GAS COMPRESSOR polytropic efficiency vs.

actual volumetric flow rate

of the gas compressor curves is shown in Fig. 2.
CALCULATIONS TUTORIAL
Engineers often use softwares to perform gas
compressor calculations to estimate compressor
duty, temperatures, adiabatic & polytropic
efficiencies, driver & cooler duty. In the following
exercise, gas compressor calculations for a pipeline
composition are shown as an example case study.
Table 1. Pipeline Gas Composition

Component Mole fraction

Methane 0.9000
Figure 2. Polytropic Efficiency vs. Flow Rate
Ethane 0.0500
Propane 0.0200
Vendor Electric Motor Details
n-Butane 0.0100 The driver used is an asynchronous electric motor
n-Pentane 0.0050 and its parameters are as follows,
n-Hexane 0.0050 1. Electric Motor = Asynchronous Induction
Water 0.0100 2. Number of poles = 4
Total 1.0000 3. Power Source Frequency = 50 Hz (A.C)

The total fluid flow rate is 7413 kg/hr. The gas 4. Motor Slip = 1%
conditions at battery limits (BL) is 2.03 bar (a) &
25.50C & this has to be delivered at a pressure of
3.202 bar(a) & ~500C.

Compressor Performance Curves

To achieve these conditions, the following
compressor maps associated for a chosen
compressor is used.

Figure 3. EM Speed vs. Torque characteristics

Motor Characteristics = Fig. 3 & Table 2
Table 2. Speed vs. Torque characteristics
% Speed % Torque
0 55
10 50
20 45
30 50
40 55
Figure 1. Head vs. Flow rate Curve
50 60
The polytropic head vs. actual volumetric flow rate 60 70
curve is indicated in Fig. 1. It is taken in this 70 85
exercise, since the surge line is not available; a 80 105
97 150
surge line is fitted to an equation to obtain the
99 1
surge line and used for all calculation purposes. The
Page | 1
Preliminary System Estimates Table 4. Gas composition after suction separator

Using the compressor data, a process schematic is Property Value Unit

proposed as shown in Fig. 4 Gas MW 18.38 kg/kmol

Suction side Density (1) 0.9153 kg/m3

Discharge side Density (2) 2.03 kg/m3

Suction side Heat capacity 2.138 kJ/kg0C
Discharge side Heat capacity 2.474 kJ/kg0C
Z1 at suction flange 0.9964 -

Figure 4. Proposed CC system Schematic Z2 at discharge flange 0.9964 -

For the calculations the following is assumed. k1 at suction side 1.2740 -

1. Pressure drop from suction side Battery limit k2 at discharge side 1.2304 -
(BL) to compressor suction flange = 0.8 bar
Calculations
2. Pressure drop from discharge flange to
Polytropic Head
discharge BL = 0.5 bar
From the above data, in order to arrive at a
3. Pressure drop across suction scrubber is discharge pressure of 3.202 bar & ~500C at the
assumed to be 0 bar. This causes very little
discharge battery limit, a pressure drop 0.498 bar
water to be separated & the final gas
is added to the battery limit to obtain 3.7 bar(a) at
composition at the suction flange is shown in
the compressor discharge flange. Similarly, taking
Table 3.
into consideration the pressure losses across the
4. Pressure drop across the discharge side air
suction side of 0.9 bar, the suction flange pressure
cooler is taken to be 0.1 bar
is taken to be 1.23 bar(a). Taking into account the
Note: Pressure drop data across equipment is temperature drop across the valves on the suction
assumed for sample calculation purposes. In reality side, the suction flange temperature is taken to be
pressure drops can be higher. 250C. Therefore the head produced (Annexure A) is,
Table 3. Gas composition After Suction Scrubber
 n 1

Z avg RT1  n  P2  n
Mass flow Mass Fraction Hp       1 (1)
Component MW  n  1  P1 
[kg/hr] [%]  
Where,
Methane 5823.61 0.7857
H p = Polytropic head produced (ft)
Ethane 606.41 0.0818
Z avg = Average gas compressibility factor (-)
Propane 355.72 0.0480

n-Butane 234.44 0.0316 T1 =Gas temperature at suction flange (K)

n-Pentane 145.51 0.0196

n = Polytropic volume exponent (-)
P2
n-Hexane 173.79 0.0234 = Pressure ratio at flange conditions (-)
P1
Water 72.66 0.0098
To estimate the polytropic volume exponent, the
Total 7412.14 1.0000 following calculation is made.

Gas Properties at Flange Conditions n


k
 p (2)
n 1 k 1
The following properties exist at the flange
conditions of the centrifugal compressor. Where,  p = Polytropic Efficiency

Page | 2
The specific heat ratio considered is the average Adiabatic Efficiency
specific heat between suction & discharge flange The adiabatic efficiency is calculated as follows,
k1  k 2 1.274  1.2304  n 1

k avg    1.2522 (3)
 n  P2  n
2 2    1

p    P1 
n 1
The polytropic efficiency is taken from Fig. 2, where  
 (12)
the efficiency at which the compressor operates is A  k 1

 k  P2  k
~71.84%. Therefore substituting in Eq. (2),   1
 k 1  P1  
n 1.2522  
  0.7184  n  1.3896 (4)
n  1 1.2522  1  1.3827 1

 1.3827  3.7  1.3827
An alternate way to calculate the polytropic     1
 
 p  1.3827  1  1.23    1.2876  1.0442
exponent is by using the equation, 
A  1.2522 1
 1.233
P   1.2522  3.7  1.2522 
    1
ln 2   1.2522  1  1.23  
n  1
P  
(5)
  (13)
ln 2 
 1  A 
0.7182
 68.78% (14)
1.0442
P   3.7 
ln 2  ln  Inlet Volumetric Flow Rate
Or, n 
 P1    1.23   1.3827 (6)
   2.030  The inlet volumetric flow rate is calculated as
ln 2  ln  follows,
 1   0.9153
m
It is seen that the value of ‘n’ calculated using Eq. Q1  (15)
1
(5) is almost equal to the value calculated using Eq.
(2). However, since the value of ‘n’ was estimated 7413
Q1   8100m3 hr (16)
using a graphically calculated value of p by hand as 0.9153
in Eq. (4), the value obtained using Eq. (6) is Compressor Duty
considered for calculations. Using the values The power absorbed by the compressor to produce
calculated above, the polytropic head produced is a discharge pressure of 3.7 bar(a) is therefore,
therefore estimated using Eq. (1) as,
Hp m
P (17)
0.9964  0.9964 21545.35  536.67  1.3827  3.7  1.3827  1
1.3827 1

Hp     p
18.38  1.3827  1  1.23  
 
172.92  7413
(7) P  1784817.54 kJ hr (18)
0.7182
H p  57890.36 ft  17645m  172.92 kJ / kg (8)
Or, P  495.8kJ / sec  496kW (19)
Gas Outlet Temperature Driver Duty
The gas discharge temperature is calculated (Eq. 9) Assuming mechanical losses + margin of 20% of the
as (Annexure 2), absorbed power (Actual value to be confirmed by
n1 Vendor), the estimated power requirements is
T2  P2  n  Z1 
    (9) P  4961.2 (20)
T1  P1   Z2 
P  595kW at 3000rpm (21)
1.3827 1

Or, T2  
3.7   0.9964 
  273.15  25 In actual practice, the power value selected as
1.3827
  (10)
 1.23   0.9964  shown above may or may not meet the required
T2  404.4K  131.20 C (11) power to start the compressor from settling out
conditions. In such cases a detailed dynamic
Page | 3
simulation must be performed to check - by how Summary
much the compressor loop should be depressurized The following table shows a summary of the
prior to re-start. The driver rating is to be chosen calculated values,
based on standards such as NEMA or other similar Table 6. Summary of Preliminary Estimates
standards. The National Electrical Manufacturer’s
Parameter Value Unit
Association (NEMA) is an organization that sets the
Inlet Flange Pressure 1.23 Bar(a)
standards for manufacturing of electrical
equipment. In the case of electrical induction Outlet Flange Pressure 3.70 Bar(a)
motors, NEMA sets 4 types of Torque vs Speed Polytropic Head 172.92 kJ/kg
Characteristics namely, NEMA A, NEMA B, NEMA C
Discharge Temperature 131.2 0C
and NEMA D. The characteristics of each type of
NEMA motors are depicted below. Adiabatic Efficiency 68.78 %

Inlet Volume Flow 8100 Act_m3/hr

Compressor Duty 496 kW

Driver Rated Duty 600 kW

Cooler Duty 392.6 kW

Electric Motor Sizing

The induction type electric motor available is a 4
Figure 5. NEMA Torque vs. Speed Types pole asynchronous model with a power source at
Table 5. Uses of Different Types of NEMA Motors the plant site operating at 50Hz. Therefore, the
synchronous speed of the motor is,
120 frequency 120 50
N synchronous   (25)
Poles 4
N synchronous  1500rpm (26)

From the steady calculations, a 600 kW induction

type electric motor has been proposed to be
installed. The torque required to sustain the
Among these, NEMA A & NEMA B are the most
compressor at the rated conditions, the torque
commonly used due to their high breakdown
required is,
characteristics and low slip (1% to 5%). For the
purpose of this example, the rated motor selected is 2NT
P kW (27)
a 600 kW asynchronous induction electric motor to 60 1000
2   1485rpm  T N  m 496  60 1000 (28)
round–off the calculated value. 496kW  T 
60 1000 2   1485
Cooler Duty T  3189.53 N  m (29)
To cool the gas from the compressor discharge to Hence the electric motor has to provide a torque of
say 500C, the cooler duty is calculated as, 3189.53 kg-m2 to sustain the compressor at 3000
Q  mC p,avg T2  T3  (22) rpm to meet the rated suction & discharge
conditions. The maximum torque that can be
7413 2.473  2.220
Q  404.4  323.15 (23) provided by the electric motor before it breaks
3600 2 down is calculated at the breakdown torque’s
Q  392.6kW  1.414 106 kJ hr (24) corresponding speed at 97% (Figure 3)
N  0.971485  1440.45rpm (30)

Page | 4
The breakdown torque is estimated as, g = Gravitational acceleration [m/s2]
600  60 1000 z = Elevation [m]
Tbreakdown  1.5  5966.45 N  m (31)
2   1440.45 From the above expression it is seen that the
Hence the power absorbed to generate 5966.5 N-m specific mass referenced work input and the heat
is 900 kW at a speed of ~1440 rpm during start-up. flow to the compressor is equal to the enthalpy
The inertia offered by the electric motor is change, change in kinetic energy & static heat
calculated by the empirical relationship as, difference. Neglecting the velocity terms, static
1.48 head contributions & the heat input through the
P
I  0.0043  (32) walls of the compressor, we obtain,
N
Where, dy  dh (A.2)

P = Power [kW] The change in enthalpy of gas is given as,

dp
I = Inertia [kg-m2] dh  (A.3)

N = Speed [rpm/1000]
Where,
Therefore, the inertia offered by the motor is,
1.48
 = Density of Gas (kg/m3)
 600 
I  0.0043   (33) p = Pressure of Gas (bara)
1485  The specific compressor mass referenced work
 1000
input is calculated as,
I  30.97 kg  m2 (34)
p2
dp
Therefore the inertia offered by the electric motor y  (A.4)

(EM) is 30.97 kg-m2. In order to scale up the speed p1

of the compressor, a gearbox is installed. The gear The actual work is found by dividing the mass
ratio is, referenced work input by efficiency
y
GR 
3000
 2.0202 (35)
W (A.5)
1485 
Where,
The gear ratio calculated is 2.0202. Note that the
W = Actual work applied to the compressor
total inertia required to be overcome by the
The integral (Eq. A.4) can be solved in ways
Electric Motor (EM) is the sum of compressor rotor
equivalent to different compression paths such as,
inertia, EM inertia, Gear box Inertia & Gas inertia
1. Isentropic compression (reversible & adiabatic) -
during start-up & settling out conditions.
Entropy is constant - Q  0; T  0; S  0
Annexure A: Compressor Head 2. Isothermal compression (reversible &
Derivation diathermic) - Temperature is constant - T  0
The general energy balance for compressors may 3. Polytropic Compression (irreversible &
be written in differential form as adiabatic) – Efficiency is constant
c 2

dy  dq  dh  d    gdz (A.1) Isentropic Process
2  As an isothermal process is not feasible in real
Where, world applications, this is neglected. However an
y = Specific mass for compressor work input Isentropic compression can be considered to be an
q = Heat flow through the compressor walls [kJ] idealistic situation, as it can exist when the process
h = Enthalpy of Gas [kJ/kg] is completely adiabatic & not heat transfer takes
c = Absolute velocity of gas [m/s] place. Therefore for isentropic compression,

Page | 5
p.vk  const (A.6) Using Ideal gas equation the pressure & density
terms are rewritten using the expression (A.18),
Cp
Where, k   Ratio of Specific Heats pv  nZRT (A.18)
Cv
n p
Rewriting eq. (A.6), we get  (A.19)
v ZRT
k
1 p
p   const  k  const (A.7) The above expression gives the density in kmol/m3
 
& is written in terms of kg/m3 by dividing with
1
p p1 1k p  k p  k molecular weight of the gas.
  k      1  (A.8)
k 1k p1  p1  M p
 (A.20)
1 v  MW ZRT
 p k
  1   (A.9) Where M = mass of gas
 p1 
Applying Eq. (A.9) in Eq. (A.4), M p  MW p ZRT
   (A.21)
p2 p2 1
k p2
v ZRT  MW
dp 1 p1 dp
y   
p1 p1  p
1
k
dp 
1 p
p1
1
k
(A.10)
Hence for the inlet conditions of the gas into the
1  compressor Eq. (A.21) becomes,
 p1 
p1 ZRT1
1
k p2  p  1k 1  1
p2
 (A.22)
p1 p 1
k
1
1 p1
y p k dp  y  1   (A.11)
MW
1   1  1
 k  p1 Substituting Eq. (A.22) into Eq. (A.17),

 k 1 
p2
 k 1

ZRT1  k  p2 k 
k 
pk  y    1
 
1
p (A.23)
y 1   (A.12) MWgas  k 1   p1 
1   k 1    
  k   The above expression gives the adiabatic head
p1

Applying Limits & Re-arranging Eq. (A.12) produced by the compressor & can be written as,
1
p1 k  k  kk1 
p2
p k  k  k
k 1 1
k  (A.13)
k 1 y  Ha (A.24)
y   p   y  1   p2  p1 
1  k  1   p1 1  k  1   Where, Ha = Adiabatic Head [m]
Taking out P1 as a common term from the brackets,  k 1

ZRT1  k  p2  k
     1
k 1 k 1
1
p1 k  p1  k  p2
k k Ha   (A.25)
y   k1 1 (A.14) MWgas  k  1   p1 
 
1  k  1  p k
 1 
Polytropic Process
1
k 1
 k 1
 1 k 1
  k 1

p1 k  p1  k  p2  k p1k k  k  p2  k In all real world compression applications, the
k

y  
  1  y     1
1  k 1   p1  1  k 1   p1 
    polytropic process is predominant & hence the
(A.15)
exponent in the ideal gas equation becomes ‘n’
1 k 1
 k 1

 k  p2  k (polytropic volume exponent) which is 1  n   &
   1
k
p
y 1
 (A.16)
1  k  1   p1  Eq. A.6 becomes,
 
p.v n  const (A.26)
 k 1

p1  k  p2  k
y     1 (A.17) Similarly, performing the above set of calculations
1  k  1   p1 
  using the polytropic exponent, the polytropic head
is expressed as follows,

Page | 6
  n 1
 Annexure C: Electric Motor (EM)
ZRT1  n  p2  n
Hp      1 (A.27) Implementation in ASPEN HYSYS
MWgas  n  1   p1 
  Dynamics
The power absorbed by the compressor or the
Aspen HYSYS Dynamics provides the option of
power that is needed at the compressor shaft is
simulating centrifugal compressors with an Electric
estimated as,
Motor (EM). In order to setup the electric motor,
H p  min, gas the calculations made to arrive at the Electric
Pactual  (A.28)
p Motor Input data is entered into Aspen HYSYS
Dynamics.
Where,
 p = Polytropic Efficiency [-]
min, gas =Mass flow rate at compressor inlet [kg/s]
Pactual =Required power at compressor shaft [kW]

Annexure B: Compressor Discharge

Temperature Derivation
The temperature rise at compressor discharge after
compression is calculated from Eq. (A.26) as,
n
 ZRT 
p.v  const  p  
n
  const (B.1)
 p 
Figure 6. Electric Motor in Aspen HYSYS Dynamics
Taking the value of gas constant to the right hand
side of Eq. (B.1), References
p1n ZT n  const (B.2) 1. Gas Processors Association. Gas Processors
Suppliers Association (1998) P.13-1 to P.13-20
For inlet conditions (suffix 1) to outlet conditions 2. HYSYS 2004.2, Operations Guide
(suffix 2), Eq. (B.2) can be written as,

p11n Z1T1 n  p12n Z2T2 n (B.3)

p12n Z1T1 n
1n n
p   ZT 
   2    1 1  (B.4)
1n
p1 Z2T2   p1 
n
 Z2T2 
1n 1n
 p2  n  ZT  T  p  n  Z2 
    1 1   1   2    (B.5)
 p1   Z2T2  T2  p1   Z1 
 1n 
 
T2 1 p   n   Z1 
 1n
  2    (B.6)
 p2  n  Z 2   1   Z2 
T1 p
   
 p1   Z1 
 n1 
 
T2  p2  n   Z1 
    (B.7)
T1  p1   Z2 
From the above, the discharge temperature at the
compressor outlet is calculated from Eq. (B.7).

Page | 7