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TECHNICAL FEATURE

This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, November 2013. Copyright 2013 ASHRAE. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or
distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit www.ashrae.org.

Industrial Refrigeration Systems

Sequencing & Control


Of Compressors
BY DOUGLAS T. REINDL, PH.D., P.E., FELLOW ASHRAE

Virtually every built-up refrigeration system used in commercial or industrial


applications has multiple compressors available for operation to meet loads.
One of the challenges in designing and operating a system with multiple
compressors is deciding how best to sequence their controls to meet variable
refrigeration loads while avoiding inefficient compressor performance at
part-load to maintain high system efficiency.
This article discusses typical part-load efficiency characteristics for screw and reciprocating compressors
commonly found in built-up industrial refrigeration
systems. It includes recommendations for sequencing and control strategies that enable efficient system
operation.

Introduction
Industrial refrigeration systems come in all different
sizes, configurations, and arrangements. The nature
of the food production and storage facilities this technology most frequently calls home are quite varied,
and nearly all of the refrigeration systems installed in
these applications are custom-engineered to meet the
specific thermal requirements of loads within the facility. Individual owners establish specific requirements

for their refrigeration infrastructure, and the relative


importance of these requirements vary on a plant-byplant basis. The requirements can be grouped into two
categories non-negotiable and negotiable.
Non-negotiable requirements dictate that the refrigeration system must be: safe and able to meet the magnitude and temperature requirements of coincident
load(s). Safety is achieved by ensuring the systems are
designed, constructed, and operated in accordance with
the latest applicable standards, codes, regulations, and
industry best practices. Guaranteeing the refrigeration
system can reliably meet its loads requires appropriate sizing of key components including compressors. In
some cases, achieving the ability to reliably meet loads
may necessitate redundant compressors. Negotiable
requirements can include capital cost, operating costs,

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Douglas T. Reindl, Ph.D., P.E., is a professor and director at the University of Wisconsin-Madisons Industrial Refrigeration Consortium in Madison, Wis.
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TECHNICAL FEATURE

system complexity, extent of redunTABLE 1 


Summary of compression technologies commonly found in industrial refrigeration applications.
dancy, and energy efficiency.
Technology
Application Size Range (typical)
Capacity Control
Comments
Depending on the temperature
70 675 cfm
On/Off
Single-Stage
requirements and magnitude of the
15 330 tons
Discrete Cylinder
Two-Stage:
Limited to approximately
Reciprocating
40

300
hp
Unloaders
Booster
Duty,
8:1 compression ratio.
loads, a refrigeration system might
Variable Speed
High-Stage Duty
be configured to operate as a singleOn/Off
Rotary Vane
Booster Duty
Becoming extinct.
stage or multi-stage compression
Variable Speed
system. As the temperature require60 6,000 cfm
On/Off
Single-stage
5 3,500 tons
Continuous Slide Valve
Two-Stage:
ments for given loads decrease,
Twin Screw
Larger HP machines are
30 3,000 hp
Poppet Valves
Booster Duty,
systems generally transition from
not cycled on/off as a
Variable Speed
High-Stage Duty
normal means for capacity
single-stage compression to two400 3,000 cfm
On/off
Single-stage
control due to limitations
20 1,340 tons
Continuous Slide Valve
Two-Stage:
on start/stops per hour.2
stage compression to overcome limiSingle Screw
100 1,150 hp
Variable Speed
Booster Duty,
tations of the compression machines
High-Stage Duty
themselves or to maintain an
acceptable system operating efficiency. Jekel and Reindl1 Reciprocating Compressors
As noted earlier, smaller systems such as ice rinks typiprovide more complete coverage of single-stage vs. twocally use reciprocating compressors. Although small
stage compression systems.
reciprocating compressors can be cycled on and off to
Lets look at the compression technologies most commeet loads as they vary, this operating strategy is strictly
monly used in multiple compressor industrial refrigavoided on larger machines due to the adverse effects of
eration systems today, and consider the factors that
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frequent starts and stops on the larger horsepower elecinfluence their operating efficiency. The overall objectric motors.
tive of this article is to provide guidance on compressor
For example, NEMA2 guidance recommends limiting
sequencing and controls to maintain high efficiency
without compromising the systems ability to meet ther- a 250 hp (186 kW) motor to four starts per hour with a
rest time on the order of 10 minutes between successive
mal loads.
starts to avoid premature motor failure. Larger frame
Compressor Technology Options and Capacity Control
motors are generally more restrictive. In addition to
Because industrial refrigeration systems preferentially motor limitations, on/off compressor operation leads to
use anhydrous ammonia as the refrigerant, the comwider fluctuations in system suction pressures that may
pressor technology options are necessarily limited. The
not be desirable or tolerable for some applications.
compressors used in ammonia refrigeration systems
The most common form of capacity control for the
are an open-drive configuration to prevent ammonias
reciprocating compressors in industrial refrigeracorrosive effects to copper from damaging the electric
tion systems is the use of cylinder unloaders. Cylinder
motors rotor and stator windings. Industrial ammonia
unloaders consist of electrically or hydraulically acturefrigeration systems principally rely on positive disated push rods that hold open the suction valve on one
placement compression machines including: reciproor more cylinders. When unloaders are actuated, succating, rotary vane, single screw and twin screw.
tion vapor flows into the cylinder as the piston moves
By far, screw compressors are the most common techdownward and then back out of the cylinder through
nology in the industrial refrigeration market today.
the suction valve when the piston moves upward. The
Reciprocating compressors can still be found in smaller
compressors capacity reduction is proportional to the
systems and for specialty use in larger systems (e.g.,
number of cylinders unloaded.
pump-out) and the rotary vane compression technology
For example, if two cylinders of a six cylinder reciprocating compressor are unloaded, the compressors fullis being phased-out of service due to its low operating
load capacity is reduced by 33%. For larger multi-cylinefficiency and relatively high maintenance costs. Table
der reciprocating compressors (8, 12, 16 cylinder), the
1 provides a summary of the compression technoloparasitic energy associated with carrying those cylinders
gies found in todays industrial ammonia refrigeration
not developing compression is small.
systems.
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TECHNICAL FEATURE

FIGURE 1Part-load performance of a multi-cylinder reciprocating compressor.

FIGURE 2Example of the relationship between capacity and slide valve position for one

specific twin screw compressor design.

90

100

80

90
80

70

Capacity Part Load (%)

Percent of Full Load Power

100

60
50
40
30
Recip. Unloading Steps

20
10
0

Ideal Unloading

60
50
40
30
20
10

95F Condensing

0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent of Full Load Capacity

Figure 1 shows the unloading characteristic of reciprocating compressor equipped with three steps of loading
(100%, 66%, and 33%) expressed as a percent of fullload power over a range of part-load conditions. A fully
unloaded (0%) option can also be used to accommodate
load fluctuations without cycling the electric motor on
and off.
Reciprocating compressors can be equipped with a
variable frequency drive (VFD) for capacity control and,
because it is a positive displacement machine, its capacity is directly proportional to speed. From an energyefficiency perspective, there is little advantage to equipping a reciprocating compressor with a VFD because the
machines part-load efficiency with cylinder unloading
is excellent. There is a potential for maintenance cost
savings associated with the VFD because slower compressor shaft speeds will significantly reduce wear and
tear and extend the machines life.

Screw Compressors
Screw compressors are the dominant technology found
in industrial refrigeration system applications today.
They are available in a wide range of sizes and offer
exceptional reliability and life when properly operated
and maintained. Although possible and used in situations with smaller horsepower motors, on/off control
for modulation is not widely implemented as a capacity
control strategy for larger screw compressors. The two
most common approaches for modulating the capacity
of a screw compressor to meet systems loads are by the
use of either a continuous slide valve or speed control
16

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0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Slide Valve Position (%)

with a variable speed drive. The slide valve enables


capacity modulation of the screw by changing the starting point for the compression process. The moving slide
valve will expose more or less of the screws thread to
suction; thereby, changing the volume of trapped gas
to begin the compression process. At full load, the slide
valve allows the largest portion of the screw thread to
trap gas and begin the compression process (maximum
capacity). Conversely, at minimum load, the smallest
volume of gas will be trapped.
As we will see momentarily, the part-load ratio is a
key variable in establishing the operating efficiency
of a given compressor. The part-load ratio is simply the
ratio of the compressors operating capacity (tons) to
the maximum available capacity at its operating suction
and discharge pressure. A frequent point of confusion
related to the part-load operation of a screw compressor
is interpreting the mechanical and/or electronic indicators on screw compressors that show the machines slide
valve position.
There is a relationship between the capacity of a screw
compressor and its slide valve position but this relationship is non-linear as shown in Figure 2. Each screw
compressor design will have its own unique slide valve
vs. capacity relationship, but for this particular screw
compressor design, its capacity drops sharply during the
initial slide valve movement away from its 100% position
(full load). By the time the slide valve moves to its 90%
position, the compressors capacity has already dropped
to 70% of full load. The importance of understanding
this non-linear behavior will become more evident

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

FIGURE 3Relationship between capacity and speed for a twin screw compressor.

FIGURE 4Part-load efficiency for twin screw compressor with slide valve and VFD/

slide valve.

100
6.0
5.5

Twin Screw Compressor

70
60

4.5

Saturated Suction Temperature: 20F


Saturated Discharge Temperature: 90F

Slide Valve Control

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5

50

Compressor Only

5.0

80

Efficiency (hp/ton)

Percent of Full Load Capacity

90

2.0

VFD and Slide Valve Control

Refrigerant: Ammonia (R-717)

0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent Compressor Speed

0 20 40 60 80 100
Capacity (Percent of Full Load)

when we consider the part-load efficiency of screw compressors and guidance for maintaining efficient operation at part-load conditions.
Because each rotation of the screws rotor translates to
a defined volume of gas being compressed and expelled
out the discharge port, changing the shaft speed translates to a direct proportional change of gas flow through
the compressor. Figure 3 shows the capacity of a typical
twin screw compressor directly varying as a function of
shaft speed. Screw compressors have a limited range of
capacity modulation using speed control based on their
design. Most compressor designs will accommodate
turndown to 50% of full speed, but some compressor
designs can accommodate lower speeds (as low as 20%).
In cases where a compressor retrofit from fixed speed
to variable speed is considered, it is essential to consult
with the manufacturer to establish the minimum speed
for a given machine. If additional capacity modulation
on a VFD-equipped machine is required, the slide valve
can be used in conjunction with speed control. Efficient
operating strategies for this tandem approach for capacity control is discussed later in this article.
Figure 4 shows the efficiency of a smaller capacity twin
screw compressor in single-stage duty equipped with
slide-valve as the only form of capacity control and
the comparative efficiency of the same machine VFDequipped. As noted in the figure, the results are for the
compressor-only and do not factor in the mechanicalelectrical conversion efficiency associated with the
electric motor or variable speed drive and system effects
such as pressure drop in piping are omitted.

In both cases, the best efficiency point (lowest hp/ton)


is at full load. For the screw compressor equipped with a
slide valve for capacity control, the efficiency decreases
as the machine unloads. The specific character of
degraded performance will vary depending on the size
of the screw compressor, its design details, and operating suction/discharge pressures but all screw compressors exhibit this general trend.
The part-load penalty shown in Figure 4 is for a compressor operating in a relatively high compression
ratio situation. For lower compression ratio operation,
the efficiency penalty at lower part load is not as dramatic. When equipped with a variable speed drive, the
degradation of the compressors operating efficiency
can be held in check until low part-load conditions
are reached at which time the performance begins to
rapidly decrease with further capacity reduction. The
lower hp/ton for the variable speed case might suggest
that it would be advantageous to equip all compressors
on an operating suction pressure level with a variable
speed drive, but that is certainly not the case as will be
discussed.
So far we have ignored other factors that affect the
operating efficiency of a compressor once integrated
into the system. As the load on a compressor decreases,
the gas flow into and out of the compressor will
decrease, resulting in lower suction and discharge line
pressure losses. Lower suction and discharge line pressure loses will help compressor performance.
Another factor ignored so far is the efficiency of
the conversion process from primary energy in the

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

form of electricity to shaft work. Fortunately, for


the larger electric motors commonly found driving
compressors, the electrical efficiency is high (94%
to 95%) and remains relatively constant until very
low part-load conditions are reached (e.g., below
20%) when the motor efficiency will begin drop
dramatically.
For example, a premium efficiency
150 hp (112 kW) motor having a 95.1%
efficiency at full load will experience
a decrease in efficiency to 89.5% at
20% of full load. When this motors
load drops to 5% of full load, its efficiency will decrease to 68%.
Figure 5 shows the efficiency of a
twin screw compressor over a range
of part-load conditions in singlestage duty for a range of suction
pressures and a constant discharge
pressure. Rather than expressing
the efficiency as the shaft bhp into
the compressor divided by its capacity in tons, the efficiency in this case
is expressed as the kW of electricity
required to drive the compressor for
each ton of refrigeration it develops. A motor efficiency of 94% is
included.
As noted previously, the efficiency
penalty for part-load operation
becomes more severe as the compression lift increases. For example,
the 0 psig suction case will experience a 50% penalty compared to fullload efficiency at a part-load ratio of
48% while the 25 psig (172 kPa) suction case can unload to 33% before
the comparable efficiency penalty is
reached.
In addition to electric motor inefficiencies, machines equipped with
variable speed drives will also have
electric losses associated with the
drive. Nominal drive losses at fullload conditions for larger horsepower motors are in the range of 3%
to 4% and those losses climb to 10%
and higher at low part loads.3

Compressor Sequencing and Control


All industrial refrigeration systems will be equipped
with more than one compressor for each suction pressure level. There are a number of factors that complicate
the development of compressors sequencing and capacity control for industrial refrigeration systems including
compressors with varying sizes (capacities), age (lower or

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

FIGURE 5Efficiency for twin screw compressor operating with ammonia at part-

loads over a range of suction pressures.

8
0 psig Suction

operating with ammonia in single stage duty including system pressure


drop effects (adapted from Manske, et al.5).

150 psig Discharge

Compressor Specific Power

6
5 10 psig Suction
4
3
2
1
0

25 psig Suction
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Part Load (%)

Reciprocating vs. Screw Compressors


Manske4 and Manske, et al.,5 conducted a detailed
evaluation and optimization of a multi-temperature
level industrial refrigeration system serving a refrigerated warehouse. The installed system used both screw
and reciprocating compressors. For a particular system
being studied, Manske determined operating sequences
to maximize its operating efficiency, and he generalized his findings to extend their applicability to other
systems.
Manske elected to use specific power as a key performance indicator in his analysis where the specific
power is defined as the ratio of total power (of system or
compressor) to the capacity where each are expressed in
consistent units to yield a dimensionless quantity. The
specific power is the inverse of the more commonly used
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0.6

Low Pressure
Receiver
Temperature

Single Screw
Reciprocating

0.5
15F
0.4
5F
0.3

Refrigerant: Ammonia (R-717)

higher nominal operating efficiency), technology (reciprocating or screw), and load characteristics. In a system
that has a mix of screw and reciprocating compressors, is
it better to base-load with the reciprocating compressors and trim
with the screw compressors? Is it better to run smaller compressors
at full-load and trim with larger compressors? Is it better to equalize
run hours on compressors regardless of their part-load ratio?
These are just a few of the questions that arise when
considering the best approach for sequencing and control of compressors in an industrial refrigeration system.
Lets address some of the major factors that influence
the operating efficiency of compressors and try to generalize some practices for sequencing their operation to
yield efficient system performance.

20

0.7

5F

Saturated Discharge Temperature = 85F


0.2
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Compressor Part Load Ratio
FIGURE 7Performance comparison for equally sized ammonia screw compressors

including system effects (adapted from Manske, et al.5).

0.40
Aggregate Compressor Specific Power

Efficiency (kWe/ton)

FIGURE 6Comparative performance of both reciprocating and screw compressors

0.39
0.38
0.37
0.36
0.35

Equal Sized Compressors


Saturated Discharge Temperature = 85F
Low Pressure Receiver Temperature = 5F
Crossover Point
Equal Compressor Loading

One Comp. Only


One Comp. at 100% Load

0.34
0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
Part Load (Ratio)

efficiency measure known as the coefficient of performance (COP).


Specific Power = Power

RE
where Power is the system or compressor power (Btu/h)
and RE is the total refrigeration effect (Btu/h).
Figure 6 shows the comparative performance of an
ammonia screw compressor and an ammonia reciprocating compressor at part-load conditions over a range
of saturated suction temperatures for a fixed saturated discharge temperature where both compressors
include the effects of system piping pressure drop. From
the results shown, the screw compressor has slightly
improved performance compared to the reciprocating
compressor at full-load conditions.

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

As the reciprocating
compressor is unloaded,
its efficiency actually
improves due to its
nearly ideal part-load
performance coupled
with the decreased suction line and discharge
pressure drop attributable to the reduced
FIGURE 8
Field installation of a booster compressor monitored during both operation with a variable frequency drive and fixed speed.
refrigerant volume flow
rate at part-load. The
screw compressors performance also benefits from
Because screw compressors have a highly non-linear
decreased system piping pressure drop at part-load
part-load operating characteristic, establishing simoperation; however, the unloading characteristics of a
ple rules to yield efficient operation is slightly more
screw compressor are not as forgiving as a reciprocatcomplex.
ing compressor and the specific power increases as it
Consider a situation with two equally sized screw comis unloaded. This suggests that systems with multiple
pressors operating to meet loads. On a design basis for
reciprocating compressors should sequence and conthis case, the capacity of each compressor is exactly one
trol their operation to equally load each operating
half of the total required to meet the design system load.
compressor in order to minimize piping system presAs the system load decreases, we have the choice of opersure drop for the most energy-efficient operation.
ating one compressor at full load (base-loaded) with the

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

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FIGURE 9Booster compressor (ammonia) performance during fixed speed and vari-

able speed operation.

110
100

Compressor Power (kWe/ton)

second compressor trimming or unloading both compressors to maintain equal part-load ratios.
Figure 7 (Page 20) shows a performance map for both of
these operating scenarios. The left-most curve illustrates
the compressor specific power for a screw compressor operating. The most efficient operating point is at
full load (which coincides with a system load of 50%).
Whenever the system part-load exceeds 50%, two compressors are needed. The two curves show the specific
power for base-loading one machine and trimming with
the second as well as equal part-load operation for both
compressors.
At high system loads, the most efficient operation is
attained by base-loading one of the compressors and
trimming with the second compressor. However, there
comes a point at which the combined specific power
for both compressors will increase above that of equal
compressor part-load operation. This cross-over point
occurs at a system part-load ratio of approximately 65%,
which corresponds to a part-load operation at 30%
capacity for the trim machine.

90

Compressor C-2
Fixed Vi = 2.6

Fixed Speed

80
70
60
50

Variable Speed

40
30
20
10
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Part Load Ratio

Referring back to the results shown in Figure 5 for the 10


psig (69 kPa) suction pressure case, it becomes clear that
the precipitous decrease in part-load efficiency below
the 30% of full-load capacity is responsible for diminishing the performance of the entire system. As the system
load decreases further, it is more efficient to transition
to an equal part-load operation for each compressor
until the 50% system load operating point is reached, at
which point one machine would be shut down.
Keep in mind, this is one example for specific compressors and their associated operating performance
in a relatively high compression ratio application. The
decrease in screw compressor efficiency at part load
is less severe in lower compression ratio applications.
Because of the diversity of operating conditions found in
industrial refrigeration applications, each specific situation warrants its own evaluation.

Fixed Speed vs. Variable Speed Screw Compressors


As the capital cost for variable frequency drives continues to decrease, engineers are increasingly applying this
technology throughout industrial refrigeration systems
including: condenser fans, evaporator fans, and compressors. Figure 4 showed the comparative energy efficiency for both a fixed speed and variable speed screw
compressor, but the results did not include inefficiencies associated with the motor or variable speed drive or
the effects of suction/discharge line pressure drops during operation.
To evaluate these effects, field tests were conducted
on a twin screw compressor operating in booster duty
shown in Figure 8a. In a somewhat unique situation,
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TECHNICAL FEATURE

this particular compressor was installed with a VFD, as


well as a solid state starter, that allowed the machine to
operate by electrically bypassing the drive to run in a
traditional fixed speed operating mode. The installation
of this compressor afforded an opportunity to directly
compare the performance of the same physical compressor operating as a fixed speed machine using a slide
valve for capacity control and variable speed; thereby,
eliminating any machine-to-machine variability. With
the VFD active, speed was used as the first level of capacity control until the manufacturers recommended
minimum speed of 1,775 rpm was reached. If further
capacity reduction was required at the minimum speed,
the control system then used the compressors continuous slide valve.
This particular compressor operates with a nominal
suction pressure of 0.4 psig (2.7 kPa) and discharges
to an intercooler operating at a fixed pressure of 37
psig (255 kPa). The nature of this particular installation gave complete flexibility in varying the load on the
compressor and maintaining a given load condition
for an extended period of time to ensure stead- state

conditions were reached. The capacity of the compressor


was determined by measuring the flow rate of refrigerant in the discharge line using a differential pressure
flow sensor (Figure 8b) and the refrigerant conditions at
the compressor discharge condition. Both true power
and apparent power were measured using a watt transducer with inputs of measured voltage and three-phase
current supplied to the compressor.
Figure 9 (Page 24) shows the measured compressor true
power input to the variable frequency drive over a range
of part-load conditions while operating in both variable
speed and fixed speed modes. Note the higher electrical
power required at full-load condition for the variable
speed case is attributable to the added penalty of electrical losses for the variable frequency drive itself. Once the
machine unloads below 95%, variable speed drive has
an increasing power advantage compared to the fixed
speed drive operation.
From an efficiency perspective, it is advisable to avoid
operating a VFD-equipped compressor at or near full
load. When one combines this finding with the relatively
high capital cost for a large horsepower low voltage (480

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

V) drive that would be needed for many of the screw


compressors industrial refrigeration systems, the recommendation to consider limiting the VFD-equipped
compressors to a maximum of one machine per suction
pressure level becomes evident.
The preferred operating strategy base-loads the
fixed speed compressors at full load and uses the VFDequipped machine for trimming. There may be applications where more than one VFD-equipped compressor
per suction pressure level would be considered, but
it is important to keep in mind that running a VFDequipped compressor at or near full load will result in
increased energy consumption from drive losses compared to a fixed speed machine.

Conclusions
Almost without exception, industrial refrigeration systems use a multiplicity of compressors to meet loads on
each suction pressure level for a given system. Because
the loads are variable, the capacity of the operating compressors must vary to match the instantaneous loads to
maintain a constant suction pressure. As a compressor

unloads, its operating efficiency will be affected. The


part-load efficiency characteristics of a compressor
depend on a number of factors including: the compression technology, the means for unloading, and the operating compression ratio.
The following are recommendations for compressor
sequencing and control.
For systems with a mix of reciprocating and screw
compressors, base-load the screw compressors and use
the reciprocating compressors for trimming.
For systems with screw compressors equipped with a
slide valve for capacity control:
Select one compressor to operate as a trim machine.
The selected trim machine can be rotated to distribute run hours as-required. The selected trim machine
should be of adequate size/capacity to accommodate
expected load variation over a reasonable time period
(e.g., 24 hours or longer).
If the operating trim compressor unloads to less
than 50% capacity, begin to unload one or more compressors operating. This can be accomplished by setting
a lower bound on the trim compressor unloading at a

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

slide valve percentage that corresponds to 50% capacity


for a respective machine.
If loads continue to decrease, sequentially shutdown individual compressors to enable the part-load
operation of the remaining compressors to increase.
In considering the application of variable speed
drives for screw compressors:
For most installations, install
one VFD-equipped machine per
suction level, and use that compressor as the trim machine.
When trimming with a VFDequipped machine, use speed as
the first level of capacity control and
then slide valve for additional capacity modulation once minimum
speed is reached.
It is essential to field-commission a VFD-equipped compressor
by ramping it slowly through its
entire speed range to detect if abnormal or excessive vibration is
experienced at one or more speeds.
Those speeds or drive frequencies
where such vibrations exist must
be programmed into the drive controls so they can be skipped during normal operation.
Recognize that, like other aspects
of dynamic facilities, the sequences
and controls for compressors
need to adapt and continuously
improve. Keep in mind that industrial refrigeration systems are quite
varied and developing compressor
control sequences that meet process needs while achieving efficient
operation requires case-by-case
evaluation.

3. DOE. 2012. Adjustable Speed Drive Part-Load Efficiency. Motor


Systems Tip Sheet #11, U.S. Department of Energy Publication DOE/
GO-102012-3730.
4. Manske, K.A. 2000. Performance Optimization of Industrial Refrigeration
Systems. M.S. Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
5. Manske, K.A., S.A., D.T. Reindl. 2002. Load sharing strategies in
multiple compressor refrigeration systems. ASHRAE Transactions
108(1).

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References
1. Jekel, T.B., D.T. Reindl. 2008. Single- or
two-stage compression. ASHRAE Journal
50(8).
2. NEMA. 2001. Energy Management Guide
for Selection and Use of Fixed Frequency
Medium AC Squirrel-Cage Polyphase Induction Motors. Publication MG 10-2001,
Rosslyn, Va.: National Electrical Manufacturers Association.
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