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	IPPS input interface window, which is used to input the compressor information and the acoustic layout of the attached piping. Click image to enlarge.

Cost-effective, reliable operation of reciprocating compressors requires a balance between pulsation control and performance.

Some current design analysis tools lack the ability to account for full interaction between the compressor cylinders and the adjacent piping. Consequently, a computational model of the compressor system pulsation and performance behavior was developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in the late 1990s as part of the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC) program to address a broad spectrum of design and operational issues, particularly those related to high-speed compressor installations.

	IPPS pulsation and performance output windows
IPPS input interface window, which is used to input the compressor information and the acoustic layout of the attached piping. Click images to enlarge.

Besides having the ability to archive compressor or pump installation simulations, the Interactive Pulsation-Performance Simulation (IPPS) analysis tool has many features that have improved the ability to design effective pulsation control systems and predict cylinder performance, including:

• Realistic thermodynamic cylinder models allowing for the accurate prediction of valve loss effects

• Accurate prediction of the effects of stepless flow control devices and the associated reverse flow

• Explicit determination of the cylinder to piping resonances and the cylinder coupling

• Automated calculation of dynamic pressure drop effects

A more detailed description of the IPPS tool is provided in the white paper, High Speed Reciprocating Compressors—The Importance of Interactive Modeling.

For more information about compressor system and pump system analyses capabilities and acoustic analyses IPPS design tool capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Buddy Broerman at ebroerman@swri.org or (210) 522-2555. We can offer you the best approach for solving your compressor system or pump system analysis problem.
 

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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

October 03, 2008