INCREASED FLEXIBILITY OF TURBO-COMPRESSORS IN NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION THROUGH DIRECT SURGE CONTROL

McKee, Robert J. ; Siebenaler, Shane P. ; Deffenbaugh, Danny M.

Southwest Research Institute (United States)

关键词: Natural Gas;    Pipelines;    Surges;    Compressors;    Flexibility;   

DOI  :  10.2172/840271
RP-ID  :  NONE
RP-ID  :  FC26-01NT41163
RP-ID  :  840271

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this Direct Surge Control project was to develop a new internal method to avoid surge of pipeline compressors. This method will safely expand the range and flexibility of compressor operations, while minimizing wasteful recycle flow at the lower end of the operating envelope. The approach is to sense the onset of surge with a probe that directly measures re-circulation at the impeller inlet. The signals from the probe are used by a controller to allow operation at low flow conditions without resorting to a predictive method requiring excessive margin to activate a recycle valve. The sensor developed and demonstrated during this project was a simple, rugged, and sensitive drag probe. Experiments conducted in a laboratory compressor clearly showed the effectiveness of the technique. Subsequent field demonstrations indicated that the increase in range without the need to recycle flow was on the order of 19% to 25%. The cost benefit of applying the direct surge control technology appears to be as much as $120 per hour per compressor for operation without the current level of recycle flow. This could amount to approximately $85 million per year for the U.S. Natural Gas Transmission industry, if direct surge control systems are applied to most pipeline centrifugal compressors.