Application of Three Methods in Determining the Effectiveness of Surge Protection Systems in Gas Compressor Stations

Author(s):  
K. K. Botros ◽  
D. Bakker

Compression Systems are designed and operated in a manner to eliminate or minimize the potential for surge, which is a dynamic instability that is very detrimental to the integrity of the unit. Compressor surge can occur when compressors are subjected to rapid transients such as one following emergency shutdown (ESD) or power failure. To prevent this from occurring, compressor stations are designed with recycle systems and special types of recycle valves, which are required to open upon ESD. These recycle valves must have specific characteristics to cope with such fast transients and protect the compressor for undergoing surge. This paper describes three methods for determining the effectiveness of any specific recycle system and recycle valve characteristics. These three methods are: i) the concept of the Inertia number, ii) a simplified method based on system impedance, and iii) full dynamic simulation of the compression system. These three methods are applied to a high pressure ratio (up to 3.5) natural gas compressor station involving very high volume of piping and equipment contained within the recycle loop. There is a heat exchanger to utilize the heat of compression to heat the condensate separated downstream in the discharge scrubber, two large aerial coolers to cool the high temperature discharge gas from the compressor, and the discharge scrubber itself. This equipment and associated large volume capacitance contained therein presented a significant challenge and demand on the surge suppression system in all aspects of operation; particularly during ESD. Results are presented from all three methods which show the consistency and complementary nature of these methods.

Author(s):  
K. K. Botros

Compression systems are designed and operated in a manner to eliminate or minimize the potential for surge, which is a dynamic instability that is very detrimental to the integrity of the compressor unit. Compressor surge can occur when compressors are subjected to rapid transients such as those occurring following an emergency shutdown (ESD) or a power failure, which in turn, requires fast reaction. To prevent this from occurring, compressor stations are designed with single or dual recycle systems with recycle valves, which are required to open upon ESD. There has been extensive debate and confusion as to whether a single recycle or a dual recycle system is required and the circumstances and the conditions under which one system or the other must be used. This paper discusses this crucial design issue in detail and highlights the parameters affecting the decision to employ either system, particularly for high pressure ratio, low inertia compressors. Parameters such as gas volume capacitance (V) in the recycle path, compressor power train inertia, compressor performance characteristics, the recycle valve coefficient (Cv), prestroke and stroke time, and check valve dynamic characteristic are crucial in determining the conditions for dynamic instabilities. A simple analytical methodology based on the perturbation theory is developed that provides a first-cut analysis to determine if a single recycle system is adequate for a given compression system. The concept of an inertia number is then introduced with a threshold value that determines which recycle system to use. Techniques to circumvent compressor surge following ESD are discussed and their respective effectiveness are highlighted including when and if a delay in the fuel cutoff will be effective. An example of a case study with actual field data of a high pressure ratio centrifugal compressor employed in a natural gas compressor station is presented to illustrate the fundamental concept of single versus dual recycle systems.


Author(s):  
K. K. Botros

Compression systems are designed and operated in a manner to eliminate or minimize the potential for surge, which is a dynamic instability that is very detrimental to the integrity of the compressor unit. Compressor surge can occur when compressors are subjected to rapid transients such as those occurring following an emergency shutdown (ESD) or a power failure, which in turn, requires fast reaction. To prevent this from occurring, compressor stations are designed with single or dual recycle systems with recycle valves, which are required to open upon ESD. There has been extensive debate and confusion as to whether a single recycle or a dual recycle system is required and the circumstances and the conditions under which one system or the other must be used. This paper discusses this crucial design issue in detail and highlights the parameters affecting the decision to employ either system, particularly for high pressure ratio, low inertia compressors. Parameters such as gas volume capacitance (V) in the recycle path, compressor power train inertia, compressor performance characteristics, the recycle valve coefficient (Cv), pre-stroke and stroke time, and check valve dynamic characteristic are crucial in determining the conditions for dynamic instabilities. A simple analytical methodology based on the perturbation theory is developed that provides a first-cut analysis to determine if a single recycle system is adequate for a given compression system. The concept of an inertia number is then introduced with a threshold value that determines which recycle system to use. Techniques to circumvent compressor surge following ESD are discussed and their respective effectiveness are highlighted including when and if a delay in the fuel cut-off will be effective. An example of a Case study with actual field data of a high pressure ratio centrifugal compressor employed in a natural gas compressor station is presented to illustrate the fundamental concept of single vs. dual recycle systems.


Author(s):  
Sean W. Garceau

Abstract A centrifugal compressor surge prevention system is used to protect a compressor from surging while in operation. When using an invariant coordinate system for the compressor performance map within the surge protection system, reduced head versus reduced flow, surge control fallback strategies can be implemented within the control system to maintain operation of the compressor when instrumentation fails without placing the unit into a surge event, increasing unit availability. This paper reviews the different fallback strategies that can be implemented based on the function of the instrumentation that faulted and determine the variance between the calculated and actual turndown when different fallback strategies are active. Depending on the fallback strategy implemented, additional turndown margin may be required to ensure compressor surge is prevented by the surge prevention control system. This paper also reviews how the specific gravity, compressor pressure ratio, and compressor flow impact the variance between actual and calculated turndown when a given fallback strategy is active. Knowing the variance in the turndown allows the operator of the compressor to correctly select the desired fallback strategies and determine the needed control margin to safety operate the compressor without process disruptions. Several recommendations are outlined in the paper.


1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-123
Author(s):  
D. W. Wood ◽  
R. G. Reid

This paper deals with the design and application of a 29,000 bhp (21,625 KW) gas turbine-compressor unit to perform the duties of high pressure ratio/low volume (storage) and low pressure ratio/high volume (transmission). To achieve this wide range of requirements, a single gas turbine was matched with two tandem driven centrifugal compressors. The paper describes the considerations and the techniques used to select the gas turbine, compressor aerodynamic performance and match the gas turbine and compressors.


2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1361-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
XinQian Zheng ◽  
Yun Lin ◽  
BinLin Gan ◽  
WeiLin Zhuge ◽  
YangJun Zhang

Author(s):  
Hideaki Tamaki

Centrifugal compressors used for turbochargers need to achieve a wide operating range. The author has developed a high pressure ratio centrifugal compressor with pressure ratio 5.7 for a marine use turbocharger. In order to enhance operating range, two different types of recirculation devices were applied. One is a conventional recirculation device. The other is a new one. The conventional recirculation device consists of an upstream slot, bleed slot and the annular cavity which connects both slots. The new recirculation device has vanes installed in the cavity. These vanes were designed to provide recirculation flow with negative preswirl at the impeller inlet, a swirl counterwise to the impeller rotational direction. The benefits of the application of both of the recirculation devices were ensured. The new device in particular, shifted surge line to a lower flow rate compared to the conventional device. This paper discusses how the new recirculation device affects the flow field in the above transonic centrifugal compressor by using steady 3-D calculations. Since the conventional recirculation device injects the flow with positive preswirl at the impeller inlet, the major difference between the conventional and new recirculation device is the direction of preswirl that the recirculation flow brings to the impeller inlet. This study focuses on two effects which preswirl of the recirculation flow will generate. (1) Additional work transfer from impeller to fluid. (2) Increase or decrease of relative Mach number. Negative preswirl increases work transfer from the impeller to fluid as the flow rate reduces. It increases negative slope on pressure ratio characteristics. Hence the recirculation flow with negative preswirl will contribute to stability of the compressor. Negative preswirl also increases the relative Mach number at the impeller inlet. It moves shock downstream compared to the conventional recirculation device. It leads to the suppression of the extension of blockage due to the interaction of shock with tip leakage flow.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Xingen Lu ◽  
Yanfeng Zhang ◽  
Ziqing Zhang ◽  
Xu Dong ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper describes the stall mechanism in an ultra-high-pressure-ratio centrifugal compressor. A model comprising all impeller and diffuser blade passages is used to conduct unsteady simulations that trace the onset of instability in the compressor. Backward-traveling rotating stall waves appear at the inlet of the radial diffuser when the compressor is throttled. Six stall cells propagate circumferentially at approximately 0.7% of the impeller rotation speed. The detached shock of the radial diffuser leading edge and the number of stall cells determine the direction of stall propagation, which is opposite to the impeller rotation direction. Dynamic mode decomposition is applied to instantaneous flow fields to extract the flow structure related to the stall mode. This shows that intensive pressure fluctuations concentrate in the diffuser throat as a result of changes in the detached shock intensity. The diffuser passage stall and stall recovery are accompanied by changes in incidence angle and shock wave intensity. When the diffuser passage stalls, the shock-induced boundary-layer separation region near the diffuser vane suction surface gradually expands, increasing the incidence angle and decreasing the shock intensity. The shock is pushed from the diffuser throat toward the diffuser leading edge. When the diffuser passage recovers from stall, the shock wave gradually returns to the diffuser throat, with the incidence angle decreasing and the shock intensity increasing. Once the shock intensity reaches its maximum, the diffuser passage suffers severe shock-induced boundary-layer separation and stalls again.


Author(s):  
Hans-Jürgen Rehder ◽  
Andreas Pahs ◽  
Martin Bittner ◽  
Frank Kocian

Axial turbines for aircraft engines and power plants have reached a very high level of development. Further improvements, in particular in terms of higher efficiency and reduced number of blades and stages, resulting in higher loads, are possible, but can only be achieved through a better understanding of the flow parameters and a closer connection between experiment and numerical design and simulation. An analysis of future demands from the industry and existing turbine research rigs shows that there appears a need for a powerful turbine test rig for aerodynamic experiments. This paper deals with the development and built up of a new so called Next Generation Turbine Test Facility (NG-Turb) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Göttingen. The NG-Turb is a closed-circuit, continuously running facility for aerodynamic turbine investigations, allowing independent variation of engine relevant Mach and Reynolds numbers. The flow medium (dry air) is driven by a 4-stage radial gear compressor with a high pressure ratio and a wide inlet volume flow range. In a first stage the NG-Turb test section will allow investigations on single shaft turbines up to 2½ stages. In a further expansion stage the NG-Turb will be equipped with a second independent shaft system, then enabling experiments with configurations of high and low (or intermediate) pressure turbines and in particular offering the possibility for investigations at counter rotating turbines. Secondary air for cooling investigations can be provided by auxiliary screw compressors. Mass flow through the Turbine is determined redundantly with an uncertainty of about ±0.3%, using well calibrated Venturi nozzles upstream and downstream of the test section. The operation concept and main design features of the NG-Turb will be described and an overview of the applied standard measurement and data acquisition technics capturing efficiency, traverse data etc. will be given. Thermodynamic cycle calculations have been performed in order to simulate the flow circuit of the NG-Turb and to access whether turbine operating points can be driven within the performance map of the compressor system. Finally the calibration procedure for the Venturi nozzles, which has been conducted during the commissioning phase of the NG-Turb by applying a special calibration test section, is explained and some results will be shown.


Author(s):  
Hans Ma˚rtensson ◽  
Ste´fan Sturla Gunnsteinsson ◽  
Damian M. Vogt

In the design of modern compressor blades of wide chord (low aspect ratio) type it is often hard to avoid having modes that are close to each other in frequency. Modes which are closely spaced can interact dynamically. Mistuning and localization of stresses are known problems with this. A potential problem with this is also the possibility of coalescence flutter of the modes. Even if the modes are frequency separated at zero rotational speed, the centrifugal stiffening may cause the modes to attract and even cross (or veer) at some rotational speed. In design, mode separation criteria are sometimes applied in order to minimize the risk of encountering unknown dynamic phenomena. This study is performed to better understand the dynamics of closely spaced modes with respect to risk for coalescence flutter. A reduced order aeroelastic system is then constructed that describes the interaction between the different modes. The aeroelastic couplings are then calculated for the 2 mode system. The method is general in terms of mode shapes and number of interacting modes. A parametrical study is performed in order to study how strongly the modes interact when the frequency separation is decreased and if there is a risk of destructive coalescence flutter. The investigation is performed on a high pressure ratio front stage fan blade. The tendency of the modes to interact depends on the strength of the coupling compared to the strength of the pure structural modes. The tendency towards instability was increased in cases where the stability margin was smaller of the single modes. The results can be considered to support a separation criterion of 2% for the lower. A re-evaluation should be considered if lighter blade material and increased loads are to be used.


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