Dresser-Rand Team: Alex Widstrand, Deepal Patel, Ning Zhu, Angelica Vargas
2016-2017: In collaboration with Dresser-Rand, a Siemens business, this student team developed a new casing joint design for a high pressure centrifugal compressor. Existing casing joint designs are insufficient to withstand the higher pressures needed for today’s more demanding natural gas reinjection applications.
After reviewing and modeling the existing casing joint design, the team generated a wide range of design concepts. The team conducted an initial selection process informed by the key design requirements, and then created CAD models of the most promising options. The team further refined these designs through multiple iterations of modeling and finite element analysis to evaluate performance in higher pressure scenarios. The team combined the best aspects of the refined design ideas into a final recommendation.
The team prepared part and assembly drawings of their recommended design, plus a machining plan, all of which they delivered to their Dresser-Rand liaisons along with their recommendations for further development.