Turbo machine and method for the operation thereof

Abstract

A turbo machine, particularly a turbo compressor, including at least one rotor, which extends along an axis, at least one gas seal, which uses a seal gas to seal a gap between the rotor and a stator of the turbo machine, and a processing module, which processes process fluid taken from the high-pressure position at a tapping into seal gas, which seal gas is fed to the gas seal is provided. To reduce the investment costs for processing the seal gas for the gas seal, a control valve is provided in a first pipe of the turbo machine, the turbo machine has a control unit and a sensor in a second pipe for the seal gas between the processing module and the gas seal, and the control unit is designed such that the control valve controls the pressure or the mass flow or the volume flow measured by the sensor.

1 . A turbomachine comprising
 at least one rotor that extends along an axis;   at least one axial high-pressure position along a flow path of a process fluid through the turbomachine;   at least one axial low-pressure position along the flow path of the process fluid through the turbomachine, wherein, when the turbomachine is in operation, a pressure of the process fluid is higher at the at least one axial high-pressure position than at the at least one axial low-pressure position;   at least one gas seal which seals, by means of a seal gas, a gap between the at least one rotor and a stator of the turbomachine;   a preparation module that prepares the process fluid, extracted from the at least one axial high-pressure position at an extraction point, to give the seal gas, the seal gas being supplied to the at least one gas seal wherein a control valve is provided in a first line of the turbomachine that guides the process fluid from the at least one axial high-pressure position to the preparation module; and   a control unit that drives the control valve;   wherein the turbomachine has, in a second line for the seal gas between the preparation module and the at least one gas seal, a sensor that determines at least one of a pressure, a mass flow rate, and a volume flow rate of the seal gas between the preparation module and the at least one gas seal;   wherein the control unit is designed such that the control valve controls at least one of the pressure, the mass flow rate, and the volume flow rate measured by the sensor.   
     
     
         2 . The turbomachine as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the turbomachine is a compressor. 
     
     
         3 . The turbomachine as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is designed as a pressure difference measurement and measures the pressure difference between a position at a balancing piston of the turbomachine and a seal gas pressure downstream of the preparation module and forwards the pressure difference value to the control unit. 
     
     
         4 . The turbomachine as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the control unit controls the pressure difference, measured by the sensor, to a setpoint value by means of the control valve. 
     
     
         5 . A method for operating a turbomachine as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the process fluid is extracted at the extraction point at the at least one axial high-pressure position along the flow path through the turbomachine;
 the extracted process fluid is supplied to the preparation module;
 the preparation module prepares the extracted process fluid to give the seal gas by liquid separation, filtering, heating and/or pressure matching; 
   the seal gas is supplied to the at least one gas seal of the turbomachine, wherein the at least one axial low-pressure position along the flow path of the process fluid through the turbomachine is provided, wherein, when the turbomachine is in operation, the pressure of the process fluid is higher at the at least one axial high-pressure position than at the at least one axial low-pressure position, wherein in the first line of the turbomachine which guides the process fluid from the high-pressure position to the preparation module, the process fluid is throttled by means of the control valve;
 the control unit of the turbomachine drives the control valve; 
   the seal gas is guided from the preparation module to the at least one gas seal by means of the second line;
 at least one of the pressure the mass flow rate, and the volume flow rate in the second line is determined using a sensor; and 
 by driving the control valve, the control unit controls at least one of the pressure, the mass flow rate, and the volume flow rate measured by the sensor.