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Protecting A Centrifugal Compressor From Surge

March 2012, Vol. 239 No. 3 (https://pgjonline.com/issues/march-2012-vol-239-no-3/)
Ali Ghanbariannaeeni and Ghazalehsadat Ghazanfarihashemi, Tehran, Iran

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19/10/2017 Protecting A Centrifugal Compressor From Surge
Surge is de ned as the operating point at which centrifugal compressor peak head capability and minimum ow limits are reached. Actually, the working principle of a centrifugal compressor is increasing the kinetic
energy of the uid with a rotating impeller. The uid is then slowed down in a volume called the plenum, where the kinetic energy is converted into potential energy in form of a pressure rise.

When the plenum pressure behind the compressor is higher than the compressor outlet pressure, the uid tends to reverse or even ow back in the compressor. As a consequence, the plenum pressure will
decrease, inlet pressure will increase and the ow reverses again. This phenomenon, called surge, repeats and occurs in cycles with frequencies varying from 1 to 2 Hz. So, the compressor loses the ability to maintain
the peak head when surge occurs and the entire system becomes unstable. A collection of surge points during varying compressor speed or varying inlet gas angle is tted as surge line. In normal conditions, the
compressor operates in the right side of the surge line. However, during startup/emergency shutdown, the operating point will move towards the surge line because ow is reduced. If conditions are such that the
operating point approaches the surge line, ow recirculation occurs in the impeller and di user (Figure 1). The ow separation will eventually cause a decrease in the discharge pressure, and ow from suction to
discharge will resume. Surging can cause the compressor to overheat to the point at which the maximum allowable temperature of the unit is exceeded. Also, surging can cause damage to the thrust bearing due to
the rotor shifting back and forth from the active to the inactive side. This is de ned as the surge cycle of the compressor.

Anti-Surge Control Systems

These systems detect when a process compression stage is approaching to surge and subsequently take action to reverse the movement of the operating point towards the surge line (SL). This decreases the plenum
pressure and increases the ow through the compressor, resulting in stable working conditions. It is normally achieved by opening a control valve in a recycle line (Anti-Surge Control Valve or ASCV), returning the
discharge gas to the inlet of the compressor via a suction cooler. The resulting increase in compressor inlet volume ow moves the operating point away from surge.

Due to inaccuracies in measurements and response times of transmitters and valves, Anti-surge control achieves a surge control line (SCL) parallel to the surge limit line. The control line is o set to the right of the
surge line by a margin; typically equal to 3- 10% of inlet volume ow at surge (Figure 2). However, a lower margin is also desirable because higher e ciency could be obtained by closing the recycle valve.

Figure 2: Surge Protection De nitions.

In real operation, compressor performance curves in the coordinate system are unique for constant given suction conditions. This means that the
variation of inlet conditions leads to changing compressor performance curves. On the other hand, since inlet temperature decreases, inlet molecular
weight increases or inlet pressure increases, the di erential pressure across measuring device would go up for the same inlet capacity. So for the
purposes of control, new coordinate system is used which must be invariant (or independent) to changes in inlet conditions. Therefore, the e ects of
inlet temperature, gas molecular weight and compressibility factor are not required to be considered in the controlling system. In this regard, several
invariant coordinates are obtained by compressor manufacturer. They use dimensional analysis for the generation of these invariant systems (or
compressor map). The two most important systems are:
1) Compressor polytropic head (or di erential pressure) versus square of ow rate in suction and
2) Pressure ratio versus square of ow rate in suction.
Flow through the compressor suction is equivalent to the pressure drop in ori ce or venturi installed at the inlet or outlet of compressor. Thus, pressure loss in ori ce or venturi can be calibrated as a function of
compressor ow rate.

A compressor map is illustrated by superimposing both performance and system resistance curves independent of rotational speed (Figure 3). For compressors with inlet guide vanes, compressor map is represented
by a new family of curves that do not depend on suction conditions either. This additional coordinate could be a function of either guide vane position or equivalent rotational speed.

Figure 3: Compressor map.

Anti-Surge Controller System And Algorithms

Proportional–integral (PI) and proportional–integral–derivative (PID) are two major control algorithms which are used to control imperfectly known
compression systems. The basic procedure of these algorithms is that the controller output should be a function of the di erence (Error, e) between two
values which should be controlled (process variable, PV) and its set point (SP) (Figure 4).

When operating in the stable region at the right-hand side of the SP-line, where the error, e, is positive, the controller output is forced to be zero and
integrators should be reset to avoid wind-up. As the ow decreases due to a disturbance, PV decreases as well and — at a certain point — where PV<
SP, the error, e, becomes negative. Here, the controller comes into action opening the anti-surge valve. This action pushes the PV back to the stable region at the right-hand side of the SP-line. Moreover, small
disturbances should not lead to big reactions. But a fast and resolute opening of the valve is required when the control line is exceeded in the direction of the surge limit. Therefore, the controller has a nonlinear gain
behavior when the controller deviation (PV-SP) is negative. Figure 4: Compressor controller schematic. Earlier matter about nonlinear gain controller
leads to considering derivation term in logic control of system. Actually, e ect of the derivative (D-action) term is that it often allows the control response
to be accelerated without increasing the risk of instability, because it is a measure how fast the system is responding and action will tend to counter the
oscillatory action. However, it will also make the system more sensitive to signal noise. Thus, the simpler PI algorithm is sometimes more useful than full
PID control. But it (PI) is limited in speed of its response and is unable to take the machine out of surge in the event that the operating point crosses the
surge line. In other words, the D-action should be incorporated by changing the set point due to a change in ow (dF/dt). When the ow decreases
rapidly (dF/dt << 0), the danger of going to surge exists in compressor. Therefore, the original set point (SP) is increased with a higher margin. As a
consequence, the PV-line passes the SP-line earlier. The controller will react earlier and have a higher output, resulting in an increased control e ort. It
is should be noted that for the smaller PV/SP, D-action is more important because, it will cause a higher value of the weighing factor of this margin. So,
the e ect of the D-action due to a decrease in ow is the increase in set point, resulting in a negative error earlier than without the D-action. Logic
controller without derivation and with just the proportional plus-integral control system is adequate for many changes in plant operating conditions. For activation of this method, second control line is located
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between the proportional plus-integral control and surge lines. When this control line is crossed, there is a step increase in the output from the controller that causes the recycle valve to open. This kind of valve
opening is called valve jumping (Figure 5). Figure 5: PI algorithm with step line. The controller output decays exponentially with time to a point where
the proportional plus-integral control system resumes control. Moreover, the momentary valve position calculated by the PI algorithm is overridden by
an adjustable additive component. Anti-Surge Input Requirements
As earlier mentioned, ow rate is the main data obtained from suction or discharge. Moreover, pressure and temperature in suction and discharge are
needed to establish the operating point on the compressor performance curve. Recommendations for the minimum input requirements for a given
system arrangement can be found in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Compressor Surge Control System Layout.

Additionally, it should be noted that a molecular weight change of 50% or a variation of

10 or more is considered a signi cant change in the mixture gas composition. In such
conditions, compressor map and relevant surge line is individually generated for each
gas component and the magnitude and direction of each is compared with the other.
Obviously, the nalized surge line shall cover and include all unstable regions, obtained
by the performance maps.

The response time of a transmitter for the measurement of a process variable used by the surge control algorithm should be less than 100 milliseconds. Moreover, the emergency shutdown situation will require the
fastest response time from the control system. The shutdown operation does not a ect the surge control algorithm because the sole function of the controller under the shutdown operation is to fully open the control
valve as quickly as possible. In such condition, the recycle control valves should be able to move from fully closed to fully open in less than 2.0 seconds.

Anti-Surge System layout

Figure 6 is an illustration of the Anti-Surge System layout. On centrifugal discharge, a check valve shall be installed to prevent reverse ow and minimize surge. The check valve shall be located as close as possible
downstream of the compressor to minimize mass inventory. In other words, a check valve at the compressor outlet will limit the downstream volume and increase the required system response time of the surge
control system. In parallel operations, compressor units should have check valves installed to assure e ective surge control of each compressor.

In order to protect the compressor adequately from surge, the discharged ow must be restored very quickly. For this reason the anti-surge recycle connection and anti-surge control valve shall be located upstream of
the check valve as close as practical to the compressor discharge connection. Moreover, a cooler in the recycle line may have to be considered, to suitably control the suction temperature and thereby prevent the
compressor from going into surge. The line-up and tie-in point of the recycle line on the suction side of the compressor shall be at the upstream of the suction scrubber in order to prevent liquid from entering the
compressor.

If the compressor bypass control line is taken downstream of the discharge cooler (called “cold bypass line”), an additional hot gas bypass line upstream of the discharge check valve is required to protect the
compressor against surge during start-up, trip and normal operation (Figure 7).
In “hot bypass lines,” the suction cooler is installed after the recycle line, which is taken directly from the discharge and recycled to the upstream of the suction cooler.

Figure 7: Hot and Cold Recycle Valves.

Recycle lines and their components shall be sized to handle compressor ow rates under rated conditions and all other speci ed operating and start /
stop conditions.

Anti-Surge Valve Speci cation

The anti-surge valve (ASV) is a fail open solenoid valve. This means that it needs a high signal of 20 mA to close the valve, and a low signal of 4 mA to open the valve. When a failure occurs, the valve will usually receive
a low signal and it will open, which is the safe position.

In startup and normal stop, the compressor will initially operate with the valve at 100% open. The valve characteristic for 100% open should be su ciently removed from the compressor operational region, during
compressor startup. ASV should be sized for 1.8 to 2.2 times of maximum surge point ow rate. Oversized valves will not provide the sensitivity required for particular operational settings and will restrict the
performance of the compressor; actually, the valve characteristic lines will become too far from the right of the operation.

Operational exibility should be considered so that one compressor unit could be isolated from the other units at a station, while two or more compressors are running as parallel or series. Moreover, this may
require independent bypass loops and quick closing of valves at the suction side of each compressor. Quick closing of valves will prevent overloading the other units if one compressor is shutdown.

Therefore, to provide maximum protection and operating exibility, it is recommended that surge protection systems with their own dedicated recycle loops should be provided for each process compression stage.

Authors:
Ali Ghanbariannaeeni is a rotating equipment specialist with NARGAN Engineers and Constructors, Tehran, Iran. Ph: 9821-8891-4926-30. Email: A.Ghanbarian@ nargan.com, www. nargan.com.

Ghazalehsadat Ghazanfarihashemi is a rotating equipment specialist with Sazeh Consultants Engineers, Tehran, Iran. Ph: 9821-8873-9924. Email: Gh.Ghazanfari@ sazeh.Co.ir, www. sazeh.com.

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