Centrifugal Compressors
There has never been a centrifugal compressor control system that works,” ventures Norman Fischer, President of Centrifugal Equipment Service Corporation, a VTS OEM (original equipment manufacturer) based in Demotte, Indiana. Fischer’s company has been 10 years in the business of servicing large air compressors for utilities and the textile, automotive and refining industries.
“Centrifugal air compressors scare people, and people don’t understand them, so in the past, the control systems have been complicated, inadequate, and didn’t do the right kind of control.” After years of searching for a solution, Fischer turned to VTS monitoring and control software from Trihedral Engineering Limited of Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. Fischer and his staff worked with Trihedral engineers in Bedford as part of their OEM Advantage Program. After three weeks of effort, Fischer had configured a technically advanced control system that performed both the compressor monitoring and set point control functions that were required. “I saw 15 years of dreams materialize after only three weeks with Trihedral and VTS,” stated Fischer.
To properly control centrifugal compressors, the system must determine their sonic velocity (SV), mechanical limit (ML), throttle surge pressure (TSP), natural surge pressure (NSP) and optimal efficiency point (OEP). Then the system must set the controls to run within the acceptable limits, and automatically update the controls when operating conditions change. VTS software achieves all this, and provides trending, alarming, maintenance logging and management tools for analysis of the overall operation.
As an OEM, Fischer’s company will “private label” the VTS system to meet the needs of his customers. With the system in place, end users in turn will be able to properly control their compressors, avoiding unnecessary and expensive downtime, reducing energy consumption, and gaining more reliable plant operations.
