Application Examples

Abstract

Low capital and low operating costs and high operational flexibility — these are the usual expectations the compressor user has when sending out enquiries to process compressor manufacturers. Operational flexibility is the ability of the compressor to cope with changing external conditions such as volume flow, pressure ratio, suction temperature and gas composition, as is frequently the case in the oil and gas industry. Needless to say, availability is just as essential. However, since this, for the most part, involves the reliability of bearings, shaft seals, couplings and gear boxes, it is outside the (aerodynamic) scope of this book. The only parameter that may reduce availability is the (excessive) rotational speed that is specified by the aerodynamic design results.