Comprehensive testing capabilities

High-quality, reliable equipment is critical to our customers’ success – so we make rigorous testing a critical part of our ongoing program of improved performance and reliability. At GE Energy we take a fully integrated approach to design, engineering, manufacturing and testing, to ensure maximum quality control and reduced cycle times – at every stage.

We operate several major testing facilities in key locations around the world, all equipped with advanced infrastructure and software tools, and the highly qualified personnel needed to perform accurate, value-focused testing on our compressors, turbines and related technologies. These facilities are nearly unique in the industry. Tried and true methods are combined with emerging technologies as we continually invest to develop more efficient procedures and more detailed results.

Our capabilities include the performance of full-load string tests on large turbocompressor trains and the utilization of feed-gas preparation systems for testing both gas turbines and compressors on virtually any gas mixture of interest to a customer. Here are just a few examples of our most recent enhancements to our testing capabilities:

New rotor dynamics testing bunker
We are currently constructing a massive, specialized bunker that will offer high-speed rotor balancing unlike anything currently available in the industry. It will accommodate all sizes of centrifugal compressor and gas turbine rotors. We test traditional two-piece welded impellers to ensure joint integrity, and we are also now machining and testing impellers forged from solid, single-piece steel blocks for increased strength. In either case, high-speed balancing ensures optimal rotor weight configuration adjustments for actual operating speed.


New bunker for high-speed balancing of centrifugal compressor and steam turbine rotors

Flange-to-flange testing
When the rotor is fully balanced, we test the core turbine or core compressor unit in isolation, again using in-house equipment and personnel.

  

Full-load string tests
This 1 million square foot, state-of-the-art facility allows us to perform a complete train validation, precisely mimicking our customers’ unique site conditions. Software inputs and physical infrastructure modifications simulate your exact operating parameters. This outdoor facility is subject to the same rigorous standards we use throughout our manufacturing environments.


String test configuration: 1. gas turbines  2. compressors  3. helper  4. shop process gas piping  (including coolers, valves, etc.)

The testing facility can accommodate:

  • 130 MW gas turbine driver and compressor (up to FR7 and FR9 models under full load testing conditions using natural gas supply)
  • 60 MW electrical motor driver and compressor under ful load conditions.

This extensive capacity allows us to take testing out of the theoretical realm and into the practical world of our customers’ business – offering the utmost confidence in system performance prior to installation. No other company in the world can provide this benefit.

Remote access to testing procedures and results
Our Virtual Witness Program gives customers the convenient option of monitoring tests remotely without needing to travel to the test site. It is a unique web application that shows, in real time, the measured parameters and the collected data during factory standard tests of centrifugal compressors and gas turbines.

Graphical pages are displayed in the same format as those that the Test Bed technician sees during the test. All the operating parameters such as gas and oil pressures and temperatures, speed, bearing temperatures, etc., are monitored in real time. Also the test performance curves can be constantly seen during the progress of the test and compared with the expected curves. The application requires only a PC with a browser and a connection to the internet.

Just the beginning
Every aspect of GE Energy’s company-wide customer-focused philosophy is put to work in our testing facilities. The technological and process advances we make are not merely to confirm equipment specifications – but to improve your performance and find room for new growth on the road ahead. We will continue to research and develop testing technologies, investing significantly for the sake of our customers and moving the entire industry toward continually higher levels of quality.