Page 468 - Compression Machinery for Oil and Gas

Chapter 12

Compressor Testing

†
Hector Delgado-Garibay*, Nathan Poerner*, Donghui Zhang ,
†
Rainer Kurz and Greg Phillippi ‡
* †
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States, Solar Turbines Inc., San Diego, CA,
‡
United States, Ariel Corporation, Mount Vernon, OH, United States
Compressor Testing

Motivation, Justification, and Objectives
Common testing practices at the factory vary depending on the type of the com-
pressor. This chapter is focused on providing general and practical consider-
ations related to compressor performance and dynamic testing at the factory
or actual site. Other types of tests such as hydrostatic and gas leakage, over-
speed, sound level, etc., may also be agreed to be carried out by compressor
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but details are not covered in this
chapter.
For some compressors, performance testing can be carried out at the OEM’s
facilities to validate product performance and to support the manufacturer’s
claims. Acceptance criteria shall be agreed upon in advance considering capa-
bilities and limitations of the OEM’s test stand. For end users, conducting test-
ing at the OEM facilities can also be helpful for solving beforehand any issues
that may arise during commissioning and avoid delays in the schedule due to
unforeseen installation problems. Performance testing can also be useful for
OEMs as test data can be used to resolve internal disputes (R&D lab vs. pro-
duction testing, etc.) and even dispute competitor claims.
Performance testing may also be conducted at the field with the objective of
proving the OEM’s prediction and calculations derived from factory testing.
Also, it can show that the complete package delivers the required performance.
Compressor testing can also be useful to assess performance deterioration in
aging equipment for existing units. One challenge to field testing is that condi-
tions at the site often cannot be as closely controlled as in a factory environment.
Several standards and guidelines are reference in this chapter to provide guid-
ance when conducting compressor testing at the factory or in the field.
Dynamic testing is typically carried out to trouble shoot vibration-related
issues. Primary dynamic data types that can be collected during a dynamic test

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