12

Control of Compressor Surge with Rotating Stall

Jan van Helvoirt, Bram de Jager, Maarten Steinbuch
Dynamics and Control Technology Group
P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
phone +31 40 2472811, email J.v.Helvoirt@tue.nl

Introduction
The performance and operating range of centrifugal compressors is limited by the occurrence of an aerodynamic instability called surge. This instability can lead to severe damage
of the machine due to large mechanical and thermal loads. A
way to cope with this instability is active control. In this approach, the dynamics of the compression system are modified by feeding back perturbations into the flow field. Such
techniques can extend the stable operating range towards
lower mass flows, which makes the compressor more versatile. Furthermore it enables the safe operation of the compressor at maximum efficiency, since the corresponding operating point normally lays close to the surge point (Fig. 1).

By applying the so-called Two Microphone Method the amplitude and direction of the acoustic energy flux can be calculated. The behavior of this energy flux as function of time can
provide useful information about the incipience of centrifugal
compressor surge. Due to the sensitivity of the TMM to operating conditions, more accurate measurements are required
before final conclusions can be drawn.

Compressor model
The Greitzer lumped parameter model is a mathematical
model that can be used in the design of a controller [1].
Lc
Ac

max

surge line

1.5

Lt

1.75

At
Vp
C

1.25

Figure 3 Lumped parameter compressor model

1

compressor

0.75

p + C

p F

m c m t

throttle

0.5

0.25

0
0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

Figure 1 Compressor curve

Compressor behavior
An essential step in model-based controller design is to understand the physical phenomena in the system and to develop a mathematical model that describes the dynamics of
the relevant phenomena. In order to understand the incipience of surge, experiments are performed during the transition from stable operation into surge. Various pressure sensors are placed in the piping, at different locations before and
after the compressor (Fig. 2).
x0

x1

pressure sensors

p+
p
u0
Figure 2 Setup for surge incipience experiments

/w

Lc dm c
Ac dt
Lt dm t
At dt
Vp dpp
p dt

(1)
(2)
(3)

where p represents the pressure drop over the corresponding pipe (Fig. 3). The parameters C and F represent the nonlinear compressor and throttle valve characteristics (Fig. 1).
In order to improve the model, compressibility and energy effects should be taken into account. Furthermore the estimation of the unstable part of C should be improved by replacing the experimental curve with a physical model.

Future work
When the Greitzer model is identified, a suitable controller
can be designed as described in [2]. The implementation of
such a surge controller mainly depends on the required bandwidth and capacity of a control valve that must be placed in
parallel to the throttle valve.
After implementing this initial controller, closed-loop identification and Model Predictive Control strategies should lead
to a significantly larger stable operating range.

References:
[1] Greitzer, E.M. (1976), Surge and rotating stall in axial flow compressors. Part I: Theoretical compression system model, ASME J. Engineering for Power, 98(2), 190198.
[2] Willems, F.P.T. (2000) Modeling and bounded feedback stabilization
of centrifugal compressor surge, PhD Thesis, Technische Universiteit
Eindhoven.