CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR assumptions as follows, with the philosophy of

using a lumped parameter model, in which an

SETTLE OUT CONDITIONS energy balance is made across the total volume of
TUTORIAL the compressor loop taking into account, the
compressor deceleration rate.
Centrifugal Compressors are a preferred choice in
gas transportation industry, mainly due to their
ability to cater to varying loads. In the event of a
compressor shutdown as a planned event, i.e.,
normal shutdown (NSD), the anti-surge valve is
opened to recycle gas from the discharge back to
the suction (thereby moving the operating point
away from the surge line) and the compressor is
tripped via the driver (electric motor or Gas turbine
/ Steam Turbine). In the case of an unplanned
event, i.e., emergency shutdown such as power
Figure 1. Schematic of Compression System
failure, the compressor trips first followed by the
The Assumptions made for this tutorial are,
anti-surge valve opening. In doing so, the gas
content in the suction side & discharge side mix. 1. The compressor loop system is a closed loop &
no gas has escaped the system.
Therefore, settle out conditions is explained as the
2. The rate of closure of the suction & discharge
equilibrium pressure and temperature reached in
block valve in addition to the check valve on the
the compressor piping and equipment volume discharge side is neglected.
following a compressor shutdown
3. The air cooler is assumed to be running at
Importance of Settle Out Conditions constant duty before and after the compressor is
The necessity to estimate settle out conditions are, shut down. If the cooler failure occurs due a
power trip, then heat rejection (QCooler = 0) is
1. Settle Out Pressure (SOP) & Settle Out
considered to stop instantaneously.
temperature (SOT) determines the design
4. The piping is considered to be adiabatic & no
pressure of the suction scrubber & piping.
heat escapes from the equipment & piping.
2. The suction scrubber pressure safety valve’s
5. The suction scrubber, if considered to have
(PSV) set pressure as well as the dry gas sealing
accumulated liquids, then this volume is
pressures are decided by the settle out pressure.
subtracted from the equipment volumes.
3. When the compressor reaches settle out
6. The time delay between the fully closed position
conditions, process gas is locked inside the
& fully open position of the Antisurge valve
piping and equipment and grips the compressor
(ASV) and check valve is not considered.
rotor from rotating effectively when restarted.
Hence depressurizing is done by routing the 7. When the driver coasts down after a trip, some
locked gas to a flare, via the vent valve to reduce amount of residual work is done on the gas.
the pressure and achieve effective re-start. 8. Compressor shutdown times are also influenced
by the fluid resistance, dynamic imbalance,
Estimating Settle Out Conditions
misalignment between shafts, leakage and
Although there are many process simulations tools improper lubrication, skewed bearings, radial or
that can be used to conduct a transient study to axial rubbing, temperature effects, transfer of
determine settle out conditions, hand calculations system stresses, resonance effect to name a few
based on first principles of thermodynamics can and therefore in reality, shutdown times can be
also be easily employed. In order to do so, the gas lower than estimated by the above method.
compressor system can be reduced with the
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Calculation Methodology The Settle Out Pressure (SOP) can be estimated as,
The lumped parameter methodology applied to the m  Z avg  R  SOT
SOP  (4)
compressor loop can be depicted as follows, MW  V1  V2 
Where,
m = Total gas mass [kg]
Zavg = Average Compressibility Factor [-]
R = Gas Constant [m3.bar/kmol.K]
MW = Gas Molecular weight [kg/kmol]
SOT = Settle Out Temperature [K]
V1 = Suction side volume [m3]
V2 = Discharge Side Volume [m3]
Case Study
A validation case study is made for a Tank Vapour
compressor in a Gas Compression Plant. Suction
Figure 2. Gas Compressor Loop pressure exists at 1.05 bara, 540C with a discharge
Based on the assumptions made, the Settle Out pressure of 5.5 bara, 1280C. The coast down period
Temperature (SOT) can be estimated as, is calculated initially followed by performing settle
out calculations. An assumption is made, that the
T  SOT 
mS c p,S TS  mD c p,DTD   QCooler  mS  mD H P t  (1)
mS c p,S  mD c p, D
air cooler continues to operate after shutdown. The
compressor maps used in the case study are,
Where,
Table 1. Compressor Performance Curves
H p t   AQ  BQN   CN
2 2
(2) Hp Q Q/N Hp/N2
[kJ/kg] [Am3/s] [(Am3/h)/rpm] [kJ/(rpm2)]
N  N t  
1
(3) 136.2 3.0778 0.000322 1.493E-06
1 216000k t  t 0 
 133.9 3.4278 0.000359 1.468E-06
N0 2 2 J 130.5 3.6806 0.000385 1.431E-06
126.6 3.8472 0.000403 1.388E-06
Where,
123.6 3.9583 0.000414 1.355E-06
HP(t) = Rate of change of polytropic head as the 115.8 4.1111 0.000430 1.269E-06
compressor coasts down [kJ/kg/s] 109.6 4.1806 0.000438 1.201E-06
100.0 4.2500 0.000445 1.096E-06
N(t) = Rate of compressor speed decay [rpm/s]

ms = Suction side gas mass [kg]

mD = Discharge side gas mass [kg]

Ts = Suction temperature before shutdown [K]

TD = Discharge temperature before shutdown [K]

Cp,s = Suction Side Heat Capacity [kJ/kg.K]

Cp,D = Discharge Side Heat Capacity [kJ/kg.K]

QCooler = Cooler Duty [kJ/s]

k = Fan Power Law Constant

J = Total Inertia of Compressor System [kg.m2] Figure 3. Compressor Performance Curves

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Performing calculations as shown in previous Using the estimated coast down time value of 115
sections in MS-Excel based on Table 2 and Table 3, sec for the case studied, the settle out pressure
Table 2. Compressor Coast down Input Data (SOP) & Settle Out Temperature (SOT) is calculated
Compressor Design Details as 0.81 bara, 55.70C & a Settle Out Time of 175 sec.
Compressor Inertia 376 kg.m2 The transient plots of the SOP & SOT based on
Gear Box Inertia 38 Kg.m2 HYSYS simulations of the case study is as follows,
EM Inertia 150.6 kg.m2
Total Inertia (J) 380.6 kg.m2
EM /GT Speed 1493 rpm
Operating Speed 9551 rpm
Gear Ratio (GR) 6.40 -
Fan law constant (k) 8.38E-05 N.m.min2
Fan law Constants (k)
% Speed Speed [rpm] k [N.m.min2]
105 10029 7.57E-05
Figure 4. Compressor Coast down Time
100 9551 7.00E-05
The calculated Settle out temperature (SOT) Trend
95 9073 6.68E-05
compared with HYSYS 2006.5 is shown as follows,
90 8596 6.42E-05
80 7641 6.03E-05
70 4776 1.66E-04
Avg. Fan Law constant (k) 8.38E-05

It is to be noted, with the Q vs. Hp curve at 9551

rpm, Fan laws were used to derive the compressor
curves for other speeds, from 70% to 105%.
Table 3. Settle Out Conditions Calculations
Suction Piping Data
Piping Volume 74.55 m3
Gas Mass Density 1.66 kg/m3 Figure 5. Settle Out Temperature Trend
Mass Specific Heat 1.83 kJ/kg.K
A comparison made between HYSYS Simulations &
Gas Temperature 54.1 0C
the methodology presented shows,
Comp. Factor (Z1) 0.9875 -
Suction KO Drum %Vol. Liq 20.0 % Parameter HYSYS Calculated %Error
Gas Mass- Suction Side 98.82 kg SOT [0C] 58.4 55.7 -4.8
Discharge Piping Data SOP [bara] 0.53 0.81 +34.6
Piping Volume 7.87 m3 Settle Out Time [s] 167 175 +4.8
Gas Mass Density 7.53 kg/m3
Mass Specific Heat 2.16 kJ/kg.K
The SOT & Settle Out Time shows an error margin
Gas Temperature 128.3 0C of < 5%. Whereas for SOP, between the HYSYS
Comp. Factor (Z2) 0.9622 - predicted value of 0.34 bara and calculated value of
Discharge KO Drum %Vol. Liq 10.0 % 0.81 bara, represents ~35% error. The author
Gas Mass – Discharge Side 11.22 kg attributes the error in SOP partly to the suction &
Cooler Data discharge valve closure time in HYSYS when some
Cooler Duty 1432 kW vapours were discharged & the remaining for the
Cooler Outlet Specific Heat 2.03 kJ/kg.K reasons explained in the next section.

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Effect of Assumptions on Results Design Standards (API 521/NORSOK)
1. Approximation of compressor curves to Fan 1. In designing suction side of compressor piping &
Laws – Fan laws are more applicable to fluids equipment, providing a design margin between
with low compressibility, smaller pressure settle out pressure and design pressure prevents
ratios & constant density. Use of these laws unnecessary flaring. As per API 521, “Pressure
would distort the Compressor manufacturer’s relieving and Depressuring Systems”, 5th Edition,
data thereby causing a difference in calculations. Jan 2007, “Design Pressure shall be a minimum
Since the overlap area is significant, the of 1.05 times the settle out pressure at
performance curve used in the calculations is maximum pressure drop, calculated assuming
assumed to be same through out the period of the suction side is operated at normal operating
coast down. Figure 6 shows the shift in the pressure and compressor discharge pressure is
compressor performance curves. set to the maximum achievable”.

2. As per NORSOK P-001, “The maximum operating

pressure should be determined as the settle out
pressure occurring at coincident PAHH” (High-
High Pressure Alarm) “on both suction side and
discharge side, adding a 10% margin for
determining design pressure or PSV set
pressure”. Therefore NORSOK P-001 standard
provides a more conservative estimate of settle
out pressure since it takes into account the
Figure 6. Comparison of Performance Curves
between Fan Laws Generated & Vendor Data highest possible suction & discharge pressures.
2. Equilibrium conditions during Settle Out – ANNEXURE A: SETTLE OUT CONDITIONS
During coast down, equilibrium conditions are DERVIATION
not reached in the compressor plant piping since The settle out conditions is calculated by
the system is dynamic with the gas moving & considering the suction & discharge volumes as,
this is tracked in HYSYS 2006.5. However the Suction side gas mass
calculations methodology considers complete 
mS  VSuctionSide  %VSuctionScrubberLiquidVolume   S (1)  
equilibrium being reached at every time step.
This causes a difference in the final settle out Discharge side gas mass

temperature (SOT) & settle out pressure (SOP).  

mD  VDischarg e Side  %VDischarg e ScrubberLiquidVolume   D (2) 
3. Average Mass Specific Heat Capacity – The Performing heat balance over the closed loop
calculations methodology considers a constant system,
averaged mass specific heat in the suction & EIn  EOut (3)
discharge as well as cooler volumes. However in Or, QSuction  QDischarg e  QCC  QCooler (4)
commercial solvers such as HYSYS 2006.5, the
mass heat capacity is computed at every time Taking that the energy reaching the gas through the
step which affects the final SOP & SOT. compressor is acting only on the mass of gas
enclosed & calculating on a per second basis,
4. Density & Z Variations – In the calculations
made, density and compressibility factor (Z) was mS c p,S T  TS   mD c p, D T  TD   mH P  QCooler (5)
assumed to be constant, whereas HYSYS Taking m  mS  mD  & rearranging Eq. (5)
provides density & ‘Z’ corrections with change in
T  SOT 
mS c p,S TS  mD c p,DTD   QCooler  mS  mD H P t  (6)
temperature & pressure at every time step. mS c p,S  mD c p, D

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The mass specific heat for the cooler in Eq. (6) is  dN 
T  2 J   [N-m] (1)
taken to be an average value between the upstream  dt 
& downstream flow. The polytropic head, H P t  is Where,
treated as a function of time & is calculated by J = System Inertia (Compressor + gearbox + driver)
fitting the performance curves (Q vs. Hp). J M 
[kg-m2], where, J  J C   2
Hp Q
2
Q  Gear Ratio 
 A   B   C (7)
N = Speed of Compressor Rotor [rpm] or [min-1]
N 2
N N
Q The speed decay rate as well as the system inertia
A graph is plotted between   (along x-axis) &
N determines the compressor torque. Therefore the
Hp power transferred to the gas, is
(along y-axis) to obtain the constants A, B & C,
N2 P  2NT  N  m min (2)
followed by rewriting Eq. (E.7) as,
Substituting Eq. (1) in Eq. (2), the power
H p t   AQ2  BQN   CN 2 (8)
transferred during emergency shutdown (ESD) is,
In Eq. (8), the compressor speed (N) is calculated as
  dN 
shown in Eq. (9) P  2N   2 J   (3)
  dt 
N  N t  
1
(9) Applying fan power law as an approximation in
1 216000k t  t 0 
 which ‘k’ is relatively unvarying for a given curve,
N0 2 2 J
The volumetric flow calculated using Fan Laws 60P
P  N 3  P  kN 3 ; k 
N3
N  m  min 2
 P 
kN 3 (4)
60

assuming k1 =k2 during coast down is, Substituting Eq. (4) in Eq. (3),
Qt N kN 3   dN 
 t (10)  2N   2 J   (5)
Qt 1 Nt 1  dt 
60 
Nt 1  Qt Rearranging,
Or, Q  Qt 1  (11)
Nt dN kN 2  N  dN kN 2  kg  m  (6)
     
It is to be noted that, the value of ‘Q’ flowing into dt  2 2 J  60  kg  m  dt  2 2 J  60  kg  m  sec2 

the compressor is approximated to value of ‘m’ in Integrating Eq. (6), and also multiplying by (602) to

Eq. (5) (which is constant) since the density lies convert sec2 (rev/s) to min2 (rev/min)
N  N t 
between suction & discharge density. The settle out dN k  60 t t
pressure is calculated using Ideal Gas equation as,

N  N0 N 2  2 2 J t0
 dt (7)

 Z  Z 2 
N t 
60k t  t 0  (8)
N t 
 N 21  k  60 1
n  1  t  t 0    
  R  SOT   2  1
  N0

 2  J
2
  N0

2 2 J
P  SOP   2  (12)
N

VTotal 1 60k t  t 0  1 60k t  t 0 

 N t  
1 1 1

N t  N 0
  
N t  N 0

1 60k t  t 0 
(9)
2 2 J 2 2 J 
m  Z avg  R  SOT N0 2  J
2

Or, SOP  (13)

MW  V1  V2  Where, N0 is the compressor speed before ESD. The
2nd denominator term exists with units
ANNEXURE B: COMPRESSOR COAST DOWN
DERVIATION N.m.min/kg.m2 & is converted to min-1 which gives,
The decay rate of driver speed is governed by the
N t  
1
(10)
inertia of the system consisting of the compressor, 1 216000k t  t 0 

coupling, gearbox & driver, which are counteracted
N0 2 2 J
by the torque transferred to the fluid. Neglecting References
the mechanical losses, www.ogj.com, Volume 113, Issue, 3, February 2015
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