Automatic PID Control Loops Design for Performance Improvement of Cryogenic Turboexpander

Abstract

Cryogenics field involves temperature below 123 K which is much less than ambient temperature. In addition, many industrially important physical processes — from fulfilling the needs of National Thermonuclear Fusion programs, superconducting magnets to treatment of cutting tools and preservation of blood cells, require extreme low temperature. The low temperature required for liquefaction of common gases can be obtained by several processes. Liquefaction is the process of cooling or refrigerating a gas to a temperature below its critical temperature so that liquid can be formed at some suitable pressure which is below the critical pressure. Helium liquefier is used for the liquefaction process of helium gas. In general, the Helium Refrigerator/Liquefier (HRL) needs turboexpander as expansion machine to produce cooling effect which is further used for the production of liquid helium. Turboexpanders, a high speed device that is supported on gas bearings, are the most critical component in many helium refrigeration systems. A very minor fault in the operation and manufacturing or impurities in the helium gas can destroy the turboexpander. However, since the performance of expanders is dependent on a number of operating parameters and the relations between them are quite complex, the instrumentation and control system design for turboexpander needs special attention. The inefficiency of manual control leads to the need of designing automatic control loops for turboexpander. Proper design and implementation of the control loops plays an important role in the successful operation of the cryogenic turboexpander. The PID control loops has to be implemented with accurate interlocks and logic to enhance the performance of the cryogenic turboexpander. For different normal and off-normal operations, speeds will be different and hence a proper control method for critical rotational speed avoidance is must. This paper presents the design of PID control loops needed for the efficient performance of cryogenic turboexpander (Radial Inflow type) to ensure that the control systems meet the technical conditions and constraints more accurately and ensure the equipment safety.