The new GEA Bock F28 compressor

Bochum (Germany), August 7, 2014 – At the Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology International Trade Fair (SMM) from September 9 to 12 in Hamburg, GEA will present the new GEA Bock F28 compressor models for marine applications. Despite their large displacement these compressors fit through any common ship’s door, which makes for simple installation. With its new F28 series, GEA offers a maximum of reliability, flexibility, and operational safety for the maritime industry, which often depends on open piston compressors with external drive motors. The largest model from the GEA Bock F28 series offers a displacement of up to 553 m³/h, which means that GEA has closed a performance gap in its product portfolio. In the design of these new 8-cylinder models, GEA combines the expertise from GEA Bock compressors in smaller and medium-sized output ranges with that from large GEA Grasso compressors for industrial refrigeration facilities. Compared to competitors’ models in this output range, the F28 – thanks to compact dimensions – demonstrates considerably less weight and size, which significantly simplifies installation as well as transport. Despite its great displacement, it is easy to move the F28 through any common ship’s door. This means that no expensive work is necessary on the ships bulkheads, which must be removed for conventional compressor models. Also with respect to efficiency, the F28 compressor sets new standards for open piston compressors. As with the previously largest GEA compressors from the F18 series, the GEA Bock mexxFlow valve system is also used in F28 compressors. This valve system features double lamellar ring design for the valve plate, with optimized flow characteristics, in combination with a cylinder head especially designed for use with this valve plate. By use of this valve system, GEA enhances the efficiency of the compressor by approx. 15 %, compared to the employment of conventional valve-plate engineering. This solution guarantees more cooling duty with less power consumption. The F28 can basically be operated with all widely used refrigerants. At the fair SMM, the model series presented will provisionally feature only operation with synthetic refrigerants, which will be available in 2015.