6/13/2017 WhyCompressionRatioMatters

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WhyCompressionRatioMatters
byRobertX.Perez

Oneofthecriticalparametersincompressordesignandselectionisthecompressionratio,oftendenotedasr.The
compressionratioissimplytheratiooftheabsolutestagedischargepressuretotheabsolutestagesuctionpressure.

Becausemostgasesincreaseintemperaturewhentheyarecompressed,thefinalcompressoroutlettemperatureisalways
aconcern.Ahighdischargetemperaturecanleadtothefailureofinternalcomponentsduetomaterialdegradationor
excessivethermalexpansion.Compressionratioisalsoimportantindeterminingrequiredhorsepowerthehighertheratio,
thegreatertherequiredhorsepowerforthatstage.

CompressionRatioversusDischargeTemperature

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Hereisasimpleexampleofhowtocalculatecompressionratio.Forexample,wewillcompressagaswitharatioofspecific
heatsof1.3(seeratioofspecificheatsbox)fromasuctionpressure0.5psigtoadischargepressureof35psig.To
calculatethecompressionratio,firstconvertbothofthesepressurestoabsolutepressurebyadding14.7toeachtermand
thendividingtheabsolutedischargepressurebytheabsolutesuctionpressure:

Equation1

Onceweknowthecompressionratio(andassumingtherearenointernallosses),wecandeterminethetheoretical
dischargetemperatureusingEquation2,whichisbasedonadiabaticcompression.

Equation2

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Where:

T=degR

k=Ratioofspecificheat

r=CompressionratiocalculatedbyEquation1.

Assumingasuctiontemperatureof60degF,wearriveatatheoreticaldischargetemperature(Td)of234degF.

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Wewilltakethisexerciseastepfurtherbyincreasingthecompressordischargepressurein5psiincrementstoseewhat
happenstothedischargetemperature.Table1summarizestheresults.Asthedischargepressureincreases,the
compressionratiorisesandthedischargetemperature(Td)correspondinglyincreases.Inthisexample,Tdincreasesfrom
234.3degFforacompressionratioof3.5to335.7degFforacompressionratioof6.32.

Table1.TheEffectofDischargePressureontheTheoreticalDischargeTemperature
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DesignTemperatureMargin

Comparedtoahypotheticaldesignlimitof275degF,webegintoexceedourdesignlimittemperatureatacompressor
dischargepressureof50psig.Therelationshipbetweenthetheoreticaldischargetemperatureanddesignlimittemperature
canbeseeninFigure1.Itisagoodideatoselectaconservativedesigntemperaturelimitduringtheselectionphaseofa
projecttoensureasafeoperatingmargintotakeunknownorunexpectedinternalcylinderlossesintoaccount.

Forexample,apotentialcompressorhasarecommendeddischargetemperaturealarmlimitof325degFandanautomatic
shutdownat350degF.Iftheactualdischargepressureis60psig,expectaminimumTdofabout303degF.(Remember
thatthedischargetemperaturevaluesinTable1aretheoreticalvalues.)Inreality,itwillbehigherduetointernallossesas
thecompressorexperiencesnormaldegradation.IftheactualTdismorelike318degF,themarginwillonlybe7degF,
whichisgoingtoleadtocountlessalarmsandmidnightphonecalls.

Toavoidthissituation,useaconservativedesigndischargetemperaturespecificationandusemorecompressionstagesto
ensuresmallercompressionratiosperstage.Table1showsthatforthisexample,designcompressionratiosshouldnot
exceed4.5perstagetomaintainahealthymarginbetweentheoperatingtemperatureandalarmlimit.

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CautionaryNote:Theseexamplesarebasedontheoretical
adiabaticcompressioncalculations.Adiabaticcompression
formulasareusedtoapproximatetheperformanceof
reciprocatingcompressors.Readersshouldworkwith
compressormanufacturerstodetermineactualcompression
ratioanddischargetemperaturelimitsforspecific
compressordesigns.Thetheoreticalcalculationsusedin
thiscolumnwereusedtodemonstratethegeneraltrend
expectedfromhighandhighercompressionratios.

Forcentrifugalcompressors,thefollowingtheoreticaltemperatureriseequation,basedonpolytropiccompression,is
commonlyused:

Equation3

Here(n1)/nisdefinedbytherelationship:

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,wherepisthecompressor'spolytropicefficiency

Equation3shouldonlybeusedtoestimatethetheoreticaldischargetemperatureindynamic
compressors.

DesignTradeoffs

Thereisalwaysatradeoffbetweenthenumberofcompressionstagesandthecompressordischargetemperatureateach
stage.Themorestages,thecostlierthecompressorwillbeduetocomplexityandthemorecoolingrequiredateachstage.
However,themorecompressionstagesinstalled,thesmallerthetemperaturerisewillbeacrosseachstage,allowingthe
compressorcomponentstooperatecoolerandmorereliably.Thisisthetradeoffallcompressorprofessionalsmustmakeas
theybegintheirselectionprocess.

Theoverallcompressionratioistheproductofalltheindividualcompressionratios,i.e.,ro=r1xr2xr3xetc.Assumingall
stageshavethesamecompressionratio,wecanwrite:

Equation4

Where:

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n=Thenumberofstages

rs=Thecompressionratioperstage.

Fromthisrelationship,wecanconcludethatthenumberofstagesrequiredtoachievetherequiredoverallratiois:

Equation5

Forexample,iftherequiredrois20andtherecommendedmaximumrsis4.5,then:

Equation6

ortwostagesofcompression.Ingeneral,wecanconcludethatthesmallertheallowablecompressionratio(rs),themore
stages(n)arerequired.

Myrecommendationistrytousethewidesteconomicalmarginbetweenthecalculateddischargetemperatureandthe
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compressordesigntemperaturelimit.Intheexampleabove,Irecommendedadesignmarginof50degF(325degF275
degF)toprovideabufferforunforeseeninternalcompressordegradation.Iffactorslikedirtygasareexpected,increasethe
designmarginevenfurther.

Remember,thecompressormanufacturerwillhelpusersselecttherightcompressorfortheirapplications.Compressor
manufacturersneedtoknowthemostaccuratecompressionratio,gascompositionandsuctiontemperaturespecification
availabletohelpselectanefficientandtroublefreecompressor.

ClickheretoseeaReadersResponsetothisarticle.

AbouttheAuthor

RobertPerezistheauthoroftheOperator'sGuidetoCentrifugalPumpsandwebsiteeditorforPumpCalcs.com.Hehas
morethan25yearsofrotatingequipmentexperienceinthepetrochemicalindustryandholdsaBSMEdegreefromTexas
A&MUniversityinCollegeStation,aMSMEdegreefromtheUniversityofTexasatAustinandaTexasP.E.license.

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