariel and other gas
industry partners will review students’
academic performance at the end of
their first term. If they select a student
for pre-employment, the scholar could
receive US$7500/year (US$15,000
total) in company sponsored tuition
reimbursements.
The two companies will provide
students “externships” midway
through the program and possibly
give them full time employment in
Pennsylvania or the northeastern U.S.
after they graduate.
CPI said its partnership with
Cleveland Brothers and Ariel ensures
that its students “will always have the
current technology available to use as
training aids on the newest equipment
industry has to offer.”
Todd Taylor, vice president of
post-secondary education, said nine
students were enrolled in the program
during the spring term, with 16
23 > and performance of reciprocating
compressors. In-house experts teach
of the complete range of compressors
up to the maximum pressure of
50,763 psi (3500 bar).
Dresser-Rand,
A Siemens Business
Dresser-Rand, a Siemens Business,
offers professional online and
in-person training around the
world for a wide range of client
operations, maintenance and
reliability engineering personnel.
Training programs cover a range of
products including hot gas expanders,
centrifugal compressors, reciprocating
compressors, steam turbines and
related control systems.
26 JULY 2018
expected in the fall.
“We’re finding that the employment
market looks really good,” Taylor said.
Oklahoma program still
the largest
The Oklahoma State University
Institute of Technology (OSUIT)
operates the nation’s longest
established and largest compression
program at Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
Enrollment still reflects the industry
downturn. Six students graduated this
spring with an Associate of Applied
Science (AAS) degree, compared to
20 a year ago.
The compression program had 35
students following spring graduation.
Six were due to graduate in August
after completing their “capstone”
summer internships, 19 more will
begin internships next January and
the final 10 next summer.
All six graduates this spring, like
the 20 last year, were immediately
employed.
“We’re in the nice position of having
companies waiting to hire all of our
graduates, Instructor Brad Smith said.
“We don’t have enough of them to
meet the demand.”
Every OSUIT student was offered
a scholarship last spring. The grants
Elliott Group
Elliott Group offers training programs
on steam turbines, centrifugal and
axial compressors, expanders, and
lube and seal systems. Our trainers
are full-time instructors who are
knowledgeable, personable and
engaging. We conduct training at our
facilities, on-site at customer locations
around the world and online. Backed
by over 100 years of turbomachinery
experience, we pride ourselves
on building relationships with our
customers and customizing our
training to meet their specific needs.
FW Murphy
FW Murphy Production Controls
offers in-depth training to help users
totaled US$71,602.
In addition to its two-year Natural
Gas Compression program, OSUIT’s
School of Energy Technologies offers
two-year programs in Pipeline Integrity
and in Power Plant Technology. The
pipeline course covers safety, damage
and risk control, corrosion control,
design and integrity management.
OSUIT has the largest compression
training facilities of all the schools. A
dedicated center has five classrooms,
17 equipment bays and a variety of
machinery.
get the most from its engine control
products. A required, introductory
Engine Basics class provides
participants with a strong base
while topic-specific classes include
IntelliSpark Ignition Training; AFR
Operations; and EICS Operations.
Training includes classroom and
hands-on learning.
Gas Compressor
Association Expo &
Conference (GCA)
The GCA, a professional trade
organization dedicated to the
enrichment of its members and
the industry, hosts an annual
education and network-based
event in Galveston, Texas, each
COMPRESSORtech2
 Partners In Training

Last year, Phillips 66 donated
US$50,000 to the School of Energy
Technologies, plus a lifetime supply of
lubricating oil and coolants.
Targa Midstream Services and
Spartan Controls donated two
programmable logic controller panels
(PLCs) and the software to operate
them, a gift valued at US$137,000.
One of the PLCs will be used as
a monitoring station to simulate the
remote control of a pipeline station.
The other will be connected to an
older model natural gas compressor
and engine.
“The new equipment gives students
another element to be trained on
before they go out into the field,” said
Instructor Matt Salas.
Panola College adds
flexibility
In eastern Texas, Panola College
is also seeing strong demand for
compression technicians.
David Hall, chairman of the
School of Energy, said a large West
Texas gas company recently visited
Panola seeking 10 to12 compression
mechanics for immediate openings.
“Other companies are offering
to take our petroleum technology
graduates and train them to be
compressor mechanics,” Hall said.
“That’s a really positive sign. We’re
back on the upsurge again.”
Panola’s main campus is at
Carthage, Texas, but the School of
Energy is at the Shelby Regional
■ Central
Pennsylvania
Institute of Science
and Technology
(CPI) students
work on an Ariel Emissions Analyzer
compressor.
Training Center in Center, Texas.
The School of Energy has about
120 students, down from 185 a year
ago. Only one person graduated with a
compression degree this spring.
Upon completion of a two-year
program, students can receive an AAS
degree in Petroleum Technology. In
the second year, they can concentrate
on gas compression.
“This is a new wrinkle for us,” Hall
said. “Now students can begin work
toward their oil and gas degree and
then focus on compression in their
final year, graduating with a dual
major.”
He predicted that about 15 to 20
of the 120 students in the energy
program might shift to compression
during the next academic year.
Hall said oil and gas companies
have donated six compressors to
the college, four of which are used
for teardowns and rebuilds. Panola
has a five-year plan that calls for
continued on page 28
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COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 27

 Partners In Training
construction of a building to house the
School of Energy.
Cabot backs Lackawanna
College
At New Milford, Pennsylvania,
Lackawanna College is focused on
supplying technicians for companies
that are developing Marcellus shale
gas.
Gary Leber, an instructor in the
School of Petroleum and Natural Gas,
said, “Demand for graduates is pretty
good right now. The industry is really
looking for people with a two-year
degree. A minimum of 95% of our first-
year students are getting internships.”
The two-year AAS degree
program in Petroleum and Natural
Gas Industrial Mechanics prepares
students to become compressor
station, pipeline or midstream
operations technicians. Courses
teach them to monitor, maintain and
troubleshoot compressors, engines
or prime movers, pipelines and
dehydration facilities.
Lackawanna officials lacked exact
numbers on enrollment in their
compression program.
“Each year we bring in between
60 to 80 students total and we
graduate about 45 students each
27 > well-trained facility personnel are
of utmost importance and GEA’s
programs are designed to provide
attendees with the knowledge
needed to optimize the efficiency
and reliability of critical, compressor-
based systems.
Introductory process refrigeration
and booster gas compression training
as well as customized, project-
specific operational and maintenance
training for newly installed GEA
systems is available. Topics include
introduction to refrigeration, process
fluids, system operation (compressor
and components), control system,
design data/technical features of the
main components, troubleshooting
and maintenance. Training may
28 JULY 2018
spring. Roughly 30 to 40% of those
students are compression students
and we are steadily increasing those
numbers each year,” the northeastern
Pennsylvania college said.
Last spring, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.
completed the final tranche of its
US$2.5 million endowment to the
School of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
The donation, first announced in
2014, is the largest in the history of
Lackawanna College.
About US$1 million went for student
programs and scholarships. The
balance was used for equipment,
training, staff and faculty development,
be arranged at customers’ sites
or at GEA facilities, though is it
recommended to conduct project-
specific/system-specific training at
customers’ facilities.
Howden
Focused on compressor
maintenance, Howden’s training
courses cover compressor technology
and operation. Howden holds open
generic courses on different types
of compressors on a yearly basis at
each of its worldwide offices. Howden
will arrange bespoke courses where
the duration, content and language of
training can be tailored to the needs
and preferences of the individual
customer.
and student interactive experiences
and internships.
“Cabot’s guidance, support, and
access to industry leaders have
enabled us to create a world-class
program that prepares our graduates
using state-of-the art equipment to
ensure that they are job ready and
fully qualified to meet the needs of the
industry,” said Lackawanna President
Mark Volk.
Kansas School graduates
female technician
In southwestern Kansas, the Seward
County Community College Area
LMF
LMF’s customized training programs
for plant engineers or service
technicians help to ensure optimal
operation of customers’ plants.
Whether the training need is on an oil
platform offshore, testing pipelines in
Siberia or working on a refinery in the
desert — they tailor the training to the
specific application.
Man Diesel & Turbo
PrimeServ Academies conducts
professional qualification courses
using full-scale machinery and
simulators. Participants are guided
through hands-on exercises in
operation, maintenance and
troubleshooting.
COMPRESSORtech2

■ CPI’s
compression
program focuses
on Ariel-Caterpillar
combinations.
compressor.
Technical School has graduated
another female compressor technician.
Reyn Slatten received a two-year
AAS degree and began work as an
intern for a midstream pipeline. The
Liberal, Kansas, college graduated
two other women from its compression
program during the past seven years.
In May, the college’s Natural Gas
Compression Technology program
awarded 10 graduates with one-year
certificates and two with AAS degrees.
About 16 current students will continue
their studies in the fall, augmented by
new enrollees.
Regional gas production, pipeline
and service companies have helped
Seward County Community College
shape its program to best fit local
employment needs. The companies
offer students internships at the end
of their studies for more hands-on
experience.
A key addition to the college’s
training equipment this year was a
large forklift to move engines and
compressors, some of which weigh up
to 15,000 lb (6800 kg).
Wyoming College
suspends training
Western Wyoming Community College
cancelled its spring gas compression
offerings.
“We had some students sign up
Partners In Training
for compression courses, but not
enough to schedule the classes,” said
Joe Uriarte, associate professor of
compression technology.
He said the Rocky Mountains region
“is still in the throes of the industry
downturn.” Otherwise, he was at a
loss to explain the declining interest in
gas compression education.
“It could be because there are
fewer jobs now,” he said. “It could be
because applicants think there will be
few jobs by the time they graduate. It’s
probably a bit of both.”
The Rock Springs college has
three energy related programs that
offer two-year AAS degrees and
one-year certificates: Electrical and
Instrumentation Technology, Oil and
Gas Production Technology and
Natural Gas Compression Technology.
Uriarte said that half a dozen
students graduated from the general
oil and gas program last May. About
as many are expected to apply in the
fall.
continued on page 31
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A dozen students enrolled in the
gas compression program when it was
launched in 2007-2008.
Ohio College ends
compression courses
Zane State College has deactivated its
compression training program.
“The main issue was low enrollment
in the program,” said Assistant
Professor Paul Pasley. “It wasn’t due
to the lack of effort to find candidates.”
Pasley said that oil and gas
industry employment has been brisk
in Ohio. “People were getting decent
jobs without much training, so they
didn’t see the need to take formal
courses.”
The college’s Oil & Gas Engineering
Technology program offered one-year
29 > Motortech
Motortech’s current seminars offer
know-how and realistic solutions for
today’s challenges for professionals
in the gas engine industry. Modules
include Introduction into Gas Engine
Technologies; MIC – Ignition Control;
VariFuel2 Mixture Control; EmCon5;
Emission Control; Speed Control with
ITB Throttle Body Series; and All-in-
One CHP Gas Engine Control. The
training system features a modular
structure. Courses are offered in the
Training Center in Celle, Germany
and New Orleans, Louisiana or in-
house at a customer site. They can
also be offered on an individual basis
to cover specific learning needs.
Neuman & Esser
NEAC Compressor Service
offers reciprocating compressor
training seminars for reciprocating
compressors. The training sessions
can be held either in the NEAC
Training Center located at the
Neuman & Esser headquarters
close to Aachen, Germany, or at
the customer’s location. During the
open courses held at the Training
Center, the participants can interact
COMPRESSORtech2
certificates in Lease Operations and
in Compressor Station Operations,
both of them focusing on technologies
used in the Appalachian Basin. Peak
enrollment was 30 students four
years ago.
One student graduated from
the program last December. Four
graduated at the end of the spring
semester – two from a dual oil and gas/
compression technology program and
two from the oil and gas technology
program.
Pasley has accepted a position on
the engineering faculty at Marietta
College in southern Ohio.
Gas Compressor
Association support
The Gas Compressor Association
and network with other customers to
exchange experiences.
SwRI
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
offers free, hour-long webinars on
various subjects, such as thermal
stress analysis, turbomachinery root
cause failure analysis, transient surge
analysis and torsional analyses.
The webinars are offered on a bi-
monthly basis, with being developed.
SwRI also holds short courses
on a fee basis at its headquarters
in San Antonio, Texas, several
times per year. The courses cover
turbomachinery design, pulsations
and vibrations in piping systems,
gas turbine and compressor training,
lateral and torsional rotordynamics,
and an annual oil and gas lecture
series on various subjects.
University Of London
Centre for Compressor
Technology
The Centre for Compressor
Technology at City, University of
London, is part of its Thermo-Fluids
Research Centre. Its activities include
training in a wide variety of topics
Partners In Training
(GCA) contributes to college gas
compression programs with revenues
from its annual exposition and
conference in Galveston, Texas.
This year, GCA provided financial
support to five colleges: OSUIT,
Panola, San Juan, Western Wyoming
and Zane State.
Since 1992, the association has
disbursed more than US$400,000
to its college partners. Also, GCA
member companies have donated
equipment, instructional support and
guidance.
The association has encouraged
the colleges to adopt standardized
compression and pipeline technology
curriculums, based on best industry
practices and input from the midstream
and upstream sectors. CT2
related to the design and development
of fluid machinery. These include
mathematical modeling, experimental
investigation of positive displacement
screw compressors and expanders,
the design and analysis both of
screw machines and turbomachinery,
energy systems and the utilization
of recovered waste heat. Some of
these courses form part of the formal
undergraduate and postgraduate
studies, while others can be specially
prepared to meet industrial needs.
The latter include short courses to last
from a few days to several months, or
as part of full- or part-time master or
doctoral degree studies.
Windrock Inc.
Windrock offers courses to meet the
needs of mechanics, operators and
engineers at every level, from basic
instruction for beginners to advanced
training for seasoned analysts.
Our instructors conducts classes
at the Windrock training center, at
various U.S. locations or at customer
locations. This year, Windrock has
begun hosting classes internationally.
For a location near you, visit us at:
www.windrock.com/training.
JULY 2018 31
Partners In Training
Ariel Levels Up
Training Space
New training center features interactive
atrium, classrooms, labs
BY DJ SLATER
riel Corp. knew its former,
A 20-year-old training space
wasn’t going to cut it when its
ambitions grew well beyond helping
customers and employees become
better versed on its machinery.
That’s why the Mount Vernon,
Ohio-based compressor manufacturer
traded in its modest lab and conference
room for a dedicated training center
in the heart of its main campus. Ariel
broke ground on the facility in 2015
and opened its doors for training in
July 2017.
“The original training area was
established in the late 1990s,” said
Kent Dubbe, Ariel’s vice president of
Human Resources and Organizational
Development. “We realized we had to
take training and development to the
next level.”
The new training center features
12 A/V-equipped classrooms and
meeting rooms, three training labs, a
large theater and an interactive atrium
capable of accommodating more than
600 people. It serves as a multi-use
facility on Ariel’s campus, housing
the company’s human resources,
IT and training and development
departments. Its primary focus,
however, is providing training for Ariel
compressor owners (end users and
distributors) as well as employees.
“We would like to offer our
customers, end users and distributors
the best support and commitment to
developing their skills for today and
the future,” Dubbe said.
Ariel’s training center curriculum,
which is offered year round, includes
Ariel’s Basic Product Training School,
Mechanics School, Technical School
and customized product schools. While
the courses have set parameters, they
32 JULY 2018
■ Students sit in one of Ariel’s 12
education and meetings rooms, which is
part of the Ariel’s new training center.
are always evolving to fit the needs of
today’s workforce, Dubbe said.
Training Options
The Basic Product Training School
takes place quarterly for distributors
and end users. It is designed for
customers new to the gas compression
world, with instructors using audio and
video technology. This course serves
as a prerequisite for the Mechanics
School, a week-long course held
throughout the year.
The Mechanics School provides in-
depth, hands-on training in the proper
maintenance of Ariel compressors
operating in the field. Classes are
typically comprised of mechanics,
operators and service technicians.
Dubbe said the new training center
greatly enhances the effectiveness of
the course. In the old training center,
students would spend 70% of their
time in the classroom and 30% in the
lab practicing on the equipment.
“We flipped that,” Dubbe said,
referring to the course in the new
training center. “With plenty of
compressor stations, they can get
plenty of hands-on experience.”
The Customer Training Lab also
includes a fully assembled and
operational compression package.
The skid consists of an Ariel JGA
two-throw compressor that processes
nitrogen in a closed loop.
In the lab, instructors can program
real-world faults into the compressor
package to give students hands-on
maintenance experience with issues
they may encounter in the field.
Ariel’s Technical School teaches
engineers how to apply Ariel
compressors efficiently for any
application where compression is
required. Held several times a year,
instructors often customize the
curriculum to suit the needs of each
attendee.
The training center isn’t only
for professionals outside of Ariel’s
campus. The company has a
variety of resources available to its
more than 2000 employees and
contractors. Two come in the form of
laboratories – the machining lab and
the assembly lab. Students begin
with basic manual machining to
understand the fundamentals of how
metal is cut before they move onto
COMPRESSORtech2
 Partners In Training

students require very little ramp up

■ An Ariel instructor teaches
customers about the operators of
one of the company’s compressors.
the complexities of programming and
operating modern CNC machines,
Dubbe said.
“This lab contains all the equipment
need to take someone through the full
cycle,” he said.
The assembly lab, which includes
eight Ariel compressors, duplicates
Ariel’s actual assembly areas so
time once they begin their actual work
assignments.
The employee-based courses also
come with an extra caveat – college
credits. Ariel has partnered with two
local universities – Zane State College
and Stark State College – to give its
employees the ability to earn a two-
year Associate degree through its
training curriculum.
“This give us the ability to grow
people from the roots,” Dubbe said.
The training center also features
an open, sizable atrium designed
to resemble a compressor frame’s
interior. Ariel’s history, as well as
product information, are presented on
interactive displays within the atrium.
Additional aspects of Ariel’s history,
including its Serial # 3 compressor
(manufactured in 1970) and its 1921
Lucas horizontal boring mill used by
Ariel Founder Jim Buchwald and the
company’s first machinists.
The atrium serves not only as a
■ Ariel’s new training center features an
interactive atrium that can hold more than
600 people for networking events and
safety meetings.
reflection of Ariel’s history, but also
as a gathering area for quarterly
safety meetings for Ariel staff, Dubbe
said. It also works as a cafeteria and
collaboration area.
“This (training center) supports
our business and our customers in a
significant way,” Dubbe said. “It’s one
of those things that we have as a tool
to stay up to the requirements of the
industry.” CT2

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 tech

corner
High-Performance
Flexible Element
Couplings For Centrifugal
Compressor Trains
Close coordination needed when
selecting couplings
BY NEETIN GHAISAS AND CHUCK SAKERS
■ Figure 13 – Torque overload failure
in a disc coupling. furnished) and machinery engineers reduced moment design becomes
from the owner and engineering con- essential for rotordynamic reasons.
Introduction
tractor. Selection of the right coupling Disc couplings include two flexible
ouplings are the vital ele- undoubtedly contributes to long-term disc packs installed one on each end

C ments in machinery trains.

Very often, engineering con-
tractors and owner companies pay
reliability and availability of process
plant machinery trains.
The subject tutorial focusses on two
of the spacer tube or center section.
Each disc pack consists of multiple
thin metal membranes, between 0.005
little attention to specifying the tur- most widely used types of high per- in. to 0.025 in. (0.127 mm to 0.635
bomachinery couplings. Some users formance non-lubricated couplings in mm) thick depending on the applica-
select couplings based only on the modern centrifugal compressor trains; tion requirements. Typical materials of
application speed, torque, factor of metal diaphragm and disc pack. membrane include series 300 stain-
safety, and shaft size. These parame- Standard coupling selection method, less steels, precipitation-hardened
ters together with several other factors is also discussed in the following text. stainless steels, Inconel, and Monel
such as the combined steady-state (see Table 3). Depending on the oper-
and cyclic stresses, angular mis- Disc Couplings ating environment, membranes are
alignment rating, torsional stiffness, Disc couplings are defined as a cou- coated to provide protection from cor-
axial deflection capability, axial natu- pling that transmits torque from driving rosion and fretting. Many of the coating
ral frequencies, expected peak and to a driven bolt tangentially on a com- materials are sacrificial in nature.
momentary torques and lateral and mon bolt circle. Torque is transmitted Membranes are made in different
torsional critical speeds must be eval- between the bolts through a series of shapes such as scalloped, circular and
uated before the choice and the type thin discs. Misalignment is accommo- polygon. Scalloped and polygon mem-
of a coupling is finalized. dated by the deforming of the discs. branes are most common. Coupling
This review process should involve Disc couplings find their applications designers optimize the membrane pro-
the vendor with the unit responsibil- particularly in high-speed turboma- files to manage uniform distribution of
ity, sub-vendors for driver and gear (if chinery trains when a low weight stress and low reaction forces on the
bearings of the connected machines.
Neetin Ghaisas is senior fellow – Rotating Equipment at Fluor. Ghaisas has 36 years Disc pack design involves the num-
of professional background with extensive experience in the specification, selection, ber of bolts required, the bolt circle
application and troubleshooting of rotating equipment. He is the task force chairman
of API 612 standard, task force vice-chairman of API 672 standard and is a member of ■ Figure 1 – Reduced
the Machinery Function Team in Process Industry Practices (PIP). Moment Disc Coupling.
Chuck Sakers is the coupling technology leader for Kop-Flex, a Regal Power
Transmission Solutions brand. During his 22 years in the turbomachinery coupling
business, Sakers has led global engineering teams focused on design of new
products, advanced analysis, as well as proposal and order execution. He is currently
a member of the API 671 task force.

36 JULY 2018 COMPRESSORtech2

 CV AND KN SERIES
INDICATOR VALVES
CV-72

KN-22-90

■ Figure 2 – Common disc

pack membrane profiles.

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■ Figure 3 – Disc pack fasteners. fast operation. Safety locking handle option
available.

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diameter, the size of bolts and the number of membranes

needed. Figures 1 and 2 show a reduced moment type disc
pack coupling and several types of membranes used in the
disc pack coupling. Each membrane has either six or eight ®
or 10 holes (driving and driven total). The lesser the number
of holes, the lesser is the torque transmission capacity and
greater is the membrane flexibility. Figure 3 shows disc pack
fasteners.
For a given diameter, the torque rating and misalignment
capacity of a disc coupling can be considered a function of
the number of disc pack bolts used in its design. As seen in
Figure 2, a three-bolt disc has long links between bolt holes
thereby increasing the effective bend length which decreases
the stiffness and increases misalignment capacity of the cou-
pling. A five-bolt disc pack design increases torque capacity
since the bolts evenly distribute the torque, but the shorter
link length increases the angular stiffness and decreases the
misalignment capacity. As a rule, three-bolt designs provide CLEAN COOL
high misalignment capacity, but low torque capacity while
five-bolt designs provide high torque capacity, but low mis- QUIET SAFE
alignment capability. A four-bolt design balances both torque
and misalignment and is the most common configuration,
operating successfully on a wide variety of applications from
pumps to centrifugal compressors.
The diameter of the bolt hole circle indicates the amount
of torque a disc coupling can transmit. The misalignment GAS PROCESSING MADE EASY
capability is related to the chord length between bolts and STEEL BUILDINGS • ENGINEERING • ENVIRONMENTAL
the thickness of the disc or disc pack. Once the disc pack is 1120 Washington Road/Rt 19, Washington, PA 15301 724.225.2202
designed and built at the factory, the pieces should not be
www.steelnation.com
continued on page 38

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 37

 disassembled. Piloted disc packs or
factory assembled packs help ensure
against balance issues and fatigue
failure.
High performance flexible-element
couplings have many advantages over
lubricated couplings. These include:
■ Little to no need for maintenance
■ Infinite life—no wearing
components
■ Lower reaction forces on con-
nected equipment, 20-30% in
bending, 10% in axial
■ Lower repeatable unbalance (no
radial clearances)
■ Unbalance level does not change
over time
■ No lock up or spool cracking
■ Reduced risk of hub-to-shaft
fretting
■ Field interchangeable components
Diaphragm Couplings
Conventional high performance
11th EFRC CONFERENCE
September 13 – 14, 2018
Madrid, Spain
l F e ature
ia
Spec
Compressor Training – September 13, 2018
State-of-the-Art Design of Reciprocating Compressor Systems
For Programme and Online Registration: www.recip.org
diaphragm couplings are available
in single element contoured (plate
and flanged) and multiple convoluted
diaphragm styles. Another variation
includes multiple straight diaphragms.
Depending on the requirement for
ultimate tensile strength, diaphragms
are machined from vacuum-melted
alloy steel or vacuum-melted stainless
steel solid disks. There are some spe-
cial processes that diaphragms can
receive such as shot peening which
helps to reduce the residual stresses
imposed during machining as well as
to prevent development of surface
crack initiation points.
A conventional single element
contoured diaphragm is thicker at
the inner diameter and thinner at the
outer diameter. A gradual reduction in
its thickness (contour) allows nearly
uniform torsional shear stress across
the diaphragm’s profile and results
in low-stress level when transmitting
load torque at corresponding mis-
alignment and axial deflection. The
minimum thickness of a single ele-
ment contoured metal diaphragm is
approximately 0.020 in. (0.508 mm).
Torque is transmitted from outer
diameter to inner diameter in all
diaphragm couplings. For a given
diameter, a thicker diaphragm pro-
vides higher torque capability but
makes the coupling less flexible in
terms of angular and axial misalign-
ments. On the contrary, a thinner
■ Figure 4 – Single element contoured
diaphragm coupling.
11th EFRC CONFERENCE

■ Figure 5 – Single element contoured
diaphragm profile.
diaphragm transmits less torque but
permits higher misalignment. It is thus
possible to optimize the design of a
diaphragm coupling through proper
balance of maximum continuous
torque, axial and angular deflection
and rated speed, among other factors.
Figure 4 shows a single element
contoured diaphragm coupling. Single
element contoured diaphragm profile
is displayed in Figure 5.
A single element flanged diaphragm
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includes a bolted connection between
the flex element and the spacer piece
which allows greater design flexibility
and easier replacement if required.
Single element plate diaphragms can
be radially and axially electron beam
welded at each end of the spacer
tube to form a flexible unit. Together
with two rigids or adapter flanges, this
design constitutes a simple coupling
assembly in that the number of con-
nections are kept to a minimum. A
single element diaphragm can eas-
ily be custom engineered to suit the
application. Since the diaphragm is
machined from a single piece of steel
it gives full flexibility to create an opti-
mal solution than can be delivered
quickly.
Another design variation utilizes
thin stainless steel plates assembled
in a pack. The pack is connected to
an adapter piece using an interfer-
ence fit spine and threated clamp nut.
Each uniform thickness diaphragm
is machined to be thinner in the flex-
ing area, eliminating the possibility of
fretting.
Multiple separated diaphragms
also provide a “progressive failure”
safety feature. The stresses in each
diaphragm are unequal due to the
offset stress. If a fatigue failure were
to occur due to misalignment, the
outer diaphragms fail first. The next
diaphragm has a lower combined
alternating stress (similar to disc
pack coupling). These couplings can
operate until approximately one-half
of the diaphragms have failed. Most
turbomachinery today incorporates
vibration monitoring equipment that
can detect the unbalance caused by a
failed diaphragm.
Multiple convoluted diaphragm cou-
plings have steel diaphragm packs
on each end of the spacer tube. Each
pack is approximately 0.150 inch (3.8
continued on page 40
mm) thick and consists of individual
thin flexing diaphragms or plates with
filler rings that separate each dia-
phragm on the inner diameter and
the outer diameter to avoid fretting.
End covers on the outer diameter and
clamping nut or bolt on the inner diam-
eter of convoluted diaphragms act
as one single unit when transmitting
torque.
Thin convoluted diaphragms pro-
duce lesser bending moment in
comparison to a single element con-
toured diaphragm when transmitting a
given torque. They also provide more
uniform axial stiffness throughout the
range of axial motion than a single ele-
ment contoured diaphragm.
In the case of multiple convoluted
diaphragm coupling, fatigue failure
due to misalignment will cause the
outermost diaphragm to fail first. If
the connected equipment continues
to operate, the next outermost dia-
phragm will fail. Failure of remaining
diaphragms will be gradual as they
would have lesser combined alternat-
ing stress due to reduced remaining
offset stress. Therefore, a multiple
convoluted design provides safety fea-
ture i.e. “progressive failure”.
Coupling Selection
Coupling manufacturers select the
most appropriate size and type of cou-
pling for a given application using the
duty requirements. Accuracy and com-
pleteness of the information provided
are crucial in choosing the right cou-
pling product. As mentioned earlier,
the vendor with the unit responsibil-
ity, sub-vendors for driver and gear (if
furnished) and machinery engineers
from the owner and engineering con-
tractor should be ideally involved in
specifying the service conditions and
establishing the type of coupling inter-
face points.
Service conditions required for
selection and design of a coupling are
summarized below:
1 Operating Data:
■ Normal absorbed shaft power, hp
(kW)
40 JULY 2018
■ Figure 6 – Fatigue diagram.
■ Maximum continuous shaft power,
hp (kW)
■ Minimum, normal, rated, maximum
continuous, and trip speeds, RPM
■ Momentary torque (if applicable),
lb-in (Nm)
■ Maximum transient torque or peak
torque, lb-in (Nm)
■ Cyclic torque if applicable, lb-in
(Nm)
■ Service Factor (API 671, 4th
Edition stipulates that the minimum
service factor shall be 1.5, and the
reduced service factor based on
normal absorbed shaft power shall
not be less than 1.2.)
NOTE: API 671 defines Service
Factor as “factor applied to the
steady-state torque to allow for off-
design conditions, cyclic and other
variations as well as equipment
variations resulting in higher torque
than that at the equipment normal
operating point”. Factor of Safety
is explained in API 671 as “factor
that is used to cover uncertainties
in a coupling design.”
■ Steady-state, and transient axial
displacements of driving and driven
machines, in (mm)
■ Steady-state, and transient parallel
offsets, inch (mm)
■ Steady-state, and angular mis-
alignments, degrees (0.2 degrees
minimum in steady-state condition
as per API 671, 4th Edition)
2 Interface data for connecting
shafts (driver and driven)
■ Distance between shaft ends, inch
(mm)
■ Required pre-stretch or preload
(should account for equipment and
coupling growth), inch (mm)
■ Bore diameter and type (keyless
tapered hydraulically fitted hub,
splined or keyed cylindrical)
■ Diameter and thickness of integral
flanged shaft end based on all
anticipated loads
■ For taper shaft end – diameters
of large end, and small end and
length of taper
■ Minimum and maximum diametral
interference, inch (mm)
■ Number of keys and keyway
dimensions for keyed shaft ends
■ Width and diameter of shaft end
locknut
3 Optional Information
■ Service environment—for example,
marine, presence of chlorine or
hydrogen sulfide. If specified, the
suitable protective coating can
be selected based on the service
environment
■ Electrical insulation, if required
■ Torque measurement, if specified
■ Hardware such hydraulic
COMPRESSORtech2
 installation tooling and moment
simulator, if specified
Based on the supplied data, the
coupling is usually selected in the fol-
lowing steps (order can vary between
coupling manufacturers).
a Calculate normal continuous torque
(steady-state torque);
b Calculate required minimum
coupling rating (steady-state selec-
tion torque) using the appropriate
service factor (S.F). Consider peak
torque and momentary torque
requirements. Coupling ratings are
generally shown in one or more val-
ues such as HP per 100 rpm (kW
per 100 rpm), maximum continuous
torque and peak overload torque
c Use appropriate lower S.F to avoid
selection of an unnecessary large
coupling. If a grossly oversized
driver exists in the train. Review the
torque capacity of the driven shaft
and interference fit of the hydrauli-
cally fitted coupling hub
■ Figure 7 – Diaphragm coupling failure
caused by excessive axial misalignment.
■ Figure 8 – Diaphragm coupling
failure caused by excessive angular
misalignment.
COMPRESSORtech2
d Verify the maximum hub bore
capacity of the selected coupling. It
shall be greater than the specified
bores
e Check that the specified maximum
speed is within the coupling maxi-
mum allowable speed
f Confirm that the selected coupling
meets the maximum specified angu-
lar and offset misalignments and
can accommodate axial displace-
ments of the driving and driven
shafts
g Verify that the required distance
between shaft ends is not less
than the minimum for the selected
coupling
h Check the dynamic balance
requirements
The initial selection of coupling mem-
brane type and size must be rechecked
during the process of coupling com-
ponent design. Application-specific
engineering considerations for weight,
stress, lateral critical speed, torsional
stiffness, maximum diameter, materi-
als, and cost can impact dimensions
of spacer tube, flanges, and fasten-
ers. Resulting changes will have to be
accommodated in the final design of
membranes. Figure 6 shows the typi-
cal mass elastic data that is provided
by coupling manufacturers to the
entity responsible for lateral analyses
as well as steady-state and transient
train torsional analyses.
■ Figure 9 – Diaphragm
and disc failures due to
cyclic torque.
■ Figure 10 – Disc failure due to severe
misalignment.
Fatigue Diagram
The stresses the coupling is exposed
to during operation need to be ana-
lyzed using a fatigue diagram. There
are several acceptable methods to
perform this evaluation, but the all
rely on breaking down the stresses
in the steady state and alternating
components. For a typically applica-
tion mean/steady state torque, axial
deflection, and speed are considered
mean stresses and cyclic torque and
angular misalignment are considered
alternating stresses.
The mean stress and combined
alternating stresses plotted on a mod-
ified Goodman diagram or equivalent
fatigue diagram for the coupling mate-
rial must have the plotted operating
point in the area below the safe work-
ing stress line. Typical coupling factor
of safety (F.S) values range from 1.25
to 2.0 based on the location of the
operating point inside the acceptable
region. A modified Goodman diagram
is shown in Figure 6.
Coupling Failures
In the general case of
a single element dia-
phragm fatigue failure
due to angular misalign-
ment a crack will initiate
in the diaphragm and then progress
circumferentially, with a correspond-
ing increase in imbalance, until the
remaining ligament can no longer
sustain the torque load. At this point
the diaphragm will rupture completely.
Other typical failures in high perfor-
mance flexible-element couplings
have been attributed to causes such
continued on page 42
JULY 2018 41
■ Figure 11a – Fretting
damage on uncoated discs.
■ Figure 11b – Facture at center of link
and fretting in link and at bolt hole, indica-
tive of torsional fatigue failure.
42 JULY 2018
as the torque overload, cyclic torsional
stresses and fretting. These failures
str
are shown in the following pictures.
Conclusion
Co
Two most commonly used high
performance flexible-element
coupling types, disc pack and
metal diaphragm, are discussed
in this
t tutorial. It emphasizes the need
for close coordination between the ■ Figure 12a – Coupling bolt failure due
specifying
spe engineers, owner, cou- to torque overload.
pling
p in vendor and vendors involved
pl
in the machinery train when select- ■ Figure 12b
ing the type of coupling(s) for the – Rippling on
given applications. Couplings are the diaphragm profile
vital components in machinery trains due to torque
and may be the weakest element in overload.
the chain. They contribute directly to
the reliability and availability of pro-
cess plant machinery and as such
deserve due attention in specification, Acknowledgement: All images in this
selection and sizing, as much as the paper are provided by Kop-Flex (Regal
connected machinery units. CT2 Beloit America).
COMPRESSORtech2
Prime Movers
Westport Fuel Systems
Westport Fuel Systems Inc. will sell
its compressed natural gas (CNG)
compressor business, based in
Cherasco, Italy, to Snam S.p.A., a
European gas utility company for
€12.5 million.
With the sale, Westport Fuel
Systems will streamline its business
and product lines and focus on
providing alternative fuel vehicle
components and systems to the
transportation industry.
The sale is expected to close by
the end of July.
Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes, a GE company,
opened its largest customer
Solutions Center (CSC) globally for
its Inspection Technologies Business
(IT) in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Cincinnati CSC offers BHGE’s
most advanced non-destructive
testing technologies under one roof
for the first time, the company said.
The 26,000 sq. ft. Cincinnati CSC
is a US$4 million investment and
was developed to better support
customers for non-destructive testing
needs. The facility will provide a
heightened experience for customers
in three specific areas:
■ Inspection services at the scale of
engageRecip.com
a production facility segment of the John Crane Group
■ Application development and produces hydrodynamic bearings
qualification testing for customers used by customers in the energy and
and partners plant engineering industries, primarily
■ Customer demos and training in high-performance applications
The Cincinnati CSC will serve such as turbines, compressors and
customers requiring asset and industrial pumps.
process performance improvements,
quality assurance, parts validation Elliott Group
and repairs. Elliott Group said Nicholas Dorsch will
serve as vice president of Industrial
Miba Group Products.
Miba Group, a global supplier of Dorsch will lead the company’s
engine bearings, said that the four industrial steam turbine line and the
industrial bearings plants acquired power generation group, reporting to
from the John Crane Group will COO Michael Lordi.
become part of Miba Bearing Group. Dorsch has 30 years of industry
The four sites have 300 employees experience, including roles in global
and are in Grafton, Wisconsin, operations, business
USA; Columbus, Nebraska, USA; strategy, process
Houston/Deer Park, Texas, USA; improvement and
and Göttingen, Lower Saxony, change management.
Germany. His most recent
Miba’s industrial bearing sites will role was as senior
become part of the newly formed director of operations
Industrial Bearing Branch that is for Gardner Denver’s
integrated in Miba Bearing Group Nash Division in Nicholas Dorsch
and led by Clemens Honeder as Bentleyville, Pennsylvania. With
managing director. the same company, he was also
With the acquisition of the four senior global director of product and
industrial bearing plants the company business strategy and director of
is now entering a new line of business: global operations.
developing and producing industrial Before Gardner Denver, Dorsch
bearings. The industrial bearings spent 18 years with IDEX Corp. CT2
No one knows your
Cooper-Bessemer™ like
the manufacturer.
Since 1929, Cooper-Bessemer has been one of the most
reliable and efficient methods for gas compression.
Baker Hughes, a GE Company is the original equipment
manufacturer of Cooper-Bessemer providing full-service
support, overhauls, repairs and upgrades for this
workhorse in the industry.
Trust only genuine BHGE parts and service for your
Cooper-Bessemer reciprocating engines and compressors.
Call our 24-hour hotline for
service support, parts and new Install
Upgrade Train
unit sales at +1 844-RECIP-GE or
visit engageRecip.com Overhaul
MYA
for more information. Repair & Operate &
Remanufacture Monitor
Field Predict
Service
Gears & Couplings
Diaphragm
Couplings For
Retrofits
Replacing existing couplings
with diaphragm couplings is beneficial
not only in high-speed critical drivetrains,
but also in slow-speed applications
etrofitting of prime movers, driven machinery and
R
declined.
related components has seen a surge in recent
years because the number of new plant projects has
To benefit from this change, Voith, a specialist in turbo
gears and variable speed drives, established a dedicated
retrofitting team and discovered that diaphragm couplings
are among components that often are used in retrofitting
projects to save space or transmit more power at higher
speeds.
A diaphragm coupling is a flexible coupling component
used in drive trains to connect two units of rotating
equipment, while permitting some degree of misalignment
or shaft end movement (radial, axial) or both.
In the case of functional changes such as fixed to variable
speed or power enhancement, retrofit solutions must often
be compact because of limited space and the need for cost
effectiveness. The exchange of the connecting couplings
is therefore often a key consideration within the overall
concept. Using diaphragm couplings, Voith is able to deliver
44 JULY 2018
■ Figure 1 –
A Voith turbo
planetary gear
unit with
integrated
diaphragm
coupling on the
low-speed and
high-speed side.
highly integrated solutions such as in combination with
planetary gears (Figure 1).
Changes in the drive train from fixed to variable speeds,
for example, always mean a different layout of the lateral and
torsional behavior. There may be the need to alter coupling
stiffness and weight to avoid changes in critical operational
behavior. Voith said that the potential to use a tailor-made
diaphragm coupling design to address the specific drive
train requirements related to space claim, misalignment
capabilities, stiffness and weight can be a real benefit for the
retrofit project in terms of time, cost and functional reliability.
Retrofit Projects
One example of such retrofit projects is a pump drive train
where the modification from fixed speed to variable speed
was performed using a controlled hydrodynamic coupling.
In this application, a standard disc coupling was initially
applied. While performing a torsional analysis of the drive
train, the configuration showed an intersection of a critical
frequency in the operating range and also high torques
during the startup process.
The analysis revealed that a change of the
disc coupling stiffness would end up in an
unallowable startup torque amplification, so
the engineers decided to use a diaphragm
coupling instead. By customizing the
diaphragm coupling, the intersection of the
critical frequency with the operation range
and the startup torque amplifications could be
safely avoided. The comparison of Campbell
diagrams and the shaft amplification charts
illustrate this (Figures 2 and 3).
The engineering process of the diaphragm
coupling utilized Voith’s specialized design
■ Figure 2 – Example torsional analysis with
standard disc coupling and diaphragm coupling.
COMPRESSORtech2
 Gears & Couplings

tools that allow quick and reliable selection of the design

based on torque, shock load and speed.
The Voith portfolio for diaphragm couplings includes
plenty of options to realize customized designs when
special weight, stiffness and inertia constraints are required.
A feedback from the lateral and torsional rotor dynamic
analysis is incorporated in the design where appropriate.
Diaphragm couplings do not require lubrication and are
free from wear, thus they don’t need maintenance and can
be designed to operate from 1 to 80 000 rpm. The speed for
this coupling type is limited only by the bolt design.
Voith’s coupling misalignment capabilities, depending on
the particular diaphragm type, range from 0.2° to 0.5°.
Although the use of diaphragm couplings has become a
trend in some classic high-speed applications such as gas ■ Figure 3 – Shaft toque comparison of retrofitted
turbines and compressors, some retrofit customers for slow- diaphragm coupling versus original disc coupling.
speed applications like cement mills or agitators value the
robust and reliable capabilities of this coupling type in their BASF, one of Voith’s customers. “By installing the diaphragm
drive trains, Voith said. couplings, we were able to remedy these issues, and the
“At some point, we had some vibration issues caused by systems have been running without problems for 10 to 15
curved-tooth couplings on various machines, for example years now. Another advantage was that it was possible to
the residue combustion system, an ammonia compressor integrate the diaphragm couplings into the already existing
and a natural gas compressor, which led to damage to coupling casings.”
components such as the axial bearing of the compressor,” Voith installed so far about 3000 diaphragm couplings,
said Roland Schuhmann, diagnostics and monitoring at mostly in critical applications. CT2

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 45

Product Focus
Miratech Rolls Out
The Beast
EmeraChem acquisition fuels
launch of new products
BY DJ SLATER
iratech seems to have a thing for its
M competitors. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based
emission and acoustical products provider
tends to share the marketplace with similar companies
sed
vider
nies
at first, but as the years rolls by, those competitorss end
up under the Miratech umbrella.
In October 2017, Miratech added EmeraChem, a custom
catalyst manufacturer, to its portfolio, a move that has
allowed the company to bring a new set of catalyst products
to the gas compression industry.
Those products include the MeC and MeC-Beastt (Mec-B)
catalyst line, which combines Miratech turbulent ulent foil
technology with EmeraChem’s nano surface technologies hnologies
and precious metal formulations. The MeC and d MeC-B
MeC B
catalysts replace all the legacy offerings from both
companies, said David Zenthoefer, Miratech’s CEO.
“The product line takes the best of both worlds,” he
said. “We don’t want people to think that Miratech bought
EmeraChem and its all the same products as before.
These are new products with better performance and better
warranties.”
Merging Technologies
Miratech’s turbulent foil technology consists of zones within
the catalyst that create turbulence in the exhaust stream.
The mixing and swirling causes the pollutants in the exhaust,
such as NOx, carbon monoxide, VOCs and formaldehyde,
to make constant and repeated contact with the catalyst’s
precious metals. The reactions between the metals and the
pollutants makes for a much cleaner exhaust stream than
traditional catalysts, Zenthoefer said.
Before the acquisition, Miratech had the turbulent foils,
but not the EmeraChem’s surface technology and metals.
Combined, the two companies have developed catalyst
product that can produce even better efficiency rates,
Zenthoefer said.
The MeC and MeC-B catalysts are built on a turbulent
substrate, which increases surface area and performance
without increasing backpressure. The catalysts feature
mechanical locking of flat to corrugated layers and
diffusion bonding. Round elements also weld every layer
of foil to the core. Catalytic coatings have the equivalent
of 55 football fields of catalytic surface area in every cubic
foot. That means the exhaust pollutants aren’t passing
through the catalysts. Instead, they seep into the wash
46 JULY 2018
■ Miratech’s new MeC
and MeC-Beast (MeC-B)
catalysts feature Miratech’s
turbulent foil technology and
EmeraChem’s nano surface
technologies and precious
metal formulations.
coat, Zenthoefer said.
The MeC and MeC-B
catalysts are designed for
rich- and lean-burn four-stroke
natural gas engines. The MeC catalyst
one-year
carries a one warranty, while the
year full performance warranty
MeC-B line extends that warranty period to three years.
Other benefits with the new product line include a thermally
stabilized wash coat that provides greater resistance to
sintering during prolonged operation at high temperatures;
a higher tolerance to contaminants found in engine exhaust,
lube oil and coolants; and an advanced form of platinum
that improves service life and regenerative responsiveness
to catalyst washes.
“We made the acquisition for further vertical integration
and market expansion,” Zenthoefer said. “This is our fourth
acquisition in the last four years.”
Prior to EmeraChem, Miratech bought Vaporphase, a
supplier of heat recovery systems for reciprocating engines
in the United States, in November 2016. Before that,
Miratech obtained EM and Cowl, both of which specialized
in manufacturing silencers.
With its most recent acquisition, Miratech also obtained
EmeraChem’s catalyst service centers in Texas, Oklahoma,
Wyoming, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Those service
centers include the Multi-Lambda Catalyst Testing System
(MLCTS), which analyzes catalysts to ensure proper function
post chemical wash (see COMPRESSORtech2, November
2016, p. 34). Washing stations and precious metal reclaim
services are also part of Miratech’s latest offerings.
“We can work with any gas engine and provide what its
needs,” Zenthoefer said. “We can supply and build it all.”
The new catalysts, Zenthoefer said, are just the beginning.
He anticipates many more offerings to come going forward.
“We’re just coming out of the first quarter of a football
game,” he said. “We’re ready to push the accelerator
down.” CT2
COMPRESSORtech2
 2
3 Scheduled Downtime DJ SLATER, PUZZLEMASTER

4 Visit www.compressortech2.com/scheduled-downtime/ for answers

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Marketplace
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6DOHV#8QLYHUVDO6WDUWHUFRP engines, compressors, gears, couplings)
• Steady-State & Time-Transient Simulation
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1600 MISSILE WAY, ANAHEIM, CA 92801
(714) 871-8185 • (714) 871-9229 FAX
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To place an advertisment or for further information, please contact: Katie Bivens, Regional Sales Manager

Tel: +1 262-754-4140 E-mail: katie.bivens@khl.com

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 47

 Cornerstones Of Compression
Power Cylinders Compr. Cylinders
Allowable Rod Approximate
Rated Power Speed Bore Stroke Stroke Load Weight
Model hp (kW) rpm No. in. (mm) in. (mm) No. in. (mm) lbs. (kg) lbs. (kg)
C-30 30 (22) 525 1 7.5 (191) 10.0 (254) 1 8.0 (203) 8500 (3855) 7000 (3175)
C-42 42 (31) 525 1 8.5 (216) 10.0 (254) 1 8.0 (203) 11,000 (4989) 10,000 (4535)
DPC-60 60 (45) 475 1 9.5 (241) 12.0 (305) 1 8.0 (203) 11,000 (4989) 14,000 (4989)
DPC-81 81 (60) 475 1 10.5 (267) 12.0 (305) 1 8.0 (203) 14,000 (6349) 16,000 (7256)
DPC-80 80 (60) 400 1 11.0 (279) 14.0 (356) 1 11.0 (279) 17,600 (7982) 17,500 (7937)
DPC-105 105 (78) 425 1 12.0 (305) 14.0 (356) 1 11.0 (279) 20,000 (9070) 18,500 (8390)
DPC-115 115 (86) 360 1 13.25 (337) 16.0 (406) 1 11.0 (279) 22,000 (9977) 22,000 (9977)
DPC-140 140 (104) 400 1 13.25 (337) 16.0 (406) 1 11.0 (279) 25,000 (11,338) 24,500 (11,111)
DPC-120 120 (89) 475 2 9.5 (241) 12.0 (305) 2 8.0 (203) 11,000 (4989) 27,000 (12,245)
DPC-162 162 (121) 475 2 10.5 (267) 12.0 (305) 2 8.0 (203) 14,000 (6349) 28,000 (12,698)
DPC-180 180 (134) 400 1 15.0 (381) 16.0 (406) 1 11.0 (279) 30,000 (13,605) 25,000 (11,338)
DPC-230 230 (172) 360 2 13.25 (337) 16.0 (406) 2 11.0 (279) 22,000 (9977) 36,000 (16,327)
DPC-280 280 (209) 400 2 13.25 (337) 16.0 (406) 2 11.0 (279) 25,000 (11,338) 37,000 (16,780)
DPC-300 300 (224) 360 2 15.0 (381) 16.0 (406) 2 11.0 (279) 25,000 (11,338) 38,000 (17,234)
DPC-360 360 (268) 400 2 15.0 (381) 16.0 (406) 2 11.0 (279) 30,000 (13,605) 39,000 (17,687)
DPC-600 600 (447) 400 3 15.0 (381) 16.0 (406) 2 11.0 (279) 40,000 (18,141) 55,000 (24,943)
DPC-800 800 (597) 400 4 15.0 (381) 16.0 (406) 3 11.0 (279) 40,000 (18,141) 98,500 (44,671)

■ Standard Ajax White Hat Special gas engine-compressor
packages were first introduced in 1966. By 1985, the lineup
included more than 200 standard packages covering a range of
30 to 800 hp (22 to 597 kW).
stroke standard packages were introduced in 1970 as the
400 rpm DPC-180 single and 360 rpm DPC-300 twin. In
1973, the 400 rpm DPC-360 twin, DPC-140 single and DPC-
280 twin were added. The 140 and 280 engines had 13.25
in. (336 mm) power cylinders, instead of 15.0 in. (381 mm)
in the 180 and 360. The 1976 addition of the three power
cylinder DPC-600 rounded out the expansion of the Ajax
White Hat line. The C-30 was added to the lineup in 1978,
having the skid and foundation combined to minimize weight
and allow a single piece for transportation and setting on a
pad at site.
The design of the White Hats changed with market
demand, with Porta-Base options becoming the norm for all
models by the mid-1970s. During this period, pre-engineering
single- and two-stage packages were developed to cover
a very wide range of conditions, with a descriptive suffix
added to the package model. For example, DPC-280-H-1
and DPC-280-H-2 were single-stage and two-stage high
pressure packages, respectively. By the mid-1970s, the
Ajax offering included 16 power ratings, C-30 through DPC-
600 with 210 pre-engineered standard packages.
Market, customer and environmental demands drove the
continued evolution of the Ajax standard product in the early
1980s, with the White Hat moniker supplanting all the other
designations. Significant changes driven during that period
were environmental containment; Altronic annunciators with
digital controls; Class I, Group D, Division II wiring; ring
gear starting; higher grade silencers and standard variable
volume pockets. All products were offered in sweet and sour
gas configurations with pre-priced options to meet customer
requirements for a particular application.
DPC-800 introduction
In the mid-1980s, the four power/three compressor cylinder
DPC-800 was introduced, and three-stage standard
pre-engineered packages were added for all two-throw
compressor models. In addition, a massive engineering
effort, including analog studies of over 200 standard
packages, resulted in optimization to reduce pulsations and
pressure losses as well as improving predicted package
performance over the wide operating range that the Ajax
compressors are known for accommodating.
By the early 1990s, the 8 in. (203 mm) stroke models
had been discontinued, and the 11 in. (279 mm) stroke
compressor models were uprated to 440 rpm. At the same
time, a number of improvements resulted from reviews with
customers, which included the major rental fleet companies.
A number of new standard features were added including
an integral concrete base and skid, which reduced shipping
weight by several tons, and the patented tilt muffler allowing
shipment with one truck and installation on a sand base
without using a crane.
In 1997, the Ajax business was focused in Oklahoma
City, where the engines and packages continued to be
built until 2017. Production of bare frame Ajax engine-
compressors continues today at a Baker Hughes GE plant in
Houston, Texas. CT2

COMPRESSORtech2 JULY 2018 49

 Cornerstones Of Compression
■ This 1976 brochure image shows
an Ajax White Hat Special single-
cylinder gas engine-compressor
package on an optional Porta-Base.
The White Hat Specials
Ajax packages provided oil and gas patch
with portable gas engine-compressors
BY NORM SHADE
A
jax’s history began with the 1877 founding of the
Harmon, Gibbs & Co. in Corry, Pennsylvania. Right
in the heart of the nation’s original “oil country,” Corry
sits 23 miles (37 km) from the world’s first successful oil well
in 1859. The company produced steam drilling engines for
the nearby oil fields. Famously, its first steam engine was in
continuous service from 1877 to 1968, accumulating about
550,000 hours without a major overhaul.
The company was incorporated as the Ajax Iron Works in
1892, with gas engines added to the product line in 1895.
Over the years, Ajax evolved into a leading producer of
heavy-duty, two-cycle gas engines, including gas engines
specifically for secondary oil-recovery operations. In the
1950s, it introduced vertical plunger pumps for oil-field use.
Gas engine production reached 2000 engines a year in the
1960s.
In 1958, with the industry needing more portable field gas
compressors – high-speed separable compressors were
starting to emerge – Ajax introduced its first integral gas
engine-compressor. These single-, two-, and three-stage
compressors were widely used for gas gathering, boosting,
lifting and repressuring.
Acquired by Cooper Industries in 1963, Ajax started
developing a pre-engineered and pre-packaged line of
gas engine-compressor packages. These packages were
called “White Hat Specials.” The moniker was inspired by
a popular 1960s Dodge automobile marketing program,
further reinforced by the old western movies, where the
good guys always wore white hats.
Beyond marketing
The White Hat standardization, introduced in 1966, was not
just a marketing tool. Each package was pre-engineered.
This was something new to the industry at the time, and
it allowed pre-building inventory components as well as
50 JULY 2018
complete packages. This enabled previously unheard of
package delivery times of four to 12 weeks, depending on
the model and options.
The Ajax integral gas engine-compressor lineup included
two, 8 in. (203 mm) compressor stroke and four 11 in. (279
mm) stroke compressors in 1966. The C-42 and DPC-60
with 8 in. (203 mm) stroke had interchangeable compressor
cylinders, but different engine components. The single-
cylinder DPC-80A and DPC-115, along with the two-cylinder
DCP-160 and DPC-230 (“twins”), had 11 in. (279 mm) stroke.
These models had interchangeable engine and compressor
parts, except for the crankcase, crankshaft and flywheel.
Throughout the Ajax line, until the early 1990s, the model
number reflected the rated horsepower rating.
Rise of the Porta-Base
The first White Hat packages focused on two-stage offerings
with a maximum pressure rating of 1250 psig (86 bar). As
the market had not previously seen standardized packages
to any degree, both the technical and environmental
demands were lower than today’s requirements. The units
were designed with a two-skid concept, one for the engine-
compressor, crosshead guide mounted scrubbers close-
coupled to the bottles and a crosshead guide-mounted F.W.
Murphy Tattletale panel, with a separate skid for the cooler.
Although most of the early packages were still installed
on permanent foundations, the packages would soon
evolve to include a portable foundation (“Porta-Base”). The
packages were built both at Carson Machine in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma and at the Ajax factory in Corry, although
production soon defaulted to Carson, which was closer to
most of the market.
While the early White Hat offering included 42 to 230 hp
(31 to 172 kW) units, other models and standard packages
were under development. “Green Giant” 11 in. (279 mm)
continued on page 49
COMPRESSORtech2
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