Advanced Surge Control and

Incipient Surge Protection/Override

Patent US 6 354 806 B1

T6050 SurgeGard TM
The most Efficient, High-Speed and Reliable
Compressor Control System
Better operational efficiency and increased safety Combined Surge and Incipient Surge Control
through advanced surge control and incipient surge
protection/override is key to profitability and uptime, in Increased Energy Savings
order to meet customers' expectations and stay ahead of The addition of incipient override control permits closer
the competition in centrifugal or axial compressor operation to the actual surge point/line, thus providing a wider
operation. operating window and saving energy by minimizing
recycle/blowoff.
Surge control from ICS Triplex and one of its key components
- T6050 SurgeGardTM, a patented incipient surge monitoring Identifies and Corrects for Shifts in Surge Point/Line
and override control signal conditioner - not only enhance Incipient surge detection continuously monitors the
established compressor control, but offer exciting new compressor's operating point behavior in relation to symptoms
benefits by combining state-of-the-art surge control with of impending surge and allows for automatic correction of
incipient surge detection and control. surge point/line shifts.

You can now improve your compressor performance at all Prevents Compressor Trips
stages: from planning and design, to implementation and Minimizes the impact of primary surge control and field
startup, through operations, optimization, maintenance and instrument malfunction by providing incipient fall-back and
the elimination of compressor nuisance trips. override control. Thus, even in the event of key transmitter
failures (such as flow), the compressor will stay on-line,
ICS Triplex’s advanced compressor control provides the full increasing plant availability.
array of applications including anti-surge control, load-
sharing/optimization and capacity control. Furthermore, it is Facilitates Actual Surge Point/Line Testing
pre-configured - making it easy enough for the typical In addition to surge monitoring and override control, the
control/process engineer to use with no requirements for a incipient surge detection module facilitates testing of actual
highly skilled specialist. surge points, minimizing operation interference.

Integrated Incipient Surge Control - A Typical Application

Example of interactive control for a multi-stage compressor in one T6000 series controller:
- Anti-surge control with incipient override and process coptimization
cdecoupling for each stage - Process startup alignment and shutdown
- Overload protection based on rate of Ps, Pd and h - Anti-surge to anti-surge and process decoupling
- Capacity control with split range output - Override control
- Load sharing with equal percentage base and energy load - Integrated process control
T6050 SurgeGard TM
Lower Experience Level Needed to Implement Incipient
Surge Control/Override
T6050 SurgeGardTM is an incipient surge-conditioning
The incipient surge test equipment in conjunction with the
module designed to continuously monitor the high
SurgeGardTM conditioning module provides such a clear
frequency flow, pressure or current oscillations occurring
indication of surge test onset that incipient surge control can
before the compressor reaches the actual surge point(s).
be safely implemented by engineers with less compressor
SurgeGardTM is patented and has been successfully used
control experience than would otherwise be required. The use
in many compressor control systems.
of pre-amplified signal in conjunction with the oscillographic
verification greatly reduces subjective judgment requirements.
Process Signal Selection
The selection of the proper process signal to detect incipient
Advantage Over Digital Sampling
surge is normally based on the comparison of the incipient
The continuous analog peak-detector circuit is more efficient
signatures of flow, pressure and current (if motor driven
(less than 1 ms) and reliable than the digital sampling (2-10
machine). In most cases the inlet/outlet flow (h) or current
ms sample rate) for both incipient surge control and for surge
(I or BHP) signal yields the best results. However, some
spike detection. In both applications (analog or digital), high
applications use several incipient inputs (flow, pressure,
speed transmitters should be used when implementing
current) and a high-selector function for selection.
incipient surge detection techniques.
Oscillation Signal Description
Field Proven
Before the compressor reaches the surge point (flow
Incipient surge conditioning has been field proven in many
reversal), rapid oscillations occur. Compressor field tests have
compressor applications. To date, incipient surge tools have
confirmed this phenomenon as an indication of impending
been used successfully to perform surge tests, to provide
surge. However, since this incipient surge phenomenon has
incipient surge control override and to detect surge spikes.
special characteristics for each compressor, in practice, it is
The SurgeGard is easy to set up and easy to use.
not always easily measured and SurgeGardTM special signal
characterization is required.
Description of the Conditioning Module
The loop-powered SG-1 SurgeGard module consists of a
Incipient Surge Oscillation Tests
differential input band pass (1Hz to 12Hz) amplifier/filter, a low
For the field tests of incipient surge, the pre-amplified
pass filter (12Hz), absolute-value, peak detector (10 sec) and
transmitter signal is monitored and recorded on a high-speed
a voltage-to-current converter; all enclosed in a termination
oscillographic or waveform analyzer/recorder. The
type electronic component housing. The housing is snapped
oscillographic/waveform recorder is a complete multi-purpose
onto commercially available EN mounting rails.
instrument featuring two analog inputs and a PC interface.

T6050 SurgeGardTM: Actual size(80x70x20mm)

Surge Occurrence Surge Avoidance with T6050 SurgeGardTM

ICS Triplex Turbomachinery Control … The Right Solution

Turbomachinery represents a major capital investment and is The best approach to interactive turbomachinery control
an important part of the successful operation of the process includes the study of the entire process/pipeline; from the
or pipeline. The ICS Triplex rotating machinery control compressor to the driver to the surrounding process. Each
system incorporates the features that assure safe, energy solution is adapted to the client's requirements to ensure
efficient turbomachinery operation. It includes not only the precise and efficient operations.
sophisticated functions for anti-surge, load sharing, capacity
control, and overload protection; the combination of ICS Triplex T6000 range of controllers can combine
advanced surge control and incipient surge integrated advanced compressor control technology with
detection/override - T6050 SurgeGardTM - further reduces incipient surge monitoring and control signal conditioning
energy consumption and increases compressor availability with SurgeGardTM. The addition of SurgeGardTM, results in
for additional bottom line benefits. better control and asset management.

ICS Triplex technologies and services are available worldwide. Regional Headquarters:
Americas: Europe, ME & Africa: Asia Pacific: www.icstriplextmc.com
Tel: +1 713 353 2400 Tel: +44 1621 854444 Tel: +61 89 314 7787
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Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Customer led