Time to surge concept and surge control for acceleration performance

Abstract

Surge is a dangerous instability that can occur in compressors. It is avoided using a valve that reduces the compressor pressure. The control of this valve is important for the compressor safety but it also has a direct influence on the acceleration performance. Compressor surge control is investigated by first studying the surge phenomenon in detail. Experimental data from a dynamic compressor flow test bench and surge cycles measured on an engine is used to tune and validate a model capable of describing surge. A concept named time to surge is introduced and a sensitivity analysis is performed to isolate the important characteristics that influence surge transients in an engine. It is pointed out that the controller clearly benefits from a feed-forward term due to the small time frames associated with the transition to surge. In the next step this knowledge is used in the design of a novel surge controller. This surge controller is then compared to two other controllers and it is shown that it avoids surge and improves the acceleration performance by delivering both higher engine torque and turbo shaft speed after a gear change.