Compression system and method of controlling a compression system
AssigneeNuovo Pignone Tecnologie Srl
InventorsLorenzo GALLINELLI, Laurence CASALI, Marco PELELLA
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Abstract
A compression system comprises a compressor, an inlet duct, a throttling valve installed in the inlet duct, an outlet duct, an anti-surge valve fluidly coupling the outlet duct with a portion of the inlet duct downstream of the throttling valve and a recycle valve fluidly coupling the outlet duct with a portion of the inlet duct upstream of the throttling valve. Keeping the recycle valve open, the anti-surge valve closed and the throttling valve partially closed allows lowering the pressure of the flow entering the compressor during its start-up.
Claims21
1-20 (canceled)
A compression system having a system inlet and a system outlet, the compression system comprising:
- a compressor having a compressor inlet and a compressor outlet;
- an inlet duct fluidly coupling the compressor inlet with the system inlet, the inlet duct being divided into a first duct portion and a second duct portion, a first end of the first duct portion being fluidly coupled with the system inlet, a first end of the second duct portion being fluidly coupled to the compressor inlet;
- an outlet duct fluidly coupling the compressor outlet with the system outlet;
- a throttling valve fluidly coupling a second end of the first duct portion and a second end of the second duct portion;
- an anti-surge valve fluidly coupling the outlet duct with the second duct portion;
- and
- a recycle valve fluidly coupling the outlet duct with the first duct portion;
- wherein the throttling valve is configurable in an open condition and in at least one partially closed condition, and also preferably in a plurality of different intermediate conditions between the open condition and the at least one partially closed condition.
A method of controlling a compression system, said method comprising the steps of:
- B) partially closing a throttling valve, the throttling valve throttling an incoming flow to an inlet of a compressor (110) of the compression system;
- C) turning the compressor on;
- D) generating a first recycle flow from an outlet of the compressor to said inlet of the compressor, said first recycle flow passing through said throttling valve;
- E) completely opening the throttling valve after the speed of the compressor has reached or exceeded said predetermined value;
- F) after a speed of said compressor has reached or exceeded a predetermined value, generating a second recycle flow from said outlet of the compressor to said inlet of the compressor, said second recycle flow bypassing said throttling valve;
- and
- G) after said speed has reached or exceeded said predetermined value, stopping said first recycle flow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.