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Petroleum Gas
Compression
Part of the
Petroleum Processing Technology Series
OPITO
Contents
Page
Training Targets
3.2
Introduction
3.3
3.4
3.11
Compressor Casing
Rotating Assembly
Bearings
Diffusers and Diaphragms
Compressor Seals
Performance Characteristics
Operating Problems, Alarms and Shutdowns
The Main Operational Checks on a centrifugal Compressor
3.32
3.42
3.55
Visual Cues
training targets for you to achieve
by the end of the unit
3.
Training Targets
When you have completed Unit 3 of the Petroleum Gas Compression series you will be able to:
Explain the function and operation of the principal components of a centrifugal compressor.
Describe the layout and operation of the auxiliary systems associated with a centrifugal compressor.
3.
Introduction
In Unit 1 of this Compressor programme, you saw that a centrifugal compressor is a member of the dynamic branch of the continuous flow
family of compressors.
Dynamic compressors increase the pressure of gas in a different way to that of the positive displacement machines. A reciprocating compressor
reduces the volume of a trapped mass of gas to increase its pressure. A dynamic machine, however, uses the principle of energy conservation
to achieve pressure increase.
There are two main types of dynamic compressor, and these are :
centrifugal (radial flow) compressors
axial flow compressors
We are only going to look at centrifugal compressors in this unit. However, in Unit
In Section 2, we will look at the design and construction of a typical machine.
4 of the compressor programme, we will look at axial flow machines in a little
more detail.
In Section 3, we will concentrate on the auxiliary equipment
Centrifugal compressors are large capacity, continuous flow machines with a very
smooth output. When run at their optimum speed and loading, they are vibration and
free and have few moving parts.
Section 4 looks at centrifugal compressor performance and operations.
They are capable of delivering very large volumes of gas. In days gone by,
they tended to be used for lower pressure applications than reciprocating
compressors. However, modern machines are capable of delivering gas at
pressures in excess of 700 bar.
3.
3.
As the gas flows through the diffuser, the increase in flow area causes the gas to slow down.
This reduction in velocity means that the gas loses its kinetic energy.
Figure 5 shows this reduction in velocity.
Because the total energy of the gas cannot be reduced, the fall in kinetic energy must be compensated
for by a rise in some other type of energy. In this case the pressure energy of the gas is increased.
3.
3.
So, you have now seen how the two parts of the process produce an overall pressure increase from the inlet to
the outlet of the compressor. Figure 7 shows the overall process from inlet to outlet, again in graphical form.
3.
Summary of Section 1
In this Section on the basic theory of centrifugal compressors, you saw that the principle of energy conservation
is used to raise the pressure of gas.
You saw that, within the compressor, the gas is first accelerated to give it kinetic energy and some pressure
energy. It is then slowed down and the kinetic energy is converted into more pressure energy.
We looked at a simple compressor made up of the following parts:
impeller
shaft
diffuser
casing
inlet port
outlet port
It was pointed out that a single impeller has restrictions which can limit the amount of pressure increase it can
produce. In order to achieve greater pressure increases, multi-stage compressors should be used.
In the next Section we will look in more detail at the components of a typical multi-stage centrifugal compressor.
3.10
shaft
impeller
balance piston
bearings
diffusers and diaphragms
seals
3.12
Compressor Casing
The compressor casing is used to house the
component parts of the compressor. It may be
either horizontally split or vertically split, depending
upon the design and application.
3.14
Rotating Assembly
You will remember that this assembly consists of a
shaft, impeller(s) and a balancing piston. Lets take
a look at each of these components in turn.
The Shaft
The compressor shaft is the heart of the
centrifugal compressor. It carries the impellers and
balance piston and they all rotate together within the
compressor casing.
Figure 11 indicates the basic shape of the
compressor shaft and the relative positions, on the
shaft, of the various components.
To minimise vibration, the rotating assembly is finely balanced and not allowed to run near any critical
speeds.
Every rotating assembly has a number of speeds, where it will reach a peak of vibration. These speeds are
called the critical speeds.
Critical speeds can be calculated as the compressor is designed and built. The normal running speed of a
compressor is set to avoid being near a critical speed. If any rotating equipment is run at a critical speed,
damage can be caused to bearings within seconds as the vibration causes metal to metal contact.
It is normal practice to go through critical speeds as quickly as possible when accelerating the compressor
to its normal running speed.
3.15
The Impeller
3.16
3.17
3.18
The pressure differential across the drum produces an axial force which opposes the thrust
exerted by the unbalanced forces acting on the impellers.
3.19
Bearings
The rotating assembly of a compressor needs to be
supported within the casing and allowed to rotate
freely. This means that some form of bearing is
required. The bearings used for this application are
usually referred to as the main bearings or journal
bearings.
Also, as you have already seen, a thrust bearing is
required, but lets look at the journal bearings first.
Look back to the drawing of the shaft. It is Figure 11
on Page 3.15. You will see that there are just two
locations for journal bearings. They are at the extreme
outboard and inboard ends of the shaft.
The bearings can be of several different types, but the
one I will describe is known as a tilting pad journal
bearing.
It is a development of a simple sleeve type journal
bearing which is shown in Figure 17.
3.20
3.21
You have already seen how the balancing drum helps to reduce the thrust forces to acceptable levels.
Any residual thrust, however, must be taken up by a thrust bearing.
A typical thrust bearing is shown in Figure 19 and is called a pivoting pad thrust bearing.
3.22
3.23
Compressor Seals
Compressor seals can be divided into:
internal seals, which are designed to prevent
the movement of gas within the compressor
casing
external seals, which are designed to prevent
the escape of gas from the compressor casing
to the atmosphere.
Internal Seals
Let us consider internal seals first.
Labyrinth seals are the most common form of
internal seal. They consist of a series of teeth,
across which the gas would have to flow, in order to
escape from a high pressure area into a low
pressure area. Figure 21 shows a labyrinth seal
and how it works.
3.24
External Seals
Now let us look at external seals.
When flammable or dangerous gases are being
compressed it is important that the gases do not
escape from the compressor. To prevent this from
occurring, the gap between the compressor shaft
and the compressor casing, at each end, is sealed.
3.25
3.26
3.27
3.28
2.
3.
In a closed impeller the blades are attached to both the................... and the.........................
4.
The thrust force acting on the rotating assembly is taken up by two items. They are the
..................... and the ...................................
5.
The ........................guide the gas through the return passages to the eye of the next
impeller.
6.
LIST OF WORDS
You will find the answers in Check Yourself 3.3 on page 3.55
3.29
Summary of Section 2
In the Section we have just worked through, we looked at the component parts of a centrifugal
compressor.
These items are :
casing
rotating assembly (shaft - impeller-balance
piston)
bearings
diffusers and diaphragms
seals
You saw that the casing can be horizontally split or
vertically split and I illustrated the difference between
the two.
3.30
1.
Inboard element
...................
a)
2.
Labyrinth teeth
...................
b)
3.
Impeller rim
...................
c)
4.
Diffuser
...................
5.
Thrust collar
...................
6.
Diaphragm
...................
7.
De-gasser
...................
8.
Journal bearing
...................
9.
Balancing piston
...................
10.
Inlet port
...................
3.32
3.33
3.34
Lubrication System
We can now move on to the lubrication system.
All rotating machinery must have a lubrication
system of some form or another. Compressors are
no exception. The lubricant, in this case oil,
performs the following functions:
separates moving parts
removes heat generated by friction
reduces metal wear
protects metal surfaces from corrosion
3.35
3.36
The external seals of a high pressure compressor are usually labyrinth seals.
b)
In a seal oil system a pressure reference line takes gas from the seals and feeds it to a
header tank.
c)
In a seal oil system the oil which comes in contact with the gas is routed to the reservoirs via
the filters.
d)
e)
In a typical lube oil system the filters remove dirt particles from the oil.
You will find the answers in Check Yourself 3.5 on page 3.56
3.37
Cooling System
Compression generates heat. It is often necessary
to cool the compressed gas for safe and efficient
operation of the plant. In many installations, there
may be a number of compressors working in series.
If the hot, compressed gas from the first compressor
were passed directly to the suction of the next
machine, overheating and damage could occur.
In such a situation, an aftercooler may be installed
downstream of each compressor.
Figure 28 shows a typical aftercooler for a
centrifugal compressor, and its position in the
system.
3.38
3.39
Impeller
2.
3.
Coupling
4.
Driver
5.
Balancing piston
6.
Diaphragm
7.
Intercooler
8.
De-gasser
9.
Reservoir
10.
Thrust collar
Summary of Section 3
In this Section on auxiliaries, we have looked at seal oil systems, lubricating systems, cooling
systems, drivers and couplings.
Starting with seal oil systems, you saw that the oil is pumped from a reservoir, through coolers and
filters, to a header tank. The level in the tank maintained the correct oil pressure on the seal.
Some of the oil, which becomes contaminated with gas, is cleaned in a degassing system before
being used again. The rest of the oil goes straight back to the reservoir.
Turning our attention to the lubricating system, you saw that the system is very similar to the seal
oil system. Again, coolers and filters are used and the oil is continually circulated round the
system and back to a reservoir. The lube oil not only lubricates the compressor bearings, but also
the driver and gear box.
A cooling system may be required to reduce the temperature of the gas for safe and efficient
operation. You saw that this system may take the form of an intercooler, or an after cooler.
Finally, in the Section, we had a brief look at drivers and couplings. The compressors may be
driven by electric motors, or gas or steam turbines. They may be directly coupled or be driven via
a gear box. Couplings connect the shafts of the driver and compressor. These couplings are
called flexible couplings which are capable of taking up any small misalignments between the
shafts.
In the final Section of this Unit on centrifugal compressors, we will take a look at compressor
operations.
3.41
Performance Characteristics
The performance of a centrifugal compressor can
be shown on a set of operating curves. These are
graphs prepared individually for each compressor.
They show the range of flows, heads, efficiencies
and speeds within which a particular compressor is
capable of operating. In other words, they indicate
the performance of the compressor under different
operating conditions.
Figure 30 is a simple graph which shows a single
operating curve for a specific compressor.
3.42
3.43
Lets now look at the two boundaries of the compressor performance curves shown in
Figures 30 and 31.
These are the approximate surge limit and stonewall. First of all, surge limit.
Compressor Surge
The surge limit is the minimum flow for a given speed at which the compressor can maintain
stable operation. At inlet flow rates to the left of this line, the operation of the machine
becomes unstable.
We can analyse a compressor characteristic curve to see how surge in a compressor occurs.
Take a look at Figure 32 which shows a curve of discharge pressure against inlet flow for a
constant speed. You should note that I have deliberately exaggerated the shape of this
curve in order to make the following explanation of surge more easily understood.
3.45
3.46
Figure 34 is a drawing of a simple anti-surge controller which re-cycles gas from the
discharge of the compressor back to the suction line.
You can see from the drawing that the anti-surge controller is
connected to a control valve. The valve is in a pipeline which
is connected between the compressor suction and discharge
lines outside the machine.
The controller senses and compares the rate of gas flow into
the compressor, and the pressure rise across it. If the flow rate
at a given pressure rise is less than the setting of the controller,
the control valve is opened. This allows enough gas to flow
from the discharge to the suction of the compressor to keep the
suction flow rate above the surge value.
Note that the recycled gas is cooled in a heat exchanger. This
is to prevent a rapid increase in temperature as hot discharge
gas is fed to the suction and further heated as it is compressed
again.
In view of the damage which may result from surge, most
centrifugal compressors are fitted with an approaching surge
alarm and an anti-surge shutdown, in addition to an
anti-surge controller. These systems work as follows :
The anti-surge controller should normally prevent surge from
occurring. If it fails to operate, then the approaching surge
alarm will be activated.
The approaching surge alarm will alert the operator to the fact
that the anti-surge controller has not managed to rectify the
situation. If the situation is not corrected then the anti-surge
shutdown is activated.
The anti-surge shutdown device is set to activate just before the
point at which the compressor will enter surge. When this
safety device operates, the compressor will be stopped.
3.47
Stonewall or Choke
b)
c)
a mechanical trip which flies out from the shaft The results are varied but may include:
of the main driver and trips the fuel supply,
The compressor may slow down or stop and
if the rotational speed of the compressor
the main driver may stall
exceeds 110% of normal running speed
Ingress of Liquids
Ingress of free liquids into the compressor can be
extremely dangerous. The liquids could be in the
form of mist or droplets, or in the form of larger
slugs.
If liquids enter a centrifugal compressor in mist or
droplet form, there may be erosion of the impellers,
diaphragms and casing.
3.49
3.50
Vibration
If the compressor starts to vibrate, the rotating
impellers could rub against the casing. This could
damage the machine, and in severe cases, cause
catastrophic failure.
The vibration could be caused by surge, corrosion
products being deposited in the compressor, erosion
of impellers, or misalignment of the driver and
compressor.
To protect the compressor, vibration monitors are
installed at various points on the machine. At predetermined vibration levels, the monitors will initiate
alarms, followed by shutdowns.
Surge
We looked at the problem of surge a little earlier in
this Section. Check that you remember what protects
the machine in the case of surge by attempting Test
Yourself 3.8.
3.51
3.52
3.53
Summary of Section 4
In the final Section of this Unit on centrifugal compressors, we have concentrated on the operation
of the system.
The section was split into three parts:
3.54
Compression ratio
discharge pressure
=
suction pressure
90 psia = 3.6
=
25 psia
Diffuser
Piston Rod
b)
Discharge pressure
=
Suction pressure x Compression ratio
=
30 psia x 3.6
108 psia
Cylinder
Shaft
Crank
Casing
Blades
Cross Head
Clearance Pocket
2.
At a rotating assemblys
CRITICAL speed it will reach a
peak of vibration.
3.
4.
5.
6.
3.55
Inboard element
(b)
FALSE
The external seals are usually liquid
film seals or other, equally efficient types.
1.
1.
a)
2.
2.
Labyrinth teeth
(b)
TRUE
3.
Coupling
YES
3.
Impeller rim
(a)
Driver
YES
4.
Diffuser
(c)
5.
Thrust collar
(a)
b)
c)
6.
Diaphragm
(c)
7.
De-gasser
(b)
8.
Journal bearing
(c)
9.
Balancing piston
(a)
10.
Inlet port
(c)
d)
e)
FALSE
4.
The oil which comes into contact with
the gas is routed via the DE-GASSERS to the 5.
reservoirs.
6.
TRUE
7.
TRUE
8.
NO - Rotating assembly
Intercooler
YES
De-gasser
YES
9.
Reservoir
YES
10.
Thrust collar
NO - Rotating assembly
3.56
a)
Using a sketch similar to that in Figure 34, your description should have been as
follows :
destroy bearings
shatter impeller
b)
c)
3.57
3.58