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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
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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
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.
14
TECHNICAL FEATURE
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
Advertisement formerly in this space.
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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15
TECHNICAL FEATURE
FIGURE 2Example of the relationship between capacity and slide valve position for one
90
100
80
90
80
70
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
70
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Slide Valve Position (%)
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
70
60
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
50
Compressor Only
5.0
80
Efficiency (hp/ton)
90
2.0
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.
18
TECHNICAL FEATURE
19
TECHNICAL FEATURE
FIGURE 5Efficiency for twin screw compressor operating with ammonia at part-
8
0 psig Suction
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 (%)
0.6
Low Pressure
Receiver
Temperature
Single Screw
Reciprocating
0.5
15F
0.4
5F
0.3
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
0.40
Aggregate Compressor Specific Power
Efficiency (kWe/ton)
0.39
0.38
0.37
0.36
0.35
0.34
0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
Part Load (Ratio)
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
22
TECHNICAL FEATURE
FIGURE 9Booster compressor (ammonia) performance during fixed speed and vari-
110
100
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
TECHNICAL FEATURE
27
TECHNICAL FEATURE
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
28
TECHNICAL FEATURE
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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