TOM Training Centrifugal Compressors

Section 06 Surge, Stall and Choke Power Generation Industrial Applications

Index page
1 Definition of surge 2
1.1 Compressor surging 3
1.2 Anti surge system 5
1.2.1 Basic anti-surge system 5
1.2.2 Characteristics 7
1.2.3 Design of an anti-surge system 8
2 Rotating stall 11
3 Surge versus stall 13
4 How to delay surge and stall 13
5 Choke 16
Questionnaire Surge, stall and choke 18

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Surge, stall and choke

Introduction

Centrifugal compressors have basic performance characteristics. One of the

characteristics is a continuous flow. This means that once operating,
conditions are stabilised. The flow pressures and temperatures are constant
at any point. There is no fluctuation of pressure or flow to contend with.

It is frequently necessary to operate a compressor at flows below the

designed flow rate. At any given speed there is a minimum flow below,
which the compressor cannot operate in a stable condition. If the flow is
reduced below this rate, the compressor enters a region of unstable running
traditionally know as the “surge region” or “surge”. To avoid the surge
effects, compressors are equipped with an anti-surge system.

Instability due to another phenomena is called “stall”. Rotating stall is

characterised by small pressure fluctuations at a steady flow through the
compressor. In centrifugal compressors operating at high pressures rotating
stall can cause rotor vibrations.

Choke can occur when the velocity of flow within the machines approaches
the velocity of sound.

1 Definition of surge

If the pressure requirements of the system exceed the ability of the

compressor, the condition known as “surge“ will occur. Simply stated, the
compressor with its fixed ability to impart dynamic energy to the gas cannot
generate enough pressure to overcome the resistance of the system and
the flow stops. In fact, a momentary reversal of flow can take place.
The existence of surge restricts the operating range of a compressor. At
lower capacities pumping or surge can be expected. For any speed this is
the capacity at which the compressor become unstable. This point will vary
from roughly 50 to 90% of the rated capacity, depending upon:

- impeller design,
- number of stages,
- shape of head-capacity curve,
- gas being compressed, etc.

The primary cause of the pumping lies in the fact that the characteristic
curve begins to drop toward the zero capacity regions after reaching a peak
of pressure. When the capacity is reduced below the peak, the pressure in
the discharge line exceeds that produced by the compressor and the flow
tends to reverse momentarily. However, as soon as the flow reverses, the
system discharge pressure drops and the compressor resumes normal flow.

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The pulsation in capacity and pressure are apt to be magnified by the

characteristics of the discharge system. This can result in noisy operation
and evidence of distress. Pumping can cause an excessive temperature rise
in the gas as well as vibration and stress in the machine.

Pumping points are not guaranteed, but are closely determined by specific
test or prior knowledge. No dynamic unit should be operated at capacity
close to the surge limit line. The setting of surge prevention controls should
be based on field determination of surge points on each individual machine
as installed.

1.1 Compressor surging

The next figure shows the characteristic curve of a compressor for a given
constant speed. The performance characteristics of compressors are often
plotted in diagrams called the Head Capacity diagram or Q-H diagram.

Figure 01
PD = discharge pressure compressor and
PS = suction pressure pipeline performance
Pi = inlet pressure characteristics

The abscissa represents

the actual volumetric capacity and the ordinate represents the polytropic
head produced:

Q = volumetric flow at suction;

HP = work transferred to a unit of mass of gas handled by the compressor.

The figure also shows the characteristic curve of the downstream system.
The curve is typical of a pipeline; it is a function of:

§ The pressure at the outlet of the pipeline (P’S)

§ The density of the gas at the inlet of the pipeline
§ The pipeline length, diameter and roughness

The operating point A is the point where the compressor curve and the
pipeline curve intersect. If the flow rate at the outlet of the pipeline is
reduced, because the valve at the end of the line is closed, the pressure P’S
at the outlet of the line will gradually increase from P’S1 to P’S2.

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Changes in flow rate and pressure will occur in the pipeline section
between the closed valve and the compressor. The pressure at the inlet of
the line Pi will gradually rise. The compressor will adjust its work to change
in operating conditions. PD will increase and the flow coefficient will
decrease according to the performance curve for constant speed.

When the system has stabilised, different stationary conditions will prevail.
The new operating point A’ will be at the intersection of the compressor
performance curve and the characteristic pipeline curve shifted from P’S1 to
P’S2. If the flow rate in the downstream pipeline section increases, the
pipeline curve will be shifted in the opposite direction and the operating point
will move into the higher flow coefficient zone.

The situation is different, if the pipeline performance curve intersects the

characteristic compressor curve at the maximum M in the next figure.

Figure 02
Erratic compressor flow

If the rate of flow at the end of the pipeline is reduced, the pressure Pi at the
inlet of the line will again rise. The compressor discharge pressure PD will,
however, drop on the compressor performance curve and gas will flow from
the pipeline back in the compressor. The operating point will jump from M to
B on the performance curve extended into the negative flow zone.

As gas is flowing from the pipeline back into the compressor, the pressure Pi
will gradually drop. The discharge pressure PD decreases accordingly and
the operating point moves from B to C. As negative flow conditions will
prevail at operating point C, the pressure Pi still tends to decrease. This is,
however, not feasible because of the upward slope of the performance
curve. As PD becomes greater than Pi, gas is pumped into the pipeline by
the compressor. The flow becomes positive and the operating point jumps
from C to D. The pipeline is again filled, because the compressor delivers
more gas than is taken at the end of the line. The pressures Pi and PD rise
again until the operating point M is reached and the cycle starts again. This
flow pattern is called compressor surge cycle. The smaller the pipe diameter
and the shorter the pipeline, the shorter each cycle.

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If a non-return valve is installed in the pipeline just downstream of the

compressor, no gas will flow back from the line to the compressor, because
the valve will be closed under these conditions. Gas can, in this instance,
only flow back from the short pipeline section between the non-return valve
and the compressor; as a result, the surge cycle frequency will be very high.

Surge line
If the compressor has a variable speed, for example when driven by a
turbine, there is an infinite number of performance curves. For each speed a
surge limit point can be established on the corresponding performance
curve. The line connecting the operating points at the surge limit is called
surge line. In a compressor characteristic diagram, the surge line is always
to the left of the peak of each line of constant speed.

A = the amount of flow the

process needs at a given head
Figure 03
B = the minimum allowable flow at the same
Compressor surge line
head

B minus A represent the amount of flow

which has to be bypassed. The flow handled by the compressor is at least
bigger than the flow, which is determined by the surge point. An anti-surge
system has to prevent the flow through the compressor falling below certain
minimum value, which is described by the surge limit. This can be
accomplished by bypassing the additional amount of flow necessary to meet
the minimum allowable flow.

1.2 Anti surge system

1.2.1 Basic anti-surge system

Surge is an unstable condition, which should be avoided. The oscillation is

harmful to the compressor because:

§ Rotor vibration may damage inter stage labyrinth seals.

§ Reversal of flow brings higher temperature gas into the impeller inlet.
This will continuously increase the temperature levels.

As a result, the compression ratio corresponding to the same head also

reduces, aggravating the surge.

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· Rapid changes in axial thrust associated with the pressure levels at

both sides of the impeller may damage the thrust bearings.
§ Sudden changes in load may damage the driver as well as the impeller.

To avoid damage of the compressor it is necessary to avoid operation of the

compressor in the surge region. The compressor is there fore equipped with
an anti-surge system. The anti surge system take takes care that the gas
flow through the compressor can not drop below the minimum value which
is described by the surge limit.

A basic anti-surge system is shown in the next figure.

Figure 04
Basic Anti-surge system

FE = primary measuring device (Flow Element)

FT = flow transmitter
dPT = different pressure transmitter
I/P = current to pressure converter
CV = by-pass control valve
ST = speed transmitter
C = cooler

The primary device FE measures the flow through the compressor. The
device generates a differential pressure (h), which is translated into a
standard signal by the flow transmitter FT. The signal is an input of the
surge controller. The dPT will measure the differential pressure across the
compressor. The output of this transmitter represents a signal proportional
to PD-PS.

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When the anti-surge controller senses the beginning of the instability, or the
predicted surge flow value, it opens the recycle valve in the recycle line. The
recycle line connects the pipeline downstream of the compressor with the
suction to recycle some of the gas back to the suction. This way a minimum
flow above surge is maintained. The by-passed gas would be increasingly
heated by the compression. Mixing the hot gas from the recycle with the
fresh gas causes the temperature to increase. To avoid unacceptable high
temperatures the recycled gas should be cooled.

1.2.2 Characteristics

Compressor manufacturers factory-test their equipment with air or gas. One

of the purposes of these tests is the determination of the compressor surge
line, as it is not feasible to predict the surge curve accurately. Various
formulas are available for translating the test results into higher-pressure
ranges and natural gas operation. For safety reasons, the surge line plotted
on the basis of the test results is normally verified when the compressor is
commissioned. This procedure allows taking account of the actual gas
composition and the length of the downstream pipeline. The operating
points at which surge take place are determined by reducing the flow at
constant speed.

The surge line should first be approached on the maximum speed curve to
allow the accurate adjustment of the differential pressure transmitter range.
Apart from the differential pressure (PD-PS) the suction pressure and the
discharge pressure are recorded during the field test. The values of the
measured characteristics of this point on the surge line are computed and
entered into a diagram.

Figure 05
Characteristics

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The next figures show the approximate surge curves of centrifugal

compressors. The differences between the two curves and the inflexion of
the surge curve in figure B, for example, show that no standard surge curve
exists and predictions are extremely difficult or even impossible.

Figure 06
Surge line of single-stage
and three stage compressor

The anti-surge control system automatically opens the control valve before
the surge line is reached. To provide the necessary safety margin to keep
the compressor out of the surge area, the valve must be opened at the
control line shown in the next figure.

Figure 07
Surge and surge control
line

The distance between the surge line and the control line must be minimised
to obtain maximum operation flexibility, if major flow rate or compression
ratio changes have to be made during the operation of the compressor. On
the other hand, the distance must not be too small to take account of the
inaccuracies of the control equipment. In pipeline operations, for example,
the control line is, as a general rule, displaced by about 10 percent of the
surge line.

1.2.3 Design of an anti-surge system

To design a control system there is a need to establish a mathematical

equation which not only describes the surge limit as good as possible but
can also readily simulated by a set of instruments to control the by-pass
valve.

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Single stage compressor

For a single stage compressor can be written:

formula 1

Along the surge line the following equations can be derived:

formula 2

This equation is parabolic and represents the surge limit of a single stage
centrifugal compressor. From fluid dynamics it is known that:

formula 3

Parameter n can be assumed constant because it will change only very

slightly along the surge limit. For low pressure ratios the equation can be
reduced to:

formula 4

Combination of equation 1 and 4 means that along the surge line can be
derived:

formula 5

To measure Q1 there is a need for a primary measuring device, such as an

orifice or a venturi tube located in the process line. Preferably this should be
at the suction since the change in temperature is much less than at the
discharge. If h represents the differential pressure across the primary
measuring device, the volumetric capacity can be calculated by the formula:

formula 6

Combining 5 and 6 gives that along the surge line:

formula 7

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Conclusion: for a single stage compressor and a low-pressure ratio, the ratio
mentioned in formula 7 is constant and also independent from:
- suction pressure
- suction temperature
- gas characteristic
- speed

The advantage is that

surge can be avoided by a
simple control system,
which is based on formula
7 as a measured value.
The set point is constant
including some margin
between the actual surge
line and control line, see
next figure
The basic function of the
control system is to keep figure 08
the ratio of formula 7. Single stage compressor

Multi-stage compressor
A multi-stage centrifugal
compressor does not have
a surge limit, which can be
derived from equation 1.
This surge-line has a much
more complex form.

The control line in the

figure connects the points
at which the anti-surge
control system starts its
work. It is obvious that the
control line must be moved
to the right of the actual
surge limit, to incorporate a
figure 09
safety margin. As the Multi-stage compressor
control line forms a
parabolic function, the margin will not be the same at every speed, which
results in a too large margin at a wide speed range.

If a 10% margin is desired at the highest speed, which is a normal practice,

and than run the compressor at a lower speed the margin will raise above
10%. In this case there will already process gas be bypassed when the
operating point is not yet within the 10% safety margin. This results in waste
of energy and a smaller operating range. To prevent this, the set point of the
anti surge control has to be set for each speed at 10% from the surge limit.

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2 Rotating stall

In a centrifugal impeller, the channel geometry is a very complex three-

dimensional one. This results in important secondary flow effects. Nature
forces (Coriolis) and clearance effects further amplify these effects.

If the flow decreases with respect to the compressor design flow, the gas
flow increasingly tends to separate from the suction side of the blades. If
separation occurs, for example at blade 1 to erratic flow conditions, the
disturbances will reduce or even block the passage between blade 1 and
blade 2. The flow flows around this area towards blade 1 and blade 3. The
angle of attack on blade 3 increases and the flow separates from blade 3,
while it comes again in contact with blade 1. The point of separation moves
to blade 3 and will then move to the other blades.

Figure 10
Development of rotat-
ing stall

The next figure shows how rotating stall is initiated by flow separation on the
blade suction side, blocking off the discharge side and reversing the flow
direction in the passage (area 1). The flow moves out of the passage into
the inducer creating a separation on the downstream part pressure side
(area 2). The subsequent back flow is supported in its direction by the
passage vortex and together with the more favourable inlet conditions helps
to re-establish normal flow conditions (area 3), the suction side boundary
layer is then developing again (area 4) and the whole cycle is repeated.

Figure 11
Sequence of stall

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A rotating zone of gas flow separation from the blades occurs when the flow
is insufficient. If the rate of flow decreases even more, this zone becomes
larger and then breaks down into two, three or more zones. If the flow rate
then continues to decrease even more, flow will separate to all blades. A
fluctuating force accompanies this shift from blade to blade, which can lead
to blade failure. The cell moves around the circumference at a fraction of the
impeller speed. The pressure fluctuations have a low frequency of typically
between 5% and 20% of the rotational speed.

When the compressor begins to

stall the head of the compressor
will drop suddenly. The new
operating conditions on curve b
are stable. When the flow rate
again increases, the rotating stall
condition will persist, until
operating point Q is reached. The
compressor will jump back to
performance curve a. Figure 12
Compressor characteristics
under rotating stall
Due to the sudden decrease in conditions
the compression ratio and the
discharge pressure, the gas flows back from the downstream pipeline into
the compressor. Considerable forces act on the rotor blades: the
compressor is surging. The points on the characteristic curves at which flow
begins to separate from the blades define the limit of stall. It is not feasible
to predict the limit of stall; measurements must be made to determine the
operating points at which the compressor will stall.

Multi-stage compressor stalling

If the flow rate decreases under low speed conditions, stalling will begin in
the first stages. The last stages will maintain stable operation conditions.
The stability will be greater, the more gently the gas flow separates from the
long first stage blades. Usually the flow is initially stalled in contact with part
of the blade. In the low speed range, the surge line is to the left of the first
stage limit of stall as shown in the next figure:

If the multi-stage compressor

operates at a high speed,
separation of flow will from the
compressor blades will first occur
in the last stage. As a result, the
surge line is reached, although the
first stage limit of stall correlates
with an even lower rate of flow.

Figure 13
Surge line of multi-
stage compressor

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3 Surge versus stall

Surge and stall are two different phenomena. A few facts:

1. Surge depends on the respond of the whole compressor to a local

perturbation. Stall is the response of a component on a local separation.
The corresponding perturbation is triggered by the impeller of diffuser
flow and can propagate upstream or downstream.

2. Surge has a very low frequency. This frequency is mainly dependent on

the geometry (inlet and outlet volume) and only slightly depending on
RPM. The rotating stall frequency depends strongly on RPM and the
relative propagation velocity is between 10% and 20%.

3. Surge velocity fluctuations vary between 10% and over 100%. The flow
fluctuations are in phase over the whole compressor. Rotating stall
fluctuations have lower amplitude then surge fluctuations and show a
variation over the compressor circumference.

4. Surge occurs when the slope of the pressure rise curve exceeds a
minimum positive value. Rotating stall is possible at positive and
negative values of the pressure rise curve. This can result in a gradual
or a discontinuous charge of the performance curve.

5. In view of previous characteristics one cannot consider rotating stall as

an initial state of surge. However, as surge is an unsteady response of
the compressor system to a local perturbation, it is likely that rotating
stall will serve as a perturbation.

6. Also steady stall can be at the origin of surge in the way it influences the
shape of the pressure rise curve. Stall in the vane less space or in the
diffuser channel can result in a decrease in pressure rise resulting in a
discontinuous performance curve. The critical slope for surge can then
be exceeded resulting in compressor surge.

Stall can proceed to surge but this is not a necessary condition.

4 How to delay surge and stall

The following list contains a number of actions that allow to influence the
surge limit during the design or to correct for an eventual prediction fault.
However, most of them result in an efficiency decrease when the range has
to be increased. The main action therefore to avoid surge and stall is a safe
design of impeller and diffuser and correct matching of the components.

Anti surge valve

A method to avoid compressor surge is by means of an anti-surge valve. In
this way the mass flow in the compressor can be maintained above the
surge limit value. The overall efficiency is low due to wasted energy in the
anti-surge valve. The basic anti-surge system is described in section 1.2.

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Another opportunity is the use of a recuperation

turbine. A recuperation turbine connected to the
compressor shaft can avoid this. However, this
is very expensive and the optimisation of the
turbine is difficult.
Figure 14
Anti surge turbine
Other combinations such as shown in the
following figure are easier to optimise. At
mass flows below surge, a secondary
compressor then further compresses part
of the mass flow. This compressor allows
having a continuously increasing pressure
rise curve until surge occurs in the
secondary compressor.

Pre-rotation
A way to influence the compressor
Figure 15
operating range is by the use of pre- Anti surge with secondary
rotation. An aerodynamically induced pre- compressor
whirl system re-injects flow from the
exhaust into the inlet channel to create pre-whirl. The amount of pre-rotation
depends on the amount of flow which is re-injected, and the position and
inclination of the injection holes. A system controls the amount of pre-
rotation and allows for a wide range between surge and choke. However,
this involves a mechanical complication and a control surface.

Pre-rotation has a favourable influence on the surge limit because it

changes the performance curve. The energy output is decreasing with
increasing mass flow.

Increase vane-less diffuser stability

Another possibility to improve the surge to choke range is by stabilisation of
the diffuser such that the stall limit is shifted towards smaller mass flows.
Wide and narrow diffusers have a different behaviour in terms of rotating
stall.

In narrow diffusers, the critical zone for rotating stall is close to the diffuser
inlet. The reduction in diffuser width must therefore start at rotor exit. Once
the critical zone is passed, one could open the diffuser again. A narrow
diffuser exit results in a lower static pressure rise in the diffuser and a larger
radial velocity component at scroll inlet. Due to the larger friction losses in a
narrow diffuser the efficiency will drop rapidly with increasing mass flow.

In wide diffusers, the critical zone for flow reversal is further downstream. It
is therefore possible to use a gradual decrease of diffuser width until the
critical zone and from there one can use a parallel diffuser.

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Rotating vane-less diffusers

Rotating diffusers tend to smooth out the distorted entry flow profiles. It is
claimed that this induces an increased flow range and higher performances
of the diffusion system, However the geometry of the free rotating diffuser is
complicated. It is often replaced by an extension of the impeller hub and
shroud which is much simpler. A study on high and low specific speed
impellers showed a small change in surge limit and positive influence on
efficiency for high specific speed impeller and lower efficiency for low
specific speed impellers. This efficiency drop is mainly due to larger losses
on the extended disks.

Volute
The operating range of a centrifugal compressor is strongly influenced by
the volute, following the vane-less diffuser. A large scroll will result in a
larger operating range but the flow becomes unsteady for high-pressure
ratios. A smaller scroll has a stable flow at all pressure ratios but a smaller
range. Surge and choke occur now at much smaller mass flows.

Increase impeller stability

A way to increase impeller stability is to use a backward leaned angle at
impeller exit. The higher this angle, the steeper the negative slope of the
performance curves. Rotor stability can be investigated by detailed viscous
flow calculation. The number of influencing parameters is so large that one
cannot discuss them here.

Close coupled resistance

Surge is an unsteady interaction of the impeller with the inlet and outlet
volume and can be postponed by separating the different components
dynamically. Installing a flow contraction between the impeller and the inlet
can do this. Such a contraction is a resistance to the flow and creates a
local pressure drop. This pressure drop changes the performance curve in
such a way that the zone of negative pressure rise slope extends over a
larger region. Otherwise the flow resistance dynamically separates the
compressor from the inlet or outlet plenum. From the stability point of view,
the impeller operates as if there was a zero inlet and outlet volume. This
means that the compressor can also operate steadily in a zone with a
limited positive slope of the pressure rise curve.

Casing treatment
In analogy with axial compressors, casing treatment has also been used in
centrifugal compressors to extend the stable operating range. Shroud
casing treatment can be efficient to delay rotating stall if the stall is
associated with the boundary layer on the shroud casing and inefficient if
the rotating stall is due to blade suction side separation. This principle has
been confirmed by experimental results on two axial rotors, with and without
grooves in the casing.

Some successful applications of casing treatment are inclined radial

grooves at impeller inlet. These grooves give an improvement in surge limit
and efficiency for a medium pressure rise compressor but only a range
improvement with a loss in efficiency for a high-pressure ratio range.

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Vaned diffuser geometry

The flow in the semi vane-less space plays an important role in the onset of
diffuser stall. The flow is very complex in this region and the number of
parameters that can be changed is very large. The flow coming out of the
impeller is far from uniform and shows an important angle and velocity
variation over the diffuser width. A diffuser vane inlet geometry, which is
adapted to the hub to shroud local flow conditions, can improve the
compressor range and efficiency at the speed line for which the diffuser has
been optimised.

5 Choke

Although it is infrequent, a phenomenon known as stage choking can occur

with dynamic machines. This occurs when the velocity of flow within the
machines approaches the velocity of sound (sonic velocity or Mach 1) in the
gas at the specific point under consideration within the unit. Velocities within
these results are usually well below sonic, but in certain applications,
particularly with heavy gases (such as refrigerants), the designer must give
the consideration. The solution is usually to use a different impeller or more
stages and a lower speed.

The choke effect occurs in the inlet region of the impeller or in the diffuser.
Choke, also called stonewall* is the maximum flow that the compressor can
handle at a given speed. At that point, the compressor is unable to produce
any net overall pressure ratio. All the energy supplied to the compressor is
dissipated in losses. Choke is not detrimental to the compressor. It simply
limits the maximum flow.

* The term stonewalling has been applied because the characteristic pressure/volume curve becomes
almost vertical as the capacity is increased and the velocity approaches the sonic value. In other
words, there is a “stonewall” limit to capacity.

Choke occurs of two reasons:

· sonic velocity
· negative stalling incidence

Sonic velocity
When the flow handled by the compressor increases, the velocity increases
too. The gas velocity increases with its maximum value occurring:

· at the induce throat section

· near the induce throat section
· at the diffuser throat section

The throat section is the window perpendicular to the flow direction. This is
situated between the leading edge of one blade and the side of the following
one.

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If the flow is sufficiently high it may cause sonic velocities. The shock
associated with it produces such high losses that it determines the
maximum flow. If choke occurs in the impeller increasing the operational
speed can increase the maximum volume flow.

Negative stalling incidence

At off design point operation the flow reaches the impeller blades (or diffuser
vanes) under an angle of attack. This causes a distortion of the velocity
distribution along the blades and possibly results in separation from the
pressure surface of the blades. The distortion decreases the flow area
further. In the case of diffusers a slight angle of attack under the design flow
results in choking at high-pressure ratios. These incidence values are called
“negative stalling incidences”.

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Questionnaire Surge, stall and choke

question 1 Suppose a compressor is connected to a large system having

a high capacity or needing large amounts of air. How is the
resistance to the discharge when the compressor is started?
Explain in your own words.

question 2 With little resistance at the discharge end of the compressor,

how is the capacity of the compressor at first?

question 3 As more gas is delivered and the system fills, does the
capacity need of the system change? Explain in your own
words

question 4 Fill in:

If the system does not use the gas as quickly as the
compressor delivers it, the pressure in the system .......

question 5 As the pressure in the system increases, how does the

resistance to the discharge of the compressor change?

question 6 As pressure in the system increases, the compressor has to

do more or less work per amount of gas? Explain.

question 7 If the system continues to use less gas than is delivered to it,
the system’s pressure keeps increasing and the head
required to maintain flow keeps ........

question 8 What does the flow do when the head needed to maintain
flow increases above the maximum head of the compressor?

question 9 When the flow stops, the pressure within the compressor
becomes less than the pressure in the system. How does the
gas flow?

question 10 How does the pressure of the system react after some gas
flows back into the compressor or is used by the system?

question 11 Fill in:

As the pressure of the system drops below the maximum
head of the compressor, the compressor again delivers gas
into the .....

question 12 The compressor begins to deliver gas again. It operates at a

lower and lower capacity. How does the head (or pressure)
change?

question 13 The system still uses less gas than is delivered to it, the
compressor reaches its maximum head. What does the flow
stoppage do?

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question 14 The rapid flow of gas back and forth in the compressor is
called surge. When does surge occurs?

question 15 The rapid reversals of surging set up severe vibrations in the

compressor and piping. Why are these vibrations harmful to
the compressor? Mention three reasons.

question 16 The flow of gas drops below the minimum stable level. Does
the compressor go into surge?

question 17 Explain the difference between the surge-effect and the

choke effect.

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