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ISA

T R A N S A C T I O N S ~°'

ELSEVIER ISA Transactions 33 (1994) 153-157

Considerations for advanced centrifugal compressor control


Roman Rammler
MICON - Powell Process Systems, Inc., 8540 Mosley Road, Houston, TX 77075, USA

Abstract

Implementing advanced centrifugal compressor control systems that minimize recycle (or blow-off) requires
consideration for a broad range of operating conditions. The compressor control must not only offer efficient and
reliable anti-surge control; but it has to provide overload protection, load sharing (in case of multiple machines),
capacity control, process decoupling and in some cases auto sequencing and other station controls (ESD, SOE and
aux equipment controls). This paper describes advanced control concepts for achieving interactive compressor
control that result in significant energy savings while operating safely over wide varying process conditions.

Key words: Advanced control; Compressors; Surge control; Dynamic decoupling; Load sharing; Overload prevention;
Energy savings

L Total compressor control plification of the requirements and likely poor


performances of the overall process system.
Centrifugal compressors are common dynamic In closely coupled systems, compressor control
components of continuous processes in many in- without dynamic compensation can become un-
dustries. The compressor, like distillation towers, stable under certain process conditions because
heaters, reactors, etc., is interactive with all other of interaction of the recycle valve with s u c t i o n /
components of a process (or pipeline) and cannot discharge valves a n d / o r driver (turbine, motor).
be considered an independent system. Compres- The logical approach to compressor control must
sors require multi-loop interactive control with consider any suction dynamics (guide vanes,
the capability of field modification of the control valves, liquid quench vaporization, etc.), the driver
schemes and parameters in order to adapt to (motor, steam turbine, gas turbine, etc.), the com-
process conditions (existing or new). Micropro- pressor discharge dynamics (valves, other booster
cessor-based controllers with a comprehensive compressors, etc.), and the recycle valve as an
function library (including look-up tables, adap- interactive process unit which must operate safely
tive tuning, etc.), are ideally suited provided that over as wide a set of conditions (operating win-
speed of response is fast enough for detection of dow) as possible.
surge spikes and function configuration architec- As mentioned before, several control con-
ture offers the required flexibility for a total unit straints must be considered by the design engi-
control scheme. neer:
Designing compressor controls that only take - Limitations in the capacity of the upstream
into account the machine itself leads to oversim- and downstream process that can affect the

0019-0578/94/$07.00 © 1994 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved


SSDI 0019-0578(94)00013-C
154 R. Rammler / l S A Transactions 33 (1994) 153-157

compressor. Considering the dynamics of the uneven distribution of throughput in parallel


gas (or air) supply and demand allows correc- machines and to maintain optimum capacity
tive action to be gradual before a hard con- range of multiple machines. Of course, the
straint is reached. operator must always be provided with the
- Driver performance. Gas turbine drivers espe- capability to disable the load sharing or to
cially have a fairly complex set of dynamic select base load operation.
constraints such as acceleration rate, exhaust
temperature limits, fuel flow limits, etc. The 1.1. Decoupling of surge and process control
turbine protection controls avoid exceeding the
constraints but depending on rate of approach Both the anti-surge and the throughput con-
to the limit, the result may be a total driver trois manipulate the compressor operating point,
shutdown or severe process upset. When the usually in opposite directions. These interactions
compressor control considers the turbine driver often cause control instability and therefore may
limits, changes in load can be softened to pre- require larger than necessary surge control mar-
vent a limit shutdown. gins. Effective decoupling of the anti-surge and
- Compressor surge limits - the objective of an throughput (capacity control) loops enables the
anti-surge controller should not be limited to system to overcome these interactions. Severe
basic independent machine protection. The control interactions are found mostly in systems
anti-surge control performance as an integral with low discharge a n d / o r suction process vol-
part of the machine performance control must ume (closely coupled systems); systems with large
be considered. Storing real surge points, apply- volumes (slow dynamics) are more forgiving with
ing adaptive control of the recycle valve (varia- respect to loop interactions.
ble gain depending on operating region) and Consider the following application (Fig. 1),
compensating for interaction between surge, where the compressor has typical pressure con-
overload and process control can significantly trol and surge-control loops. The pressure con-
expand the operating window. This allows op- troller adjusts the butterfly valve (or decreases
eration very close to the actual surge lines speed if it is a turbine driver application) in the
(4-8%) under all process conditions. Straight closing direction if discharge pressure increases
line surge control, even with variable slope, above the setpoint. The anti-surge controller
must make allowance for the poor fit to actual opens the recycle valve to increase flow in order
surge points by using a wider margin (15-20%). to prevent surge. Suppose that the discharge
- In case of sensor failure, machine safety should pressure increase is the result of a process upset
be maintained by return to minimum flow (hs) downstream of the compressor and that the con-
control with a wide margin of safety, but in- trol reaction is very rapid. The anti-surge con-
cluding loop interaction decoupling. In addi- troller would immediately begin to open the recy-
tion, continuous sensing of flow with the surge cle valve resulting in a temporary decrease in
spike detection algorithm, that opens the anti- discharge pressure. The discharge pressure con-
surge valve a pre-determined amount in case troller, in an independently configured mode
of momentary reverse flow, should be pro- (non-decoupled), re-opens the suction butterfly
vided. valve (or increases the turbine speed) that moves
- Dynamic decoupling of the control strategies the operating point of the anti-surge controller
that are interactive and have similar time con- away from the surge limit line. An independently
stant eliminate regions of instability which not configured (non-decoupled) anti-surge controller
only limit operating range but also affect ma- would then continue to close the recycle valve
chine safety. Typically, suction, recycle and dis- while the discharge pressure increases again,
charge valves need to be decoupled to prevent therefore moving the operating point again to-
unstable process oscillations. ward the surge limit line.
- Load sharing is normally necessary to prevent These are incompatible control actions which
R. Rammler / ISA Transactions 33 (1994) 153-157 155

CONSIDERATIONS FOR ADVANCED CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR CONTROL

LOAD OVERLOAD ANT 4- 5URGE CONTROL DISCHAClGE PRESSURE


5PcAl~ ~NG PROTECT I ON wr"rH PROC DE,"OUPL ING CCADACITy 3 CONTROL

........ ~ ......... " ~ .................... ::::::::::::::::::::::: ..........

Q
/"
UNOERCUT
Fc 0
DISK

i
i
I

Fig. 1. Exampleof single case compressorcontrols.

usually result in a 'hunting' action of the control the piping configuration of the network between
loops. The control oscillations can be significant the compressor suction and the anti-surge valve.
since each controller fights its counterpart. In In some compressor systems there is a signifi-
non-decoupled loops, this interaction can exist cant delay, after the recycle valve opens, before
whether the control is on suction pressure, dis- the gas reaches the compressor inlet and the flow
charge pressure or flow. To provide control sta- through the compressor increases. This dead time
bility there are two configuration/tuning alterna- is especially common in turbine driven multi-
tives. Either detune (slow down) the controllers stream compressors with large suction drums
which decreases their effectiveness, or provide (such as propylene or ethylene refrigeration com-
decoupling between the interacting control loops. pressors). The dead time can be decreased by
The decoupling action normally consists of a con- temporarily increasing the turbine speed simulta-
trol phase shift of the throughput/capacity con- neously with the anti-surge valve opening.
trol (in this case discharge pressure) based on the
rate and magnitude of the anti-surge control out- 1.2. L o a d sharing
put. A shift of 0.5 to 3.5 seconds usually provides
adequate decoupling, considering that these in- When centrifugal compressors are operated in
teraction control problems are normally associ- parallel, the problem of properly sharing the load
ated with low volume process systems. is usually present. The solution is particularly
Another reason for loop decoupling is associ- challenging when the compressors have dissimilar
ated with dead time in the anti-surge loop. These characteristics. But even when the characteristics
process response time delays can be caused by are supposedly identical, load sharing should be
156 R. Rammler / ISA Transactions 33 (1994) 153-157

provided because minor manufacturing differ- digital peer-to-peer link. After all compressors
ences and piping configuration affect the operat- have crossed the load-share enable line they are
ing envelope. An effective system for load sharing kept equidistance from their surge limits, thus
can keep compressors at a relative distance from helping to minimize recycle or blowoff costs. The
the surge control line but load sharing is normally equal distribution of the load within the active
activated only once all compressors have reached region (below the load-share enable line) is ac-
the load-sharing enable line. This load sharing complished by calculating the average distance
strategy assures that all compressors reach their from the surge line of all compressors on load
surge control lines simultaneously. The concept sharing and then biasing each compressor in the
produces the widest range of operation with no proper direction.
recycle (or blowoff) and the minimum recycle/
blowoff to produce any required load. In addi- 1.3. Prevention o f driver overload
tion, the strategy can optimally divide the load
whenever the load changes, when a compressor Variations in gas (or air) density significantly
goes off or on line, or when efficiency changes. affect compressor performance. The compressor
Conventional load sharing strategies employ- driver, a motor or a turbine, is sometimes tightly
ing pressure-to-flow cascade or biasing the output sized and may require load limiting control to
of a single pressure controller are usually ineffec- prevent the compressor driver from overload trips
tive. Base loading, another common method, is during high density demand times. In typical ap-
also not energy efficient. plications (as shown in Fig. 1) the compressor
Load sharing may be accomplished by the ma- controller overload algorithm will override the
nipulation of a suction valve (as shown in Fig. 1), signal of the throughput/capacity controller to
by speed changes (if the compressor is turbine modulate a suction valve. In case of a motor
driven), or by guide-vane positioning. Thus, there driven unit, the motor power is limited to a
are many possible configurations for simultane- setpoint that represents the maximum power that
ous approach to the surge control line. the motor is allowed to draw. Feedback selection
Since compressors may differ in capacity and is used to provide a bumpless transfer between
characteristics, the absolute distance of the oper- the throughput/capacity control, the load-shar-
ating point from the surge control line can be ing control, and the overload control.
meaningful. For compressors with almost identi- For applications that experience fast density
cal characteristics, it is recommended that the changes, an additional suction pressure override
compressors are allowed to operate unrestricted control which operates as a pre-act protection
until the operating point reaches the load-sharing may be used. This offers further insurance against
enable line, a line usually set 10% from the surge nuisance driver (motor, turbine) trips.
control line. For compressors with dissimilar Since speed variation is often the most effi-
characteristics, it is usually preferable to set the cient method for controlling compressor load,
load share enable line near the normal operation turbine driven machines are commonly in use.
points; or in other words, the parallel machines These turbines represent a piece of complex ma-
operate at equidistance from the surge control chinery by themselves and incorporate safety sys-
line over the complete operation range. tems (exhaust temperature limits, etc.), to elimi-
Each compressor controller's load share algo- nate, or at least to minimize the possibility of
rithm engages once the compressors operating damage due to overload or in the event of other
have crossed the enable line and holds the unusual operating conditions.
t h r o u g h p u t / c a p a c i t y control output (suction
valve, turbine speed or guide-vane) in its position 1.4. Series or parallel machine surge control
until all load sharing compressors have reached
the enable line. Communication between com- When two or more compressors are connected
pressor controllers is normally via a high speed in series, using surge control on each individual
R. Rammler/ ISA Transactions 33 (1994) 153-157 157

machine provides the best protection. This, how- of the compressor in accordance with the com-
ever, requires a recirculation or blowoff valve for pressor manufacturer's specification and in com-
each compressor. In many designs (especially in pliance with the process requirements.
large pipeline applications) the individual recycle Typical s t a r t u p / s h u t d o w n features are
control architecture may not be very practical due - Startup and Purge Sequences. The recycle valve
to common cooler systems and therefore one is kept at either 100% or 0%, as required for
common 'cold' recirculation valve is often pro- shutdown or purge. After the compressor is
vided. Duration of reverse flow and thrust bear- started, opening of the valve is determined by
ing load exposure during compressor trips should the anti-surge controller.
be examined for common valve or individual ma- - S t a r t u p Sequence. After the compressor is
chine configurations with consideration given to started the control maintains the minimum tur-
automatic o n / o f f 'hot' recycle control. In special bine speed (for turbine driven units) for a
designs, each machine may require complete 'hot' preselected time delay and then ramps the
recycle control (manipulating, not o n / o f f ) in ad- governor to a position required by the system.
dition to the 'cold' recycle control. - Startup Sequence. Startup ramp by the control
In some series compressor configurations, two is aborted when either the check valve into the
compressors are driven by the same prime mover. system is open (typically sensed by a differen-
These machines are sometimes considered as a tial pressure switch across the checkvalve) or
single unit and the installation usually includes upon reaching a preset pressure.
only one anti-surge valve. - Shutdown. On compressor shutdown, the recy-
When two or more compressors are working in cle or blowoff valve is opened 100%.
parallel, the greatest surge protection and effi- - S h u t d o w n . On compressor shutdown, the
ciency results when both units operate equidis- throughput/capacity control ramps down the
tant from their respective surge control lines after output to prepare for future startup. The con-
the operating points have crossed the loadsharing troller is also transferred to auto mode.
enable lines (this has been described previously).
It is, of course, assumed that each compressor is
provided with its own recycle/blowoff valve. In 1.6. Summary
some parallel applications (such as pipeline sta-
tions with common cooler arrangement), each The challenge in regulating a centrifugal com-
machine may have a 'hot' recycle valve to provide pressor is to match its throughput to the process
rapid and short-term protection, while one com- requirements while keeping total flow high
mon 'cold' recycle valve provides the normal enough to prevent surge. This goal is often com-
anti-surge control. plicated by the variable nature of the minimum
safe flow rate and process configuration of the
1.5. Startup / shutdown features compressors. While it is of course important to
provide good anti-surge control for each com-
Both the anti-surge and the t h r o u g h p u t / pressor, in most cases only a complete unit con-
capacity controls often include additional algo- trol approach results in smooth operations and
rithms to provide for startup and shutdown mode provides significant energy savings.

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