Description, selection and feedbacks of

use of MV VSD technologies in

Oil&Gas
Faradj TAYAT, Total SA
Edouard THIBAUT, Total SA
Summary

• Why using variable speed ?

• Mains Medium Voltage VSD’s used in O&G

• Power semi-conductors used

• Load Commutated Inverter LCI

• Voltage Source Inverter VSI

• VSD cooling

• Return of EXperiences REX

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Why using variable speed ?
Maximize use of pump/compressor operating envelope

Pressure range
with
variable
speed

Pressure and flow range with fixed

speed

Flow range with variable speed

Well adapted with upstream production where process operating points change with reservoir
depletion
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Why using variable speed?
Efficiency allows to consume only what is needed

FPSO case example

FPSO with fixed motor

• Needs 5 Gas turbine to handle

power consumption

Same FPSO with Variable Speed Drive

• Needs 4 Gas turbine to handle

power consumption

• After year 8, large power available to

tie- in production from new
wells/reservoirs

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Why using variable speed?

Improved stability for electrical network

•No inrush current during motor start

Motor mechanical lifetime

•Less mechanical constraints on the motor and its driven load (soft start)

Availability
•No limitation of number of start compared to DOL start

Fixed speed motor starting torque

Torque

Time

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VSD, VSDS, SFC,
….
VSD can also be called:
• ASD (Adjustable Speed Drive)
• VFD (Variable Frequency Drive)
• PDS (Power Drive Systems)
• SFC (Static Frequency Converter)

VSDS (Variable Speed Drive Systems)

Transformer Converter or VSD

Motor

M Driven Load

Harmoni Cooling
c Filter Auxilarie
s

VSDS
IEC 61800 series Adjustable speed electrical power drive
IEC 60146 series systems Semiconductor converters

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VSDS Main Components
Converter or Process
Variable Speed Drive (VSD) Motor
Switchgear

M LOAD

Transformer

Harmonics Filters Chiller or Air/Water

Power Factor Compensation cooling Systems

Switchgear Isolate, protect, connect and disconnect VSD Power Section

Harmonic filter Redirect harmonics generated by the VSD and to keep the power factor
close
to 1
Transformer
Adjust the grid voltage to the VSD voltage and limit short circuit current
of the VSD section.
VSD:
Generate variable voltage and frequency to drive the
Motor
motor Convert electrical power into mechanical power
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Mains Medium Voltage VSD’s used in
O&G
Oil & Gas uses mainly indirect converter
AC DC
AC

• Inductive d.c. link -> converter is named current source inverter (CSI)
• Capacitive d.c. link -> converter is named voltage source inverter (VSI)

Oil and Gas main converters are VSI and LCI (Load Commutated Inverter) which is a CSI

The power conversion is performed

without intermediate d.c. link

Direct converter not presented in this tutorial

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 Power semi-conductors
used in LCI and VSI

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Power semiconductors mainly used in converters

Thyristor type
Thyristor 1956

Current
direction

I=0 VAK>0 & IG

Thyristor is used in LCI (Load Commutated Inverter)

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Power semiconductors mainly used in converters

Thyristor type

• Reactive power consumption

U
• Cooled on both side which gives large
Press pack current capability (several thousands of
Amps)
• Explosion contained within the ceramic
press pack
Fail short • Possibilty of N+1 redundancy

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Power semiconductors mainly used in converters

Thyristor types
Thyristor GTO IGCT
1956
1986 1995

GTO Gate Turn-off thyristor

IGCT Integrated Gate-Commutated Thyristor

• GTO and IGCT have been developed to enable these devices to be turned on and off
• IGCT is an improved GTO with less losses, faster to switch and it is easier
to implement than GTO
• In O&G, GTO and IGCT are mainly used in VSI (Voltage Source Inverter)

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Power semiconductors mainly used in converters

Transistor types
Transistor IGBT
1947
1985

IGBT Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

• Transistor type can be turned on and off easily

• IGBT combines many transistors in parallel in one housing to handle large current
• IGBT has a high switching frequency
• IGBT flat pack is only cooled on one side there is current limitation compared to press pack design
• IGBT fails open -> for N+1 redundancy (multi level VSD) there is need to configure it inside a
power cell and to install bypass switch to continue operation of the VSD
H Br id ge
H B r i dg e

H B r i dg e
H B r i dg e

H B r i dg e

H B r i dg e

H B r i dg e

H B r id ge

H B r i dg e

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M
Power semiconductors mainly used in converters

Transistor types
Transistor IGBT IEGT
1947
1985 1998

IGBT Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

IEGT Injection Enhanced Gate Transistor.

• IEGT combines as well many transistors in parallel in

one housing

• IEGT has lower switching frequency than IGBT

• Fails short -> possibility of N+1 redundancy

• Press Pack IEGT provides larger current capability than IGBT with
less conduction losses

• IGBT and IEGT in O&G are used in VSI (Voltage Source Inverter)

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Power semiconductors mainly used in MV converters

LCI

Gate

VSI

IGBT, IEGT (Transistor type) GTO, IGCT (Thyristor type)

Higher switching frequency  Larger current

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Mains Medium Voltage VSDS’s used in
O&G

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MV VSD’s in Oil & Gas mainly used
today
Some motor references from GE & Siemens
Power in MW
70

60
Mainly use Future with larger
of
50 Synchronou
motors induction motor and VSI
s With LCI
40

30 Use of synchronous motors (LCI) and induction motors (VSI)

20 Use of induction motors with VSI

10

0 Speed Rpm

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000

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 LCI Load Commutated Inverter

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LCI invention
LCI patented by AEG (Germany) in 1936 for railway application using mercury vapor valve
nowadays replaced by thyristor valve

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LCI (Load Commutated Inverter)

AC DC AC
Reactor smooth DC current ripple
Graetz bridge Graetz bridge

Q Q

LCI drives only synchronous

motor

Reactive Power Consumption

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Graetz Bridge control
Graetz bridge is controlled by changing the thyristors gate firing angle
It allows to change the sign and the amplitude of the DC voltage

90° 180°

Ud>0 Ud<0

=20° =90° =150°

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LCI control principle

Changing Torque -> Speed variation

LCI Motor Torque = Cm = k.Id.Cos.Flux

Id current (DC loop current) Cos controlled by

controlled by the rectifier the inverter bridge
bridge
Id

Flux controlled by
the excitation current
M
of the synchronous
motor

Input grid side Motor side

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LCI active power flow

4 QUADRANTS CAPABILITY

Idc Current direction

Active Power flow

P = Udc.Idc >0 it means Udc>0 -> 0°<Firing angle<90° (Rectifier)

Opposite for Inverter

P = Udc.Idc <0 it means Udc<0 -> 90°<Firing angle<180° (Rectifier)

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LCI short circuit power

LCI has large short circuit current on inverter side

since to minimize commutation time, a small sub-transient reactance X’’ is specified -> large Icc

Input grid side M Motor side

Icc Synchronous
Short circuit current limited by
transformer short-circuit
impedance Ucc

SINCE LARGE ICC, POWER SECTION CUBICLE SHALL BE ABLE TO

WITHSTAND ARC FAULT

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Harmonics

In large drive application, to reduce the injection of harmonics to the

grid, the rectifier is configured from 6 pulse to 12 pulse

M
M

6 pulse topology 12 pulse topology

But generally even in 12 pulse configuration an harmonic filter is used with LCI:

• since 12 pulse is generally not sufficient to achieve harmonics requirement limitations

• for Power Factor compensation due to the reactive power consumption of the LCI rectifier

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Residual Harmonics

In theory, for a 12 pulse rectifier, harmonics 5,7,17,19,29,31,41 and 43 should be

cancelled.

12 pulse topology

But due to tolerances/imperfections of control and converter, those harmonics are not completely

cancelled Residual harmonics amplitude can reach from 5% to 15% of those of a 6-pulse converter (IEC

60146-2) 10%
9% Residual harmonics
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 41 43
47 49

RESIDUAL HARMONICS SHALL NOT BE OVERLOOKED WHEN MAKING HARMONICS STUDIES

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Existing harmonics

VSD Harmonics flow Existing grid Harmonics flow

Harmonic
Filter

VSD

Existing grid harmonics shall not be overlooked as well when designing

harmonics filter to avoid to overload the harmonic filter in normal
operation

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Harmonics filter location

Direct connection of the Harmonic Filter(HF) to busbar

Advantages

• Design of the transformer and harmonic filter made in parallel

Harmonic • Cost effective solution for MV grid

Filter

VSD
Limitation of this solution
•Cost of harmonic filter & HV feeder becomes expensive with voltage
increase (shall be <90kV)

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Harmonics filter location

Connection of the harmonic filter to 4th transformer winding

Advantages
• Less HV feeder and cost of harmonic filter reduced

10 or 11kV on 4th winding is a

Drawbacks
good cost tradeoff
•Complex transformer where short circuit impedance Ucc
tolerances impact harmonic filter performances
VSD Harmonic
Filter

2 U2

U1 1

3 U3
4

U4

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Interharmonics

In addition to harmonics, LCI injects as well interharmonics into the surrounding power system.

Interharmonics are non integer harmonic which are the results of combination of grid and motor
frequency
Formula is |n*FN +/− m*FM|
where FN: grid frequency, FM: Motor frequency

Interharmonics cause torsional oscillations leading to an excess of vibrations

SSTI (Sub Synchronous Torsional Interaction) study to de done to assess potential

issues with interharmonics on your plant

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 VSI Voltage Source Inverter

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VSI

AC DC AC
rectifier

Synchronous motor

Induction motor

Capacitor smooth DC voltage ripple

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VSI Topologies

Most commonly used VSI in O&G

H Bridge
Inverter H Bridge

H Bridge
H Bridge
H
Bridge
H Bridge

H Bridge

Inverter 3L H Bridge

M Inverter M H Bridge

NPC/NPP H Bridge
H Bridge

VSI 3 Level NPC or NPP Inverter

H Bridge

VSI 5 level H bridge

VSI multi level H bridge

3
2
1

Better current THD

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VSI DFE

Diode Front End (DFE)

• Cost effective

• No regeneration capability

• Installation of DC chopper for braking if required

• Rectifier configuration (number of pulse), based on use of multi winding transformer

to comply to harmonic requirements

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VSI DFE & Harmonics Filter

10%
9%

DFE
8%
7%
6%
5%
12 pulse
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 41 43 47 49

10%
9%
8%
7%
6% 24 pulse
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 41 43 47 49

10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
48 pulse
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%

Usually there is no need for an Harmonic Filter (HF)

5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 41 43 47 49

since:
• the power factor is >0.96 for a DFE (No need to compensate the power factor like for
LCI)

• the rectifier configuration (number of pulse) of the transformer is calculated to comply

with harmonic limitation requirements and therefore to avoid installation of HF

Nevertheless, if there is a large number of VSI installed with DFE rectifier in operation, a
filter can be contemplated to comply with harmonic limitation requirements

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VSI AFE rectifier

Active Front End (AFE)

• Regeneration capability (4 quadrants)

• Simpler transformer compare to multi winding of DFE (1 secondary

only)

• Low harmonic content at input grid side

• Possibility for transformer less (less equipment, space, weight)

• VSD more expensive/complex

• Possibility of Power Factor 1 and reactive power compensation

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Output filters
L L L

Converter side Motor side Converter side Motor side Converter side Motor side

C C

Output choke dV/dt filter G dB

Sine filter
G dB

f1 fc fsw Frequency
f1 fsw fc Frequency

Switching frequency

Fundamental

Output choke dV/dt filter Sine Filter

Noise, mechanical vibrations and torque pulsations -- -- ++
Overheating - -- ++
Overvoltage stress (differential mode) + ++ ++
Overvoltage stress (common mode) - + ++
Motor bearing currents - + ++

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VSD control

Scalar Control

• Voltage controlled according to U/F to keep

constant flux

• Voltage boost to improve starting/performance at low

speed due to resistive voltage drop

Applied where:

• Fast response to torque/speed is not required

• If multiple motors are to be supplied from 1

VSD

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VSD control principle

Vector Control

Flux Regulator Isd Regulator Voltage ref

Speed Regulator Isq Regulator Inverter

control

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VSD control

DTC (Direct Torque Control)

• Inverter is controlled directly by torque and flux reference

• Usually applied when fast torque and speed responses are

required.

Inverter
Flux Control control

Torque Control
Vector control

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VSD control

Control Mode
Scalar Control Vector Control or DTC
Torque accuracy ~+/-3% ~+/-1%
Rising Time ~6 to 10 Cn/s ~50 to 100 Cn/s

Speed
Static Accuracy ~+/-0.01% ~+/-0.01%
Dynamic 3% in 1 sec 0.3% in 1 sec
Accuracy

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 VSD cooling

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MV VSD efficiency rules of the thumbs

Rough assessment of VSDS losses

Transformer Converter or VSD Moto

r

M Driven Load

≈99% ≈98,4% ≈97%

Harmonic Cooling
Filter
Overall efficiency ≈ 94,4%
Auxilaries

VSDS

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VSD cooling

Air cooled MV VSD

• 100% of losses dissipated in air

• Evacuation through duct or HVAC (HVAC to be sized to absorb all losses)

• Arc fault issue (Safety) due to opening in cubicles

• High noise

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VSD cooling

Water cooled MV VSD

• Use of deionized water since MV power elements are directly

cooled by water

• 95% of losses transfered to water circuit

• 5% of losses dissipated in air (cooling circuit radiation in air) this

shall not be forgotten when sizing HVAC unit

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Water cooled typical configurations

Water available on site: Use of water to water heat exchager + pump

Pump integrated to the VSD

Heat exchanger can be integrated to the VSD or can be outdoor

Heat
Exchanger

Raw water or sea waterRaw Water Deionized

circulation on primary side Water

Deionized water circulation on

secondary side

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Water cooled typical configurations

No water available on site: use of fin fan cooler + pump

Installation of outdoor fin fan air • Pump integrated to the VSD

cooler

Air/water
Deionized
Heat Exchanger
Water

For high site temperature (typically >40°C such as Middle East)

Chiller system shall be considered to cool water to avoid VSD large power
derating

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VSD Cooling in cold ambient <0°C

If the cooling water can experience negative temperature

Glycol shall be added to water to avoid freezing the

water
Temperature Glycol % in volume
+1 °C 0%
-3 °C 10 %
-10 °C 20 %
-15 °C 30 %
-20 °C 35 %
-25 °C 40 %
-30 °C 45 %

VSD power derating shall be as well checked since glycol

heat transfer is less efficient than water

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VSD Cooling, dew point risk

When there is a difference between the room air ambient temperature and
the VSD cooling water temperature


Heat
Exchanger Deionized

Risk of dew point inside the HV section of the converter (arc fault, earth Water

fault)
 3 Way Valve

A 3 way valve shall be installed to avoid dew point by heating up the converter
inlet temperature in order to regulate the cooling water temperature above the
dew point temperature
M

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 Return of EXperiences REX

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Return of EXperiences REX: Summary

Summary:

• HV cells
• Input transformer
• Input Power Cables

Scope of this tutorial

• VSD (Power & Control)
• Cooling
• Harmonic filter (next tuto)
• Output power cables

Conclusion

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HV cells
Poor quality control on standard part in the factory
Circuit breaker :Tripping
PDCS: Protection relay not action time not matching
properly refresh its data via with the datasheet
the network (load
shedding priority), loss of
parameters, ... Voltage transformer 11kV explosion due to a short circuit on secondary side.

Monitoring windows
broken

No HV fuse found
open.

Voltage transformer 36kV explosion due to a short circuit on secondary

side.

• zero sequence CT not fixed

• no trefoil trought the MCT VT bottom part the clip was too tight.
• Earth cable not pulled
Cubicle sealing not
matching with cable sizing
Result:
Dust ingress,… Overall shutdown due to a
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Power transformer
Poor manufacturing for offshore transformer
Poor assembly made by a “summer worker” and without any quality control in the factory

Useless splicing at only 5 cm to the goal

Result:
6 months of
flaring and
lost
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Power transformer
Real short circuit behavior neglected
VSD input transformer behavior under a real short circuit based on “extrapolation” of a standard transformer
used for electrical distribution and a DC component not taken into account.

Electrodynamic effect
not as per expectation

Result:
6 months of lost production and the critical situation on
the similar transformer design deployed on site.
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Input Power cables: Junction box
Poor hookup execution found after some years in operation

Transformer JB

Bad routing on HV cables leading to a

gas ingress into the JB

Ex”p” box lost due to bad welding

Result:
JB pressure leak
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Input Power cables: Termination head
Poor hookup execution found after some years in operation

Before repair Cables overheating:

Pulling cables not in trefoil
increasing significantly
the induced current

After repair

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VSD (Power and Control)

Control command part : Quality and design issues:

EMC issues with spurious trips

Communication failure

Spurious trip due to a bad cable

shield assembly

All shield not properly installed

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VSD (Power and Control)

Quality and design issues

Power Electronic parts : Use inside of the same VSD of core power semi conductors
components from different vendors with differents characteristics, no traceability from the
VSD vendors

Safe operating area

VSD Rectifier: Diode failed led to a

DC component into the transformer

• Some functions do not work like controlling the DC bus voltage while the mains voltage dips.
• Discrepancy between drawings and as built VSD

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Cooling: VFD liquid-to-liquid cooling system
Several VSD trip due to a bad conductivity control level
Storage
M more than
1 year

M Resin cartridge

Cooler
Resin
VSD Conductivity
meter and control
if solenoid valve
system c
Conductivit
y meter is used)

Better life expectancy of Cheaper but can be forgotten while

the cartridge but a bit a cartridge replacement:
more expensive solution OR As a result: Very low conductivity can be
observed and can affect the cooling
Solenoid valve
circuit component.
Diaphragm

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Cooling: VFD liquid-to-liquid cooling system
Several VSD trip due to a bad conductivity control level
M
Stagnant water line
Switching pumps
every 15 days.
Stby

Cooler
Duty Resin
VSD Conductivity
meter and control
if solenoid valve
system c
Conductivit
y meter is used)

Switching from Duty to Stby generates a transient

high conductivity level (above the trip level). Two
common phenomena :
-Conductivity level of the stagnant water into the
standby line higher
-temperature variation coming from the stagnant line
that the algorithm did not take into account

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Cooling: liquid-to-air cooling system
Overheating issue on HVAC MCC Cabinet

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Cooling: Primary side
Quality and design issues
• Need to refill completely cooling circuit when changing power semi-conductor stacks
• Need possibility to change the bottle of resin for deionized water cooling circuit without stopping
the drive
• Water cooled VSD need to be refilled regurlarly to compensate micro leakage

Space for repair and maintenance

• Need to be able to change of motor or a pump without dismantling piping
• Need space to be able to change power semiconductor when they fail without dismantling other
bulky component

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Output Power cables: VSD output termination head
Screen current value neglected while the frequency and the line current are
high

Overheating effect

Overheating effect

The Lugs used are made of

stainless material instead of
tinned copper and not properly
crimped.

Overheating effect
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Output Power cables: VSD output termination head
Most common failure seen

External failure mark Earth braid onto Bad connection of the earth braid because of
the springs Insulation tape forgotten

Iscreen = I line

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Output Power cables: Termination head
Most common failure seen on site

Poor contact between the cable Poor contact between the cable
screen and the ground braid due armor and the ground braid due to Kind of Repair
to a PVC tape forgotten the important thickness of the
aluminum alloy tapes material.

The cable screen has been cut

without reason. The effect is to
increase the contact resistance,
thus overheating.
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Output Power cables: Termination head
Induced current calculation: a Case study for High-speed motor

Ishield/Icore=70%

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Power cables: Splicing in hazardous area

Thermal camera
90°C surface temperature at mid load
Splicing between topside
cables and subsea cables
on riser balcony

Result:
Production of the pump
line are limited because
the problem did not solve
yet.
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Output Power cables: Splicing in hazardous area
Splicing’s dismantling

Dismantling

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Output Power cables: Splicing in hazardous area
Example of design modification agreed with the manufacturer

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Return of experiences
Conclusion

Human ressources issues

• Lack of skilled/experienced commissioning engineer, not able to:
• Investigate/correct issues
• Tune properly the VSD

• Significant turnover on site needs to have a very simple VSDS to maintain and
troubleshoot

Opex issues
• Cost of spare parts expensive

REX and Lessons learned

• Lessons learned of one project are not reflected or communicated to others projects
within contractors/manufacturers organisations.

Software and firmware management

• Lack of proper management of software versions where VSD vendor does not know the
versions installed inside the VSD
• Software not properly validated by the VSD vendor before commissioning
• Ride through capability issues with regards to voltage dips
• Factory modifications made without internal validation
70 Next tuto: ICBM (integrated based mo n to
P C I C E U R O) APnEew development that need to
i ri ng ofr V SD
 DISCLAIMER and COPYRIGHT RESERVATION
The TOTAL GROUP is defined as TOTAL S.A. and its affiliates and shall include the
person and the entity making the presentation.
Disclaimer
This presentation may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the financial condition,
results of operations, business, strategy and plans of TOTAL GROUP that are subject
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