High Pressure Compressor Rig

The High Pressure Compressor (HPC) Rig design and build project provided all engineering, design, analysis, and manufacturing to deliver a HPC Rig ready for installation of instrumentation and facility integration for aerodynamic testing. All hardware was designed and built by Belcan and shipped to the customer facility for instrumentation and testing.

The rig was a full-scale vehicle with six stage rotor, variable inlet guide vanes, variable stage 1 vanes, and a combustor simulator section complete with combustor cans and fuel nozzles. The rig had three external and three internal bleeds and was designed for internal heating/cooling of the rotor to modulate tip clearance. The rig analysis program consisted of the following:

Thermal analysis of the secondary air system and rotor bore heating/cooling;
Windage calculations for all flow path joints;
Transient heat transfer analysis for start-up and emergency shutdown missions;
Stress analyses of all rotor features, including instrumentation accommodation features, bolt holes, loading slots, and bores;
Blade and vane airfoil stress and vibration analyses, including strain gauge placement and sensitivity studies;
Kinematics analysis of variable stator vanes;
Tip clearance analysis; and
Rotordynamics analysis.

Belcan evaluated and selected all manufacturing vendors for the fabrication. The evaluation consisted of a RFI phase, on-site evaluations, and review of past performance. Belcan conducted all sourcing and procurement actions and managed all vendor issues. Belcan provided manufacturing engineering for value engineering assistance to shorten lead times and reduce manufacturing cycles, monitor vendor progress, and conduct all acceptance inspections. During the design phase and the instrumentation and installation phase, Belcan provided an on-site integration and installation engineering team at the customer location.