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Investigation of Efficiency Deterioration Causes in Process Centrifugal Compressor Operation

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Abstract

The high operating efficiency of centrifugal compressor is a basic requirement to maintain the gas productivity and machine availability. However, there are several factors influencing the stage efficiency in the operating environment leading to a deterioration in the compressor performance in addition to its impact on the mechanical integrity of the internal components. These variables can be classified into three main groups which are suction parameters variation, flow profile distortion, and compressor component damage. The determination of the root cause will help for a proper maintenance plan and to reduce the machine downtime. Hence, this paper will introduce a new approach to identify the inefficient compressor operation causes based on the available operation data. The investigated case is a three-stage gas transport centrifugal compressor driven by 2.9 MW two-shaft gas turbine. The outcomes from the conducted optimisation are compared with the measured discharge parameters and the findings from the internal inspection observation to emphasize the outcomes from the derived approach.

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Abbreviations

η :

Polytropic efficiency

n v :

Volume polytropic exponent

n T :

Temperature polytropic exponent

X, Y :

Compressibility functions

k :

Specific heats ratio

A b, B b :

Correlation coefficients

MW:

Molecular weight

φ :

Flow coefficient

h p :

Polytropic head

s :

Work coefficient

u :

Tip blade speed

bara:

Bar absolute

MSCMD:

Metric standard cubic meter per day

CMH:

Cubic meter per hour

\(\rlap{--}{\dot V}\) :

Inlet volume flow

BHP:

Brake horsepower

Z :

Compressibility factor

N :

Rotational speed

OP:

Operating point

DP:

Design point

R :

Gas constant

ρ :

Density

act:

Actual

i :

Different rotational speeds

Ref:

Reference conditions

DP:

Design point condition

OD:

Off-design condition

s :

Compressor suction

p :

Polytropic

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Acknowledgments

The first author would like to thank Cranfield University and Petroleum Development Oman Company for their contributions in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, UK

    Waleed Al-Busaidi & Pericles Pilidis

Authors
  1. Waleed Al-Busaidi
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  2. Pericles Pilidis
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Correspondence to Waleed Al-Busaidi.

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Al-Busaidi, W., Pilidis, P. Investigation of Efficiency Deterioration Causes in Process Centrifugal Compressor Operation. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 16, 19–36 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-016-0069-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-016-0069-2

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