Thermodynamic simulator of a double shaft gas turbine of an offshore pumping train

Abstract Gas turbines are extensively used for electric power generation, in the aviation field, and for mechanical drive applications such as pumps and compressors in the petroleum industry. Their inherent advantages, such as compactness, lightweight design, and compatibility with multiple fuel sources, make them particularly suitable for offshore platform installations. This study presents the field-testing conditions of the system and the corresponding certification process for the intended real-world application, replacing the existing gas turbine, gearbox, and pump units with this new technological solution to assess the performance characteristics of the Solar Centaur 50s Gas Turbine, a key component of the Pump Train: gas turbine, gearbox, torque converter, and screw pump under diverse operating conditions. The results obtained from the Turbogas C50s program were compared with experimental data obtained from tests conducted in San Diego, California. The calculated thermal efficiency exhibited a maximum deviation of less than 4% at a 50% load condition, with a minimum deviation of 0.725% observed at full load. Moreover, the calculated power output demonstrated a maximum deviation of 2.9% at 50% load, while maintaining an error of less than 0.01% at full load. The simulated operating cases using the Turbogas C50s thermodynamic simulator were evaluated based on the API-616 to determine the key parameters at the outlet of the gas turbine, through the analysis performed using the Thermoflow program. In this analysis, the ideal performance map of the Solar Centaur 50s gas turbine was determined by considering the compression ratio and gas turbine inlet temperature as variables. These variables were selected due to their substantial impact on the overall performance of the turbine, as a technological novelty within the national oil industry, considering that four units replaced the ten units previously in operation.