‘Compeossor Controls Cor, Buletn E94 ‘A McGRAW- HILL PUBLICATION Improved surge control for centrifugal compressors Surge may occur without being detected by conventional control systems, cutting compressor and process efficiency and causing compressor damage. Excess flow recirculation or blowoff can help avoid some surges, but energy costs are high. Here is a control system that copes with all surges without incurring such penalties. Naum Staroselsky and Lawrence Ladin, Compressor Controls Corp. CONTENTS: 1. INTRODUCTION 175 4. Improved Surge Control Considerations b. Surge Characteristics Il. SURGE LIMIT LINE 176 The Theory and Equations Showing influence of Temperoture, Molecular Weight, Ete |. SURGE CONTROL LINE - The Recommended Equation 179 IV. INSTRUMENTATION AND VALVES - Required Speed 179 V. ANTISURGE VALVE AND Selection Criter 80 vi (TROL: ISOLAT 180 Functions of an Improved Controller Vil. INTERACTION WITH PROCESS CONTROL 83 VIII. INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF PROCESS AND ANTISURGE CONTROL 184 IX SETTING AND TESTING EQUIPMENT 184 X. EXAMPLE OF ENERGY SAVINGS 184Improved surge control for centrifugal compressors Surge may occur without being detected by conventional control systems, cutting compressor and process efficiency and causing compressor damage. Excess flow recirculation or blowoff can help avoid some surges, but energy costs are high. Here is a control system that copes with all surges without incurring such penalties. au Staroselsky and Laucrence Ladin, Compressor Controls Cop. Ci The operation of a centrifugal compressor can be- ‘come unstable due to changes in many conditions such as flowrate, pressure, and the molecular weight of gas. ‘This causes rapid pulsations in flow, called surge. No system is immune to sudden upsets at one time or another. We have surge-tested air compressors, gas compres- sors, centrifugal compressors and axial compressors, at high and low pressures. The amplitude of the low drop and the frequency of surge cycles vary. However, there are certain common results: the pressure change is less than the flow change in every case that we have re- corded; flow usually drops extremely fast just before surge, and then always drops precipitously during surge, at least in the authors’ esperience—a time of 0.05 s from setpoint flow to reverse flow being common. ‘The speed of some surges is such that conventional control systems cannot detect them, let alone react to them. So, often even when records indicate that no surge has taken place, stripping down a compressor will, reveal surge damage, ranging from changes in clea ances, which exact a penalty in compressor efficiency, t0 destruction of parts ‘Unstable operation—whether itis detected or not— affects the operation of the process that relies on the ‘Typically, surge is prevented by recirculating some of the flow or by blowing off the excess flow. Constant recirculation af flow—often at 30-40% of the amount needed by the process—is common. For instance, this is, found frequently in units used to compress chlorine and wet gases, among others. Obviously, this excess flow ‘costs energy. And it does nat necessarily avert all surges. Improved surge control Here, we will present an improved surgecontol strategy and instrumentation system, This system copes vith ven very rapid upsets minimizing disturbances o proce operations. The amount of recreation re Chced sharply, saving sgncane amounts of energy. Furthermore the sytem lends el to actual Bld a calation of the suge lit With conventional cweloop control schemes, once suige begin the comprar cmtolysten "cx Iate—and the only way to sop this is by manual reid Hr if marge occur he comeprenc wl atr tomatcally be brought out off ring the fst ge Spel, and the contrl stem il et fel to prvest Sch collation from Fecuring. Conventional syutens can be at ito otilation by operator cor nich ero are minimized by this {Gn Alto, Auctatons inthe pressure and owrae of the comprewed gn are kept to. minimum, resulting in Tntvely mines dnurbunee tothe proce (The fon Sons forthe advantages wll be explained later oo) Tn order to develop this contol system, we wil rst relate sarge to compres operation, then determine tthe surge begin and where to set te control eater to prevent it Next, we wil dacs instrumentation, ‘contol strategies and calibrating the equipment, Com: presor in seres and parallel will not be dined here, Ste to Tiniations of space. Surge characteristics ig, 1a shows characteristic curves for a typical sin- sl-stage centrifugal compresor. Each rotational speed (N,, Na, Ny, Ny) has its own characteristic curve. ‘the compresor is operating at speed Nat Point A (mass flowrate W,) and the flow is dereased, surge will ‘oorur at Wp. The pressure has increased from Fog to Pg. Point B les on the surge limit line, a naturally ‘occurring line that is peculiar to each compressor ge- ‘om etry. The area tothe left ofthis line is the surge zone, where there are oscillations of flow and pressure ‘int y pci non Chil ageing News May, 19 Copa 99 Mei le, HL Av the Amin No Yar NY.Som ot pa (et i I i 7 7 Characteristic curves and surge control lines define regions of operation for compressor ‘The line tothe right of the surge limit line isthe surge control line, which is an artificial line set by an engi- neer. These lines are the boundaries ofthe recirculation zone, where recirculation or blowoff is used to prevent surge. To the right of the control line is the safe operat- ing zone, where recirculation is considered unecessary In order to develop the control strategy, we must frst develop improved equations for the control and limit Hines Surge limit line Here, we will formulate an equation for the surge ine that does mw assume constant inlet tempera- re and molecular weight. Typical equations assume that these parameters are constant, Corrections must be applied when conditions change. Such is the case with White [/], whose method is widely used. ‘The head ofa centrifugal compressor isa function of angular velocity, speed of rotation, inlet volumetcic flowrate and impeller diameter. Using a form of the kinetic energy of the comprestor, given by Davis and Corripio (2, and performing a dimensional analysis: a) Fi o ‘At the high velocities at which centrifugal compres sors operate, the variation of Reynolds number, Re, with the velocity of the gas is negligible, The variation of Mach number, Ma, with velocity also is negligible Mach number can be assumed constant as long as the 2s velocity does not approach the speed of sound, We will assume that operation is well below this speed in the region close to surge For a given compresor geometry, under these cond tions, if H,/N? is plotted against Q,/N, then the per- formance Curves for different speeds will reduce to one curve, called the universal performance curve (Fig. 2) 176 | | Fig. ‘The surge limit line is reduced to a single point, the surge limit. Since the surge limit is fixed fora particular geometry, the values of this point are constant ae @ Ge = Cy 8 Thus, the curves ofthe surge limit line follow the fan law, which states that inlet volume is proportional to speed, and head is proportional to the square of speed. ‘The surge limit may be defined by either Eq, (2) oF (3) These equations apply not only to single-stage centrif lugals but also to multistage units without intercoolers. ‘While Eq. (2) and (3) can be used to set the surge limit (and the surge limit line), this is impractical since 1H, and Q, depend upon a measurement of molecular weight Variations in molecular weight cannot be continuc ‘ously measured at the high speeds present in compres: sors, and therefore must be eliminated from the equa tion of the surge line. Also, H, and Q, depend upon variations in inlet temperature and pressure. We will climinate molecular weight and temperature from the ‘equation of the surge limit line. Eq, (2) and (3) are combined to eliminate N CoH, = 2 “ Polytropic head is given by ° Substituting Min Eq. (4) C2uT (R=) _ 9 sao ehNomenclature based Distance between surge contal line and surge limit line (n= 12,3), in. HO ‘ = Unita vay rom > 4 Bias aed by summing device in No 5, Big 7 4 Bias added by srmingdevie in No.7, ig, pa & [Aceleration of gravity, 6/5 i, Polyropi hed lb |e Ratio of specie eat at constant pre | ture to pele heat at conta volume 4 Slope of surge ental ine, dimensiones | a ‘Molecular weight | Me Mach number y Speed of rotation, rm ae Diferenalprenure acrs compresin, i | sty Bfhue Once prure a suction: char ps | Re" Section paar: dicharye prs , Yolomeire Howrate fn suction, etal oe Rn ocr ees i eesti TT, Temperate at nction ich ¥ Mase lwrate fm ze Average cmpeeniiy = (Z, + 23/2 Grok ts » Poisons eicienes Votumetrie flowrate equals mass Havstate divided by: “7PM 2,1) Substinaing Q, in Eq, 6 Using an equation tor gas low across an orifice ithe suction of the compresir PPM W a Tey \ Eq, i becomes or a ig, H1 may be written for the discharge side of the compressor. Since the mass flowrate at any instant in | 4 | sarge iit || Drivers perform the surge limit fine toa single point Os 1s 30 Fig. 3Bee the compressor the same at suction and discharge, Eq (9) can be written as: [PenaPM Wwe Feral 2) V u Or Mone = Moe GTZ as) Eq, (11) becomes: ZTh (Re ae MPa (14) small, then Z, bbe approximated by a less than 2.5, the approximation C used. Eq. (11) and (14) become: GylPy — PY = Cad, a5) Ply ane Myeg (16) Eq, (15) isthe same as one developed by White [J]. However, White arrived atthe same result by assuming that inlet temperature and molecular weight were con ‘Surge, detected by diffused silicon device, occurs too fast for pneumatic transmitter Fig stant; he later offered corrections for these. Here, s hhave shown that such corrections sve unnecessary” As White's case, here the surge limit Line is unaffected by variations ip suction peessare IA, is greater than 2.5, (K,? — 1) @ may be approw mated by CAP, — 1) + and the surge lirat line becomes: CyAP +4 7 a7 When changes in inlet presure are negligible: CMe + by = MPa, us) where b, is a constant Note that the above equations apply to centrifugal compressors without inereoolers, With mntereoolers, iis necessary to consider each section as a separate com. pressor, or use an approximation chat considers «le tunic asa shal Eq, (15), (17) and (18) are recommended for eale lating the siege limit line, as thes contain the fe umber of varables, all of which an be easily tired. Sometimes, the surge limit ve i obtaaned Eq, (3), When this is done, it is nevesary to negle vatiations in molecular weight, and this can lead 10 Inaccuracies, even on aie compressors, since the humid ity of ambient air varies, 178 ‘HERES ENGSEERIRE RAVEFlow drops precipitously before surge cycles begin, then reverses quickly Fig. 5 Surge control line ‘The three comoion forms of the surge control Tine are shown in Fig, 1. The optimal position of this fine is parallel to the surge limit line (Fig, 1a). To minimize recirculation, the surge conttol line should be set as close to the surge limit line as posible. Setting the control line with a slope less than that of the limit fine (Fig, tb) can lead to excess recirculation at high pres- sures, and surge at low pressures during stopping and startup. The third method isto select a minimum safe volumetric flow, and set a vertical control line (Fig, Ic). ‘This ean lead to excess recteulation at low pressures, and surge at high pressures, Many systems measire flow in the discharge without correcting for suction condi- tions. Ths ives maximum recieulation with minimum, singe protection and is not recommended It itis desied to keep the control line parallel co the limit Fine, how close together can the t xo lines be? “This depends upon how accurately the surge control Tine is set and how wel i¢ accounts for changes in inlet temperature and pressure, and molecular weight ‘Also critical to the location of the control ine isthe effectiveness of the antisurge system in handling upsets ‘This eflectiveness depends on the control strategy cho sen and the nature of the antsurge system, its transmit ters, controller and antisurge valve. "Fo set the surge eonteol line equidistant from the limit line, Eq. (15) can be used. The conteol line is displaced to the right by some fixed amount, 5, CyyMP, +b, = Mpg a9) Eq, (19) applies when R, is less than 2.5. For values of 2.5 and greater, Eq. [17) may be used. The conteo line is displaced by some fixed amount, CishP + aah, + by = APoyy (20) Instrumentation and valves How fast must the antisurge system be to detect the onset of surge and effectively stop it? Tis often thought that a very rapid response is not raecesary: alo, many believe that protection against “arge upsets is unnecessary, However, upsets that are oth fast and large ate not rare, and these can be caused by factors such as jammed check valves, operator errors and shutdowns of process equipment triggered rapidly by protective systems We have found that surge cycles can occur faster than is thought posible, and that often surge goes unde- tected. This is because conventional pneumatic control- lers are to0 slow to detect this phenomenon, Only fast transmitters can cope with the high speeds of compres- sor transients, We recommend a diffusedsilicon elec- {onic transmitter, Wealsorecommend pressure-differen- 179sal ransters with lag not greater than 0.0385 sas | sometimes complet blockage ofthe system ours, and necesary to mainiain surge contulandtoeaibrate tie | allo the fow mas be recreulated Surgelimiine. Also, recorders (wed forcalirating and | Field wets show thatthe full ake of the aniurge testing the anisurge system) must have a char speed | valve shouldbe fom 0. to 1.5 « New valves can meet tot les than 25 mm/s thi retreat; exizing valves can be pended up P Irate) Ueseavareal Gerri oe net tenet ieee a [i i cee Beenie incase ie asset esos ea transmitr with that ofa pneumatic device Presure_| Increasing the preumati signal tothe valve actuator (Gereial aa menarel trou a ventrt At bout | lWhy should the uanssiter bara a exten 32 5 surge begac, god the pocnosaticuanmniter was | spore de of 0038 0 whdle thc enaiurge al Kast too Hog to date Gow fachurdoas Risin tine of 13 4? The urge coal it "The slowness of mow transite and recorders ex- | lve to the mrge Hite lineal, the diane lain yy records wll show no surge yes opontmper- | berwen theat Wet at 15% of Sign flow, Tha, thn, compremors reveal changed examen or dam | paral salve tovks wil be enough te nop reovemeae agedimpalry seals bearings Soch undctctcdsurges | foward sage fuer opening ofthe valve wil reore wil gradualy ater the conpresor, radting in | the operator poise to the surge contol Ic trewed ficiency” Some ceetonic’ tammiier are | "The conweler must be fast at wel, Preurate coe dampened and ae too sow for ui here; others a not_| troller ae two low to reliably prevent surge. Digital beat ugh joes frurliy doald be usd wi esuton, Soe the Figs 3 thw ely surge ean bey Tet were) | devices ol la equenceat ach contol lop, eamaing miade on a cafuga ai axvpremor Git supped =. | taam may not be tort enough to dete the ancien blast furnace Here marge occanelat about 1s, Osa | typical of eameprewor surge cyclen Micoproconor Sonali there are prosunge cacllatoms (acrent | cron have « scan tne fm than reat errare gus Ssseenigtnceny Acie begins, flow drops precipitously —typically from a set- | Control: isolated antisurge loop point level to a revere condition hr about 008 » re | Fine, we will look at the satnunge comtol sytem gardless of pressure or compressor speed (see Fig: 4). | without considering its interaction with the process : eet Tg val atgrat tes bro sya Th Antisurge valve and controller eee ae ee apace edie eee Cooter et ell We at rca pope onal paren caellanaed large and fast-acting I shouldbe capabcofeceula_ | & relay (oncoff)conteller ing 100% of design Borate sees accra anaky eater ioc nee essere te tear met | tinea Groperenst plete rset wf PP ctor tongs itis ecemary totes quick incearein | antivindup devi (Fig. 6x), fon ‘The ate at wich ow cane ineaed depends | "Th anindp dee orrry doh tare tp the repens ofthe valve and iuise! The larger | ofthe proportion rock functions Normally the thevalv the greaer theft ofits opening, The valve | compresor operas in an area sme distance fom the should bc abletoveciclat teenie rate because | Conta in, reslting in an offer between the mes 180 neta ee‘ment and the setpoint of the controller. As a result, the ‘output signal winds up to its high or low limit ‘The proportional band and the operating point will be on opposite sides of the setpoint or control line— ‘control will nt be affected until the measured operat- ing point reaches the contro line. Surge can result ifthe measurement approaches the control line quickly, since ‘overshoot will occur before the controller ean unwind. Antiwindup adjusts the reset loading to shift the proportional band to the same side of the control line that the measurement ison when the controller reaches its output limit. Then, ifthe control lin is approached rapidly, the measurement enters the proportional band, and control starts before the value reaches the control line. Overshoot is reduced. Derivative control is not recommended, for it can ‘open the antisurge valve far from the surge control line and can cause system oscillations, Rapid orillations in flow, even in the safe operating zone, can cause the valve to open because of the nature of the derivative response, The response speed of this controller depends upon the proportional-band width and reset time. These pa rameters influence the stability ofthe system, Decreas- ing the proportional band or increasing the reset time Increases the speed of the controllers response, but past 4 certain point system stability will be disturbed —all closed-loop control systems have a stability lim ‘The speed of an antisurge controller's response is limited mainly by the inertia of the compressor and its networks, the transmitters, and the ancsurge valve and The slower these elements ate, the slower the control: ler must be set. The inertia of the compressor and its piping network cannot be changed, but the inertia of the transmitter and the valve and its actuator can be decreased by a proper selection of faster elements ‘Once fast transmitters and an antisurge valve are selected, the proportional band level and reset time are set, based on the parameters of the compressor and its network. These parameters include the volume of the system, length of the pipes, and inertia of the compres- sor. This limitation is common to all closed control loops with feedback, Thus, modulated control responds ‘well 0 slow upsets and give good control, However, the valve cannot be opened quickly for fast upsets, de to Timitations of system stability "Now consider using a relay for control. ‘The relay is part of an open-loop system that opens the antisurge valve to a pre-established level after the compressors ‘operating point reaches the surge control line. The ‘output of a relay device can change from minimum to maximum at any speed, without upsetting the system's stability. This is because (1) the relay isan on-off device and there is no limit as to how fast the device can be turned on and off and (2) the system is open-loop and ccillaions cannot be set up in the control system, However, the relay syatem has certain disadvantages for antisurge controller. The preadjusted output level may be either lower or higher than that required for protection. If it is lower, the compressor’s operating point will cross the surge limit; if it i higher, the com> presor will be operated with large amounts of recincu a [ae ' emi | : z ne P g 2 i peeea | ieeed oh Cm ct 24 om [iiconeteie pina ! ol on = oe ser] ohn aeepcen el ree baer wo a eeepc tert ca ney lation or blowing off when the antisurge valve is ‘opened. Also, the operator can be unsure as to when 0 reset the relay without endangering the compressor. Comparing the closed-loop system to the open-loop system has led to a patented method that combines the advantages of both, while limiting their shortcomings Fig. 7 shows the controller with inputs for Eq, (18), ‘one form of the surge control line. The input corre sponding to AP. passes through a sealer (No. 1) and summing unit (No. 2) that transform it to the required form: byAP. + by ay where fy isthe slope of the surge limit ines and 8 is the normal distance between the surge limit line and the sarge control line. ‘The value of £2, + 6, is compared with AP, b the proportional-plus-reset controller (No. 3) IAP, is greater, then the controllers output i seat zero: When S2,,, i less than the signal given by Eq. (21), the controller begins producing a signal that increases vunti KAP, +, becomes equal to AF, ‘A: a result, the compressors operating point will be restcred to the surge control line. This system will work ‘well, disturbances are small and slow, but cannot open, the antisurge valve quickly enough to prevent surge wher disturbances are large or fast ‘Tr. handle large disturbances, the output from sum: min, device (No, 2) is deers~sed by a fixed amount, d, ‘which is typically et ato. . half the value of by. This addi ion is done by the summing device in element 5 ‘The comparator in element 5 compares the value of APyag with ESP. + by — dy, When AP,,, is smaller, a signal is sent to the curve generator. The output of the ‘curve generator follows the shape shown in Fig. 7—it 181Sooed setgoin. isolated contol Antsure ‘opened a speed setpoint is lowered Fig 8 ‘Seed stint, Integrated system. Compared with Fig. 8, outputs of controller and speed setpoint vary Fig. 9 increases nearly instantaneously, then exponentially decreases to zero, This signal goes to a summer ‘No. 4). overriding the signal from the proportional-plus-reset controller. ‘Thus, for slow upsets, the valve will be opened slowly 182 SHEET RE by the action of the proportional-plus-eset controller; for fast upsets, No.5 will quickly open the valve, over: riding the slow response of the contoller. ‘The output from No. 5 decreases exponentially, al- lowing the proportional:plus-reset element to take over. —“Thus, the operating point is restored to the surge con- “= trol line asin any other antisurge closed loop. After the 409) ‘output of No. 3 decreases to zero, No. 6 automatically resets the override system, Field tests have shown that, ifthe surge control line is sec far enough from the surge limit line, then the com- bination of proportional-plus-reset response with the relay override signal is sufficient to prevent surge However, ifthe surge control line is set too close 10 the limit line, the operating point of the compressor can ‘ross the limit line before the override signal appears. As ‘result, surge may begin, causing an almost instanta- neous flow decrease. Under such circumstances, the ‘deviation of the comprestor’s operating point from the 8 Dieter pres Py Here itis necessary to move the surge control line to the right-—the task of No. 7. This element, like No. 5, subtracts fixed amount (¢,) fom the signal from No.2 and compares the sum with AP,,,. When the sum is e greater than AP, a preselected bias, by, is added: Tah th+h=ah, @) aa ee eve ea eel etek ara ried ester Real fuer Pee ent cae soca ja cine rcs sarge ais eve gc Bp ccaivete ieee genes aceon |p fet ea tamnsaeerre ter pecan eee ecore ee een eel ea ce reaped a etter aoe | ee eieas a et artie mre arcs Pate ih setae a eet ta rg eee mec Pen eieteee red eU ogs (etpeeecatian rae a a a Fees paar ar el ee Te oe son the antsurge mucm seen the graph of he | | — ‘new antisurge controller and reduced antisurge controller output. The horizontal part corre- |_| A new anusurge contaliey and 7 3 sponds to the antisurge valve’s being closed; the nega Lively sloped line, to the opening of the valve by the proportional-plusteset controller (No. 3 in Fig. 7) the Yertical drop, to the action of the override controller (No. 5 in Fig. 7), oe) Interaction with process control | A process control system is shown in Fig, 6a, This consists of a pressure transmitter, pressure contolle, And buttery valve with actuator By closing the butterfly valve, the process controller Forces the compressors operating point to move toward surge. Ifthe point croses the surge control line, the Anuisurge controller will open the amtisurge valve, ‘With both control systems, the deviation of the com- presor's operating point from the surge control line {depends on the speed of response of the antisurge con- troller and of the process controller, and on the dead | times of the antisurge valve and its actuator. Ifthe process controller is faster than the antisurge controller, then this difference may interleee with surge 03, ‘conteol. The dead time of the amtisurge valve can fur- 8000800 Te a0) Tp ~ ther add to this problem. Until the output of the anti Noss flowrate, sm surge contoller overcomes the dead ime, the process || Se compressor reflects less recirculation Fig. 11 Soscitic power required lst controller may push the campressor’s operating point lover the surge limit line TT 183‘This interaction between an isolated surge-control system and the process controller occurs not only with control of discharge pressure but also with control of suction pressure and Row. Integrated system System performance can be improved by changing from an iacatedantisurge lop to an integrated proces control and protective system (Fig. 6) Tn this system, the buttery valve is controled by the output of the summing device. Ths applies equally toa compresor that is under variable speed control The output of this device depends on the output of the Ancsurge controller, as well as on tht of the process controler. The operating point wil, after reaching the surge control in, fellow this line rather than the line of With integrated proces control and andsurge pro- tection, the effet ofthe dead time ofthe antiurge valve ‘will be minimized, since two devices are used to protect the compressor from surge —the antisurge valve and the butterfly valve. Tet rents ofthe integrated system are shown in Fig 9, with a variable-speed compresor. Setting and testing equipment ‘The surge limit ine can be located precisely, since the control system stops surge during its frst cycle To calibrate the surge limit line, the slope ofthe surge control line, fy, is vet at zero t0 avoid response by the proportionai-pius-reset controller, The distance between the surge limit and surge control lines, by, i set at 15% of flowrate, and bis set at 75%. This 1s because the control line is vertical and a vaiue of b, = 15% will induce surge. The distance between the surge control Tine and the control line of the override antisurge relay-clement set at zero, so that override wll tart immediately. The level of the override signal opening the antisurge valve raust be set at 100%; the time ofits ‘exponential decrease must be not less than 3 min. This, ‘ensures that the valve is kept open. Ii the discharge line ofthe compressor is closed com: pletely, surge will be induced. At the beginning of the first surge cycle, the override antisurge relay-lement opens the antsueye valve at maximum speed. At the same time, the comparator (No. 7; Fig. 1) moves the surge control line to the right, making the distance between the surge control and surge limit lines 5, +, ‘equal to 90%, which is safely out ofthe surge zone. This will keep the antisurge valve open, and surge will be Stopped. The outputsof the transmitters, SP. and MP, will be obtained at the moment surge occu, ‘Theratio MP,,/AP, yields fy. Ifthe contol lines not a straight line,"this test can be repeated to generate diferent values of fy Setting dy depends on the spoed of response of the proportonal-plusintegral part of the antisurge com troller. IF the discharge line is closed slowly, the override antisurge relay should not operate. Experience indicates that 4, may be between 2% and 5% of AP, “The distance, b, between the surge limit"and surge ‘contol line i selected so that the severest disturbances (forexample, the fastest posible complete closing ofthe discharge line) will not cause surge. This distance can be narrow, because the improved antisurge controller ‘operates at such high speed. In most cases, 5, is set between 5% and 10% of AP... Careful selection of ky and b, will reduce the energy expense for any compres: sor that operates with recirculation or blowoff. Example of energy savings ‘A-4000-hp air compresor was being operated at constant 40% blowoll sce Fig. 10) The specie power Fequired by this machine is shown in Fig. Ie The flowrate was 9.40 acim at 310 pu “The unit had a pneumatic suge-control system that was supplied by the manufacturer. In aditon to cone Sant blowoff, damage was frequent~the machine hed to be rebuilt twice during one year The contol system desribed here was installed ata cost of about 813,000 About half the con was for instruments, the othe half for installation. After installation, the antinurge valve vas closed and recreation was kept toa minimum. A valve booster was not needed Assuming operation on a yearly basis the savings in energy cons are calculated, with electricity cost of 50024 Wh kw b Savings = 0.7465 x 0.760% x > ye 5) be, $0.024 5 — 0.3825) Px SO 9.400 scfm (0.4225 ~ 0.3825) ZP- x ES x 9.400 sf $59,000/yr. Richard Grane, Bite References peeeceieaans ‘The authors 184 SRE RENT RATT TTT