An examination of gas compressor stability and rotating stall

The principal sources of vibration related reliability problems in high pressure centrifugal gas compressors are the re-excitation of the first critical speed or Resonant Subsynchronous Vibration (RSSV), and the forced vibration due to rotating stall in the vaneless diffusers downstream of the impellers. An example of such field problems is given elsewhere. This paper describes the results of a test program at the author's company, initiated in 1983 and completed during 1985, which studied the RSSV threshold and the rotating stall phenomenon in a high pressure gas compressor.