AN30

Accurately Defining the

Surge Control Line

area in which the

controller would
recycle needlessly
Application Note
area in which the compressor
could operate too close to its
surge limit

A/D incorrect control line

correct control line
actual surge limit

Figure 1 Possible Consequences Of Incorrectly Defining The Surge Control Line

An Antisurge Controller calculates a compressor’s proximity to surge by

comparing measured operating conditions to those under which it is
believed the compressor will surge. Effective and efficient protection can
AM be achieved only if an accurate surge control line is defined. Otherwise
(as illustrated in Figure 1), the controller will either:
• allow the compressor to operate beyond its true surge limit, which
can result in surging, or
• unnecessarily increase the recycle rate in situations where there is
no real danger of surge.
The data used to configure a controller’s proximity-to-surge calculation
can come from:
• surge tests conducted while commissioning the control system,
• the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the compressor, or
• prior operation of the compressor.
Surge testing will allow the most accurate tuning, but is sometimes unac-
ceptable to the customer. Either alternate source can then be used, but
that data must be carefully analyzed to assess how well it represents the
actual compressor limits under expected operating conditions.

AN30 (1.1) October 2000

Accurately Defining the Surge Control Line

Surge Tests The best way to define the surge limit is to gradually close the recycle (or
blow-off) valve until the compressor surges just once. The valve is then
rapidly opened to prevent repetitive surging. Several such tests might be
needed to define a surge limit that is invariant to all possible conditions.
Conducting these tests under conditions as close to normal operation as
possible and using the new control system to measure those conditions
virtually eliminates deterministic errors (such as scaling and calibration
differences between the production and test equipment).
Although it seems paradoxical to surge a compressor in order to protect it
from surge damage, the procedure in fact poses a negligible risk to the
machine. Although even one surge can be quite disruptive to the pro-
cess, compressor damage results from repetitive or frequent surging. It is
much safer to have an experienced engineer surge the compressor dur-
ing commissioning than it is to risk uncontrolled surge by operating the
process with an incorrectly configured controller.
Upon the advice of the customer or OEM, it is sometimes possible to
avoid “hard surging” the machine by mapping the surge limit from some
other symptoms that precedes an actual surge. This approach can be
used only if the correlation between those indicators and the surge limit is
well established and reasonably consistent, and if the operating points at
which they occur are fairly close to the actual surge limit.

OEM Data Using surge limit data provided by the compressor manufacturer has the
benefit of not requiring on-site surge testing. The disadvantage is that
such maps can be inaccurate. Some are predicted from theoretical con-
siderations or extrapolated from conditions significantly different from
those indicated.
In addition, the codes that govern compressor testing define several
classes of tests. The most exacting (and expensive) tests provide the
most accurate surge limit data because they allow the least variation in
test conditions.
The accuracy of compressor maps also depends on the relative calibra-
tion of the test and field equipment, especially the flow meters. It must be
remembered that the relationship between actual flow and the pressure
drop across a flow meter can be installation dependent. If such a device
is installed out of compliance with its design specifications and estab-
lished standards, its measurements might be incorrectly scaled even if
the general relationship between the flow and pressure drop is correct.

Prior When retrofitting new controls to an existing process, it is possible to use

Operation valid surge data from previous operation. This not only avoids added
surge testing, but also assures that the surge limit is defined from actual
compressor performance under process conditions. However, errors are
possible if transmitters are added or replaced, if there are calibration dif-
ferences between the new and old control systems, or if the compressor
has been overhauled.

Page 2 of 4 AN30 (1.1)

 Accurately Defining the Surge Control Line

Commission- When CCC engineers a control system, we calculate preliminary values

ing Practices for the surge limit line parameters from data supplied by the customer
or OEM. These are included in the project Engineering Manual. If more
accurate performance maps are subsequently provided, the controller
settings should be recalculated from those new data.
However, we prefer to calculate the final settings from on-site surge tests
conducted using the new control system, especially if:
• the surge data supplied with the compressor are found to be insuffi-
ciently accurate,
• additional transmitters or measuring devices are installed as part of
the new control system, or
• the accuracy of any primary process measurement is questionable.
Under any of these circumstances, the commissioning engineer will rec-
ommend on-site surge testing, but the decision on whether to proceed
with such tests is completely up to the customer.
If the design data are believed to be accurate or if the customer rejects a
surge test recommendation, a “near-surge test” should be conducted to
verify that the compressor does not surge within the operating envelope
as the operating point approaches the expected limit. If it does, the data
used to define that surge limit are obviously inapplicable. Additional test-
ing should be undertaken to define the true surge limit.
In any case, if the compressor surges while it is operating to the right of
the OEM-provided surge limit, the startup engineer will assure safe oper-
ation of the compressor by configuring the controller from the more
conservative data.
However, if surge testing shows there are safe operating points to the left
of the predicted surge limit, the controller will be configured from those
test results only with the customer’s consent. Although doing so might
reduce wasteful recycling, it could also result in operation beyond the
OEM-guaranteed safe operating envelope. An attempt should be made
to determine why the operation of the compressor seems to deviate from
the OEM-supplied data.

Surge Control Compressor manufacturers sometimes specify a minimum margin of

Margins safety between the surge limit and surge control lines. For example, there
might be a stated requirement that the minimum flow must be ten percent
greater than the surge limit flow.
If the control system requires an even larger margin of safety to prevent
surge under actual process conditions, the startup engineer will configure
the controller to use that higher margin of safety. If it is determined that
the system can prevent surge with a smaller margin of safety than speci-
fied by the OEM, the startup engineer will configure the system to use the
reduced margin of safety only with the customer’s consent.

AN30 (1.1) Page 3 of 4

Accurately Defining the Surge Control Line

The TTC and impeller logos, Air Miser, Guardian, Recycle Trip, Reliant, Safety On, SureLink, TTC, Total Train Control, TrainTools, TrainView,
++
TrainWare, Vanguard, Vantage, Vibrant, and WOIS are registered trademarks; and the Series 3 and Series 5 logos, COMMAND, and TrainPanel
are trademarks of Compressor Controls Corp. © 200#

Page 4 COMPRESSOR CONTROLS CORPORATION

AN30 (1.1) 4725 121st Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50323-2316, U.S.A.
October 2000
Phone: (515) 270-0857 • Fax: (515) 270-1331 • Web: www.cccglobal.com