Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Energy Engineering

First Advisor

Olusegun S. Tomomewo

Second Advisor

Michael Mann

Abstract

The oil and natural gas exploration and production industry is undergoing rapid growth, resulting in an increased number of operational wells and heightened potential for air emissions from oil and natural gas sources. Within production sites, compressors play a pivotal role and are often regarded as the "heart of a manufacturing plant" in the oil and gas sector. These crucial devices are designed to compress air or other gases to pressures higher than atmospheric pressure. Gas compression is typically achieved using devices with rotating blades or cylinders featuring reciprocating compressors while are essential for operations demanding high-pressures in small packages. However, it's widely acknowledged that these types of compressors are significant consumers of electrical power, accounting for a mean 15% of the industry overall electricity consumption, therefore it is vital to pay attention towards machine performances. Primarily, the way to optimize your plant maintenance is to use predictive maintenance, which involves using sensors, data, and analytics to monitor and predict the performance and health of your equipment. This can help you identify potential problems and risks, and take corrective actions before they escalate or cause damage. Predictive maintenance can also help you reduce unnecessary maintenance activities, optimize your maintenance resources, and improve your decision-making and planning. Another reduction in motor energy consumption of a reciprocating compressor is the innovative idea of injecting high-pressure gas through the piston. Given that motor energy consumption is influenced by recurring issues such as piston ring and rider ring failures in reciprocating pistons, we assess the efficacy of utilizing polyether ether ketone (PEEK) in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composite materials. Furthermore, a conceptual redesign of the piston configuration aimed at enabling the piston to levitate under the high pressure of gas, this eliminates wear of rider rings, thereby anticipating a reduction in motor energy consumption of the reciprocating compressor.

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