Working Smarter, Not Harder: INNIO Expands Waukesha* VHP* Series Five Family of Rich-Burn Gas Engines

INNIO announces the addition of the P9394GSI S5, rated at 2,500 horsepower (HP), to its existing Waukesha* VHP* Series Five family of rich-burn gas engines, which includes the L7042GSI S5 at 1,500 HP and L7044GSI S5 at 1,900 HP. The major benefits of the Series Five family include up to 13 percent more power, better fuel flexibility and ambient temperature tolerance, up to 10 percent lower fuel consumption, up to 22 percent lower life cycle costs and longer service intervals than previous versions. The announcement was made at the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC) Conference, being held Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2018 in Kansas City, MO.

The L7042GSI and L7044GSI S5 have already received over 200 engine orders during the first six months of commercial availability. The P9394GSI S5 is expected to be available for sale in February of 2019, with shipments starting in April.

We’re seeing reliability numbers above 99 percent on the Waukesha VHP Series Five gas engines. We run hot gas, about 1,250-1,300 Btu, and these Series Five engines are handling it well, says Derek Hughes, senior operations foreman for Antero Midstream Partners.

Incorporating the same ESM*2 controls, cylinder head, piston/ring design, extended service intervals and Miller Cycle combustion technology as the L7044GSI S5, the new P9394GSI S5 gas engine maintains low emissions (as low as 0.15 g/HP-hr NOx, 0.3 g/bHP-hr CO, and low VOCs) with a simple and cost-effective three-way catalyst for which rich-burn engines are renowned. Such low emissions enable more horsepower to be installed on-site without triggering emissions permit limits.

INNIO's Waukesha VHP Series Five gas engines are capable of higher power levels and are more fuel flexible than previous versions, without increasing stress on major engine components. Improved thermal management was a key focus of the Series Five development, with reduced temperatures achieved through improved cooling of cylinder heads and pistons as well as Miller Cycle combustion.

A modified cylinder head design reduces temperatures in key regions by up to 40 percent, thus extending the life of the cylinder head. Additionally, the piston design has also been enhanced, which helped reduce unburned hydrocarbons and the temperature of the piston itself by up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in critical areas. Used previously on Waukesha's P9394GSI and now deployed across the Waukesha VHP Series Five family, Miller Cycle reduces combustion and exhaust temperatures. These factors combined to make the Waukesha VHP Series Five gas engines the most powerful and fuel-efficient VHP engines ever.

INNIO's Waukesha VHP Series Five gas engines come with increased power and performance improvements without raising temperatures or pressures beyond other VHP models, so the new Waukesha Series Five gas engines are essentially working smarter, not harder, said Dr. Andreas Lippert, Product Management Leader of Distributed Power.

In addition to performance improvements, Series Five engines also offer up to 22 percent lower operating costs, mainly driven by the doubling of spark plug and oil change intervals. An improved ignition system—including low-cost non-precious metal spark plugs, a next-generation Ignition Power Module with Diagnostics (IPMD2)—enables the extension of both spark plug and oil change intervals from 2,000 to 4,000 hours, thus reducing the number of engine touches, trips to site and overall operating costs.

Waukesha* VHP Series Five gas engines also come standard with ESM*2, Waukesha’s next-generation engine controller, which uses a 12-inch (or larger), full-color customer interface HMI panel, allowing users to see all engine parameters, trend data, monitor faults, view operating manuals, walk through troubleshooting steps, display alarms and set shutdown criteria, simplify startup and commissioning, all without the need for a separate laptop computer. ESM2 also helps performance by improving ignition timing based on fuel quality to increase power, fuel flexibility and efficiency while lowering temperatures. ESM2 incorporates INNIO's myPlant* Asset Performance Management solution that is specially designed for OEM-agnostic reciprocating engine operators and service providers to monitor equipment health, diagnose faults and to proactively manage asset performance with analytics.

In today’s oil and gas industry where capital discipline is key, lower capex and shorter lead times are critical to pencil favorable project economics for customers. The Waukesha VHP Series Five family is well-suited for rental compression where asset deployment flexibility is critical to improve fleet economics. The VHP family allows rental companies to cover the 1,000-2,500 HP market segment with the same frame, using the same major spare parts. This will give the rental fleet operator asset deployment flexibility independent of fuel quality, ambient conditions and emission requirements. The mobility and low installation costs of the VHP require fewer trucks and less infrastructure than alternative offerings.

Ultimately, the Waukesha VHP Series Five family of rich-burn gas engines is built on Waukesha’s longstanding leadership in rich-burn gas engine technology. We are continually pushing the boundaries of rich-burn engine performance to help meet our customers’ compression needs in a reliable and cost-effective way, added Dr. Andreas Lippert.