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Invariant Coordinate Systems For Compressor Control
Invariant Coordinate Systems For Compressor Control
Invariant Coordinate Systems For Compressor Control
Presented at the international Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress & Exhibition
Birmingham, UK — June 10-13,1996
p density In this article we will present the theoreti-
a exponent, a = (n — 1)/n cal foundation on which invariant coordinates are
rotational speed (rad/sec) based. The invariant sets of coordinates are ac-
tually five-dimensional spaces. By assuming the
Subscripts
Reynolds number is of negligible effect, these
d discharge spaces can be reduced to four dimensions. Char-
e equivalent acteristics for compressors of fixed geometry (for
OP operating point example, compressors with no variable inlet guide
2
two dimensional space is (q 2 , R e ). The square of situation at hand (see, for example, Dixon 1978).
the reduced flow rate can be calculated by the con- In our case we will choose polytropic head and
trol system as shaft power for the dependent variables due to
q2 AP0 their popularity in the industry. Volumetric flow
rate was chosen as an independent variable — also
and, as outlined below, represents a quantity due to its popularity in the industry. An example
closely related to a Mach number associated with of a compressor map is shown in Figure 1. The
For a system of coordinates to be invariant to These relationships each consist of eight dimen-
inlet conditions, it must satisfy dynamic similar- sional parameters. This number can be reduced
ity. This requirement implies three things: to five using the Buckingham Pi Theorem (see,
for example, White 1979 or Kline 1965). It is be-
• Geometric similarity yond the scope of this paper to go through that
procedure, but a result is
• Kinematic similarity
Hp wd wpd2
• Pertinent forces must be considered in a set 7
c 12-
f2(Q ,
a ,a
a2
of valid dimensionless parameters.
(1)
Geometric similarity is given because we are
considering different inlet conditions in the same
compressor. We show below that kinetic similarity
is assured by number three — the dimensionless
P
pa2 d3 f3
( Q wd wpd2
ad2 a 1.1 a )
3
ones shown above were chosen for their usefulness wheel Mach number must both satisfy
for control.
The first term appearing in the independent
variable list on the right-hand side of each of (2)
the above expressions is proportional to the Mach
number based on the bulk (one dimensional) veloc-
ity at the suction of the compressor. The second
(3)
term is proportional to the Mach number based on
Simplifications
Kinematic similarity Kinematic similarity states
that the velocities for the two conditions at any We can reduce Equations 1 further using com-
point must be related by a constant scaling factor. mon sense and experience. When the Reynolds
Therefore, number is high the flow is turbulent and the fric-
tional effects (due to the viscosity) tend to be ap-
( 171
proximately constant. In the normal operating
V2 V.2) ref range of compressors the Reynolds number is high.
where the subscripts 1 and 2 imply velocities from Thus, its influence can be neglected — and this
two different locations (such as the suction and is supported by experience. (For analyses of the
discharge of the compressor). effect of the Reynolds number, see Casey 1985,
We can show that kinematic similarity is as- Strub et al. 1987, Wiesner 1979.) We are left with
sured if we satisfy Equations 1 and geometric sim-
Hp ( Q wd
ilarity. In theory, when Equations 1 are satisfied
at one point, the flows "match" — thus the di- a2 = 7'a)
mensionless parameters are equal at all points. (5)
Therefore, at the locations 1 and 2 used above, PQ wd
the flow coefficient (inlet flow Mach number) and pa 2 d3 = f5 —,
4
Polytropic head is represented as terms in Equations 7. The orifice coefficient, A,
-1 is also constant and can thus be eliminated. It
should be noted, however, that some of the result-
Hp = (ZRT), — ;
n—1 P, ) ing terms are not dimensionless. To convert from
the rotational speed, co, in radians per second to N
where n is the polytropic exponent [d(pun) = 0]. in rpm, we used the constant 27r/60 = 7r/30. This
The volumetric flow rate is related to the constant can be ignored as well, remembering that
differential-pressure flow measurement device as
5
Pr
fll
( e iv ?
We can multiply both sides of Equation 11 by
fk(a) fk(a) and/ms = 1. Using 7h, = pVA we get
Pressure Ratio r
(pVAkZRT)d _ (pvAkzEnd
(pVAkZET) s 1. (pVAkZRT) s
i
ref
.
6
any combination of invariant coordinates (linear constant) since this parameter is no longer (in gen-
or nonlinear) is still invariant. So we can com- eral) dimensionless, and thus, not invariant to inlet
bine a linear function of R o with as such (it is e conditions.
assumed that k does not vary significantly): So in cases where the loss of turndown is in-
significant, or where it is impractical to add in-
— 1 a
p, strumentation, a ratio of Ap o to Ap o can be used
effectively for antisurge control.
P.
1
eters used in its construction (R C and q3 ). And it can be rewritten as
requires only two transmitters.
(kZ)d RT (kZ)d Rir
Although it may not be obvious that the Surge
[
8
• the coordinate system that provides the most Limitations
accurate control.
Some of the invariant coordinate systems sug-
Each of the above parameters are invariant to gested above are not suitable for all applications.
inlet conditions. Therefore, antisurge control algo- For instance, the use of equivalent speed paired
rithms can be constructed using a single param- with pressure ratio may require high precision
eter instead of a pair or even three. An exam- in calculating the pressure ratio to maintain a
ple of this is a minimum flow rate algorithm. A "small" safety margin. The reason for this is that
, =
APo a
Pd
Line in any of the above coordinate systems. The
presence of inlet guide vanes increases the dimen-
a = APO,dAPo d sionality of the problem to three and the Surge
d,d = Limit Line becomes a Surge Limit Surface. The
Ps Pd
utilizing all of the possible measurement locations. question remaining is how we use this information
Each of the last three d( e 4,
5 and d d ) can be
,
in antisurge control of compressors.
As described above, the Surge Limit Surface in
derived from the first (4 8 ) using functions of Rc
and RT. Therefore, they are sufficiently invariant existence for compressors with inlet guide vanes
for most antisurge control applications. is considered a family of Surge Limit Lines by
Using similar reasoning as above, the reduced looking at the intersection of the Surface with a
power can be defined using discharge pressure: constant a or Ne plane. The following descrip-
tion deals only with Surge Limit Lines. Thus, for
P the case where variable inlet guide vanes exist, the
Pr,d =
pdN • Surge Limit Surface has already been reduced to
Also, the equivalent speed, Are , can be constructed a Surge Limit Line for a given a or Ne .
using the discharge acoustic velocity: The coordinate system (primary coordinates if
inlet guide vanes are present) considered here is
N e d = generic. Let it be described simply as (X, Y).
OZRT)d Each (X, Y) can be any pair of the coordinates
9
from Table 1 [for instance, (q s2 , Rc )]. There are an infinite number of points on the
The Surge Control Line is defined as a line re- Surge Limit Line which we could compare to the
moved from the Surge Limit Line a "safe distance" operating point. One possibility is to use the in-
into the stable operating region. The distance be- tersection of the Surge Limit Line and a horizontal
tween these two lines is the safety margin. The line passing through the operating point. There-
goal of antisurge control is to provide safe opera- fore, YSLL = YOPI which simplifies Equation 14 to
tion with the minimum c - safety margin — which
translates into the maximum operating envelope. 8, = 1
XSLL
point and the Surge Control Line. line passing through the origin and the operating
There are several possible approaches to defin- point is (hr/d)op. The slope of the line pass-
ing this distance. One method is outlined here. ing through the point of comparison on the Surge
The basis will be the distance between the operat- Limit Line is (1100p/Osi,L, where (q,)SLL is
ing point and the Surge Limit Line (rather than to the reduced flow rate at the intersection of the
the Surge Control Line). Including a safety mar- horizontal line defined as ht. = (hr)op and the
gin with this distance defines the Surge Control Surge Limit Line. The deviation is
Line. The topic of the safety margin is covered in
a later section.
We can describe the operating point location in
5, = 1 [qs(hr)]siz
[gap •
any of the suggested coordinates to be the slope
of a line passing through the origin and the oper- This is illustrated in Figure 9 where the operating
ating point. The Surge Limit Line is described by point is at (92.79, 2.31). The value of the reduced
the slope of a line passing through the origin and flow rate at surge, (q,)SLL, is 60.29. Thus,
the Surge Limit Line at the point the operating
60.29
point is compared to. Either of these slopes can 8, = 1— = 1 — 0.6497 = 0.3503 > 0
92.79
be written as
M= which shows that the compressor is operating in
X the safe region.
A comparison between the location of the oper-
ating point and the Surge Limit Line is required. Implementation
One way to compare quantities is to take their ra-
tio. Here we divide the slope corresponding to the Using Equation 15 we characterize the Surge
operating point by that of the Surge Limit Line: Limit Line as a function of Y.
10
empirically through surge testing the compressor
at a few points and constructing a curve through
these points.
No control system is perfect. A safety margin
140
must be included to keep the operation of the com-
pressor away from surge under transient condi- 120
tions. One approach to implement a safety margin
100
is to modify Equation 16 as follows:
a
11
are not invariant to inlet conditions, the various
curves do not coincide. Power and volumetric flow 10
have been normalized using design conditions.
The remaining figures for this compressor are
coordinates invariant to suction conditions. Some
of the scatter seen in the data is due to human
error in converting the manufacturer's maps to
numerical data for reduction. Ignoring the slight 0
50 100 150
12 •—■ MW = 49.94 qs
A A MW = 49.24
Figure 7: To utilize these coordinates for antisurge
-
o—o MW = 43.74
10 control, no information downstream of the com-
x—x M W = 39.22
pressor is required.
12
12
cc' 8
■—■ MW - 49.94 49.94
6
A A MW = 49.24 MW = 49.24
1
-
Figure 8: Another coordinate space which leads Figure 10: One of the most commonly imple-
to a no-flow control algorithm. It requires that mented antisurge control approaches uses these co-
molecular weight be known. ordinates.
3 3
2.5 2.5
2 2
Figure 9: A coordinate space for antisurge control Figure 11: Coordinates in which flow rate does not
using reduced head and reduced flow rate. appear. Molecular weight must be known.
13
These should be considered approximate. The suc-
tion temperature and pressure varied throughout
the test — even when the molecular weight was
fairly constant. No power indication was available
for this particular compressor, so no plots of re-
duced power are shown.
The Surge Limit Line is represented in reduced
head versus reduced flow rate rate coordinates
0.8
0.6
14
3
1.2
2.5 1
0.6
1.5
0 50 100 150 200 250 1.5 2 2.5 3
2
qs N1
Figure 15: A common set of coordinates for com- Figure 16: Coordinates for a no-flow algorithm for
pressor control. gases of essentially constant molecular weight.
15
3 3
2.5
2.5
2
1.5
1.5 1
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 0 50 100 150 200 250
2
t\J qs
Figure 17: No flow measurement device required. Figure 18: Surge limit line based on equivalent
However, molecular weight must be known. speed and reduced flow rate.
16