Compressed Air System

Real compressor diagram for a

piston compressor.

Theoretical compressor diagram

 Analysis of Compressor Diagram
• The stroke volume is the cylinder volume that the piston travels
during the suction stage.
• The clearance volume is the area that must remain at the piston’s
turning point for mechanical reasons, together with the area
required for the valves, etc.
• The difference between the stroke volume and the suction volume is
due to the expansion of the air remaining in the clearance volume
before suction can start.
• The difference between the theoretical p/V diagram and the real
diagram is due to the practical design of a compressor, e.g. a piston
compressor.
– The valves are never fully sealed and there is always a degree of
leakage between the piston and the cylinder wall.
– In addition, the valves can not open and close without a delay, which
results in a pressure drop when the gas flows through the channels.
– Due to reasons of design the gas is also heated when it flows into the
cylinder.
 Isothermal vs Adiabatic compression

ADIABATIC
ab suction stroke at constant pressure
e c bc adiabatic compression
d
cd discharge stroke at constant pressure
Work done = abcd
P

ISOTHERMAL

a be isothermal compression
b
Work done = abed
abed < abcd
V2 V1

Work done on air is considerably less with isothermal compression

Shaded area is work saved by compressing isothermally
 Compression in several stages
• Theoretically a gas can be compressed isentropically or isothermally.
• Compressed air is rarely used immediately at its final temperature after
compression-Isentrophic
• In practice, gas can be rarely used without being cooled –isothermal process
• Isothermal process is preferred, as this requires less work.
• In practice attempts are made to realise isothermal process by cooling the gas
during compression.
• For example, with an effective working pressure of 7 bar that theoretically requires
37% higher output for isentropic compression compared with isothermal
compression.
• A practical method to reduce the heating of the gas is to divide the compression into
several stages and cooling the gas after each stage (The gas is cooled after each
stage, to then be compressed further).
• This also increases the efficiency, as the pressure ratio in the first stage is reduced.
The power requirement is at its lowest if each stage has the same pressure ratio.
• The more stages the compression is divided into the closer the entire process gets
to be isothermal compression.
• However there is an economic limit for how many stages a real installation can be
designed with.
 Why Isothermal is not Practical?

• Isothermal compression would mean that

compressor would need to run extremely slow
• But in practice, compressors run at fairly high
speeds and hence compression tend to be
adiabatic
 How to approach Isothermal Compression
f e
Multi-stage compression
• Air is compressed in several stages
instead of full compression in a
single cylinder
• Same as no of compressor in series
Adiabatic
• pv diagram for 4-stage compression
• Doted line bf is isothermal
• To keep compression near
P isothermal, air is compressed and
cooled to initial temperature
• Each stage increases the pressure
while initial temperature is
maintained at the end
Isothermal • If compression is done in single
stage, compression line would have
c followed be
d • Shaded area is work saved
• If intercooling is imperfect, point d
would not be reached

a b

V
A typical compressed Air System
 Energy cost of compressed air

A 100 kw compressor working for 300 days a

year could consume Rs.32 lacs
Inefficient power source even if well
maintained
 Assessing the compressed air
requirements of a site
• What Pressure is required ?
• What air quality is required ?
• What is the pattern of demand ?
• What compressor capacity is required ?
• Centralised or decentralised ?
• Can the waste heat be used ?
 Compressor Selection
Tool (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Air No.of Tools Air Load Probable Air
Consumption Required Factor Demand
(cfm) (Cfm)
Grinding Wheel 6” 50 5 250 0.3 75
Rotary Sandor 9” 55 2 110 0.5 55
Chipping Hammers 30 8 240 0.4 96
Nut Setters 20 10 200 0.6 120
Paint Spray 10 1 10 0.1 1
Plug Drills 40 3 120 0.2 24
Rivetters 35 5 175 0.4 70
Steel Drills 80 5 400 0.4 160
Total demand 601

Determine Air Quantity and top pressure

Allowance for expansion and leakage

Allow for 10 percent leak in the system
 What pressure is required ?
• Most of the equipment need 6 – 6.3 bar
• Add a pressure drop of 0.7 bar to the farthest
end
• Generation pressure is 7 bar
• For lower pressure requirements pressure
regulators can be used.
• For example equipment operating at a
fluctuating supply of 6-7 bar which could operate
at 5.5 bar would save 14 % of energy thro local
pressure regulation
Pressure vs Power
Sizing the Compressors
Pattern of Demand
Compressor Capacity vs Power
Types of compressors
Reciprocating
Double acting two stage
Centrifugal
Selecting a compressor
 Types of capacity controls
• Start/stop
• Cylinder unloading
• Modulating
Waste heat recovery
Case study: Energy Savings
in Screw Compressor
 Before:
• For catering demand of compressed air,
site uses one 500 Nm3 Atlas Copco make
screw compressor.
• The KW rating of this compressor is 75
KW.
• Oil free pneumatic air is required for
pneumatic valves and other pneumatic
devices installed at site
 Study on compressor loading
pattern
• Unloading as a percentage: 40%
• Loading as a percentage : 60%
• Power consumed during unloading cycle = 32 KW
• Power consumed during loading cycle = 72 kW
• Total power consumed per day = 780 KWH
 After installing VFD
• With the new VFD fit compressor in place
the average power consumption of the
compressor has gone down by 180 KWH
• Daily consumption of power is now: 600
KWH
• Savings of 180 units per day
Alternatives to compressed air