FLUID FLOW Cpfias a. D. Hurlete Adevall y Understand centrifugal Hh balls D. sockea AB oKy rt compressor, equipment interaction Operating scenarios provide insights into predicting behavior during changes K. Majumdar, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., Abu Dhabi, UAE, any compressor operators often find difficulty Mb ieserssitne mires teri th respect to system changes, particularly when coupled with other operational changes. An example is how to predict possible flow increase when there is, still some room for a speed increase. Where will the new operating point be if a change is made—will it shift, along the constant pressure line to the right, along the system curve or along the compressor curve itself? How are power consumption and efficiency predicted in such cases? For the benefit of operators, compressor behavior with respect to the connected systems and related problems are presented for common operating, Fig. 1 shows a typical arrangement of a compressor operating in a process system. The compressor is taking, suction from a source, point A at pressure Py, and dis- charging at pressure P» at point B into a process system consisting of pipelines, valves and equipment. The gas, is transported through this system to be delivered to point C at pressure P;. The line pressure drop, (Py-P,), is usually denoted as AP (delta P) of the system. System curve. The plot of prossure drop versus flow gives the system curve (Fig. 2a), The total pressure drop has two components, the superincumbent pres- sure or static pressure difference between points B and C, and the dynamic pressure drop, i.e., the drop due to friction, velocity change, etc. The static pres- sure drop of any system is eonstant and is indepen- dent of the flow through the system, whereas dynamic pressure drop varies directly as the square of the veloc- ity or flowrate. ‘The system curve is independent of the gas supply souree or the equipment that is delivering gas into the system. The curve remains unchanged unless any com- ponent of the system is changed, like opening a manual ora control valve, pipe size change, etc. As a valve in the Fig. 2a, Total pressure drop has two components. system is opened, flow increases, ie., the pressure drop decreases, shifting the system curve to the right (curve b in Fig. 2a). When the valve is throttled, the system curve moves to the left (curve c) Compressor curve basics. The flow, Q, head (or dif- ferential pressure, P) and speed, N, relationship of a centrifugal compressor is very similar to that of a cen- trifugal pump (Fig. 2b). The major difference is that a HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / AUGUST IW 55Compressor Fig. 2b. Compressor operating limits are between surge stonewall, Fig. 20. ‘tem and compressor curves. pump handles liquid, which is a noneompressible fluid Hence, density and volumetric flow remain unchanged throughout the flow process. A compressor handles only gas, which is compressible. As the pressure of a gas stream changes during compression or flow, den- sity or specific volume changes correspondingly. ‘As shown in Fig. 2b, centrifugal compressors have continuously falling pressure-flow characteristics. A family of parallel curves represents compressor opera- tion at different speeds. For a compressor operating a constant speed, the pressure increases as the flow decreases and vice versa. If reduction in flow contin. ‘ues, at one point compressor operation becomes unsta- ble and a momentary flow reversal takes place. This, leads to a very rapid pulsating flow backward and for- ward through the compressor internals, resulting in severe vibration and consequent damage. This phe- ‘nomenon is known as surge and the flow at which surge occurs is the surge point for that particular speed. The surge point shifls to the right as speed increases (Fig. 2b). The line joining the surge points of curves at dif- ferent speeds is the compressor surge line. To avoid Fig, 8. In this configuration, a compressor operates sinlary 10 a ‘motor-driven pump. surge, compressors are always operated at flows greater than surge point, i., at a reasonable distance to the right of the surge line. ‘As flow increases, a point is reached at the right- hand extreme of the compressor curve after which the ‘low can not increase no matter what changes are made ‘on the outlet side. This point is known as stonewall for ‘the compressor for that particular speed. Like the surge point, the stonewall point also shifts to the right as, speed increases (Fig. 2b). However, unlike surge, no adverse effect occurs to the compressor at the stonewall, point. Therefore, the operating regime of a compressor 1s confined between these two limits, ie., surge and stonewall, The set of curves including the limit lines is, also known as the compressor operating map. Relationship between compressor and system ‘curves. When a compressor is connected to a 5 the operating point can be obtained by superimposing, ‘the system curve Fig, 2a) on the compressor curve (Fig. 2b), resulting in Fig. 2c. The point at which the com- pressor curve for a particular speed meets the system curve represents the compressor operating point for ‘that speed. That means the compressor would deliver flow and pressure corresponding to the intersection point in Fig. 2¢. Under no circumstances can the com- pressor deliver any other flow or pressure (at that speed), unless a ehange is made in the system. Only when some change is made in the connected system say, change in valve opening, pipe size, length, ete.), does the operating point shift along the compressor curve, Otherwise, the compressor will continue to oper- ate at that fixed flow and pressure So, it can be noted that although a system is quite independent of its upstream source equipment, in this, cease the compressor, compressor operation is very much dependent on its downstream connected system. Compressor behavior in common applications. ‘The figures shown later are only schematics of the most ‘common compressor configurations. They are neitherLompressor curves, D8 Operating paint Static prossure line surge BS yy Compressor curves Reduced | it now 1 vi A a, a a ‘Suction Naw Fig. da. As the contol valve closes, the system curve shits tothe lott complete in all details, nor do they represent all possi- bie configurations. Several variations and different, control system arrangements are also possible, although not shown here. 1, Single-speed compressor drive with suc- tion/discharge pressure control. Fig. 3 shows the typical arrangement of a single-speed (motor-driven) compressor. In this configuration, a compressor oper- ates similarly to a motor-driven pump. The compres- sor takes suetion from the suction dram and discharge into the piping system. ‘The main objective of any compressor control is to maintain a balance between discharge and incoming flows. This is done by tracking pressure in the suction, drum by means of a pressure controller, which resu- lates a control valve mounted either on the suction or discharge line. In some installations, a pressure con- troller is also installed on the compressor discharge line, which works in conjunetion with the suction side pressure controller through a signal selector or a micro- processor-based control module. In case of low pres sure gas, it is mare common to provide the control valve on the discharge line. Scenario 1.1: Incoming flow to compressor decreases. Consider that at a particular instance flow coming into the drum drops. Outgoing flow being higher than, incoming flow, suetion dram pressure falls momentar- ily. The pressure instrament mounted on the suction, drum senses this drop. ‘The pressure controller takes, action by elosing the control valve on the discharge line (or suction line) to reduce the flow. As the control valve closes, the system curve shifts to the left (Fig. 4a). Consequently, the operating point (a) also shifts to the left along the compressor curve to the point of inter- section (b) with the modified system curve, where the compressor flow equals the reduced incoming flow. So, in this type of arrangement, compressor capacity eo trol is achieved by shifting the system curve along the compressor curve backward and forward, as shown by arrows in Fig, 4a. Scenario 1.2: Incoming flow drops below surge control point. As incoming flow drops, the compressor will try to find the operating point in the way described in sce- nario 1.1. If, however, flow drops below the surge con- Inlet flow is never allowed to fall Below the surge control Compressor curves io Stonewall 1°” Shifted sys. ‘curve ‘Static pressure tine Te ao eo ‘Suction now: “Tho onine valve at the consumer end is throttled to achieve the detired flow reduction trol point, the compressor surge control system sends a signal to the recycle valve (also called antisurge valve (ASV), a quick-acting control valve) to open. Part of the outlet flow is then returned back to the suction side ia the ASV. Thus, the inlet flow (incoming + recycle) is never allowed to fall below the surge eontrol point to avoid surge (Fig, 4b), In this ease both the ASV and pressure control valves mounted on the compressor discharge line take action simultaneously, ie., the former opens and the latter closes. Scenario 1.3: Gas demand decreases at the consumer end. In most of these cases, the online valve at the con- sumer end is throttled, either manually or through the process control system, to achieve the desired flow reduction, For example, in ease of gas supply to a boiler, heater or gas turbine, the control valve at the inlet of the equipment is throttled matching the equipment load. The valve may even close if the equipment trips This event in effect changes the system curve, shifting the ‘operating point to the left until the desired lower flow is, achieved (similar to scenarios 1.1 and 1.2). The control valve on the compressor outlet line will, however, open, HYDROCARBON PROCESSING /AUGUST im 57Fig, 5, The compressor contol module varies gas turbine speed. instead of closing, in contrast with scenarios 1.1 and 1.2. The reverse phenomenon follows when gas demand increases. The same control sequence would also fol- Tow when gas is to be delivered to a consumer at a con- stant pressure. In summary, for all single-speed compressors, vari- ation in flow ts achieved only by varying the system curve position backward and forward. The operating point shifts along the compressor curve, as shown in Figs. 4a toc. 2. Variable-speed compressor drive with speed controller. Fig. 5 shows a general arrangement of a compressor driven by a gas turbine driver. The com- pressor control module varies gas turbine speed through the speed control module, matching the pro- cess requirement. ‘As explained earlier, the system curve is indepen. dent of the compressor curve and the points at which the system curve cuts the set of compressor curves are the corresponding operating points at different speeds. The speed is changed hy a variable-speed driver to achieve varying flow-pressure requirements, The driver is often a gas or steam turbine, although vari- able-speed electric motors are also used in certain, cases. In this type of arrangement, a pressure con- troller mounted on the suetion line controls the speed of the variable-speed driver. In some installations, pressure controllers mounted on both suetion and dis- charge lines control the driver speed through a signal selector. Microprocessor-based advanced compressor control systems are also used instead of a simple PID controller. Scenario 2.1: Incoming flow to compressor decreases. As in the case of a single-speed compressor, here also compressor suction and discharge controllers are used through a low-signal selector or a compressor control module to modulate the driver speed. As the incom- ing flow to the suction drum decreases, compressor suction pressure decreases. ‘The pressure controller 58 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING/ AUGUST 1999 on the suction side detects this pressure drop and sends a signal to the driver (turbine) to slow down, until a new operating point is reached where the dis- charge flow equals the reduced incoming flow (point a tob in Fig. 6a). In this case the system curve remains unchanged. Only the operating point shifts down along the system curve, unlike in the similar scenario using a single- speed drive (1.1) where the operating point moves along the compressor curve (note the difference). ‘Scenario 2.2: Incoming flow drops below surge con trol point, In case of a variable speed compressor, if the incoming flow decreases below the surge control, point, the compressor first slows down similarly to sco- nario 2.1. The operating point starts to shift down along the system curve until the minimum sustainable speed is reached (Fig. 66). If the corresponding flowrate is, still not reached, the surge control valve begins to open along the minimum speed curve. The surge control valve continues to open until the sum of forward and recycle flow is equal to the flow corresponding to the intersection point of the system and compressor curves at the minimum operating speed). It should be noted that under certain circumstances like this, the ASV might open even when the discharge flow is higher than the surge flow at the minimum speed. However, this sequence of control takes place only if the speed controller and the driver are fast, enough to respond and rectify the changing condition. If the flow change is very rapid, the fast-acting antisurge control system acts through the ASV ahead of the speed. controller to save the compressor from surging. ‘Scenario 2.3: Gas demand decreases at the consumer end. As in the case of a single-speed compressor, the system curve also moves to the left: due to throttling of the consumer valve(s) to achieve flow reduction. The suction pressure controller now starts sending a sig- nal for the driver to slow down. The operating point moves horizontally from point a to be along the fixed- pressure line until it meets the compressor curve at a speed that corresponds to the reduced flowrate (Fig. 6c). Ifthe Flow increases the reverse phenomenon takes place. Continued om page 60 Circle 61Flow to are’ Recycle flow Reduced flow. Sina fow aaa? ae ae we ‘Soction now Fig. 7. Lower MW leads to a lower discharge pressure. to flare from the suction dram, unless the vicious cycle is interrupted manually. Sometimes while a compres- sor is running in recycle mode, light seal gas leaks through worn out seals into the compressor casing, which may result in a similar problem, Scenario 3.2: MW increases. Conversely, an inerease in MW resulis in a higher discharge pressure. The compressor curve shifts up for the same speed. The net result is an increase in compressor flow, of course, if additional gas is available. If not, the compressor is slowed down by the suetion/discharge pressure con: troller. In case of a single-speed compressor, flow is direetly reduced by throttling the control valve on the discharge (or suction) line. Impact of MW variation on compressor stability. Note that unlike the effects of suction pressure and temperature variations, MW change has a much greater effect on performance and, hence, compressor stability. This effect is more visible on multistage com- pressors. When MW increases, the initial stage(s) may be operating at the rated (or increased) flow, but sub- sequent stages may be operating at progressively lower flow due to higher pressure from the preceding stage. The flow in some of these stages may drop below the surge point even when the inlet flow ta the compressor is much higher than the surge point. Incidentally, reducing MW does not have the reverse effect, i.e, it does not enhance compressor stability Going to extremes, change in MW may decrease compressor stability to such an extent that when some stages are at surge, others in the same compressor may be at stonewall. Conventional compressor control and surge protection systems fail to detect such insta- bility. The compressor map provided in the control sys- tem no longer holds good as the flow-pressure-speed relationship is altered by the change in MW, This, however, should not give an impression that compressors can operate only at a fixed (rated) MW. Compressor design normally allows operation over a certain MW range without running into surge in any stage (usually, there is enough distance between the surge and normal operating points). In case of a sub- stantial change in MW, compressor performance and 62. HYDROCARDON PROCESSING / ALOK 1998 stability should be reassessed, preferably with the assistance of the compressor vendor. 4, Compressor flow inereases beyond rating. If the driver (motor, steam or gas turbine) is suffi- ciently large and sufficient inlet gas is availabie, it may often be possible to derive somewhat higher throughput from a compressor without being unduly overloaded. The throughput is increased automatically by the control system for reasons described earlier. ‘MW change is one main reason; the other being actual, system pressure drop lower than estimated in design. Lower destination pressure or higher suction pressure may also cause a flow increase, often to the operators’ benefit. In all these cases, the system curve shifts to the right to meet the compressor curve at a higher flowrate. This is true for both single- and variable- speed compressors, Tfall other compressor and driver operating param- ters are within acceptable limits (below alarm and trip points) and MW variation is within the specified design range, such operation at increased flowrate is not expected to cause any instability or mechanical problem in the compressor. The operating point in this case is well within the compressor design operating rogime. Barring the question of efficiency, a centrifugal com- pressor—like a centrifugal pump—can be operated anywhere on its curve between surge point (or surge control line, SCL) and stonewall by shifting the sys- tem curve, provided the driver is adequately sized. However, if the increase is due to a change in MW where the compressor curve itself shifts, this should be limited to the specified MW variation range. In fact, during a factory acceptance test (FAT), eompressors, are actually operated at varying flowrates within the compressor map range to verify the developed pres- sure and other parameters, Besides the above many other scenarios are possible. Itis not possible to identify and discuss them all sep- arately. However, some of the common scenarios and problems presented will help to understand and inter- pret the behavior of many others not described here. oP ating Cert Camp ‘manager at Abu Dhabi National Oi Com: ‘Bary (ADNOO). He has over 30 yoars of ‘xporince inthe ol and gas insry tbesoL*Clives. Fig, 6b. The operating point starts to shift down along the system Scenario 2.4: Compressor delivers at a fixed pres sure to consumer; set pressure changed. When the com- pressor is connected to a piping system to deliver gas at a constant pressure to a consumer, the static pres- sure difference (P;-P,) in Figs. 1, 2a and 2c remains constant. In fact, in all the scenarios described, this difference is assumed to be constant. Now, ifthe pres- sure setting at the consumer end is lowered, the static pressure curve in Fig. 2a moves down (Fig. 6d), Cor- respondingly, the system curve also shifts down to the right, although its slope remains unchanged. The shifted system curve now meets the compressor curve at a new location on the right-hand side of the origi- nal point. This means flow increases as discharge pres- sure decreases. However, if the flow coming to the com- pressor suction drum is not inereased atthe same rate (say, due to nonavailability of exeess gas), suction pres- sure would drop. The lower suction pressure triggers the pressure controller to take effect through the com- pressor control system to slow down the compressor. Thus, the operating point shifts along the new system ‘curve to meet the new speed curve at a point where the flow equals the incoming flow. The reverse happens. ‘when the pressure is increased. In summary, when a compressor is driven by a.vari- able-speed drive (gas turbine, steam turbine, etc.), the ‘operating point may shift either along the compressor curve, the system curve, the fixed pressure line, or a ‘combination of them depending on the nature of change ‘as diseussed. This is quite different from a compressor driven by a single-speed drive (electric motor) deseribed earlier. 3. Gas molecular weight changes. Scenario 3.1: MW decreases, Change in hydrocar- bon gas composition, hence in molecular weight (MW), is quite common. Lower MW lends to a lower discharge pressure from the same compressor at the same speed The compressor curve shifts down as shown in Fig. 7 The compressor in this ease will speed up automati- cally, through the suctiodischarge pressure controller, to develop the same pressure (point b back to a). Ifthe compressor is already at its maximum sustainable speed (say, at 105% of rated speed as per API), the com- 60 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / AUGUST 100 “Consaior ond 7 Trew proseure’ tas | Increased ae) ow 2 1 PsA Ce ‘Suotion now Fg. 6d. i the compressor setting atthe consumer end is lowered, {he static pressure curve moves down. pressor flow drops to a value corresponding to the intersection point of the system and the new com- pressor curves (point b): ‘This flow reduction may eventually increase the suction pressure, as the compressor cannot cope with all the incoming gas. The excess gas may then start to escape to the vent or flare, even though all operating, conditions may appear unchanged. This phenomenon, of gas escaping to flare is often experienced in process plants. If gas from compressor suction drum is sud- denly found going to flare when the compressor is ru ning normally at its full speed, MW reduction is often the first suspect. ‘This problem is also faced when a compressor rated to handle heavy saturated gas is operated in recycle mode for a long period through an aftereooler. The gas continues to become leaner due to cyclic compression and cooling, resulting in lower discharge pressure. At this point, if the compressor has to feed forward, it fails to develop the required discharge pressure. The recycle valve still remains partly open, returning some gas to suction side, The incoming gas starts to escape