SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled variable frequency drives Workhorses for the harshest offshore oil and gas production conditions

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled variable frequency drives Workhorses for the harshest offshore oil and gas production conditions

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Powerful workhorses proven in offshore oil 

and gas production applications worldwide

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled drives

For years, the world’s biggest names in offshore oil 

production have deployed and now rely on SINAMICS 

PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled medium-voltage 

drives across a wide range of pump and compressor appli￾cations. These powerful workhorses continually perform, 

on both fixed and floating platforms, in the most adverse 

environmental conditions.

The end result has been substantial cost savings in 

energy, maintenance and other areas that have lowered 

operating costs. Oil producers utilizing these drives have 

gained much more precise control that has increased their 

production efficiencies. Simultaneously, they’ve been able 

to count on exceptional reliability through advanced cell 

bypass.

Here are some examples of the demanding applications in 

which the SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled 

medium-voltage drives can operate:

• Electric Submersible Pumps (ESPs) in downhole oil 

extraction and subsea boosting system applications

• Centrifugal pumps in subsea compression, boosting sys￾tem, separation and injection and well stimulation, as 

well as export pumping and compression applications

• Multi-Phase Pumps (MPPs), both twin screw and 

helico-axial types, for downhole extraction and 

subsea boosting system applications

In addition, SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air￾cooled medium-voltage drives can efficiently, precisely 

and reliably operate a myriad of compressors used in 

offshore oil and gas production: 

• Rotary compressors for discharge pressure up to 

approx. 25 bar

• Reciprocating compressors for wide-ranging pressures 

and capacities

• Centrifugal compressors with multiple impellers

• Axial compressors and counter-axial rotating models 

for high-volume applications

Today, our offshore oil production customers have 

deployed more than 130 SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY 

GH180 air-cooled medium-voltage drives operating on 

their floating platforms off the coasts of Brazil, Australia, 

and the North Sea.

2

Perfect drive solutions for offshore 

oil and gas fixed and floating platforms 

Few industrial operating environments are as hostile 

and unforgiving as offshore oil and gas production. 

Foul weather. High seas. Relentless, penetrating corro￾sion. Limited supply lines. Space constraints.

All this is especially true for floating platforms, which 

are also subject to the nonstop pitch and roll from the 

surrounding seas. Extreme waves and ocean currents 

cause significant lateral and vertical forces that on-board 

machinery must be able to offset. In some cases, they also 

have extremely long cable lengths between drives and 

sea-floor motors that have special electrical requirements. 

With decades of experience in engineering solutions to 

these demanding conditions, Siemens is now producing 

drives specially designed for the floating platforms that 

have come to predominate offshore oil and gas production. 

Our SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 drives are 

engineered and built to counter:

• The ocean’s penetrating salt air that’s extremely 

corrosive to electrical components

• The extreme motion conditions that come with 

operating in deep waters

• The challenges of long cable applications, 

such as waterdepth and cable length

• The space constraints of platforms, requiring 

equipment to have the most space-efficient 

footprint possible

3

Compact. Energy-efficient. 

Precise. Durable. Reliable. 

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled drives

Element integration and footprint savings

Additional savings accrue from the SINAMICS PERFECT 

HARMONY GH180’s overall design integration that cuts 

the number of functional elements by more than half. 

This translates to less maintenance, fewer spare parts, 

a smaller footprint and greater reliability.

Conventional VFDs have five functional elements – 

harmonic filtering, power factor correction, insolation 

transformer, power converter and a motor filter – while 

the SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 drive has just 

an isolation transformer and a power converter. This 

provides less components and less cabinet footprint sav￾ing valuable floor space on the floating platform.

Compliance with industry standards

In fact, the SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 meets 

the most stringent IEEE 519 1992 requirements for 

current harmonic distortion without filter or harmonic 

mitigation equipment.

Easy maintenance

When maintenance is needed, we designed the SINAMICS 

PERFECT HARMONY GH180’s sea-hardened cabinets for 

accessibility, so it can get done much easier and faster. 

Designed for reliability

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled medium￾Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) like the SINAMICS voltage drives are designed with a 20-year life expectancy. 

PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled medium-voltage For our floating platform models, we’ve taken even more 

drives offer a host of advantages over line-fed, fixed- additional steps to ensure their dependability and relia￾speed motors. Primary among them are: bility against harsh ocean conditions. 

Energy savings

Because systems seldom need 100 percent power, 

the variable frequency drive provides only the necessary 

power to the motor. As demands increase or decrease, 

the drive can respond with the precise power level 

needed.

Other energy savings occur at motor start-up. Line-fed 

motors “slam on” when they start, drawing up to six 

times their full load amperage. The SINAMICS PERFECT 

HARMONY GH180 drive employs a “soft start” approach 

instead. While it gradually increases power to the motor, 

it delivers full rated torque while the motor accelerates 

to its required speed. Avoiding the “slam on” effect and 

inrush of current helps to extend a motor’s lifespan. 

4

5

Designed to drive motors even with 

extra long output cables (over 40km). 

This requirement is very common 

in the Oil & Gas industry for top-side 

converter installation.

• Energy efficiency of entire drive is greater than 96.5%, 

with high efficiencies maintained for motor speeds as 

low as 25% of maximum RPM

• Sustains 35% undervoltage conditions 

with reduced torque

• Low torque ripple to minimize mechanical load stress 

and increase equipment lifespan

• Advanced cell bypass and redundancy help achieve 

high availability

• Built to offset extremes of pitch, roll, shock and 

vibration typical of offshore marine environments

• Added hardening to withstand deeply penetrating, 

highly corrosive sea air includes:

– Aluminum parts coated or anodized

– Anodized heat sinks

– Galvanized parts coated or replaced with stainless 

steel parts

– Double vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) 

of the transformer

– Paint finish suitable for marine environment 

or stainless steel enclosure

– Coated printed circuit boards

– Low-smoke, zero-halogen cables

– Space heaters

– Small compact footprint conserves space

• Scalable output voltage compensates for long 

distances between drives and motors, sometimes 

several kilometers

• Patented transformer technology provides flexible 

input/output voltages, eliminates need for additional 

components

• Full internal accessibility offers easy serviceability, with 

converter, cooling and control subassemblies designed 

for average repair times of less than 30 minutes

• Designed for easy maintenance

– Front access

– Front removable blowers

• Meets or exceeds all applicable standards: 

IEC 61800-5-1 (safety); IEC 61800-3 (electromagnetic 

radiation); IEEE 519-1992 (harmonics); IEC 60529 

(IP 42 enclosure)

– Germanischer Lloyd (GL) VI–7–2 (Test requirements 

for Electrical / Electronic Equipment and Systems)

– This standard specifically addresses environmental 

conditions such as tilt, shock, and vibration

• Output sine filter available as an option for cable 

lengths greater than 2km

Features and benefits

6

Advanced features, specially engineered 

for the rigorous demands of offshore 

oil and gas production

While offshore oil and gas platforms, both fixed and 

floating, have embraced the use of VFDs over line-fed, 

fixed-speed motors, extreme operating conditions 

demand VFDs that are specially engineered to meet 

the rigors of marine environments – like the SINAMICS 

PERFECT HARMONY GH180 air-cooled drive.

For example, designed to meet motion requirements in 

line with Germanischer Lloyd (GL) VI–7–2 (Test require￾ments for Electrical / Electronic Equipment and Systems). 

This standard specifically addresses environmental con￾ditions such as tilt, shock and vibration. Marine agency 

certifications such as LR, ABS, DNV and BV are available 

upon customer request. 

The SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 is designed to 

drive motors mounted on the sea floor via electrical cables 

that can be over 40 kilometers long. Small output sine 

filters for cable lengths greater than two kilometers are 

available to mitigate reflected voltage waves that are 

created by the cable impedance.

Reliability and mechanical endurance are critical require￾ments for all industrial applications, but none more so 

than in gas and oil production. Here, downtime is 

measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour.

The SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 can withstand 

failures that would overwhelm conventional drive sys￾tems. Its cell-based architecture provides an advanced 

bypass feature which activates should a cell fail. 

Depending on the process requirement and drive’s config￾uration, a cell fault could have minimal or no impact on 

the process. As a result, the motor output power quality 

remains within defined parameters. 

In advance of a cell failure, however, we built into the 

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 what we call the 

Process Tolerant Protection Strategy (ProToPS). This 

provides a hierarchical warning system that can warn 

operators in time to evaluate a drive disturbance and 

respond appropriately to avoid a system shutdown. 

Drive trips and process interruptions only occur in extreme 

circumstances. 

SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY 

GH180 transformer secured to 

meet the stringent require￾ments.

Low-smoke, zero-hallogen cable

and double VPI for corrosive 

environment are included in 

the transformer. 

7

Protecting your investments in advanced drive 

technology by keeping SINAMICS PERFECT 

HARMONY GH180’s core topology intact

Siemens’ global presence and R&D investments ensure dedicated support and technology 

advancements for decades to come

Introduced in 1994, the SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY 

GH180 drive continues to set the pace in the industry 

for efficiency, reliability and an ever smaller footprint – 

all key values for offshore oil and gas producers. 

Today’s SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 incorporates 

technology advancements driven by experience gathered 

from our worldwide installed base of more than 2.2 mil￾lion kilowatts, backed by Siemens enormous R&D invest￾ments each year. 

Unlike other drive manufacturers, we’ve made advances 

to our drives while maintaining the SINAMICS PERFECT 

HARMONY GH180’s core topology to protect our custom￾ers’ investments and ensure full product life-cycle support. 

By keeping the same topology, our customers see a reduc￾tion in maintenance and spare parts as well as an increase 

in quality and lower life-cycle costs. 

Siemens has a global presence that can provide you with 

direct sales, engineering and technical support anywhere 

in the world. The stability of Siemens guarantees a high￾level of support and will allow us to earn your trust for 

decades to come.

Product Line Characteristics

Input Voltage and Tolerance 2.3 to 13.8 kV, ±10%*

Input Frequency 50 or 60 Hz with ±5% 

variation

Input Transformer Dry type

Copper windings

Forced air-cooling

Drive Rating 224 to 2,050 kW

Output Current Rating 40 to 260 A

Output Voltage Rating 2.3 to 5.3 kV

Output Frequency Rating 0.5 to 330 Hz, ±0.5%**

*Output power de-rating required for –5 to –10% voltage tolerances

**De-rating required for 168 to 330 Hz

Environmental Requirements

Condition Operation

Stationary sinusoidal vibration

• Displacement amplitude

• Acceleration amplitude

1.0 mm (2 to 9.4 Hz)

0.35 g (9.4 to 100 Hz)*

Angular motion, dynamic conditions

• Rotation around X/Y/Z axis (period) 22.5 degrees (10 sec)*

*Values shown are accelerated life test parameters per GL VI 7-2

Standard Drive

Includes Transformer, Cells, Controls and Blowers

Width 116.5 in – 2,952 mm

Height 222 in – 3,099 mm

Depth 47.5 in – 1,199 mm

Approximate Weight 16,000 lb – 7,257 kg

*Additional features may increase footprint and weight

Marine agency certifications are available from:

• American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)

• Bureau Veritas (BV)

• Det Norske Veritas (DNV)

• Lloyd’s Register (LR)

Siemens AG

Process Industries and Drives

Large Drives

P.O. Box 47 43

90025 Nürnberg

GERMANY

Find out more:

siemens.com/ids

Subject to change without prior notice

Article No.: PDLD-B10011-00-7600

Dispo 21503

WÜ/66747 WS 03150.5

Printed in Germany

© Siemens AG 2015

The information provided in this brochure contains 

merely general descriptions or characteristics of 

performance which in case of actual use do not 

always apply as described or which may change as 

a result of further development of the products. 

An obligation to provide the respective character￾istics shall only exist if expressly agreed in the 

terms of contract.

All product designations may be trademarks 

or product names of Siemens AG or supplier com￾panies whose use by third parties for their own 

purposes could violate the rights of the owners.

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