COMPARISON OF POLYTROPIC AND ISENTROPIC

EFFICIENCY OF NATURAL GAS COMPRESSOR

CALCULATED USING ASPEN HYSYS AND USING
MANUAL CALCULATIONS
MUHAMMAD WAQAS MANZOOR
PROCESS ENGINEER
Contact: engr.waqasmanzoor@gmail.com
 SYNOPSIS
• Isentropic Efficiency – Definition and mathematical derivation
• BHP and Isentropic head of compressor
• Polytropic Efficiency – Definition and mathematical derivation
• BHP and Polytropic head of compressor
• Relationship between Isentropic and Polytropic Efficiency
• Aspen HYSYS Simulation Results
• Comparison of Simulation Results with Manual Calculations
(GPSA Method)
• Compressor Performance Calculations using manual calculation
methods
• Conclusion
 ISENTROPIC EFFICIENCY OF COMPRESSOR
• Actual horse power required by compressor is always greater than Isentropic
horsepower.
• Isentropic efficiency is the ratio of Isentropic horsepower to Actual horsepower
required by compressor.
𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
• Or, 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒

• Thermodynamically, Isentropic process is represented by the following relation,

𝑃𝑉𝑘 = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
Or, 𝑃1𝑉1𝑘 = 𝑃2𝑉2𝑘
𝑉1 𝑘
Or, 𝑃2 = Eq. 01
𝑃1 𝑉2

𝑃2 𝑃2 𝑇1 𝑘
Or, 𝑃1 = 𝑃1 𝑇2

𝑇2 𝑘 𝑃2 𝑘−1
Or, 𝑇1 = 𝑃1
𝑘−1
𝑇2 𝑃2 𝑘
Or, 𝑇1 = 𝑃1 Eq. 02
• T2 in Eq. 02, is final ‘Isentropic’ temperature and can also be represented as T2,s.
 ISENTROPIC EFFICIENCY OF COMPRESSOR
• Eq. 02, therefore, can also be written as under,
𝑘−1
𝑇2,𝑠 𝑃2 𝑘
Or, 𝑇1 = 𝑃1 Eq. 02
• Now, Isentropic efficiency of the compressor is given by,
𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
ℎ2,𝑠 −ℎ1 𝑇2,𝑠 −𝑇1
Or, η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶 = = Eq. 03
ℎ2 −ℎ1 𝑇2 −𝑇1
𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
Putting , 𝑇2,𝑠 = 𝑇1 𝑃1 in Eq. 03, we get,
𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
𝑇1 𝑃1 −𝑇1
η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶 = 𝑇2 −𝑇1
𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
𝑃1 −1
Or, η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶 = 𝑇2 Eq. 04
𝑇1 −1

η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶 1 𝑇1
Or, 𝑘−1 = 𝑇2 = Eq. 05
𝑃2 𝑘 𝑇1 −1 𝑇2 −𝑇1
𝑃1 −1

Contd.
 ISENTROPIC EFFICIENCY OF COMPRESSOR
• Now, Actual Work done of the compressor is given by,
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝐶𝑝 × 𝑇2 − 𝑇1
𝑇1
Or, 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝐶𝑝 × 𝑇2 − 𝑇1 𝑇1
𝐶𝑝 𝑇1
Or, 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝑇1 Eq. 06
𝑇2 −𝑇1

𝑇1 η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶
Putting, = 𝑘−1 in Eq. 06, we get,
𝑇2 −𝑇1 𝑃2 𝑘
𝑃1 −1

𝐶𝑝 𝑇1
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶
𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
𝑃1 −1

𝐶𝑝 𝑇1 𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
Or, 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = η 𝑃1 −1
𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶

𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
And, 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝐶𝑝 𝑇1 𝑃1 −1

Contd.
 BHP AND ISENTROPIC HEAD OF COMPRESSOR
• Another equation which is used to compute BHP of compressor based on Isentropic
Efficiency is as follows,
𝑘−1
𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑃2 𝑘
𝐵𝐻𝑃 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1 Eq. 07
η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶
𝑘

• The units of BHP would be ‘Watts’, if P1 is in Pascals and V1 is in m3/sec, in above

equation.
• Isentropic Head can also be computed from above equation as under,
𝐵𝐻𝑃 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 × η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶
𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 (𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠) = 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑘𝑔/𝑠 × 9.8 𝑚/𝑠2
 ISENTROPIC HEAD OF COMPRESSOR
• There is another equation which is used to calculate Isentropic Head directly and is
mentioned in GPSA standard.
• It can be derived from BHP equation (Eq. 07), directly. However, as we are going to
compute ‘Isentropic Head’, so the isentropic efficiency would not be used in the equation.
• We have,
𝑘−1
𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑃2 𝑘
𝐵𝐻𝑃 (𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐) = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1
𝑘
𝑘−1
𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑃2 𝑘
Or, 𝜌1 𝑔ℎ𝑉1 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1
𝑘
𝑘−1
𝑃1 𝑃2 𝑘
Or, ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛, 𝐶 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1 Eq. 08
𝜌1 𝑔
𝑘
𝑃1 𝑀
Now, putting 𝜌 = 𝑍𝑅𝑇1 in Eq. 08, we get,
𝑘−1
𝑍𝑅𝑇1 𝑃2 𝑘
ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛, 𝐶 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1 Eq. 09
𝑀𝑔
𝑘

Where, g=9.8 m/s2 , M=Molecular Mass, R=Universal Gas Constant = 8314.47 Pa-m3/kgmol/K
• The unit of Isentropic Head ‘hisen,C ’ would be ‘meter’ if T1 is in Kelvins, M is in kg/kgmol, g
is in m/s2, and R is in Pa-m3/kgmol/K.
 POLYTROPIC EFFICIENCY OF COMPRESSOR
• As the gas is compressed, its compression ratio increases along the
compression path, until it becomes maximum at compressor discharge.
• Due to varying compression ratio, the Isentropic efficiency also varies along
the compression path.
• Therefore, even by using ‘constant’ Isentropic efficiency, we can not compute
real / actual work done, as it is not expressing the compression process
adequately.
• In order to incorporate the effect of varying the Isentropic efficiency, we can
divide the compression path into ‘infinite’ number of small steps, so that the
Isentropic efficiency is constant along each of these small steps.
• This Isentropic efficiency which is constant at each of the small steps, is known
as ‘Polytropic Efficiency’, and the resulting process is called ‘Polytropic
process’.
 POLYTROPIC PROCESS
• In a Polytropic compression process, the compression path is divided into
infinite number of small steps so that Isentropic efficiency is constant along
each of these small steps.
• Whereas, an Isentropic compression process is that process in which ‘Entropy’
remains constant throughout the process.
• Mathematically, the Polytropic process is expressed using a polytropic
exponent ‘n’ instead of ‘k’ as in Isentropic process,
i.e. 𝑃𝑉 𝑛 = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
Or, 𝑃1 𝑉1𝑛 = 𝑃2 𝑉2𝑛
𝑃2 𝑉1 𝑛
Or, = Eq. 10
𝑃1 𝑉2
𝑛−1
𝑇2 𝑃2 𝑛
Or, = Eq. 11
𝑇1 𝑃1

• The Polytropic exponent ‘n’ is related to the Isentropic exponent ‘k’ in the
following form; where η𝑝,𝐶 is the Polytropic Efficiency of the compressor,
𝑛−1 1𝑘−1
= Eq. 12
𝑛 η𝑝,𝐶 𝑘
 POLYTROPIC PROCESS
𝑛−1 1 𝑘−1
Putting 𝑛
= η𝑝,𝐶 𝑘
in Eq. 11, we get,
1 𝑘−1
𝑇2 𝑃2 η𝑝,𝐶 𝑘
= Eq. 13
𝑇1 𝑃1

Taking natural log. of both sides we get,

𝑇 1 𝑘−1 𝑃2
𝑙𝑛 𝑇2 = η 𝑙𝑛
1 𝑝,𝐶 𝑘 𝑃1
𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
𝑙𝑛
𝑃1
Or, η𝑝,𝐶 = 𝑇 Eq. 14
𝑙𝑛 𝑇2
1

Contd.
 POLYTROPIC HEAD
Replacing ‘k’ with ‘n’ in the Isentropic Head relation (Eq. 09), we get,
𝑛−1
𝑍𝑅𝑇1 𝑃2 𝑛
ℎ𝑝, 𝐶 = 𝑛−1 𝑃1 −1 Eq. 15
𝑀𝑔 𝑛

• The variable ‘hp,C’ above equation is known as Polytropic Head.

• The unit of Polytropic Head ‘hp,C’ would be ‘meter’ if T1 is in Kelvins, M is in
kg/kgmol, g is in m/s2, and R is in Pa-m3/kgmol/K.
𝑛−1 1 𝑘−1
Putting = in Eq. 15, we get,
𝑛 η𝑝,𝐶 𝑘

𝑘−1 1
𝑍𝑅𝑇1 η𝑝,𝐶 𝑃2 𝑘 η𝑝,𝐶
ℎ𝑝, 𝐶 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1 Eq. 16
𝑀𝑔
𝑘

• The BHP of compressor based on Polytropic Efficiency is given by,

𝑃𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 (𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠)×𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑘𝑔/𝑠 × 9.8 𝑚/𝑠2
𝐵𝐻𝑃 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 = η𝑝,𝐶
 POLYTROPIC HEAD
𝑘−1 1
𝑍𝑅𝑇1 η𝑝,𝐶 𝑃2 𝑘 η𝑝,𝐶
Putting 𝑃𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 − 1 in the equation of BHP, we
𝑀𝑔
𝑘
get,

𝑘−1 1
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 × 𝑍𝑅𝑇1 𝑃2 𝑘 η𝑝,𝐶
𝐵𝐻𝑃 = 𝑘−1 𝑃1 −1 Eq. 17
𝑀
𝑘

• The unit of BHP would be ‘Watts’ if T1 is in ‘Kelvins’, M is in kg/kgmol, Mass flow rate
is in ‘kg/s’, and R is in Pa-m3/kgmol/K.

Contd.
 ISENTROPIC AND POLYTROPIC EFFICIENCY
• The following equation relates the Isentropic Efficiency with Polytropic
Efficiency,
𝑘−1
𝑃2 𝑘
𝑃1 −1
η𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝐶 = 𝑘−1 1
Eq. 18
𝑃2 𝑘 η𝑝,𝐶
𝑃1 −1

Contd.
PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM
Aspen HYSYS Simulation Snapshot
PROCESS PARAMETERS OF GAS STREAM AT
COMPRESSOR SUCTION
COMPOSITION OF GAS AT COMPRESSOR SUCTION
COMPRESSOR SPECIFICATIONS
Aspen HYSYS Simulation
COMPRESSOR PERFORMANCE
 MANUAL CALCULATION OF POLYTROPIC EFFICIENCY
FROM POLYTROPIC HEAD AND BHP
• Polytropic Head (HYSYS) = 9833 m
• BHP (HYSYS) = 100 hp = 74.6 kW = 74600 W = 74600 kg-m2/s3
• Mass flow rate of gas = 4707 lb/h = 2136.978 kg/h = 0.593 kg/sec
• Polytropic Efficiency = Mass flow rate x Polytropic Head x 9.8 m/s2 / BHP
= 0.593kg/s x 9833m x 9.8m/s2 / 74600kg-m2/s3
= 0.76599
= 76.599 %
• Polytropic Efficiency calculated by HYSYS = 76.696 %

• The slight difference may be attributed to difference in calculation procedure in

Aspen HYSYS, which is based on numerical integration.
 MANUAL CALCULATION OF ISENTROPIC EFFICIENCY
FROM ISENTROPIC HEAD AND BHP
• Isentropic Head = 9616 m
• BHP = 100 hp = 74.6 kW = 74600 W = 74600 kg-m2/s3
• Mass flow rate of gas = 4707 lb/h = 2136.978 kg/h = 0.593 kg/sec
• Isentropic Efficiency = Mass flow rate x Polytropic Head x 9.8 m/s2 / BHP
= 0.593kg/s x 9616m x 9.8m/s2 / 74600kg-m2/s3
= 0.74909
= 74.909 %
• Isentropic Efficiency specified in HYSYS = 75.0 %

• The slight difference may be attributed to difference in calculation procedure in

Aspen HYSYS, which is based on numerical integration.
 CONCLUSION
• The software Aspen HYSYS uses the similar equations as mentioned in GPSA
standards.
• However, the slight difference in the manually calculated values and Aspen
HYSYS simulation, may be attributed to the calculation method of the
software which is based on numerical integration.