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Centrifugal Compressor System
Design & Simulation
Speed 4
Efficiency [%]
Speed 1 Speed 4
Speed 3
Speed 2
Stone Wall
Speed 1 Region
Speed 2 Speed 3
Discharge
Suction Cooler Block Valve
Block Valve 4
Driver
Compressor
Suction Scrubber separates moisture & particulate matter Decided to be added on a case to case basis
Anti-surge Valve (ASV) protects the compressor from surge during start-up, shutdown & operating
conditions
Hot Gas Bypass (HGB) Valve is used during shutdown operation for surge avoidance and as a last resort to
avoid overheating the compressor.
Discharge Check Valve prevents backflow of fluid.
Air coolers are used to cool the compressed discharge gas.
Vent Valve is used for compressor system depressurization
Discharge
Suction Cooler Block Valve
Block Valve 4
Driver
Compressor
Illustration Purposes
Compressor is idle Rated Point
Discharge
Suction Cooler Block Valve
Block Valve 4
Driver
Compressor
For illustration Purposes
CC in operation Rated Point
Note
ASV sizing Steady state calculation does not account for transient effects (equipment /piping volume).
During design phase Emergency shutdown operation can be performed to check for surge
Dynamic simulation Identifies if ASV is sufficient to handle surge during ESD also.
An under designed ASV system requires installation of Hot Gas Bypass (HGB)
System design with only ASV Not always feasible due to control Valve limitations (Availability / Construction
limitations). Hence every Anti-surge system to be reviewed on a case-to-case basis.
Discharge
Suction Cooler Block Valve
Block Valve 4
0 Driver
Compressor
For illustration Purposes
DCS
Suction Discharge
Vent Valve
Scrubber Scrubber
FT TT PT TT PT FT
1 2
Discharge
Suction Orifice Cooler
Orifice Block Valve
Block Valve 4 Measured
Measured
CC Driver
(+) Small Discharge Volume, Fast response (+) Full Recycle Reduces surge to larger extent
(-) Only Partial recycling Absence of cooler causes (-) Additional piping volume impacts recycle response
hot fluid to mix with incoming fluid. Applicable only
for small pressure ratios
(+) Small Discharge Volume, Fast response. 100% (+) No Inline pressure loss
recycle possible. Improves compressor efficiency (+) Small discharge volume, fast response
(-) Requires an additional cooler (increases cost)
(-) Additional cooler required
Recycle Arrangements (contd)…
5. Hot Gas Bypass 6. Parallel Recycle Valves
(+) Provides good modulation during shutdown (+) Good modulation during surge control & fast shutdown
(-) Extra piping/HGB valve add to the overall cost (-) Additional piping volume/valves impact cost
(+) Good modulation during surge control & fast (+) Modulates surge control for individual compressors
shutdown (+) Similar to arrangement No.5 but with relatively
(-) Additional piping volume/valves add to cost reduced piping costs due to combined ASV system
Centrifugal Compressor Driver Arrangements…
Series Arrangement – EM/VFD-EM/GT/ST Parallel Arrangement – EM/VFD-EM/GT/ST
(*) CC’s are driven independently. (+) Failure of 1st CC does not stop the 2nd CC
(-) Failure of one EM causes CC system shutdown (-) Load sharing scheme to be provided
EM
(+) Fuel requirements are simplified (+) Provides additional power during startup.
(+) Both compressors run at same speed (+) EM provides starting torque for GT till firing point
after which EM behaves as a generator
(-) Additional power & shaft deflection to be considered.
(+) EM provides additional power to GT during summer
(-) Failure of driver causes CC plant shutdown
when GT efficiency is reduced.
General Notes…
Surge can occur not only during start-up or shutdown but also during Normal Operating Conditions when the
following can take place - Load changes, process upsets, gas MW changes, operator errors, driver problems,
cooler failure, etc.
Seal Gas System selection to be made taking into consideration hydrate formation.
Increase in Gas MW causes shifting of CC maps to shift towards upper diagonal region while decrease in Gas
MW causes the shift to take place towards lower diagonal side.
Hot Gas Bypass systems are decided by performing a dynamic simulation to check for adequacy of ASV
provision. In case of inadequacy, HGB system is added.
The ASV system should not be oversized as it can result in poor regulation. Additionally it would bring the CC
operating point to the stone wall region due to excessive flow
GT + VFD-EM combination used for very large trains (e.g., LNG Applications)
Inertial effects of driver rotor determines start-up time. Increase in rotor mass adds to the inertia.
Anti-surge Line As close as possible to the discharge piping. However this position is also dependent on
vibrational effects.
A limit of 50% HGB line sizing on volumetric flow is recommended to avoid overheating of CC. Actual sizing
could be made lower.
References…
“Surge Avoidance for Compressor System”, Robert C. White, Rainer Kurz,
http://turbolab.tamu.edu/proc/turboproc/T35/16-WHITE.pdf