Surge points
Natural surge, high and low surge, and the throttle surge setpoint, recorded with ambient temperature and humidity.
Technical services · Performance & surge testing
Performance and surge testing: how much margin is left.
Compressor performance testing measures actual operating characteristics, efficiency, pressure, flow and the available operating margin between normal running and surge.
What we measure
Where the readings come from.
Stage by stage
Inlet air temperatures and pressures and vibration for each stage under final operating conditions.
Lubrication and cooling
Oil pressure, oil temperature, filter differential, and cooling water temperatures in and out.
Drive motor
Loaded motor current, bearing temperatures at both ends, and stator temperatures.
What it tells us
Signatures, and what they mean.
- Strong, repeatable pressure rise to surge
- The compressor can reach its expected operating envelope; aerodynamic performance is holding.
- Adequate surge margin
- Room to absorb seasonal increases in ambient and cooling-water temperature without instability.
- Shrinking margin or deteriorating efficiency
- Internal wear or fouling worth investigating before it limits production.
- Test limited by plant protection
- Recorded as such, and repeated in full once the system can safely allow it.
From a recent assessment
Knowing what a test can and cannot tell you.
On one recent unit, testing could only be taken to about 130 PSI, against a 120 PSI design discharge pressure, before the discharge safety valve lifted. The compressor still showed roughly a 20 PSI rise above normal operating pressure, a reasonable margin, but not a full characterisation of surge.
The report said exactly that, and recommended a complete performance evaluation after corrective maintenance, once the pressure protection could safely accommodate the full test envelope.
What you receive
Evidence, not a sales pitch.
Performance & surge testing is one of four disciplines read together in every condition assessment. One finding can be noise; several pointing the same way is a diagnosis.
- Surge points and margin, with the conditions they were measured in
- Final operating data for every stage, the oil system, cooling and motor
- A performance baseline, and a repeat test after any corrective work
The other disciplines
Vibration analysis Bearings, rotors, gears, alignment, looseness and imbalance, stage by stage. Learn more Thermal imaging Abnormal heat, stage-to-stage imbalance, bearing, cooling and lubrication problems. Learn more Oil analysis Wear metals, contamination, oxidation and moisture inside the machine. Learn more
Find out what your compressors actually need.
A condition assessment reads vibration, heat, oil and performance together and gives every machine a plain verdict.