| Abstract |
In the recent years Ansaldo Industria SpA and Ross Hill Controls corp. developed a series of large-power, variable-speed drives with induction motor, suitable for direct driving of high-speed fluidodynamic machines. The most significant field of application is the pipeline industry, where the variable-speed drives are generally used for peak service of gas compression stations located close to highly populated areas. The paper covers the authors' experience in designing, manufacturing and testing large-power, high-speed induction motors. Reference is made to the drive systems already tested and commissioned: two rated 5250 kW, 3200 to 5500 rpm and two rated 6600 kW, 2400 to 5200 rpm, all installed in USA. Special emphasis is given to the main aspects which characterize this hightech product: electromagnetic design, mechanical design, rotordynamics and balancing, vibrations, back-to-back testing. The motor test results in terms of vibrations, efficiency, noise level, power factor and overall performance and the field experience have been very encouraging so far and confirm the validity and reliability of the high-speed induction motor solution, which can be extended to significantly larger ratings and speeds. |
