Oil and Gas

High-performance, efficient pumps and compressors lie at the heart of the oil and gas industry. It is vital that these products function reliably and safely on ground as well as on and under water since the raw materials involved, harbor significant environmental risk factors. They are frequently manufactured as part of large-scale, high investment projects. The Fraunhofer IPT therefore applies its expertise to support compressor and pump manufacturers in time and cost-saving projects, in the requirement and risk management of large-scale projects of this nature and in the optimization of new manufacturing technologies for complex compressor and turbine components.

The focus is on your components

Individual blades

From the point of view of production technology, machining operations performed on turbine blades, are a complex matter: the free-formed blade geometries must meet extremely fine tolerances in order to guarantee the operational reliability and energy efficiency of the compressors. Machining the delicate blades frequently causes strong vibrations which prevent the exacting part quality requirements from being met. The Fraunhofer IPT develops technologies which guarantee reliable and cost-effective manufacture of complex turbomachinery components.

Turbine wheels

Turbine wheels are complex, three-dimensional parts with a high proportion of internal surfaces to be machined. These are at the heart of many radial compressors. Precise path planning and milling operation management are crucial elements in the manufacturing process in order to avoid collisions. Robust process design is just as important. The Fraunhofer IPT supports its clients in its capacity as a reliable partner in the design, planning and optimization of the machining processes as well as in qualifying the plant and equipment deployed.

Rotors for radial compressors

The manufacture of radial compressors entails a number of production-related challenges which it is vital to overcome: due to the aerodynamic requirements, these parts have a number of freeform surfaces and overlapping areas which are both time-consuming and costly to manufacture. Any faults which arise at a subsequent stage in the process therefore usually incur very high costs. The Fraunhofer IPT supports manufacturers of these components by designing, planning and optimizing machining processes to match individual requirements and by qualifying the plant and equipment required accordingly.

Process safeguarding

Turbomachines are frequently manufactured in small quantities or even as customized, one-off items. It is vital to apply appropriate quality management tools such as quality gates in order to safeguard all processes involved – from design through production till the point at which the product is handed over to the customer. The Fraunhofer IPT draws on its extensive experience and expertise in the selection and implementation of the most effective safeguarding strategies and in supplying compliant documentation as well as in qualifying the staff involved.

Risk management

In turbomachinery manufacture, the pursuit of an actively forward-looking strategy is just as important as product optimization and learning from the past. Active risk management entails the institutionalization of the right processes and structures within the company. The Fraunhofer IPT draws on its extensive experience over a diverse range of fields of activity in turbomachinery building to support its clients and partners in the selection and sustainable implementation of the most efficient processes and tools.