Dynamic Simulation and Testing To Assess Rundown Speed Of A Compressor

Abstract

Dynamic simulations are frequently conducted to verify the behavior of compressor stations during transient events. The most difficult situation to analyze is the event of an emergency shutdown, due to the very fast transients. Unfortunately, there is very little documented data that compares simulation results and the actual behavior of the station. We will evaluate available data sets for 3 different studies. The studies include a shutdown of a compressor against a closed recycle valve, a very well documented and published study on the emergency shutdown of a compressor in a test facility, and new data from a compressor station where a major station modification led to a dynamic simulation and subsequent verification. The latter will be described in some detail. The key finding is, that a difficulty, and a major source of inaccuracy lies in the correct prediction of the speed decay for the compressor.