Piping & plant systems

The compressor that breathes backwards

Compressor surge at a gas compressor station · narrated

Duration

1:33

Year

2026

The case

A compressor station moves 110 kg/s of gas from 45 to 63 bar. A valve downstream closes 78 % in 2 s and, within 0.05 s, the flow turns around: up to 51 kg/s flow back through the impellers, again every 2.8 s. Each cycle hits the thrust bearing with 2.9 t one way and 5.6 t the other (order of magnitude). With the same model, a recycle valve that starts opening within the first second keeps the flow above 86 kg/s, and it never reverses.

Topics

• Compressor surge
• Compressor stations
• Narrated explainer

Basis. Generic synthetic case built for this piece. No client data. Not a design verification.