Industrial Automation

and Optimisation

Advanced
Compressor Control
& Protection
Solutions
COMPRESSOR CONTROL AND PROTECTION COMPRESSOR SURGE PROTECTION
Compressors sit at the very heart of most WHAT IS SURGE?
industrial installations, and provide the lifeblood Surge is a phenomenon associated with
to the plant, albeit in the form of instrument air, axial and centrifugal compressors. It Typical Surge Cycle
process air, compressed gas, or a multitude of occurs when, for any given speed, guide- A’
other compressor applications. vane angle or inlet-valve position, flow Pd/DP/Hp
in the system decreases sufficiently to F
Effective compressor control strives to attain cause momentary flow reversal in the
max Y
A
multiple objectives, the most fundamental compressor.
being to ensure the compressor delivers what
it has been purposed for, with minimal process Flow reversal occurs at an instant when G
disturbances. This typically takes the form of the pressure developed by the compressor X
controlling certain process parameters on the no longer exceeds the pressure in the
processing unit. Ideally unnecessary process downstream system. This is an unstable
trips should be avoided. condition, which triggers self-oscillation
between flow and pressure, resulting in
Equally important is ensuring the compressor to prevention of costly plant outages and erratic compressor capacity.
operation does not exceed design limitations. prevention of mechanical damage to compressor
Surge appears as rapid pulsations in flow
Damage can occur very swiftly, and usually entails assets.
and in discharge pressure, which invariably
protracted downtime, and large repair bills.
causes damage to the compressor and REVERSE FLOW FORWARD FLOW
Our tried-and-proven solutions can be deployed
The traditional approach to protecting in standalone controllers, or can form part of the associated piping, and causes upsets to
compressors relies on alarm limits set on various larger plant control strategy, such as within the the process.
process parameters, and the use of vibration main plant DCS.
monitoring to detect the onset of mechanical
damage. Excessive vibration trips the compressor, Moore has over 27 years experience with SURGE PROTECTION
thus taking it off line for inspection and repair. controlling and protecting compressors. We A certain minimum flow rate has to be maintained in order to protect
understand that when the compressor stands the compressor, either by venting air to atmosphere, or by recycling
The challenge with traditional approaches to production usually grinds to a halt. As a result compressed gas from the outlet back to the inlet.
compressor protection is that they often come we’ve developed the necessary engineering
into effect too late, i.e. once problems have and servicing capability to ensure maximum While these relief measures are effective for protecting the compressor,
progressed too far down the line to prevent compressor up-time. they are costly, as they waste energy when not implemented correctly.
shutdown.
Moore has refined and perfected control strategies based on the specific characteristics of each
An alternative approach is to anticipate compressor, such that energy wastage is kept to an absolute minimum. In addition to providing
mechanical damage well in advance. This adequate protection of the compressor we ensure optimal delivery of the desired process
approach relies on analysis of data to detect requirements.
and alarm deviations. These deviations trigger
alerts to maintenance personnel and plant Experience has also shown that most of the surges occur during start-up or shutdown of the processing
operators, who can then assess the severity of unit or compressor. One of the most common factors is the inconsistency of operator action. By
the deviations, and take corrective action well in automating these sequences the possibility of surges during an automated start-up or shutdown is
advance of tripping the plant. dramatically reduced, as the compressor is controlled in a repeatable and optimal manner during
each start-up or shutdown event.
The financial benefits of fit-for-purpose
compressor control and protection systems are
large, ranging from lower energy consumption
and optimized maintenance schedules, through

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THROUGHPUT CONTROLS
Throughput control is achieved by controlling the
energy input to the compressor in order to deliver
LOAD-SHARING ACROSS PARALLEL-CONNECTED COMPRESSORS
Typical Air Compressor Control Scheme
Compressors are frequently connected in parallel to a common header on installations where large
Advanced
gas flows or air flows are required. The intention of this strategy is for the compressors to share the
load evenly.
Functions

what it has been designed for. This is accomplished by

manipulating the speed, guide vanes, suction throttle
Capacity
Controller
valve, discharge throttle valve or recycle valve.
During steady-state operation, the capacity control of FT PT
the compressor (i.e. discharge pressure) can conflict
with the anti-surge control since each attempts to Anti-Surge
Controller
vary the flow through the compressor in the opposite
direction. Interaction between these controllers can Advanced
Functions
be expected. Therefore the control system must also
decouple the capacity control from the anti-surge
control to avoid possible instability.
Moore has developed a well-proven compressor control algorithm utilizing tested features to protect
a compressor against surges, while simultaneously optimizing the efficiency of the compressor.
However, due to the mechanical characteristics of individual compressors, and simplicity of control
Decoupling
PT strategies, it often happens that several of the compressors are base-loaded to run at maximum
Logics throughput, while others run at lower throughput. In this mode of operation there is huge energy
wastage due to continuous blow off or gas recycle to maintain minimum flow and prevent surge on
the compressors that are not running at full load.
Our advanced strategy uses a master controller to control the parallel operation of all connected
compressors by protecting compressors individually based on their specific performance parameters,
Blow-off
while optimizing and maximizing performance collectively. Blow-off and gas-recycle are reduced to
the absolute minimum to prevent mechanical damage to the compressors.
Financially there are large benefits at stake, as energy consumption is reduced to the minimum
required to deliver gas or air to the plant. Payback is typically within 12 months of deployment.
OUR TRACK RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
Multi-stage

Reciprocating
INSTRUMENTATION

Single-stage
Centrifugal

Operation
Number of

Parallel
Axial

streams
Service Identical

Single-
The high speeds at which compressors enter the surge region necessitate high-speed measurement

Side-
inlet
Installations
and control through process instruments that are robust, and provide repeatable results. Areas
where high-speed response is required are: Aeration Gas 8    
• Flow measurement to determine rapid flow drop off. Air - Utilities >100    
• Pressure measurement to determine which region of the Ammonia Gas 4  
compressor’s performance map the plant is operating in. Crack Gas 2  
• The mechanical method of increasing flow through the Ethane Booster 1  
compressor, e.g. blow-off valve or recycle valve so that flow Ethylene Pipeline Booster 3   
through the compressor can be increased rapidly when Ethylene Refrigeration 5  
needed. Evaporator Compressor 1  
Moore provides turnkey solutions for compressor control, Feed Gas 16  
including all the instrumentation necessary to provide effective Flash Gas 8  
control and protection of compressors. Gas Injection 2  
Hydrogen - Hydro-Isomerization 2  
Existing installations can be retrofitted with instrumentation and controls systems to bring compressor
Hydrogen Recycle Gas 1  
control up to date with the latest technologies and control strategies.
Ketone Hydrogen Recycle 2  
Methane Booster Reflux 4  
SAFETY SHUTDOWN Methane Reforming Booster 4  
We integrate (rather than interface) the shutdown systems with the overall plant control systems to Methane-rich Pipeline Booster 1  
provide safe, reliable and optimized control of compressors and the overall plant processes. Nitrogen Booster 2  
Our engineers are safety certified to design, install and commission safety-shutdown systems globally. Oxygen Booster 16  
Propylene Polymerization Recycle 3   
Propylene Refrigeration 14   
Regeneration - Isomerization 1  
Tail Gas / Off Gas 5   
Ventilation Gas 4 

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PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE
THE CHALLENGE CASE STUDY
Refineries rely on a large number of compressors While the challenges are numerous and complex, THE ISSUES
to achieve production. It is not uncommon overcoming these can lead to significant gains. This gas refinery has an installed base circa 300 compressors and turbines. The problems they faced
to find up to 300 compressors in a refinery, According to the research*, by implementing were:
providing services ranging from plant air, through predictive maintenance system, costs can be • Assets tripping with little or no warning.
to gas compression and refrigeration. These reduced by between 50% and 80% for asset
• Root causes of trips often unknown.
compressors are complex assets, with multiple maintenance, machine breakdowns can be
stages and side streams. Energy consumption reduced by 50% to 60%, and spare-part inventory • Assets had to be physically opened up to investigate what could have caused problems. In some
can be up to 50 megawatts on the larger units. can be reduced by up to 30%. cases this practice led to additional problems during startup.
• Asset-efficiency and power-consumption estimates were theoretical, and provided infrequently.
Effective compressor control and safety strategies Machine lifespan can be increased by between
• Ineffective use of manpower in trying to monitor such a vast number of assets manually.
ensure that compressors start up, and shutdown 20% and 40%, with production profits increasing
in a controlled manner. Advanced strategies by between 25% and 60%. OUR SOLUTION
also ensure that compressors run efficiently, We implemented our predictive maintenance system on two servers, together with two local historians
OUR APPROACH
consuming minimal energy while maximizing that tie into various plant process control systems. The historians synchronize and time stamp data
output. We consider the interactions of processes, utilities
locally to ensure time-based root-cause analyses are accurate. The baseline thermodynamic and
and vibration to form a comprehensive picture of
According to published research* 45% of the asset. This picture allows us to determine in statical asset models were built and deployed over a period of 12 months, and to date the system is
production losses in refineries are attributable near real-time which signals are contributing to estimated to have achieved a three-fold return on investment.
to mechanical failure. Since compressors and the change of state of the asset that could lead
CONCEPTUAL ARCHITECTURE THE RESULTS
turbines are the lifeblood of refineries they are to damage. These issues are classified, flagged,
a major contributor to these losses. These assets and reported to operators and maintenance Thin Clients (Web based)
99 Predictive warning up to 144 hours
are costly to run and maintain, with long lead personnel. ahead of potential asset trips.
times on sourcing spare parts for repair and
We use existing plant data to monitor asset 99 16 major trips analyzed to identify
maintenance.
health and predict failure in advance. Statistical root causes.
Reactive protection such as vibration monitoring, techniques are used to identify root causes of
99 Identification of causes of trips that
process and utility controls will cause a shut issues, and thermodynamic models are used to Conditioning Statistical Model
Monitoring were operator and maintenance
down once problems are detected. However, the compare actual asset performance, including Servers Thermodynamic Model related.
challenge is to see the problem before it becomes power consumption and output, against
a problem. Why is this a challenge? manufacturers’ calculated optimum. 99 Accurate measurement of power
• There are simply too many signals to trend Synchronized consumption and asset efficiency.
This provides a basis for operating the plant data time Local
and monitor visually. stamping
Historians 99 Identification of assets being run
more effectively through targeted production
• By the time alarm limits are breached the optimization. Under-performing assets are outside of their safe operating
asset may already be damaged. highlighted. envelope, and for how long this had
• Operating in alarm conditions for extended Plant DCS Plant DCS Plant DCS been the case.
periods, where these are insufficient to The system can also be provided as an analysis
99 Automated downtime and plant
trigger a shutdown, causes long-term hidden service, whereby historical data is analyzed,
either on-site or off-site, to determine the root availability calculations.
damage. Local control Local control Local control
causes of plant trips. These investigations can Process/utility/vibration Process/utility/vibration Process/utility/vibration
99 Identification of faulty process
• Vibration detection is indicative of damage
also identify the root cause of upsets in complex instruments.
already caused.
processes, as the system identifies the change in
• There are complex interactions between relationship between process signals. 99 Online, near real-time asset-health
the automation systems, the underlying monitoring, with root-cause analysis
production processes, and the mechanical * An Introduction to Predictive Maintenance 2 edition by R. Keith Mobley
nd
43 of the 300 compressors and turbines on site are being of issues affecting performance.
behavior of the asset. monitored by the predictive maintenance system

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 Key Clients: Contact us:
South Africa:
Head Office (Johannesburg)
info@moore.co.za
Tel: +27 (11) 466 1673

(Vanderbijlpark) - Tel: +27 (16) 932 4471

(Secunda) - Tel: +27 (17) 631 2744
(Westville) - Tel: +27 (31) 003 3100

USA (Houston)
info@moore-us.com
Tel: +1 832-299-6759

Europe (London)
info@moore-eme.com
Tel: +44 777 265 1605

Singapore
info@moore-sg.com
Tel: +65 6742 0776

Moore is an equal-opportunities employer.

We are ISO 9001:2008 and OHSAS 18001:2007 accredited, and IEC 61508 and IEC
61511 certified.

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