Table Of ContentI
n
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r Introduction to
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c Centrifugal
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Compressors
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for Oil and Gas Applications
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i Rainer Kurz
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Solar Turbines Short Style Guide Solar Turbines Short Style Guide
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SOLAR LOGO USAGE MINIMUM SIZE PRIMARY COLOR PALETTSEOLAR LOGO USAGE MINIMUM SIZE PRIMARY COLOR PALETTE
s
f
Coat Yellow Cat yellow and Black are the standard company colors, to be Cat Yellow Cat yellow and Black are the standard company colors, to be
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COMYK Gloss: C:0 M:29 Y:100 K:0 used primarly to showcase the Solar bra nd. CMYK Gloss: C:0 M:29 Y:100 K:0 used primarly to showcase the Solar bra nd.
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C MYK Matte: C:0 M:23 Y:100 K:0 CMYK Matte: C:0 M:23 Y:100 K:0
a
The logo should not appear smaller RnGB: 255, 205, 17 The logo should not appear smaller RGB: 255, 205, 17
d Colors within the secondary color palette may be used along Colors within the secondary color palette may be used along
than 3/8” height. than 3/8” height.
COLOR G COwLOitRh the primary brand colors as accents or complements to the with the primary brand colors as accents or complements to the
a
Bslack brand. Black brand.
A
C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100 C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100
PROPER ISOLATION p PROPER ISOLATION
HpTML: #000000 HTML: #000000
l
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SECONDARtY COLOR PALETTE SECONDARY COLOR PALETTE
i
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BLACK & WHITE s BLACK & WHITE Customer Services Customer Services
Blue Blue
R
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Logo should be isolated from other e Logo should be isolated from other
elements by a distance equal to C:69 M:63 Y:62 K:5r Ku8 C:60 M:51 Y:51 K:20 C:43M:35 Y:35 K:1 C:19 M:15 Y:16 K:0 eleCm:1e0n0t sM b:7y2 a Y d:0is Kta:1n8ce equal to C:69 M:63 Y:62 K:58 C:60 M:51 Y:51 K:20 C:43M:35 Y:35 K:1 C:19 M:15 Y:16 K:0 C:100 M:72 Y:0 K:18
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the “S” in Solar. RGB:51, 51, 51 z RGB:102, 102, 102 RGB:153, 153, 153 RGB:204, 204, 204 theR “GSB”: 0in, 7 S3o, l1a4r4. RGB:51, 51, 51 RGB:102, 102, 102 RGB:153, 153, 153 RGB:204, 204, 204 RGB:0, 73, 144
HTML: #333333 HTML: #666666 HTML: #999999 HTML: #CCCCCC HTML: #003399 HTML: #333333 HTML: #666666 HTML: #999999 HTML: #CCCCCC HTML: #003399
REVERSE & WHITE REVERSE & WHITE
TYPOGRAPHY TYPOGRAPHY TRADEMARK USAGE TRADEMARK USAGE
The primary typeface for designed pieces is Univers. For digital communications, includingT hwee pbrsimiteasr ya tnydIpn e afdadciteio nfo tro dthees lioggnoe, tdh epriee acrees t riasd Uemnaivrkesr sa.n Fd/oorr digital communications, including websites andIn addition to the logo, there are trademarks and/or
wordmarks used by the company to identify itself and wordmarks used by the company to identify itself and
email, Arial or Univers is acceptable. email, Arial or Univers is acceptable.
products . products .
Registered Trademarks Registered Trademarks
Aa Univers 67 Condensed Bold Aa Univers 67 Condensed Bold
Solar® Solar®
Aa Univers 67 is used for display type, headlines and for points of empasis. Aa Univers 67 is used for display type, headlines and for points of empasis.
Saturn® Saturn®
Centaur® Centaur®
Aa Univers 47 Condensed Light Aa Univers 47 Condensed Light
Mars® Mars®
Aa Univers 47 is the primary typeface used for body copy and printed documents. Aa Univers 47 is the primary typeface used for body copy and printed documents.
Spartan® Spartan®
Taurus™ Taurus™
Aa Univers 57 Condensed Aa UniverSs o5L7o CNoOnxd™ensed SoLoNOx™
Aa Univers 57 is the secondary typeface used for body copy and printed documents. CAaan be uUsneidv erTsi t5a7n ™is the secondary typeface used for body copy and printed documents. Can be used Titan™
for better emphasis. for betMteer recmurpyh™asis. Mercury™
Turbotronic™ Turbotronic™
InSight System™ InSight System™
Aa Arial Narrow Aa Arial Narrow
InSight Connect™ InSight Connect™
Aa Arial Narrow is the primary typeface used for body copy when Univers is unavailable Aa Arial Narrow is the primary typeface used for body copy when Univers is unavailable
7/2015 7/2015
Introduction to
Centrifugal
Compressors
for Oil and Gas Applications
Rainer Kurz
Solar Turbines Short Style Guide
SOLAR LOGO USAGE MINIMUM SIZE PRIMARY COLOR PALETTE
Cat Yellow Cat yellow and Black are the standard company colors, to be
CMYK Gloss: C:0 M:29 Y:100 K:0 used primarly to showcase the Solar bra nd.
CMYK Matte: C:0 M:23 Y:100 K:0
The logo should not appear smaller RGB: 255, 205, 17
Colors within the secondary color palette may be used along
than 3/8” height.
COLOR with the primary brand colors as accents or complements to the
Black
brand.
PROPER ISOLATION C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100
HTML: #000000
SECONDARY COLOR PALETTE
BLACK & WHITE
Customer Services
Blue
Logo should be isolated from other
elements by a distance equal to C:69 M:63 Y:62 K:58 C:60 M:51 Y:51 K:20 C:43M:35 Y:35 K:1 C:19 M:15 Y:16 K:0 C:100 M:72 Y:0 K:18
the “S” in Solar. RGB:51, 51, 51 RGB:102, 102, 102 RGB:153, 153, 153 RGB:204, 204, 204 RGB:0, 73, 144
HTML: #333333 HTML: #666666 HTML: #999999 HTML: #CCCCCC HTML: #003399
REVERSE & WHITE
TYPOGRAPHY TRADEMARK USAGE
The primary typeface for designed pieces is Univers. For digital communications, including websites andIn addition to the logo, there are trademarks and/or
email, Arial or Univers is acceptable. wordmarks used by the company to identify itself and
products .
Registered Trademarks
Aa Univers 67 Condensed Bold
Solar®
Aa Univers 67 is used for display type, headlines and for points of empasis.
Saturn®
Centaur®
Aa Univers 47 Condensed Light
Mars®
Aa Univers 47 is the primary typeface used for body copy and printed documents.
Spartan®
Taurus™
Aa Univers 57 Condensed SoLoNOx™
Aa Univers 57 is the secondary typeface used for body copy and printed documents. Can be used Titan™
for better emphasis. Mercury™
Turbotronic™
InSight System™
Aa Arial Narrow
InSight Connect™
Aa Arial Narrow is the primary typeface used for body copy when Univers is unavailable
7/2015
Introduction to Centrifugal Compressors for Oil & Gas Applications is published by Solar Turbines
Incorporated. Cat® and Caterpillar® are registered trademarks of Caterpillar Inc. Solar, Saturn, Centaur, Taurus, Mars
and Titan are trademarks of Solar Turbines Incorporated. All contents of this publication are protected under U.S.
and international copyright laws, and may not be reproduced without permission. Featured equipment may include
options offered by Solar Turbines and/or modifications not offered by Solar Turbines for specialized customer
applications. Because information and specifications are subject to change without notice, check with Solar
Turbines Incorporated for the latest equipment information.
Introduction to Centrifugal Compressors for Oil & Gas Applications, 1st Edition, 2022
© 2022 Solar Turbines Incorporated - All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN: 979-8-3507-0164-7
CONTENTS
Introduction 12
Chapter 1: Thermodynamics of Gas Compression 18
Chapter 2: Components of Gas Compressors 30
Chapter 3: Aerodynamics of Centrifugal Compressors 42
Chapter 4: Rotordynamics 84
Chapter 5: Mechanical Design 112
Chapter 6: Controls of Centrifugal Compressors 132
Chapter 7: Compressor Drivers 180
Chapter 8: Centrifugal Compressors in
190
Oil & Gas Applications
Chapter 9: Optimizing Compressor Stations 218
Chapter 10: Importance of Testing 236
Chapter 11: Restage: Centrifugal Gas Compressors 266
References 286
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rainer Kurz – Dr. Kurz is the Manager, Gas Compressor Engineering, at Solar Turbines
Incorporated in San Diego, California. His organization is responsible for the design,
research and development of Solar’s Centrifugal Gas Compressors, including aerodynamic,
rotordynamic, and mechanical design.
Dr. Kurz attended the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany
where he received the degree of a Dipl.-Ing. And, in 1991, the degree of a Dr.-Ing. He has
authored more than 100 publications in the field of turbomachinery and fluid dynamics,
holds two patents, and was named an ASME Fellow in 2003. He is a member and former
chair of the ASME Oil and Gas Applications Committee, a member of the Turbomachinery
Symposium Advisory Committee, the Gas Machinery Conference Organizing Committee,
the GMRC Project Supervisory Committee, and the SDSU Aerospace Engineering Advisory
Committee. Many of his publications are recognized as being of archival quality, and he
received numerous Best Paper awards, as well as the ASME Industrial Gas Turbine Award
in 2013.
DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is dedicated to the more than 8,000 professionals who design, engineer,
manufacture, install, test, service, repair, retrofit and finance Solar Turbines products
for thousands of satisfied customers in more than 100 countries around the world. A
“one-team” mentality assures that everyone is working towards the same goal: making
customers more successful. With decades of experience, the Solar Turbines’ global
teams are committed to exceeding customer expectations in every operational discipline.
Solar Turbines provides best-in-class energy solutions with turbomachinery for power
generation and motor-driven compression applications. Technology and innovation
focused on the entire ecosystem and customer experience are hallmarks of Solar Digital’s
InSight Platform™.
Special thanks go to the people at Solar who supported and encouraged the creation of
this book: Gil Amengual, Janet Barnett, Dan Campion, Mike Cave, Tim David, Kevin Davis,
Peter Davis, Vinnie Delaney, Hans Drenth, Edrees Faizi, Ed Fowler, Aziz Fozi, Sara Goucher,
Min Ji, Klaus Jordan, Roland Kaiser, Matt Lubomirsky, Christina Macatee, Mike McCune,
Greg McLorg, Jay Mistry, Richard Mundy, Daniel Sanchez, Mike Shimek, Avneet Singh,
Marco Vagani, Balaji Venkataraman, Wade Willden, Roman Zamotorin, Lei Zhu and many
others.
I also want to express my special appreciation to the contributors of several chapters:
Daniel Sanchez (Chapter 2), Mike Cave and Min Ji (Chapter 3), Balaji Venkataraman and
Marco Vagani (Chapter 4), Roman Zamotorin and Matt Lubomirsky (Chapter 9), and Avneet
Singh (Chapters 9 and 11).
PREFACE
Centrifugal gas compressors are vital for the transportation and processing of gas in the oil
and gas industry. The compressors operate in harsh environments, providing compression
with high availability and reliability. This book was developed directly from a series of Solar
Turbines Incorporated internal short courses and reference documents that were presented
to audiences with wide-ranging backgrounds. It expands on the applicable thought
processes that were introduced in the companion Introduction to Gas Turbine Theory book
and brings basic concepts into the realm of practical applications.
The book is intended to provide a basic understanding of the thermodynamics,
aerodynamics and rotordynamics that specifically apply to compressors used in the oil
and gas industry. It is not intended as a text book or a design guideline. The book is,
however, intended as a summary and overview, covering the many different subjects and
underlying theories pertaining to the subject matter. In the chapters, explanations on the
components, the design and the function of centrifugal compressors are followed by more
theoretical subjects. Then, practical application issues such as the controls, drivers, testing,
optimization and restaging are covered, as well as a description of typical applications for
these machines.
Throughout the text, the intent is to make relatively complex concepts understandable.
Hopefully you, the reader, will develop an understanding of the many engineering concepts
and disciplines that apply to the gas compression and distribution industries.
