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CPC Engineering Technical Article

Plant Optimization: How to achieve energy saving in you compressors installation Plant Reliability: How to avoid production loses due to issues around antisurge controller in centrifugal compressors
By: Julin Sez. Control & Instrumentation Engineer (jsaez@cpcengineering.com)

It is very common that antisurge control basis and antisurge controller principles of operation are not well known and understood in the facilities where the centrifugal compressors are installed. In many plants, the end users (engineers and technician responsible for rotating equipment, instrumentation, process automation, operationsetc) see the antisurge controller as a black box in the compressor control system. So we can see cases where the antisurge control protection is tripping the compressor, but there is not necessarily an abnormal situation in the process that justifies it. And it is also common in this type of installations, to have process instability where the root cause is around the antisurge controller. It is also very common that the compressor control is not optimized and the energy consumption is bigger than it could be In these cases, the process automation engineers, maintenance and operation people find difficult to understand what is happening, and therefore, take action to fix the issues or to optimize their systems. Here below are some tips to detect opportunities to optimize your compressor installations and make them more reliable with regards to antisurge control.

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TIP #1: Look if there is any recycle valve open in your centrifugal compressors
If there is any open (in normal process conditions, when there is no need of recycling (*)) and there is no calibration issue around the valve (the valve is open because the ASC is sending an output to it), your antisurge controller is not properly tuned, and you are loosing money. You are spending energy in compressing the gas to recycle part of it to the compressor suction instead of deliver it to the compressor discharge (that is what a compressor is aimed for). (*) To be sure that you are in a normal process condition (no need of recycling) you must look at the actual operating point where the compressor is running and determine if the valve must be open due to a low flow condition for the pressure selected. Same concept can be applicable when your antisurge protection is made by means of a blow-off valve (instead of a recycle).

TIP #2: Test that opening time in all your antisurge control valves is < 2 sec
Note: 2 sec is a typical value. Confirm with the compressor manufacturer what the required value for your application is. Add a volume booster if necessary to achieve the quickness. Opening time is a critical parameter in the antisurge control valve. If the valve is not fast enough, it can not protect the compressor. In general, opening times < 2 sec are not acceptable at all.

TIP #3: Install Surge Detectors in your centrifugal compressors

This will allow you to put a narrower margin in the protection line for your antisurge controller (because the Surge Detector will be in charge of the trip) with the result that the recycle valve will open less. So you will save energy. Install SD, in parallel with the ASC (not to substitute it). This means that the ASC will be in charge of the control of the recycle valve so will try to recover the system whenever it is going close to the surge line. And the SD (using as input signal the motor current whenever it is possible) will be only watching if a surge occurred and trip the machine. So the trip will only occur if there is a real surge (typically after the SD counted three surges).

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TIP #4: Study the compressor characteristic curve and configure the
antisurge controller in such a way that the antisurge control valve only opens when it is strictly necessary to protect the compressor. Proper tuning of the system should allow for stable operation near the surge line. Running close to the surge line has a huge impact on operating efficiency of the system. Ensure that the surge control line calculated by the algorithm in your antisurge controller is representative of the actual conditions of your compressor. Carry out a surge mapping exercise to ensure effective/efficient operation. Make sure that the recycle valve is not recycling when it is not supposed to or recycling abnormally early. There should be a safety margin between the surge control line and the actual surge line, but this margin doesn't have to be excessively large. If possible, tuning the compressor and slowly decreasing the margin to a point where the control line is close but not so close that the mechanical parts (recycle valve, controller, piping) can keep up and smoothly maintain operating points that do not drift into the surge line. Same concept can be applicable when your antisurge protection is made by means of a blow-off valve (instead of a recycle).

TIP #5: Check if you have any antisurge control implemented in DCS
This, in general, is not adequate. Typical scan cycle for a DCS is 0,5 sec. So your DCS needs 0,5 sec to read the signal, some time to execute the logics and calculations, and another 0,5 sec to generate the output. This is too long, and by the time the antisurge valve is going to open, your the surge might have occurred (what could lead to damage the compressor or to trip it because high vibration or high temperature). If there is not a justified reason that guarantees that the implementation in DCS is acceptable for your application (DCS scan time fast enough according to the need of your application), you should seriously consider to migrate your antisurge control algorithm to PLC or to a dedicated stand alone controller.

TIP #6: Implement an HMI to show the operators and maintenance team the
compressor operating point with regards to the surge line and also all the signals involved in the antisurge control. This HMI should have very good integration with the most used operation interface (for example DCS operator terminal). Training in using and understanding it should be

given (and very important the training should be refreshed periodically).

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TIP #7: Use Dynamic Simulation to train your operators and maintenance personnel in the compressor controls
To use simulations, makes the customer feel more comfortable and to feel "If I can drive the simulation, I can drive the real compressor".

TIP #8: Train Your People in Compressors and Compressor Control

As said before, it is very common that antisurge control basis and antisurge controller principles of operation are not well known and understood in the facilities where the centrifugal compressors are installed. In these cases, the process automation engineers, maintenance and operation people find difficult to understand what is happening, and therefore, take action to fix the issues or to optimize their systems.

TIP #9: Ensure that you have antisurge Control and Process Control Integration implemented in your controller (not only antisurge
control). If not, implement it. Otherwise the antisurge controller will be only looking at the compressor and could be fighting with the rest of process controls in the plant. It is crucial not to look only to the ASC but also to the interaction with the driver and the process We can say that the antisurge controller protects the compressor, but who protect the process stability? It is a typical case that plant instability occurs, and undesired compressor trips due to the fact that the antisurge control is not integrated with the rest of controls in the plant. This can be due to the fact that some times we buy compressors as package units and we just "insert" them in the plant, without studying the interaction with the rest of the controls and processes in the plant.

Tip#10: Look at the calibration and correct performance of the instrumentation connected to the antisurge controller

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TIP#11: Readjust your antisurge controller parameters every time that you make a maintenance operation in the compressor (clean
intercoolers, clean impellers, guide vanesetc) or anything that can change the current pressure drops. Also if you need to make any change in instrumentation or control valve related to antisurge control (change of range, valve CVetc).

TIP#12: Study your process. Find specific process upsets you can make the system robust for
If you can tune your antisurge controller (and possibly add some advance control strategy) in such a way that prepares your operating point for these conditions, your system will allow for stable operation near the surge line. Running close to the surge line has a huge impact on operating efficiency of the system.

TIP#13: "Don't Touch it, if you are not Expert"

To adjust parameters and retune the antisurge controller (or to make any change in instrumentation and control valve around antisurge controller) is a specialized work. If you dont have people with enough expertise in antisurge control, invest money in maintaining the system by a specialized company.