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AN17

Selecting and Sizing

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Application Note
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Flow

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0 Position (% Open) 1

Figure 1 Common Valve Flow Characteristics

Valve All flow control valves have a characteristic relationship between the
Characteristics valve position (stem travel) and the resulting flow rate. Figure 1 illustrates
AM the following common valve types:
• A linear flow valve provides excellent response throughout its range
of travel. This is the preferred characteristic for antisurge control.
• An equal-percentage valve provides less effective control when only
slightly open, a point where effective action is often most needed.
However, such valves are sometimes adequate for applications such
as small packaged air compressors.
• A quick-opening valve is an excellent choice for back-up protection.
However, installing such a valve in a primary, closed-loop surge pro-
tection system will present many loop-tuning difficulties.
When selecting a new antisurge valve, it is best to specify a linear flow
characteristic. However, if you are retrofitting a new control system to an
existing compressor with an equal-percentage or quick-opening valve,
you do not need to replace it because our antisurge controllers can be
configured to compensate for their presence by enabling the correspond-
ing valve flow characterizing function.

AN17 (4.1) October 2000

Sizing To insure compressor and process safety, an antisurge valve must be big
Antisurge enough to prevent the compressor from surging even if all other flow
Valves paths are completely blocked, yet small enough to provide responsive
control under less severe conditions.
To select a correctly-sized valve, you should first calculate the flow coeffi-
cient (Cv ) for the operating point that yields the highest coefficient value.
This is usually the intersection of the surge limit line (SLL) and the maxi-
mum performance curve. If in doubt, calculate Cv for several points and
use the highest value.
Then divide this flow coefficient into that of the proposed valve (Cv,v ). An
adequately sized valve will yield a ratio in the range
1.8 ≤ C v, v ⁄ Cv ≤ 2.2
If this ratio is below 1.8, the proposed valve may be too small and would
yield marginal surge protection. If above 2.2, dynamic adjustment of the
system might prove difficult and the operating point could approach the
compressor’s choke (stonewall) limit if the valve were fully opened.
These empirical limits are based on our experience with thousands of
compressors. In rare cases, a larger or smaller ratio might be needed.
This is especially true if there are other significant flow restrictions in the
recycle loop. Individual customers may wish to contact us for recommen-
dations for particular applications.
Some control system designers size the valve so that its fully-open flow
rate corresponds to a point on the performance map slightly to the right of
the surge control line. Because even the best control system might be
unable to prevent surge under those conditions, that approach could lead
to compressor damage.
A system with an undersized valve would be unable to prevent surge if a
large or fast disturbance occurred while operating on the surge control
line with the valve partly open. The remaining flow capacity might then be
insufficient to compensate for changing process conditions.
The antisurge loop should also be capable of compensating for a combi-
nation of disturbances (for example, a simultaneous increase of system
resistance and decrease of speed, or simultaneous increase of system
resistance and decrease of inlet density). This requires a larger valve.
At the other extreme, there is a tendency to oversize the valve, so that it
can decrease the compressor pressure differential to almost zero. The
compressor might then be damaged by reaching the choke or stonewall
region, and shutting down the system could be difficult.

The impeller and TTC logos, Total Train Control, TTC, Recycle Trip, Safety On, Air Miser, TrainView, and
WOIS are registered trademarks and COMMAND is a trademark of Compressor Controls Corporation.

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