Turbine/ Compressor

INDUSTRY

Anti-surge Control Application Note

The transfer of gas along a pipeline is a common process in the oil, chemical and petro-chemical industries. For cost-effectiveness, gas is usually transported at high pressure via a compressor before entering the pipeline. Compressor efficiency is maximised when the flow rate through it is kept low and the pressure high, with the minimum possible flow rate being restricted by the risk of compressor entering surge condition.

What is surge?
Surge is an unstable and undesirable operating condition of the compressor, occurring when the flow through it is reduced to the point where the compressor discharge pressure is less than the line pressure. This causes a momentary flow reversal, reducing line pressure and causing erratic flow output. With the reduced line pressure, flow through the compressor is reestablished, causing line pressure to increase and the cycle to begin again. If the factors leading to the surge condition are not correctly and quickly rectified, the output will continue to oscillate resulting in damage to the compressor. Anti-surge control offers:

Protection against compressor damage such as bent shafts, cracked or ruptured castings, damaged impeller and bearings Reduction in compressor downtime and productivity costs Savings on maintenance costs

Robust control Bumpless transfer Reduced maintenance and downtime Flexibility

Although all anti-surge control techniques are based on a similar concept to maintain a minimal flow at extreme conditions - Eurotherm achieves this with a robust and efficient control module offering configuration and operator interface flexibility. If and when required by the process, the control module takes into account the following:

Location of the flow measurement Type of compressor (axial, reciprocating or centrifugal) Type of operating speed (constant or variable) Value of discharge and suction pressures Value of inlet Value of compression ratio Composition of the transported gas (density, specific heat, molecular weight) Characteristics of all valves used in the control process

EUROTHERM

FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS

The compressor process

The optimum flow rate may be calculated from a simple graph of pressure difference against flow, as shown on Figure 1. The position of the lines is unique to a particular compressor. The operating setpoint is at the minimum flow rate and pressure difference which avoids surge conditions. The application module for anti-surge control provides a fine and reliable control mechanism maintaining the process close to this setpoint. Many papers and texts Axial compressor on anti-surge control Reciprocating maintain that the onset compressor of surge can occur in as little as 50ms. They then Operating conclude that this, and region the requirement for very Pressure Centrifugal "tight" tuning, implies compressor that a digital anti-surge controller must have an extremely fast repeat High demand time. Compressor users, however, point out that Low demand the blow off or recycle Inlet Flow valve driven by the controller is unlikely to Figure 1 Compressors characteristic curves open in less than 2 seconds. The Eurotherm anti-surge control module has been proven to successfully meet the above criteria with repeat times of 75 to 100 ms.

FT Gas flow

P Gas flow Compressor Anti-surge control module OP

Figure 2 Compression process

Flexibility
The Eurotherm approach to anti-surge control offers

Basic anti-surge control using suction flow/P or flow characterisation based on discharge flow/P Surge control line gradient adaptation based on vane position Failsafe mode on sensor failure Anticipation of surge approach (absolute and rate of change) Bias adaptation on repeated surge Asymmetric rate limit on valve position (fast open / slow close) Manual control with auto override to open Off-line testing using output bias and ramp Feed forward on discharge flow disturbance Adaptive gain on approach to surge limit line Stop/start sequences Status/alarm output on surge approach

The control system

The application module processes the pressure difference to calculate the correct flow setpoint. Two different sets of time constants are used in the PID controller. For a positive deviation, where the flow rate is too high, the output signal to the flow control element produces a gradual correction to allow time for the control system to react, thus avoiding over-correction and risk of surge. If there is a negative deviation from the setpoint, a different set of time constants is used to open the by-pass valve quickly. This allows more gas to recirculate, increasing the flow rapidly enough to avoid surge conditions. The application module offers bumpless switching between the two sets of constants. Figure 2 gives a schematic representation of the compression process. In order to avoid turbulence, the application module also monitors the rate of change of the flow through the compressor. If the flow rate begins to change rapidly, the output to the flow control element by-passes the control loop and opens the valve fully. This allows the maximum amount of gas to recirculate and increase the flow through the compressor. In general, the control system should be tuned so that the valve is shut most of the time, since recirculating the gas consumes energy.

Any number of stand-alone compressors can be integrated into an automatic load management control system, with complete flexibility for priority or lead/lag selection. This implementation provides the potential benefits listed below:

Unattended, automatic operation relieves operators for other tasks Automatic load management eliminates the possibility of accidents caused by the loss of the gas supply Because the supply and the demand are continuously and automatically matched, the energy cost of operation is minimised.

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Copyright Eurotherm Limited 2008
Invensys, Eurotherm, the Eurotherm logo, Chessell, EurothermSuite, Mini8, Eycon, Eyris, EPower and Wonderware are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other brands may be trademarks of their respective owners. All rights are strictly reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, modified, or transmitted in any form by any means, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system other than for the purpose to act as an aid in operating the equipment to which the document relates, without the prior written permission of Eurotherm limited. Eurotherm Limited pursues a policy of continuous development and product improvement. The specifications in this document may therefore be changed without notice. The information in this document is given in good faith, but is intended for guidance only. Eurotherm Limited will accept no responsibility for any losses arising from errors in this document.

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Part No. HA084053U008 Issue 3

Anti-surge Control Application Note

Printed on recycled paper in England 04.08