Centrifugal compressor and method of operating the centrifugal compressor to produce a uniform inlet flow of process gas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023175526-A1
Application number	US-202117997882-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 29, 2021
Priority date	May 8, 2020
Publication date	Jun 8, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

The centrifugal compressor has a housing with two or more compressor inlets for process gas to be compressed; an impeller is located inside the housing so to receive an inlet flow of process gas from the two compressor inlets through a plenum chamber and increases gas pressure as process gas flows in the impeller thanks to the two or more inlets uniformity of flow at the inlets may be achieved through short collector pipes fluidly connected upstream of the inlets piping of a compressor system including such compressor is made easy as it is subject to fewer constraints.

First claim

1 . A centrifugal compressor , comprising:
a housinghaving two compressor inletsfor process gas to be compressed; and an impellerlocated inside the housingso to receive an inlet flow of process gas from the two compressor inletsand arranged to increase gas pressure as process gas flows in the impeller.

2 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 1 , wherein the housing has at least one additional compressor inlet for process gas to be compressed.

3 . The centrifugal compressor of claim 1 , wherein the two compressor inletshave substantially equal cross-sections.

4 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 1 , wherein the impellerhas a rotation axis, wherein the centrifugal compressorhas a meridional planecontaining the rotation axis, and wherein the two compressor inlets are symmetrically arranged with respect to the meridional plane .

5 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 1 , wherein the housinghas a plenum chamberarranged to receive theflow of process gas from the two compressor inletsand to convey the inlet flow of process gas to the impeller, wherein the plenum chamberis substantially cylindrical and/or frustoconical and/or annular shape, and wherein the two compressor inletsare located on a lateral surface of the plenum chamber.

6 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 5 , wherein the centrifugal compressorcomprises one or two septaarranged in the plenum chamber, and extending radially.

7 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 6 , wherein the one or two septaextend radially from a first endat a lateral surface of the plenum chamber to a second endat an radially inner regionof the plenum chamber.

8 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 6 , wherein the impeller has a rotation axis (R), wherein the centrifugal compressorhas a meridional plane containing the rotation axis, and wherein the one or two septaare arranged on the meridional plane.

9 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 8 , wherein the two septa are located in the plenum chamberat circumferentially opposite positions so that a first septumis close to the two compressor inletsand a second septumis remote from the two compressor inlets.

10 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 5 , wherein the plenum chamberis defined by a radially outer walland a radially inner wallfacing the radially outer wall, and wherein a plenum outletfaces the radially outer walland the two compressor inlets, and is adjacent to the radially inner wall.

11 . The centrifugal compressor of claim 5 , wherein the plenum chamberis arranged to convey the inlet flow of process gas to the impellerthrough a shaped connecting channel.

12 . The centrifugal compressor of claim 1 , further comprising:
two collectorsprotruding from the housing, each collectorhaving a collector inletarranged to be fluidly coupled to a suction duct and a collector outlet fluidly coupled to the inlet, and being configured to reduce or eliminate non-uniformity in a flow of process gas from the collector inletto the collector outlet.

13 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 12 , wherein each collector defines a divergent duct diverging from the collector inletto the collector outlet, an area ratio between the collector inletcross-section and the collector outletcross-section being comprised preferably between about 1.0 and about 1.3.

14 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 12 , wherein a distance between the collector inletand the collector outletis comprised between about 1 and about 3 times a diameter of the collector inlet.

15 . The centrifugal compressorof claim 12 , wherein the collectorscomprise respective end portions adjacentto the collector outlets, wherein the end portions extend longitudinally along respective straight lines, and wherein the straight lines form an angle an anglepreferably in the range from about 15° to about 30°, and wherein the straight lines intersect at a point of intersection preferably remote from an axis of the plenum chamber.

16 . A compressor system, comprising: a centrifugal compressorof claim 1 .

17 . A method of operating a centrifugal compressorthe method comprising the steps of:
A) generating a flow of process gas; B) splitting the flow of process gas into a first process gas flow and a second process gas flow; C) advancing the first process gas flow and the second process gas flow along separate preferably substantially rectilinear paths in order to reduce or remove flow nonuniformities in the first process gas flow and the second process gas flow; D) merging the first process gas flow with reduced or removed non- uniformity and the second process gas flow with reduced or removed non uniformity so to create a desired suction process gas flow; E) feeding the desired suction process gas flow to an impeller of the centrifugal compressor.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising the two steps of:
F) admitting the first process gas flow with reduced or removed non-uniformity and the second process gas flow with reduced or removed non-uniformity in a plenum chamber; and G) keeping the first process gas flow with reduced or removed non uniformity and the second process gas flow with reduced or removed non- uniformity separated inside the plenum chamber; wherein steps F and G is carried out after step C and before step D,and wherein step D is carried out outside of the plenum chamber.

Assignees

• Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie Srl

Inventors

• Quercia Marco
• Sassanelli Giuseppe
• Corbo Simone
• Grimaldi Angelo

Classifications

• F04D29/4213 Primary

  suction ports · CPC title

• F04D29/441 Primary

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D29/4206

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D17/10

  for compressing or evacuating · CPC title

• F04D29/284

  for compressors · CPC title