American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2020 - 69

thing wrong mechanically."
That could be an issue with the compressor, the driver or the sensors, Hickman
notes. "With experience, the problem
often can be diagnosed from the data,"
he says. "For example, if the compressor
is operating at unusually high temperatures,
it is probably overcompressing the gas, a
sign the compression ratio is too high. If
the equipment's specifications say it has
the right ratio, there's a good chance a
valve is malfunctioning."
As edge computers gain power, the
digital twin has moved from engineers'
desktops and asset management centers
to alongside the compressor's programmable logic controller. "Even in the field,
we can run millions of calculations every
second to see how the compressor should
perform," Hickman describes.
These calculations can let compressors
run more aggressively. "In the past, we
would need to represent the safe parts of
the compressor's operating map with
fairly simple constraint equations that
cut valid parameter combinations for
speed's sake," Hickman details. "Today,
we have far more comprehensive operating
maps and can calculate how safety limits
change based on dynamic conditions."
Field simulations will become even
more accurate as industrial-grade computers
gradually catch up with consumer electronics, Hickman suggests. "In the next
few years, I hope we will have the power
to simulate complex torsional forces. Eventually, we should be able to do advanced
thermodynamics to predict when liquids
will drop out of particularly complex gas
streams. I also would like to add modeling
of pulsation's effects on pressure coming
into and leaving the cylinder, which influences flows, horsepower and safety."
In the meantime, desktop simulations
are informing research and development
efforts that Hickman says may reduce
fleet costs. As an example, he cites work
with Ariel to help gas gathering companies
increase existing compressors' flow rates.
"Usually, gathering compressors only
operate at 85%-90% load," he notes.
"That way, if something blocks a pipe or
causes back pressure or suction pressure
to surge, the compressor has the spare
horsepower to handle the situation without
shutting down.
"By adding unloading devices that activate when those hiccups occur, we may
be able to run compressors at 100% capacity, which will increase flow rates
8%-12%," he says. "In other words, nine
compressors could do the work of 10."
Long-Lasting Oil
To lengthen compressor maintenance
intervals, Permian Production Lubricants

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