Flexible supply gas routing for gas compressors
AssigneeOnboard Dynamics, Inc.
InventorsNicholas Paul Echter, Kristina Weyer-Geigel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Most multistage compressors specify a maximum inlet pressure that may be supplied to the compressor to stay within designed limits. If the supply gas to be compressed is at a higher pressure than the specified maximum inlet pressure, then its pressure must be reduced before connecting it to the compressor. This pressure reduction is inefficient. The present invention avoids reducing the inlet pressure by routing the supply gas directly to the appropriate compression stage depending on its inlet pressure such that the compressor loads are still within the specified limits of the equipment.
Claims18
A gas compressor, comprising:
- (a) a plurality of compression cylinders in fluid communication with each other, configured to compress a gas in at least two gas compression stages, including an initial compression cylinder in fluid communication with a gas inlet and a final compression cylinder in fluid communication with a gas outlet, wherein at least two compression cylinders of the plurality of compression cylinders which are from different gas compression stages (i) are in fluid communication with the gas inlet such that a supply gas can travel from the gas inlet to each of the at least two compression cylinders without first passing through the other(s) of the at least two compression cylinders and (ii) have different maximum inlet pressures;
- and
- (b) one or more valves disposed between and in direct fluid communication with the gas inlet and the at least two compression cylinders to deliver gas from the gas inlet to only a single stage at one time;
- the one or more valves adapted to close such that no gas flows into the at least two compression cylinders;
- the supply gas having an inlet pressure at the gas inlet;
- and
- the one or more valves adapted to open allowing flow to a corresponding compression cylinder of the at least two compression cylinders, that has a maximum inlet pressure greater than or equal to the inlet pressure of the supply gas, to route the supply gas from the gas inlet to the corresponding compression cylinder of the at least two compression cylinders, that has a maximum inlet pressure greater than or equal to the inlet pressure of the supply gas.
A method of delivering gas to a gas compressor comprising:
- providing the gas compressor comprising:
- (a) a plurality of compression cylinders in fluid communication with each other, configured to compress a gas in at least two gas compression stages, including an initial compression cylinder in fluid communication with a gas inlet and a final compression cylinder in fluid communication with a gas outlet, wherein at least two compression cylinders of the plurality of compression cylinders which are from different gas compression stages (i) are in fluid communication with the gas inlet such that a supply gas can travel from the gas inlet to each of the at least two compression cylinders without first passing through the other(s) of the at least two compression cylinders and (ii) and the compression cylinders have different maximum inlet pressure;
- and
- (b) one or more valves disposed between and in direct fluid communication with the gas inlet and the at least two compression cylinders to deliver gas from the gas inlet to only a single stage at one time;
- closing the one or more valves such that no gas flows into the at least two compression cylinders;
- providing a supply gas having an inlet pressure at the gas inlet;
- and
- opening a valve of the one or more valves corresponding to a compression cylinder of the at least two compression cylinders, that has a maximum inlet pressure greater than or equal to the inlet pressure of the supply gas, to route the supply gas from the gas inlet to the compression cylinder of the at least two compression cylinders, that has a maximum inlet pressure greater than or equal to the inlet pressure of the supply gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.