Centrifugal Compressor Surge

Avoidance System Design

Mr. Augusto Garcia-Hernandez
Dr. Robert McKee

Southwest Research Institute®, SwRI®

Rotating Machinery & Measurement Technology
 Outline
™ Introduction
™ Centrifugal Compressor Surge Event
™ Dynamic Modeling
ƒ Basic Model
ƒ Simulations
™ Case Studies
™ Effect of Different Recycle Valves and
Timing
™ Conclusions
 Introduction

™ Centrifugal compressors are essential to

the pipeline, process, and storage
industries

™ Limitations on centrifugal compressor

operations due to surge

™ Surge is a flow instability

 Centrifugal Compressor Limits
80% Sp 85% Sp 90% Sp 95% Sp
100% Sp Surge Limit Surge Control Stonew all

1.16
1.15
Max Speed / MAOP / Max Pow er
1.14
1.13
Pressure Ratio

Surge Limit
1.12
1.11
1.1
1.09 Stone Wall

1.08 Min Speed

1.07
1.06
400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Inlet Flow ACFM
 Surge Should be Avoided

™ At surge, the flow pattern in the

compressor collapses

™ Surge at energetic conditions is very

critical

™ Surge disrupts station flows

™ Surge at low energy can be acceptable

 Surge Avoidance for Normal
Conditions
™ Operate at higher flows and lower heads

™ Change head and flow conditions slowly

™ Opening of the recycle valve to maintain

a minimum flow

™ Flow recirculation through the

compressor to prevent low flow
conditions
 In the Event of a Trip

™ Unexpected events can require a sudden

trip of the unit

™ Surge is essentially unavoidable

™ Will the head at surge be high (energetic)

or low (acceptable)?

™ Design controls to avoid energetic surge

 Purpose of Proper Surge Control

™ Surging at high speed and head can

damage the unit

™ Low speed and head, surge will be mild

™ Determine proper conditions to reduce

the head rapidly

™ Determine appropriate conditions to

maintain high flow through the unit
 Dynamic Modeling

™ For routine operations changes occurs

slowly, so modeling is not necessary

™ Rapidly changes and abnormalities in

operating conditions required modeling

™ Proper design of the anti-surge system

Modeling – The Basics Included
™ A model for surge control design must
include:
ƒ All pipe elements
ƒ Compressors with performance curve
ƒ Drivers with torque / speed responses
ƒ Recycle and other valves with capacity
ƒ Valve controls/actuators - response times
ƒ Scrubbers, heat exchangers, etc
ƒ Upstream and downstream piping
ƒ Control algorithms and sequences
 Special Elements

™A centrifugal compressor is represented

by a specific element

™ Valves
that open or close (recycle) have
changing Cv with stroke

™ Other special nodes like scrubbers or

filters, heat exchanges, etc.
 Control Systems and Sequences

™ Controls or elements that adjust or affect the system

response
™ A valve controller and actuator with:
ƒ Delay times
ƒ Non-linear rates
ƒ Integral, proportional, and derivative responses

™ Control results dependent on operating conditions

(pressure, flow, speed, etc.)
™ Driver controls (power, inertia, and accelerations
rates)
 Simulation

™ Detailed
data is required to build a good
compressor system model
™ Boundary conditions must be determined
but not over specified
™ An operating point should be established
™ Define
scenarios for trips of the
compressor
™ Time step within transient response
Effects of Normal Operations
Compressor Coasting Down in 72 seg with
Recycle Valve Opening in 1.8 seg
3
Flow Rate [ft /s]
0 50 100 150 200 250
20000
5040

18000 4800
87%
85% 50
16000
83%
14000 79%
40
4080
12000

Head [kJ/Kg]
Head [ft]

3600
10000 30

3120
8000
20
6000

4000
10
2000

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3
Flow Rate [m /s]

Design Operating Point, Speed 4800 RPM, 4.558 m3/s, 16559 ft

 One Normal Surge Transient

™ At trip, the compressor starts to coast down based

on internal load and inertia

™ The recycle valve is signaled to open with it

maximum opening rate

™ The speed, head, and flow decrease in a complex

manner

™ Decreasing head increases flow so at times speed

is neg. – flow is pos. - then flow neg.
 Effect of Low Flow Operations
Com pressor Coasting Down in 72 seg with
Recycle Valv e Opening in 1.8 seg
3
Flow Rate [ft /s]
0 50 100 150 200 250
20000
5040

18000 4800
87% 50
16000 85%
83%
14000
4040
79% 40

Head [kJ/Kg]
12000
Head [ft]

10000 3600 30

8000 3120
20
6000

4000
10
2000

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3
Flow R ate [m /s]

Near Surge Operating Point, 4800 RPM, 4.068 m3/s, 17461 ft

Results in Terms of Surge Energy

™ The point at which a compressor crosses the low

flow limit (surge line) is dependent on the initial
operating point.

™ The exact behavior is dependent on the details

of the compressor, recycle valve, attached
piping, and control times.

™ A small difference in the head at which the

compressor crosses the surge line can be 5 to
10 percent less total power (energy).
Effect of Less Coast Down Time
Com pressor Coasting Down in 36 seg with
Recycle Valv e Opening in 1.8 seg
3
F lo w Ra te [ft /s ]
0 50 100 150 200 250
20000 5040

18000 4800
87% 50
16000 85%
83%
14000
79% 40
4040

Head [kJ/Kg]
12000
Head [ft]

3600
10000 30

8000 3120
20
6000

4000
10
2000

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3
F lo w Ra te [m /s ]

Much less coast down time

Initial conditions: 4800 RPM, 5.071 m3/s, 15649 ft
 Effects of Recycle Valve
Size and Speed
™ The main control for rapidly reducing head
is the recycle valve size and speed

™ Thetrade off for recycle systems is a larger

valve is better and a faster valve

™ There are times when a smaller fast valve is

better than a larger slow valve but transient
simulations are needed to determine this
Effect of a Larger Recycle Valve
C o m p re s s o r C o a s tin g D o wn in 7 2 s e g with
R e c yc le Valv e Op e n in g in 1 .8 s e g
3
F lo w Ra te [ft /s ]
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
20000

5040
18000
4800 50
16000
4560

14000 4320
40

Head [KJ/Kg]
12000 4080
Head [ft]

3840
10000 3600
30

3360
8000
3120
20
6000

4000
10
2000

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 63 7 8 9 10 11
F lo w R ate [m /s]

A large recycle valve for a large compressor

Initial conditions: 4800 RPM, 7.244 m3/s, 14647 ft
 Results of Recycle Valve Size
™ A recycle valve with a larger capacity and
same opening time will allow a lower energy
emergency shutdown.

™ In some cases it may be necessary to have

both:
ƒ A fast small (hot gas) recycle valve

ƒ A large (slower) full capacity recycle valve

™ Transient modeling allows parametric studies

of recycle sizes, times and options.
Effect of Different Recycle Valves

A large recycle valve can make a big difference

 Vent Valve Usage
™ Vent valves on a compressor discharge

™ Vent valves:
ƒ Smaller and faster
ƒ Remove a lot of gas from the discharge to flare
ƒ Short time (1 to 2 sec) reduce the head and
energy of surge

™ Applications in multistage compressor

Effect of Vent Valve Open Time

Uses of a Discharge Vent Valve for a Short Time

 Power Trip (Speed) Delays

™ A short time delay in tripping allows recycle and

vent valves to open before speed drops.

™ Some alarms (such as high temps or vibrations)

allow a short delay before tripping.

™ With extra discharge gas from large volumes or

later stages, the head will remain high.

™ Check valves on discharge can isolate the

volumes and allow head to be reduced.
 Effect of Power (Speed)
Trip Delay

0 sec

1 sec

2 sec

A short delay in removing power is positive

 Methods for Reducing
Stored Energy
™ The stored energy in discharge gas volume
can be reduced by:
ƒ The use of large fast recycle valves

ƒ The use and timing of vent valves

ƒ The timing of driver power changes and speed

reductions

ƒ The use and location of check valves and discharge

volumes

ƒ The control system tuning (timing and gains) and

sequence of responses
 Conclusions
™ Surge is an instability and a collapse of flow through a
compressor that occurs at low flows.

™ Surge at high energy and speed is a violent, damaging,

and potentially dangerous event.

™ Transient flow solvers are used for dynamic simulations

that aid the design of new or existing installations.

™ Larger and faster opening recycle valves will lower the

energy of surge during a trip.

™ Location on the compressor map affects the time and

energy of surge during a trip.
 Conclusions - continued
™ A more rapid speed reduction will results in a more
energetic shutdown surge.

™ In multi-section compressors, vent valves can remove the

high pressure discharge gas energy.

™ A delay in speed reduction can allow a head reduction

before a low flow surge is reached.

™ Discharge check valves can isolated upstream high

pressure gas to allow a lower energy surge.

™ Transient simulations of compressor trips are necessary

and the best way to design surge control systems to
avoid energetic surges.
Questions ?

Thank you for attention!