Feature Report

Engineering
Practice

Reciprocating Compressors
Startup and Capacity
Control Methods
Procedures and guidelines that will help operators
minimize energy consumption and maintenance
requirements of compressor systems
Ali Ghanbariannaeeni
Nargan Engineers
and Constructors
Ghazalehsadat Ghazanfarihashemi
Sazeh Consultants

here are two main reasons why

compressor capacity regulation
is used. The most prevalent reason is to adjust the suction flow
to match the process demand. The second reason is to save energy. As a rule,
capacity control is determined by the
compressor discharge pressure. Compressor capacity-control methods are
utilized to maintain a required delivery
under variable process conditions [1].
In this article, methods for controlling the capacity of reciprocating compressors are presented in detail. These
methods are bypass recycling, unloader valves, clearance pockets, stepless valves and variable-speed drives.
The advantages and disadvantages of
each method, as well as their applications, are presented.
In addition, auxiliary devices and
packages used under transient conditions (namely, during startup, shutdown and maintenance) and during
normal operation are described. Barring devices (gear), hydro-jacking
systems, frame lubrication systems
and cylinder lube oil systems are explained. Finally, a recommended procedure for starting up and stopping a
reciprocating compressor in single and
parallel operation is presented, along

pass can be used. Because of decreasing discharge pressure, the absolute

power input would be reduced in this
way, although the mass flowrate is
increased as shown in Equations (1)
and (2).

with some major points that should

be taken into consideration by plant
operators.

(1)

Capacity control methods

Bypass control. As the name implies,
this control method uses an external
bypass around the compressor to recycle gas from the compressor discharge
to the inlet, or to the atmosphere in
the case of an air compressor. The
take-off point for the bypass must be
downstream of a heat exchanger so
that cooled gas will be spilled back to
the suction. If there is no exchanger
in the discharge, the bypass must
branch into the suction line upstream
of an exchanger.
Alternatively, a cooler may be
placed in the bypass line. In any case,
the bypass should tie-in upstream
of a suction knockout drum so that
any condensate resulting from the
expansion cannot enter the compressor. Bypass control is preferred over
other control methods because of its
smoothness, simplicity and low initial costs. It is, however, inefficient
because excess compressor capacity is
expanded across the control valve in
the recycle line. For this reason, this
method is commonly accompanied
by the use of inlet valve unloaders or
clearance pockets, which reduce compressor capacity in discrete predetermined steps [15].
In multistage compressors, a bypass
around the first stage or a partial by-

(2)
Where:
W
=

m
=
Mw =
p2/p1 =
K
=
Tin =
PD =

Compressor power
Rated mass flow
Gas molecular weight
Compressor ratio
Gas specific-heat ratio
Gas inlet temperature
Compressor piston
displacement
Q
= Compressor flow
C
= Compressor clearance
volume
R
= Ideal gas constant
It must be remembered that a reduction in the flow to the second stage
causes a drop of all inter-stage pressures, and consequently it can lead to
excessively high-pressure ratios and
discharge temperatures in subsequent
stages. Moreover, this pressure shifting may cause an overload in the last
stage. Thus, there should be a limitation on the maximum by-passed flow
in multistage equipment. The minimum capacity that can be obtained
depends on the number of compression stages.
The more stages used for a given
overall compression ratio, the wider
the achievable control range.
Inlet valve unloaders. Valve unload-

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

51

Engineering Practice
ers are mechanisms that are held open
or bypass one or more cylinders inlet
valves at each end of double-acting
cylinders. This provides complete unloading of one or both ends of the cylinder. For a single-cylinder compressor stage, valve unloaders can achieve
three-step unloading that provides
nominal cylinder capacities of 100, 50
and 0%; and two-step unloading that
provides cylinder capacities of 100
and 0%. Thus, considering two cylinders per compressor, the capacity can
be controlled in five stages 100, 75, 50,
25 and 0%.
Three-step (100, 50 and 0%) capacity
control is used on some general purpose machines, such as air compressors. This method of control requires
more cyclic actuation of the unloaders than five-step control. Therefore,
three-step control is more detrimental
to machine components especially
to valves.
Standard API 618 [6] introduces
three unloader types: finger, plug and
port. The finger type unloader is not
recommended when other types are
viable. Plug type unloaders should
be installed on extra suction ports. A
minimum number of valve unloader
steps should be considered in order to
maximize compressor reliability.
Unloaders should be pneumatically operated by instrument air and
equipped with positioner indication.
The unloader actuator should be sized
to operate on minimum air pressure
as well. Nitrogen purge ports should
be provided for all types. The unloader
stem packing should be provided with
a lantern ring and a nitrogen connection for the purging of leak gas. All
purge and vent connections should be
piped up to a single purge and vent
connection. All lines to and from unloaders are to be AISI 316 L stainless
steel [6, 7].
It should be noted that there are
some restrictions on actuator sizing at
suction pressures higher than 70 barg.
Clearance pockets. Cylinder delivered capacity can be reduced by
increasing the cylinder clearance
volume; this is done by a clearance
pocket. There are two types of pockets:
fixed and variable. Opening the pocket
reduces the cylinders inlet volumetric
flow by trapping additional gas in the
52

larger clearance volume at the end of

the piston stroke. Consequently, clearance-pocket flow adjustment is frequently applied to the head end only,
leading to a maximum of 5060% reduction in the head end capacity and a
2530% overall capacity reduction in
a double acting cylinder [8].
Valve unloaders combined with
clearance pockets can provide fivestep unloading leading to nominal cylinder capacities of 100, 75, 50, 25 and
0% in a compressor with only one cylinder. This means that 75% capacity
is achieved by opening the head-end
clearance pocket, 50% load makes use
of the crank-end valve unloader, 25%
load makes use of the crank-end valve
unloader and head-end clearance
pocket simultaneously and 0% load is
achieved by activating the valve unloaders on both ends of the cylinder.
At compression ratios below 1.7, the
pocket volume becomes very large relative to cylinder size, thus, it should
not be used in this case [2].
Clearance pockets can be arranged
for local manual operation, manual/
pneumatic operation, or automatic/
pneumatic operation. However, the automatic/pneumatic type is preferred.
Using clearance pockets is usually
restricted to services with cylinder
inlet pressures less than 70 barg.
Stepless capacity control. A stepless capacity control system, known as
reverse flow control, can provide a capacity range of approximately 100 to
40% of rated capacity; however, more
turndown ratios have become feasible
recently. In this system, an unloading
device is fitted to each suction valve.
At partial loads, the unloading device
does not allow the inlet valve to close
when the piston is at its bottom dead
center position, but rather delays the
closing in a controlled way. Consequently, an amount of gas, which can
be adjusted, is allowed to return to
the compressor inlet manifold before
the compression starts. As the piston
velocity increases in the compression
stroke, it pushes gas in reverse flow
back out the inlet valve faster and
faster. This creates a larger and larger
gas drag force on the inlet valve plate
that eventually overcomes the unloader force and closes the inlet valve.
Applying this type of control requires

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

economic justification. In general it is

not recommended because of limitations in performance accuracy and fatigue consequences on the valve plate
and seat [7].
Inlet throttling. This method of capacity control is not recommended
because pressures lower than normal
inlet pressures cause higher pistonrod loads and discharge temperatures.
Consequently, the mass flow range
that can be safely achieved in this regard is normally too low to suit process needs.
Variable speed drive. Reciprocating
compressors should normally be specified for constant-speed operation in
order to avoid excitation of torsional,
acoustic and mechanical resonances.
When variable-speed drivers are used,
all equipment should be designed to
run safely throughout the operating speed range, up to and including
the trip speed [6]. Gas engine drives,
which could operate in a 75 to 100%
speed range, make use of variable
speed method for flow control. Operation below 75% is normally done by
bypass control and inlet valve unloaders or clearance pockets [912].
Startup unloading. Some means
of unloading for startup is usually
required because drivers lack sufficient torque to accelerate the train
rotating parts under positive displacement compression loads. Inlet valve
unloaders and external bypasses are
the two most commonly used methods
for startup unloading. The machine
should be capable of starting with operating suction pressure on each stage.
An unloading system may be designed
to operate automatically on a voltage
dip for service continuity where automatic reacceleration of motor driven
compressors is required.

Compressor operation modes

Auto mode. In the automatic (auto)
mode of operation, the compressor
meets the demand of all the main processes, including all cases of operation
requested by the equipment datasheet.
In some cases, operation with nitrogen
is also requested for pre-commissioning, cleaning purposes, testing of the
automatic functions and leak testing
of other equipment. In this mode, the
machine is controlled automatically.

When the compression gas is changed,

set point values are only adjusted for
the new condition with no change in
control procedure.
Maintenance mode. In this mode,
during which the compressor is at
standstill, all auxiliary drivers (such
as auxilliary oil pump, water pumps,
and bypass valves) can be manually
started by operators.
Off mode. In this mode, all drivers
are out of operation, and standby functions are disabled. This mode will be
activated only when the compressor is
not running; otherwise, selecting the
off mode will have no effect on the
operation of the compressor.
Mode selection between auto, off
and maintenance is done within the
distributed control system (DCS). A
compressor is provided with several
local instrument boards (LIBs), with
gages for indicating pressure, temperature, flowrate and level of process
gas, lubrication oil and other utilities
(such as water, air and nitrogen), during compressor operation in all modes.
Additionally, the LIB shows whether
local motor-control stations are also
available for local starting and stopping of auxiliary equipment in maintenance mode. Auxiliary motors also
have local motor-control stations located within a few meters from the associated auxiliary-drive motor. Visualization and control of the compressor
operation is normally done from a central control room (CCR) station.

Compressor auxiliary systems

Hydro jacking device. For large reciprocating compressors and motors,
manufacturers consider adding an additional system to the equipment in
order to lessen the breakaway torque
in the bearings in transient conditions
(startup, shutdown or maintenance).
For this purpose, one oil pump is usually added in series after the lubrication pump. A jacking oil pump assures
lasting oil film existence between
bearing and journal (shaft) surfaces at
the instant a rotation commences.
Barring device. The compressor
should be fitted with a barring device
(barring gear), which can be manual,
electrical or pneumatic. This device is
used only for maintenance, while the
compressor is stopped. For compres-

sors with a rated power equal to or

greater than 750 kW (1,000 hp), and
torque requirement equal to or greater
than 1,600 Nm (1,200 ft-lb), either the
electrical or pneumatic type should be
considered. Manual barring may be
achieved by turning the flywheel. The
barring device should be designed so
that gas forces acting on the pistons
cannot cause the compressor either to
accelerate or to rotate in the reverse
direction. With the barring device
engaged, it should not be possible to
start the compressor [6].
Manual barring devices should have
a locking feature, whereas pneumatic
and electrical devices should incorporate appropriate safety switches or
measures for interlocking with the
main driver. Moreover, a pneumatic
system should be equipped with an
air-supply inlet filter and oiler, and a
four-way control valve for operation in
forward or reverse directions.
The barring device should be designed to enable barring over the
pressurized machine at suction pressure. Before the barring device is enabled to start, the hydro jacking of
compressor and main motor have to
be started, and the minimum pressure must be obtained.
The barring device operates with a
local push button (forward and reverse)
on the local panel near the motor. The
barring device motor works only while
one of the push buttons is pressed; release of the button stops the barring
device and locks the crank gear. When
maintenance is finished, the stopped
barring gear must be moved back in
the turn wheel free position, which is
displayed on the DCS system.
Compressor frame lubrication
system. A frame lubrication system
is pressurized through two electrically driven oil pumps. One is used
for normal operation (main pump)
and the second is in standby mode
as an auxiliary pump for necessary
conditions. A crankshaft-driven main
pump is allowed per API 618, but for
large machines, each oil pump should
be individually equipped with an
electrical motor.
In auto mode, the main oil pump
has to be started before starting the
compressor main motor. Generally,
pre-lubrication time is set for approxi-

mately one minute. When pre-lubrication time has passed, the startup condition Pre-lubrication time passed is
activated and displayed on the DCS.
When neither the low-lube-oil pressure alarm nor the low low-lube-oil
pressure alarm is activated, the hydro
jacking pump and subsequently the
main motor are permitted to start.
During normal operation of the compressor, the standby oil pump should
be in auto mode and start automatically when a low-oil-pressure alarm is
triggered on the DCS.
If the low low-oil-pressure signal
lasts more than a specified time (usually 2 s), the compressor main motor
should be stopped immediately by a
shutdown (trip).
Since the compressor is stopped normally, post lubrication is started; this
means that the lubrication oil pump
will continue to run for a minimum of
approximately 2 min. When post lubrication time has passed and the normal
stop sequence is accomplished, the oil
pump can either be stopped by the operator or continues running. Note that
in maintenance mode, the frame oil
pump can be started individually.
Moreover, the operator can enable
the oil heater by pushing a button in
the DCS. If the heater is enabled, the
temperature of the frame lubrication
oil is controlled by the switch controller inside the heater. Note that the
crankcase oil temperature should not
exceed 70C (160F).
For safety reasons, the heater is
interlocked and must be switched off
when the low low oil level is activated. It should be noted that during
compressor operation, the heater shall
always be stopped.
Compressor cylinder lubrication
system. The cylinder lubrication
system is pressurized by electrically
driven multiple-plunger-type oil
pumps (plunger per point) or by the
divider block method. However, using
a divider block system is not recommended because of complexity and
low reliability.
The cylinder lubrication system will
be started locally if the cylinder oiltank level is fulfilled (above low level).
When the pre-lubrication time (approximately 2 min) has elapsed, the
compressor start condition cylinder

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53

Engineering Practice
pre lubrication time passed is fulfilled and displayed in the DCS, and
the over lubrication time starts. The
total time of the cylinder lubrication
pumps running without the main
motor running is cumulative via cylinder lubrication time.
The compressor main motor must
be started within the over lubrication
time (approximately 5 min) to prevent
accumulation of oil in the cylinder.
If the total over-lubrication time has
elapsed and the main motor is still not
running, a compressor main-motorstart inhibit will be activated and an
alarm remove oil collected in cylinders
before re-start appears on the DCS.
Resetting the over lubrication
time alarm will be done by slowly rotating the compressor for a number of
revolutions (usually two or three) by a
barring device to distribute the accumulated lube oil among the compressor cylinders. At this time, the alarm
can be reset in the DCS manually.
During cylinder barring-over or
maintenance operations, the cylinder
lubrication should not be activated.
At compressor normal stop, post
lubrication time starts for approximately 2 min, and the cylinder oil
pump switches off automatically afterwards. By pressing the emergency
stop, the cylinder oil pump stops immediately and no post lubrication is
carried out. The cylinder lubricationoil pumps should run while the compressor main motor is running. In the
event of low flow, an alarm will be triggered in the DCS and in the case of
low low-flow, compressor trip action
will be activated.
Moreover, the operator can enable
the oil heater by pushing a button in
the DCS. If the heater is enabled, the
temperature of the cylinder lubrication oil is controlled by a switch controller inside the heater body. The heat
density of the heater should be limited
to 2.3 W/cm2 (15 W/in.2). A temperature switch prevents overheating. An
over temperature switch activates
an alarm and switches off the heater.
For safety reasons, the heater is interlocked and must be switched off when
the low low-oil level is activated.
Compressor cooling water system.
Minimum cooling water flow to the
cylinders and packings is one of the al54

lowed conditions for starting the main

motor. As long as low flow is detected
during normal running, an alarm will
be triggered in the DCS. In a closed
cooling cycle, the system is pressurized
through two electrically driven water
pumps. One pump is used for normal
operation (main pump) and the second
is in standby mode as an auxiliary for
necessary conditions. For the compressor to get a permissive start, it is necessary to run the main water pump in
order to deliver a minimum required
flow of cooling water. Auxiliary water
pumps can be started, as long as the
water-pressure or low-flow alarm is
activated in the DCS.
Main motor purging system. The
main-motor purge system is an independent working system. In EExp
drivers, the motor becomes explosionproof by pressurizing its cage. The
main drive motor should be started
only if it has been purged with air for
a period of time specified by the motor
manufacturer. (Purge time is approximately between 30 to 60 min).

Preparation before starting

Before the compressor is allowed to be
started, the following checks and conditions have to be fulfilled in the field:
Check if the cooling-water supply
valves are open (for inter-stage gasand oil-system coolers). Moreover, the
cooling water specifications, such as
flowrate, temperature and pressure,
should be verified with design conditions by local instrument devices.
Check the oil level in the tanks; it has
to be above the minimum level on the
oil sight glass.
Check if the lube oil systems are
ready for operation and the manual
valves are in the correct position.
Drain valves of all process pipes and
vessels (including pulsation dampeners, inter-stage coolers and separator drums) have to be checked for the
presence of liquid. If liquid is present,
it should be drained. Otherwise, liquid
would be carried over to the cylinder
and damage the compressor when
starting the main motor.
Check if all utilities including instrument air, hydraulic oil (for highpressure valves actuation) and nitrogen for purging of pressure packings
are available.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

The main drive motor should be

started only if it has been purged and
the pre-lubrication time of the crank
gear and cylinder have passed. This
should be considered at the time of
starting the compressor.
Check the operability of all voltage
circuits and the shut down system.
The oil pumps can be started at minimum ambient temperature, whereas
the compressor only when the lube oil
temperature is above the minimum
temperature recommended by the
manufacturer (about 15C). Hence,
frame and cylinder lubrication heater
and tracing system should be on (temperature start permissive of motors).
The compressor should be barred
over by a barring device (for two to
three revolutions) to ensure that liquid is not present in cylinders.
Start inter-lock system. Before compressor startup, several parameters
(such as level, pressure, temperature
and flowrates) are checked and compared with set point values, specified
by the compressor manufacturer in the
set point list (set point lists include all
instrument devices set values specifying alarm or trip signals). Afterwards,
compressor start permission can be
passed by the DCS and the next step
will be executed. Note that interlocks
will only prevent the start sequence
from continuing, or will interrupt the
start sequence unless all specified
conditions are fulfilled; interlocks are
not trip signals.
Depending on the manufacturer
and user concerns, an interlock system could be varied, but interlocks
(alarm conditions) below are considered in most applications. An alarm is
a signal generated automatically from
an irregular state, which does not lead
to a compressor shutdown.
The start sequence will be aborted
if an alarm occurs. In other words,
an alarm will inhibit the start of the
machine as long as it is active. Alarms
and warnings do not stop the compressor. Causes of alarms must be investigated and rectified immediately by
operators, or else they could cause the
machine to trip (shutdowns). The compressor is ready to start if none of the
following alarms are active:
Low lube-oil tank level
Low cylinder oil-tank level

 Low suction pressure

High discharge pressure
Low packing-purge pressure
Low cylinder lube-oil flow
Low crank-gear oil pressure
Low crank-gear oil temperature
High
oil-filter
differential
pressure
Bypass valves over stages are
opened
Barring gear is in safe position
(barring gear disengaged)
High level in separators
Low compressor cooling-system
flow
Compressor has been barred over
for a minimum of 1 min (mandatory
if cylinder over-lubrication time has
elapsed before)
Crank-gear lube-oil pump pre-lubrication time has passed
Cylinder pre-lubrication time has
passed
A trip is an irregular state that requires an immediate and automatic
shutdown of the compressor in order
to avoid damage to the equipment and
personnel. Note that prior to shutdown
an alarm will be indicated in the DCS
to warn the operators. The following
trips commence the normal stop procedure at any time of operation.
The compressor is ready to start if
none of the following shutdown conditions are active. The start sequence
will be aborted if a trip occurs.
High high-suction-gas temperature
High high-discharge-gas temperature
Low low-gas pressure on suction
side
High high-level in separators
High high-main-bearing temperature
High high-vibration on compressor
casing and rod drop low low-upstream-bearings oil pressure
Low low-cylinder lube-oil flow
Starting sequence of the compressor in auto mode. Regarding compressor-package control philosophy, it
could be started from the DCS or LCS
(local control station). After startup, all
functions will be carried out through
the DCS automatically. Bypass valve
controllers should be activated by the
operator when the compressor start
sequence has been completed successfully. For the compressor starting pro-

cedure to be deemed successful, the

position of the manual valves must be
as follows:
Gas suction isolating valves are
open
Gas discharge isolating valves are
open
Blow-off valve and vent valve to safe
location, flare, and atmosphere are
closed
Control valves and isolation valve
on separator drain are open
Shut-off valves for pressure instruments are open
Bypass of separator drain is closed
Separator drain valves have been
put in auto mode, and their relevant
interlocks are activated
The preconditions for startup sequence
are as follows:
1. All heaters, including oil heaters
and the motor space heater, must be
switched on.
2. Purge air must be available. If the
purge time of the main motor has
elapsed, the message purge end is
displayed in the DCS.
3. The compressor has been barred
over. To do this, first the compressors
operating mode should be changed
to maintenance mode in the DCS,
and the operator in the field should
engage the barring device manually.
Then, the frame oil pump is started
and compressor/motor jacking oil
pumps will be started (with delay)
afterwards because barring device
operation is only possible as long as
the hydro-jacking inlet-oil pressure
alarm is not activated. At this time,
barring over should be enabled from
the local panel by pressing two buttons for operation of barring gear in
clockwise and reverse direction. It
should be noted that, none of prelubrication time, low-oil-temperature, or the lube-oil-pressure alarms
should be activated. When barring
over time (approximately 5 min) has
elapsed, the operator should de-engage the barring device and remove
any oil.
4. No low cooling-water-flow alarm.
5. No low-level alarm on interstate
separators.
6. No low-level alarm on oil tanks.
7. No high-temperature alarm on the
main motor.
Permission to start. At this stage,

the frame oil pump is started, and

the jacking pumps of the main motor
and compressor will be started if prelube time, low oil temperature and
low-pressure alarms are not active.
Additionally, the following conditions
should be satisfied:
No low-suction-pressure alarm
No high-discharge-pressure alarm
Barring device in safe position (disengaged)
Next, the cylinder lubrication pump
will be started if all preconditions are
fulfilled. This will also start the cylinder pre-lubrication timer. If the cylinder pre-lubrication time has elapsed,
the compressor start condition cylinder pre-lubrication time passed is
fulfilled and will be displayed in the
DCS and over-lubrication time starts
afterwards. The cylinder lubrication
timer should be programmed as a cumulative timer. If it is not reset, it will
accumulate the total time of the cylinder lubrication pump running while
the main motor is not running up to
the over-lubrication time limit. During this time range, it allows multiple
startups as long as they are within the
over-lubrication time.
If the over-lubrication time has
elapsed and the main motor is not running, the start-up sequence will be cancelled and an alarm to remove collected
oil appears in DCS. Accumulated oil in
the cylinders has to be removed by turning the barring device before another
starting sequence commencement.
Since cylinder lube-pump start is the
last step in the start sequence prior to
motor starting, impact on plant availability is minimized.
If the main motor starts while overlubrication time has not elapsed, motor
space heaters and lube oil heaters will
be stopped at the same time. Moreover, for approximately 2 min, the low
low-pressure trip on the compressor
suction will be overridden to allow a
stable condition without tripping the
machine. After that, the overridden
function will be deactivated.
The jacking oil pump will be stopped
1 min after a successful start of the
compressor. In this position, the compressor is now running at no load condition. In order to obtain the desired
discharge pressure for each stage,
the bypass valve setting must be per-

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

55

TABLE 1. LOADING SEQUENCE

FOR A COMPRESSOR WITH TWO
DOUBLE-ACTING CYLINDERS

Engineering Practice

For 0% load (X = Loaded; 0 = not loaded)

formed manually. For this purpose, the

first stage bypass valve shall be enabled to control suction pressure automatically. Note that automatic control capability of all bypass valves will
have been deactivated during startup.
At this time, close the second-stage
discharge to first stages discharge
bypass valve gradually until the desired second-stage discharge pressure
is obtained. For the last stage, the desired pressure is obtained by closing
the discharge isolating valve. In this
way, the stroke position of the previous bypass valves are slowly adjusted
to control pressure between each
stage. Thus, the compressor runs in
0% capacity continuously and bypass
valve positions are set for 0% capacity (or 100% turndown). It is of high
importance to close the bypass valves
slowly and gradually to stabilize the
conditions and prevent overshooting
of discharge pressure.
Note that in compressors, which
are only started by bypass method,
the starting procedure is performed
with bypass valves fully open. If an
unloader valve also exists, the bypass
valves are fully closed and unloader
devices open the inlet valves, until
compressor reaches the rated speed
at 0% capacity. Due to increasing suction-valve temperature in this condition, the compressor is usually run
between 5 to 10 min as maximum.
After that, the performance step is increased by loading each cylinder chamber in the sequence shown in Table 1
for a compressor with two double-acting cylinders (HE = cylinder head end,
CE = crank case cylinder end).
After a period of time (adjustable
between 5 to 15 min), in each performance step, solenoid valve activation
on unloaders will be automatically
switched over. This switching prevents increasing the temperature of
the suction valve. Moreover, if purchase requisition states that the compressor shall run at 0% capacity for a
long time, the compressor should run
at 25% step capacity, and total flow is
recycled by bypass valve thereafter.
Due to unbalance matters, minimum
load on each stage could be changed to
50%. Note that compressor mechanical stability must have priority over
energy consumption.
56

Bypass valves

Time (min)

Cylinder A

Cylinder B

HE

CE

CE

HE

In this section, we investigate Maximum

0
0
0
0
the capacity control procedure of (5-10 min)
a reciprocating compressor with For 25% load (X = Loaded):
bypass valves in two stages. As a
Cylinder A
Cylinder B
principle rule, each stage is conHE
CE
CE
HE
trolled with one bypass valve,
X
0
0
0
which is independent of the other 0
bypass valves, but valve set- 5
0
X
0
0
points are adjusted together and
10
0
0
X
0
finalized during the compressor
0
0
0
X
commissioning period. Per API 15
recommendation, the maximum 20
Return to 0 Min.
predicted discharge temperature For 50% load (X = Loaded):
on each stage should not exceed
Cylinder A
Cylinder B
150C (300F). This limit applies
Time
(min)
HE
CE
CE
HE
to all specified operating and load
conditions. However, in actual 0
X
0
X
0
designation, this limitation is de- 5
0
X
0
X
creased to 135C (275F) by com10
Return
to
0
Min.
pressor manufacturers.
To control discharge tempera- For 75% load (X = Loaded):
ture, pressure ratio or differential
Cylinder A
Cylinder B
pressure is a parameter that is
Time (min) HE
CE
CE
HE
considered as a controlling value.
0
X
X
X
0
Designers mention relevant set0
X
X
X
tings in the instrument set-point- 5
list document.
10
X
X
0
X
Figure 1 shows an example of a
15
X
0
X
X
typical capacity-control diagram.
Return to 0 Min.
In this figure, PCV is pressure 20
control valve and PT is pressure For 0% load (X = Loaded):
transmitter. The main objective of
Cylinder A
Cylinder B
the capacity control is to maintain
HE
CE
CE
HE
constant suction pressure (PT1).
X
X
X
X
The capacity of the compressor is No
controlled by bypass over the first Limitation
stage (PCV1) and bypass over
the second stage (PCV2). If compres- increasing again. When suction pressor suction pressure PT1 is decreased, sure is increasing, the bypasses will
the first stage bypass valve (PCV1) close in reverse.
Rapid valve movement causes rapid
could be opened continuously up to a
percent of stroke (between 50 to 60%) load change on the compressor. To preuntil suction pressure (PT2) is above vent this from happening, the bypass
the setpoint of the minimum suction characteristic is linear and the stroke
travel rate is approximately 2 min;
pressure in the second stage.
If suction pressure (PT1) still falls, however, this rate can be adjusted
controller will open the second to first during compressor commissioning.
Please note that, in case of higher
stage bypass valve PCV2. This bypass
valve will open continuously to 100%. capacity requirements, increasing the
Now the first stage bypass (PCV1) will suction pressure (PT1) could increase
be able to control the main suction pres- the compressor capacity.
sure (PT1) with PCV2 in parallel. Thus,
the desired pressure is obtained by high- Bypass and unloading valves
pressure gas, which is recycled through In most process applications, compresfirst- and second-stage bypass valves.
sor capacity control is established by
When both valves are fully open, a suction pressure controller acting
the compressor will operate in full re- on the bypass valve and step capacity
cycle mode, until suction pressure is control (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%). The

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

PCV1

PCV2

PT1

Environmental

PT2

Cooler 1
Stage 1

Cooler 2

Applications

Stage 2

FIGURE 1. Shown here is a typical setup for capacity control in a two-stage reciprocating compressor using bypass valves (PCV = pressure control valve; PT =
pressure transmitter)

TABLE 2. CONDITIONS FOR UP- AND DOWN-STEPPING

PARALLEL COMPRESSORS
Up-stepping:
Compressor
load B (Slave)
25%

Compressor load A (Master)

25%

50%

75%

100%

Upstep A

Upstep B

Upstep B

Upstep B

50%

Upstep A

Upstep A

Upstep B

Upstep B

75%

Upstep A

Upstep A

Upstep A

Upstep B

100%

Upstep A

Upstep A

Upstep A

No Action

Down-stepping:
Compress or
load B (Slave)
25%

Compressor load A (Master)

25%

50%

75%

100%

No Action

Downstep A

Downstep A

Downstep A

50%

Downstep B

Downstep B

Downstep A

Downstep A

75%

Downstep B

Downstep B

Downstep B

Downstep A

100%

Downstep B

Downstep B

Downstep B

Downstep A

choice of the step depends on the setpoints of the bypass valves.

Up-stepping is one-step increasing
in capacity, for example, 25 to 50% and
down-stepping is one step decreasing,
for instance, 75 to 50%.
The suction pressure controller
reaches a balance in opening or closing the bypass valve depending on
actually adjusted step load (02550
75100%) and actual flow through the
compressor. If the actual bypass flow
is smaller than 30% and higher than
5%, no up- or down-stepping action is
required in the step capacity control.
This means that suction pressure is
only controlled by the stage bypass
valve in this case.
If bypass flow is lower than 1% or
for a time duration (approximately
3 min) lower than 5%, bypass flow is
very small, and therefore, the suction
pressure controller is not able to maintain suction pressure with fully closed
bypass. The step capacity control has
to make the up-step, increasing the

compressor performance over 25% by

adjusting the next higher step.
Increasing compressor performance
will cause a momentary suction pressure drop. Hence, time delay (1 min)
is considered to prevent activation
of low or low low-suction-pressure
alarms or trips. After a certain time,
suction pressure will reach stability
again and restore the suction pressure to its normal value.
If bypass flow is higher than 35%
or for a time duration (approximately
3 min) higher than 30%, bypass flow
is very high and the compressor is
wasting energy. To avoid unnecessary
bypass flow, the step capacity control
should perform down-stepping, decreasing the compressor performance
by 25%. Decreasing compressor performance will cause a pressure peak
in suction. Consequently, a time delay
(approximately 1 min) should be considered to prevent activation of high
or high high-suction-pressure alarms
or trips. After passing a certain time

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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

57

Engineering Practice
duration, the suction pressure will
reach stability again and restore the
suction pressure to its normal value.
The lowest automatic down-step
will be to 25%. The 0% performance
step is only used in compressor startup and shutdown sequences.
Compressor parallel working. Generally, 10% increasing flowrate is performed by increasing suction pressure,
but in many applications, two compressors are needed to send out enough
flowrate downstream of the system.
For this purpose, one of the compressor
controllers will be master and the other
the slave. The master takes the control
decisions about suction pressure control and up- and down-stepping of the
capacity. A slave compressor always
follows the master decisions.
To start two compressors, when the
master machine is stable at 100% capacity, the slave machine should be
started in 0% load. Then, during several
steps, performance of both are equaled
as much as possible. In this regard, in
each stage, 25% of master compressor
capacity (one step) will be decreased
and 25% capacity of slave machine will
be increased subsequently. Meanwhile,
enough time delay (approximately
1 min) between each step should be
considered so that flow stability is obtained at suction of compressors.
The conditions for up- and downstep criteria are the same as for single
compressor operation and are shown
in Table 2.
If the operator decides to take out
one of the two running compressors, the selected compressor will be
stopped with the following automatic
steps with a time delay (approximately 1 min):
The load of the selected compressor will be decreased by 25%. At the
same moment, the load of the compressor that is intended to remain in
operation will be increased by 25%.
This method will be repeated until the
selected compressor is completely unloaded (at 0% capacity).

Normal compressor stop. A normal

shutdown is manually initiated by
the operator from the DCS or LCS, if
the compressor needs to be stopped
for reasons such as overhauling the
machine or unit maintenance. The
following actions will be taken automatically afterwards:
All bypass valves will be opened by a
slow ramp up to fully open position.
Note that ramp shall be set slowly
enough to avoid over pressurization
of lower stages downstream of the
bypass valves
The hydro jacking pump of the main
motor and the compressor will be
started
The main motor will be stopped, and
all control valves will be de-energized and return to their fail position, especially bypass valves, which
will be closed
The isolating suction valve will be
forced closed, and the frame lubeoil pump and cylinder-oil pump will
continue to run after post-lubrication time
Oil tank heaters and the motor
space heater will be enabled
At last, the discharge isolating valve
will be closed and the compressor
will be manually depressurized by
relief valves (vent valves) installed
in each stage
Automatic stop based on trip. The
automatic shutdown of the compressor
is used to avoid damage of equipment
and to ensure personnel safety. This
stop sequence is exactly the same as
a normal stop, except that the bypass
valves are not opened at the first step.
Emergency stop. In case of danger,
manual actuation of the emergency
push buttons, located around the machine or on the emergency shut down
(ESD) panel, shall switch off all the
electrical consumers (main motor, oil
pumps, heaters, solenoid valves on bypass valves and so on). This stop sequence is similar to automatic trip stop
except that no post lubrication is needed
by frame and cylinder oil pumps.

Stopping the compressor

Final remarks

Generally, three compressor-stop

methods are considered regarding the
permitted overhaul time of compression units and the safety level of the
machine for plant protection.

Most reciprocating compressors are

specified for constant speed operation
to avoid excitation of torsional critical speeds. For all constant speed applications, it is recommended that an

58

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM SEPTEMBER 2012

automatic bypass control be provided.

For more flexibility of the system, an
unloader valve or pocket may be furnished to decrease power loss during
turndown capacity. Moreover, if the
stepless method is employed, it should
be supplemented with a bypass control arrangement.

Edited by Gerald Ondrey

References
1. Bloch, Heinz and Soares, Claire, Process
Plant Machinery, 2nd ed., Elsevier Science
& Technology Books, November 1998.
2. Bloch, Heinz P. and John J. Hoefner, Reciprocating Compressors Operation & Maintenance, Gulf Publishing Co., 1996.
3. Bloch, Heinz P., A Practical Guide To Compressor Technology, 2nd ed., John Wiley and
Sons, 2006.
4. Hanlon, Paul C., Compressor Handbook,
McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 2001.
5. Chlumsky, Vladamir, Reciprocating and Rotary Compressors, SNTL- Publisher of technical Literature, 1965.
6. Reciprocating Compressor for Petroleum,
Chemical and Gas Service Industries, API
618 5th ed., December 2007.
7. Southwest Research Institute, Advanced
Reciprocating Compressor Technology, December 2005.
8. Leonard, Stephen M., Fugitive Emissions
Control Technology For Reciprocating Compressor Cylinders, Dresser-Rand, Painted
Post, N.Y.
9. Giampaolo, Tony, Compressor Handbook:
Principles and Practice, the Fairmont Press,
2010.
10. Forsthoffer, W.E., Forsthoffers Best Practice
Handbook for Rotating Machinery, Elsevier
Science & Technology Books, 2011.
11. Forsthoffer, W.E., Forsthoffers Rotating
Equipment Handbooks, Vol. 3, Elsevier Science & Technology Books, 2005.
12. Pichot, Pierre, Compressor Application Engineering, Gulf Publishing Co. 1986.

Authors
Ali Ghanbariannaeeni is a
rotating equipment engineer
at Nargan Engineers and
Constructors Co. (Tehran CO
15 98 98 3116, Iran; Phone:
+98-21-88-908-104-8;
Fax
+98-21-88-91-0173;
Email:
a.ghanbarian@nargan.com
and
alighanbariannaeeni@
gmail.com). He is specialized
in reciprocating, centrifugal
and screw compressors, gas
and steam turbines, process pumps, engines and
electric machines. He obtained a B.S.M.E. degree
from Iran University of Science and Technology
(Tehran, Iran).
Ghazalehsadat
Ghazanfarihashemi is a rotating
equipment engineer at Sazeh
Consultants Co. (Tehran CO
1587657413, Iran; Phone:
+98-21-88-532-156-7;
Fax
+98-21-88-731-503;
Email:
gh.ghazanfari@sazeh.co.ir
and
ghazanfari.gh@gmail.
com). She is specialized in
reciprocating and centrifugal
compressors, process pumps,
engines and electric machines. She obtained
B.S.ME. and M.S.M.E. degrees from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran, Iran).