Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 1 (March 2014)
82

First Domestic High-Efficiency Centrifugal Chiller
with Magnetic Bearings: The ETI-MB Series
KENJI UEDA*1

YASUSHI HASEGAWA*2

NAOKI YAWATA*2

AKIMASA YOKOYAMA*2

YOSUKE MUKAI*3

The efficiency and functionality of centrifugal chillers has improved, and they have reachedmaturity as commercial products. Therefore it is necessary to employ new technologies anddevelop new products even more superior to existing ones. So far Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
(MHI) has worked on the enhancement of the rated performance and year-round efficiency byintegrating an inverter as standard equipment, as well as the improvement of functionality withtechnologies for determining operational conditions and the support of highly-efficient operation.
This paper describes the application technology of magnetic bearings to centrifugal chillers
targeting a reduction of maintenance burden by customers. MHI has attained the further
improvement of efficiency and maintainability in comparison to that of existing machines as aresult of the proper handling of problems through the application of magnetic bearings tocentrifugal chillers, commercializing a centrifugal chiller with magnetic bearings for the first timein Japan.

|1. Introduction
Due to growing social concern related to energy conservation and the reduction of CO2emissions, high-efficiency centrifugal chillers are now widely used, not only in industrial
applications such as heat sources in factories, but also in building air conditioning systems.
However, centrifugal chillers consume large amounts of energy because of the large-capacity
heat pumps they contain. In terms of the reduction of CO2 emissions, technical improvements andproduct development aiming for high performance are very important. Therefore an inverter, withwhich a significant reduction of year-round energy consumption can be expected, is included as
standard equipment. Chillers also integrated with an inverter for the enhancement of installation
properties have been developed and increasingly introduced. On the other hand, to operate
centrifugal chillers without failure and maintain high performance, proper maintenance service isrequired, but demand from customers for a reduction of maintenance burden is growing.
This paper describes recent trends and requirements for the main components in heat sources,and discusses the new "eco Turbo ETI-MB" series of high-efficiency centrifugal chillers withmagnetic bearings developed in 2013.

|2. Centrifugal chiller market and product concept
Over the past several years, the approach to technical enhancement has shifted from offeringa certain level of performance under rated conditions to providing year-round efficiency, evenunder conditions of partial loading or low-temperature cooling water, which are more
representative of how the chillers are actually used most of the time. MHI has marketed acentrifugal chiller series using inverter-driven variable-speed controls since 2003. Today’s AART-I
series effectively reduces annual energy consumption, and it is also necessary to incorporate
inverter-driven variable-speed controls into new centrifugal chiller models as standard equipment.
*1

Manager, Chiller & Heat Pump Engineering Department, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration System Solutions Division,*2

Chiller & Heat Pump Engineering Department, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration System Solutions Division, Air-Conditioning &*3

Takasago Research & Development Center, Technology & Innovation Headquarters

Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Systems
Refrigeration Systems

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 1 (March 2014)
83

Increasing demand for the replacement of absorption cooling units targeting the reduction of CO2emissions has resulted in customers requesting a reduction of the footprint and weight of the unit inorder to improve the ease of installation in typical buildings. As a result of the shrinkage oflarge-scale industrial plant applications and the expansion of general air conditioning applications,the average refrigeration capacity of centrifugal chillers has decreased from around 700 USRt in
the mid-2000s to approximately 550 USRt in 2012.
To respond this trend in demand, in 2008 MHI released the ETI series small capacity (up to500 USRt) centrifugal chillers integrating an inverter as standard equipment with the concept ofhigh performance, compact, and light in weight, and has since been expanding the seriescontinuously in order to meet most needs for air conditioning applications.(1)(2) In addition to theimprovement of performance, the enhancement of functionality for easier and more efficient
operation, including the facilitation of operation monitoring using highly-efficient operationindexes and the improvement of system efficiency using a comprehensive heat source control
device, is being promoted.(3)In this way, the efficiency and functionality of centrifugal chillers has improved, and they
have reached maturity as commercial products, and therefore it is necessary to employ new features
to secure superiority over competing products. This time, MHI has developed high-performanceand high-functionality centrifugal chillers equipped with magnetic bearings in order to differentiate
MHI’s products from those of its competitors and to meet the demands of customers for a reductionof maintenance burden.

|3. Problems with the installation of magnetic bearings and solutions
thereforIn the global market, there are already compressors equipped with magnetic bearings with amotor power output of 100 kW or less, and they have also been employed on many centrifugal
chillers. In the Japanese market, where higher performance is required, magnetic bearings have notbeen employed because of the following problems with performance and reliability resulting fromtheir use.
- Decline in the efficiency of the compressor and increase in leakage loss resulting from theenlarged clearance in the compressor and seals- Increase of windage loss resulting from the increased speed of the motor- Protection of the compressor and motor in the case of power supply loss
- Increase of initial costs for equipment
MHI, with successful developments of compressors using magnetic bearings since the 1980s,
has solved the aforementioned problems as described in the following (1) to (4), and then enabled
the use of magnetic bearings without compromising high performance to attain commercial
production of a centrifugal chiller equipped with magnetic bearings for the first time in Japan.
(1) Decline in efficiency of the compressor and increase in leakage loss
Magnetic bearings have lower loss and are more suitable for high-speed rotation thanroller bearings, but the clearance between the magnetic bearing and the supported shaft iscomparatively larger. A unit equipped with magnetic bearings has auxiliary bearings for thestopping period, etc., and they need a certain clearance for both the axial and radial directions
because they are required to not come into contact with the shaft except in the case of an
emergency stop or during stopping. This large clearance between the bearings and the shaft
necessitates an increase of clearance in the compressor and seals, resulting in a decline in theefficiency of the compressor and an increase in leakage loss, leading to the lowering of cycle
efficiency. MHI has taken the following measures [1] to [3] as solutions to this problem(Figure 1).
[1] A reduction of the radial and axial ranges of the gaps when controlled by magnetic
bearings during transitional operation through the use of a higher-speed magnetic bearing
controller and then the minimization of the clearance between the shaft and the auxiliary
bearing[2] The application of axial direction control for magnetic bearings for the reduction ofclearance in the compressor during operation

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 1 (March 2014)84[3] The employment of a sealing material combination that consists of a metal moving partand a resin stationary part for the reduction of the initial clearance, as well as thelessening of the sealing clearance in operation due to the deformation of the moving partin the direction of the sealing clearance along with the rotation.
As a result of these measures, compressor performance equal to or higher than that ofcompressors equipped with ball bearings, as well as sealing leakage that is equivalent or lower,
can be attained.

Figure 1

Compressor structure(2)

Increase of windage loss resulting from the increased speed of the motor
The compressor needs to be directly connected to the motor when magnetic bearings are
employed, due to their characteristics (rigidity and damping). Such direct connection between
the compressor and the motor leads to a significant increase of the motor speed in comparison
to the speed at commercial power frequency. This results in a significant increase of windage
loss at the motor in cases where a higher density medium such as refrigerant liquid is used forcooling. To solve this problem, the cooling system is divided into the moving part of the motor
where lower density refrigerant gas is used, and the stationary part where refrigerant liquid witha higher cooling effect is used, resulting in the simultaneous realization of windage loss
reduction at the motor and efficient cooling.
(3) Protection of the compressor and motor in the case of (electrical) power failure
A unit equipped with magnetic bearings has auxiliary ball bearings to support the shaft
when the magnetic bearings cannot be activated due to the interruption of the power supply.
However, these ball bearings have a finite service life and therefore the number of emergency
stops (touch-downs) using these bearings is limited. To solve this problem, a UPS (anuninterruptible power supply system) for the magnetic bearings is included as standard
equipment in order to allow the chiller to stop without touch-downs on the auxiliary bearings,
even when the power supply fails. In addition, to ensure the reliability of the system, it can beoperated only when the UPS battery is in a normal condition. The sufficient reliability of thesystem has been verified in a power interruption test using an actual unit.
(4) Increase of initial costs for equipment
There are prospects for offsetting the increase of the initial costs for equipment resulting
from the installation of magnetic bearings, the high-speed motor rotation, the protection against
power interruption, etc., by suppressing maintenance costs as described later, in addition to thereduction of running costs through the suppression of the decline in compressor efficiency,
resulting in the realization of a level of performance higher than that of existing machines.

|4. Specifications of ETI-40MB and 50MB
4.1

High performance

The combination of measures to solve the performance problems with the installation ofmagnetic bearings described above and the employment of functionality improvement
technological elements that have been proven in existing large high-efficiency centrifugal chillers
allows the realization of high-performance centrifugal chillers equipped with magnetic bearings.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 1 (March 2014)85

Typical examples of the elements are shown below.
- Two-stage compression and single-stage expansion sub-cool cycle- Latest high-efficiency blade shape- High-precision machined impeller- Load and cooling-water temperature follow-up controls using six-element mathematicaloperational control including first- and second-stage vane control and inverter-driven
compressor variable speed control- High-efficiency heat transfer tubes of heat exchanger and optimization of layout
The use of the high-efficiency technologies shown above allows the rated COP (Note 1) toreach 6.3, the highest level in the world among inverter-driven chillers with a similar capacity(Table 1). The IPLV (Note 2), a substantial performance criterion for annual power consumption, is
as high as 9. In addition, the employment of a parallel-mounted compressor for the ETI-40MB and50MB (Figure 2) allows a capacity of up to 1000 USRt. As a result, capacity demand of up to 1000
USRt can be fulfilled by a series of chillers including an inverter with a 400 V-class power source
as standard equipment along with existing models.
Note 1: Coefficient of Performance. A higher value means higher performance.
Note 2: Integrated Part Load Value. According to the calculation standard of JIS B 8621 (2011).

Table 1Comparison between ETI-40MB/50MB and existing models (specification table)

Model
Cooling capacity
Chilled watertemperature
Chilled waterflow rate
Cooling watertemperature
Cooling waterflow ratePower
consumption
Dimensions
WeightRefrigerant
COP
IPLV

Figure 2

4.2

ETI-40MB(developed model)
400USRt
1407kW

ETI-50MB(developed model)
500 USRt
1758 kWETI-40(existing model)
400 USRt
1407 kW

ETI-50(existing model)
500 USRt
1758 kW

12°C in/7°C out
241.3m3/h

297.0m3/h

241.3m3/h

297.0m3/h32°Cin/37°Cout
280.9m3/h

354.2m3/h

282.6m3/h

353.6m3/h

223kW

297 kW

228 kW

288 kW

3.9m×1.8m×2.3m
5.5 t

4.4 m×1.9m×2.2m
7.4 t
HFC-134a

6.31
9.0

5.92
9.2

6.14
7.9

6.08
8.6

ETI-40MB/50MB external view

Compact and light in weight

These chiller models equipped with magnetic bearings also follow the design concept ofcompact and light in weight for the ETI series, which offers ease of installation. The design
improvements include the following elements.
- Miniaturization of compressor unit due to direct connection between compressor andmotor and increased speed of motor rotation speed.
- Elimination of oil tank and lubrication piping due to the employment of oil-free concept- Optimum design of heat exchanger for miniaturization- Optimum layout of components (e.g., vertically stacking of evaporator and condenser)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 51 No. 1 (March 2014)86

As a result of these optimizations, the ETI-40MB and 50MB attain a reduced footprint ofapproximately 15% and a reduced machine weight of approximately 20% in comparison to MHI’sexisting models with equivalent capacity. Therefore the ETI-40MB and 50MB can be more easily
installed as replacements for existing equipment.

4.3

Maintenance saving

The employment of magnetic bearings can eliminate periodical changes of lubrication oil andfilters for the lubrication system, as well as oil system management (e.g., oil level, lubrication oiltemperature, etc.) in daily operation. In addition, the use of noncontact magnetic bearings supported
by a UPS that can in principle avoid touch-downs of the emergency auxiliary bearings makes
overhauls for changing mechanical driving components unnecessary. Therefore the overhaul cycle
depends on the service life of seals such as O-rings and gaskets, not on the service life of
mechanical driving components. Along with the extended life of sealing materials due to theemployment of the oil-free structure, this results in an overhaul cycle longer than that of existingmodels. In this way, standard maintenance costs for the service life cycle can be reduced(Figure 3), resulting in prospects for offsetting the increase of the initial costs.

Figure 3 Maintenance costs comparison between chillers
with magnetic bearings and conventional chillers|5. Conclusion
MHI has developed, based on the existing ETI series, the ETI-MB series equipped withmagnetic bearings targeting a reduction of maintenance burden. The ETI-MB series attains one of
the highest levels of performance anywhere in the world among equivalent chillers equipped withmagnetic bearings, using proper measures to solve problems with the installation of magnetic
bearings and employing proven technologies for functionality improvement. This series can also
reduce maintenance burden by eliminating the need for some maintenance services and extending
the maintenance cycle. In addition, a highly reliable system that avoids compressor damage during
stopping, or even in an operational state with sharp load fluctuations such as surging (Note 3) or atrip stop, can be established due to the improvement of magnetic bearing control and theemployment of a UPS as standard equipment.
Based on this development of centrifugal chillers equipped with magnetic bearings, MHI isplanning to extend the capacity of machines with magnetic bearings on the theory that they will beinstalled as more versatile equipment. MHI will continuously promote the development of productsthat meet market demand in order to satisfy customer needs.
Note 3: Surging is intense vibration in the flow direction or backflow of compressed gas in the compressor,
and causes the occurrence of sharp load fluctuation on the compressor.

References
1. Ueda, K. et al., The “eco Turbo ETI” Series of High-Performance Variable-Speed-Control CentrifugalChillers, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 46 No. 1 (2009) pp .51-54
2. Ueda, K. et al., Deployment of a New Series of Eco Turbo ETI Chillers, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Technical Review Vol. 49 No. 1 (2012) pp .58-63
3. Hasegawa, Y. et al., New Suggestions for Centrifugal Chiller Technologies to Realize High Efficiency andHigh Functionality, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (2011), pp. 36-41