NEW TECHNOLOGY

The Turbocor T T300 compressor won an Energy Innovation Award at the 2003 AHR Expo in Chicago for its new technology. Heres an inside view of how the compressor was designed and how it works
BY RON CONRY

he Turbocor TT300 compressor was designed from scratch and was not limited by traditional concepts, manufacturing infrastructures, technologies or ideologies. As all the key technologies were developed without any preconceived limitations, traditional development methods were not followed and a strong in-house engineering development team was assembled to develop all aspects of the compressor. The end product is a compact, efficient, oil-free, highspeed, infinitely variable-capacity centrifugal compressor designed to operate with R-134a refrigerant. The first generation compressor is designed for rooftop units and air-, water- and evaporative-cooled chillers with a capacity ranging from 60 tons to 400 tons. The compressor was designed to be fully integrated both mechanically and electrically and is unlike any other in the market. It is, however, designed from a range of proven and existing technologies. Because of the compressors smooth and quiet operation, noise is not an issue. The compressor operates at less than 70dBa at 3 meters when fully loaded and can operate at less than 50dBa when operating in a low-load situation. The compressor emits virtually no vibration due to the electronic dynamic-balancing feature.

Compressor specifications
Compressor type Capacity range Capacity control guide Inlet guide vanes Refrigerant Lubrication system Bearing type Motor type Operating speed range Drive type Transmission Discharge non-return valve Speed control Bearing control Electronic dynamic balancing Power failure soft touchdown Compressor control Soft-starter Pressure transducers Motor cooling Electronics cooling Electronic expansion valve control Starting gear Chiller control Weight Power factor correction coil Two-stage centrifugal 60-400 tons Variable speed and inlet vanes control Built-in R-134a model currently available, R-22 model available 4th quarter 2003 Oil free Permanent magnet biased, active control magnet Permanent magnet synchronous 18,000-48,000 rpm Direct None Included Built-in Built-in Built-in Built-in Built-in Built-in Built-in Refrigerant Refrigerant Built-in Not required Not required 265 pounds Required

The magnetic bearing system

Magnetic bearings have been used in specialized applications in aerospace and large industrial machinery and have to date been limited to high-end applications where cost was not a consideration. The technology has proven over the years to be a highly reliable concept and has been used in applications where energy efficiency is an issue or where conventional lubricants are not desirable. With magnetic bearings, there is no mechanical friction as the rotating shaft is suspended in a magnetic field, and its static position and dynamic vibration are controlled electronically. Typically, these bearing systems have been extremely expensive to develop and manufacture and have not been used in mass-produced products. As part of the overall product development, the Turbocor engineering team has developed its own magnetic bearing system for the TT300 compressor. A typical bearing-control system is housed in separate electronic enclosures and is large and expensive. In this case, the system has been miniaturized and is housed within the compressor itself, thus increasing reliability while greatly reducing costs. The bearing system consists of a five-axis active control and permanent-magnet-biased design where the bearing uses permanent magnets to do the primary work and digitally controlled electro-magnets are used as a secondary trim system. The shafts position is sensed and is repositioned six million times every minute. Each radial bearing operates with four separate magnetic coils that are controlled with a digitally controlled, pulse-width modulation (PWM). The digital control

The Turbocor TT300s benefits include its oil-free operation with R-134a.

responds to separate signals sent to it from built-in proximity sensors that are sensitive to shaft movement of less than 0.00005 inches. As the shaft moves from the center point, varying strength magnetic fields are applied to the shaft to bring it back into its required position. Typically, maximum run-out of the shaft is confined to less than 0.0005 inches. The axial position of the shaft is similarly controlled. However, the shafts position is controlled from the impeller end of the compressor, while the magnetic actuators apply the appropriate force to the opposite end of the shaft. The software has been designed to automatically compensate for any out-of-balance the compressor

The Turbocor engineering team has developed its own magnetic bearing system for the TT300 compressor. The system has been miniaturized and is housed within the compressor itself, thus increasing reliability while also reducing costs.

may experience. In the case of a power outage, the bearings power is fed from onboard capacitors that are primarily used to smooth out voltage ripple on the DC link to the motor drive. Within a millisecond of the compressor losing its power, the motor switches into generator mode. Power is fed back into the DC bus supplying the necessary power to levitate the bearings and feed the various control systems on the compressor. Auxiliary touchdown bearings also are included in the compressors design to protect the compressor in the case of a catastrophic failure, such as a printed circuit board or actuator failure. The magnetic bearings are extremely efficient and use 180 watts of energy compared to 10,000 watts if a conventional lubrication system had been used. Additional energy savings are made by the eradication of oil from the heat exchange surfaces and the elimination of costly oil recovery systems that are used in conventional refrigeration installations.

The motor and variable-speed drive

Variable-speed drives (VSD) are commonly used in all areas of hvac installations and are well proven in their ability to cut energy costs. Typically, as in the case with magnetic bearings, these systems are separately housed in electrical enclosures and are expensive to purchase. The Turbocor engineering team has developed its own inverter

speed control and has fully integrated it into the compressors housing. The compressors variablespeed drive system consists of a rectifier to convert the incoming main power (380V-460V, 50/60 Hz) to a DC current, a DC bus consisting of four capacitors allowing for the smoothing of voltage ripple, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) inverter Operating at speeds of to switch the DC current into a up to 48,000 rpm, the variable-frequency supply for the 160-hp motor is the same physical size as a 1-hp, motor and a soft starter that four-pole induction motor reduces the inrush current to a and is refrigerant-cooled. trickle (the compressor has a starting current of less than 5 amps). The Turbocor engineering team and the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization of Australia (CSIRO) designed the permanent magnet synchronous motor used in the compressor. Operating at speeds of up to 48,000 rpm, the 160 hp motor is the same physical size as a 1-hp, four-pole induction motor and is refrigerant-cooled. Being variable-speed, the motor allows for maximum efficiency gains as the system load decreases. Chillers using this technology are experiencing a coefficent of performance (COP) over 5.6 (energy-efficiency ratio of 0.63 kw/tr)

The schematic shows how the compressors control system has been broken into two segments: the high-voltage/high-power section and the low-voltage/control/ service section. The high-voltage section is situated on top of the compressor and houses the power electronics required to drive the motor, and the isolated high-voltage DC/DC power supply for magnetic bearings and low-voltage system control functions. The lowvoltage section is situated on the side of the compressor and includes the bearing/motor control, the compressor control and the low-voltage DC/DC power supply.

at full load in water-cooled applications, with integrated power load value of 9.38 (EER 0.375). The motors cooling circuit is integrated into the compressors design and also is used to cool the key electronic components.

The aerodynamics and R-134a selection

The two-stage fluid dynamics were developed in conjunction with Concepts ETI in Vermont. This concept uses two open shrouded impellers and is designed to operate both with and without an economizer system. During the design process, many new refrigerants were investigated, but the first gas that the engineering team selected proved to be the right one for this technology and market segment. R-134a has been universally adopted in the automotive industry as the replacement for R-12 and now is the most commonly used refrigerant in the world and, therefore, is readily available. Using R-134a in a centrifugal system eliminates the need for a costly and complicated purge system required in R-123 machines.

As the gas enters the compressor, it passes through a set of pre-swirl inlet guide vanes (IGV) that typically remain open for most of the compressors operating The compressors first-stage impeller life. The vanes start is shown. to close off and are appropriately adjusted to balance the system when the compressor starts to approach a surge condition. The gas then is directed into two investment cast impellers that pump the gas through the system. Between the first- and second-stage impellers is a sidestream inlet port that allows the system to use an economizer circuit if required. From there, the gas passes through a purpose-built discharge service/non-return

valve. When the compressor shuts down or is not operating (when installed in parallel with other compressors), the non-return valve closes off to prevent the gas from feeding back through the turbine wheels causing a short circuit in the gas flow and eliminating shaft reversal.

The electronics integration

The TT300 is the worlds first fully integrated centrifugal compressor system and can be classed as an electronic machine. It has been designed with fully integrated power electronics, an insulated gate bipolar transistor inverter (IGBT), IGBT control, bearing and motor control, compressor control, soft starter, control power supply, PWM amplifier, smoothing capacitors, multiple electronic expansion valve control, motor and electronics cooling control, inlet guide vane (IGV) control and pressure transducers. The electronics have been designed to be service friendly and were designed using a plug-and-play concept for ease of service and troubleshooting.

The TT300 is the worlds first fully integrated centrifugal compressor system and can be classed as an electronic machine
The engineering-grade PVC covers have a sputtered metal coating to eliminate any electro-magnetic interference. The compressors capacity and efficiency are maintained with either 50Hz or 60Hz power. The cooling system allows the electronics to operate at the optimal conditions, thus increasing component life and reliability. The control system has been broken into two segments: the high-voltage/high-power section and the lowvoltage/control/service section. The high-voltage section is situated on top of the compressor and houses the power electronics required to drive the motor, and the isolated high-voltage DC/DC power supply for magnetic bearings and low-voltage system control functions. The low-voltage section is situated on the side of the compressor and includes the bearing/motor control, the compressor control and the low-voltage DC/DC power supply.

Miniaturization has been a key part of the electronics development work and this has allowed elimination of many components, wiring and PCBs. The software was developed in-house and was designed to minimize manufacturing costs while increasing overall compressor reliability and system efficiency. Ron Conry is the executive vice president of technology development at Turbocor. For more information, call 514-421-0523 or visit turbocor.com.