MELABORATORY1

TestofanAi r
Compressor

OMOLIDA,CHRI
STI
ANJAMESC.
VALDEZ,PRI
NCESSALLYNDRAL.

BSMEI
V
Whati
sanAi
rCompr
essor
?
An 
aircompr essor 
isadev i
cethat 
convert
spower  
(usi
nganel ectri
cmot or,di
eselor
gasoli
neengi ne,et
c.)int
o potenti
alenergy
 stor
edinpr essuri
zedair(i.
e.,
 compressedair
).Iti
s
asimplepi eceofmachi nery,withmanyi mportantcomponent swhi char evi
talforit
sproper
operat
ionandf uncti
oning.Iti
sr ot
atingmachinerywhichcanbef oundfrom hugepowerpl ant
s
toasmal lmechanicshop.

Par
tsofanAi
rCompr
essor
Mot
or
An ai
rcompr essorneedsan el ectr
icmot ort o powerup themachine.Themot or
basi
cal
lydrivestwobelt
sandapul leywhichall
owst hetransferofpowerfr
om themotortothepump
pi
stonsandthisisdonethr
oughaf lywheelandacr ankshaft.Oneimport
antthi
ngyouneedtoinst
all
,to
avoi
dmot ordamageintheeventofanov er
load,
isamagnet icstar
ter.

Compr essorPump
Thepumpi stheinstr
umentt hatallowsairt obecompr essedanddischargedint
ot he
recei
ver
.Iti
sv erycommont ohavetwo-stageaircompr essorsandtheser equi
retwocyl
inderpumpst o
work.Thesecompr essor
scanproducefrom 145-175PSIbycompr essingt heai
rtwi
ce.Thisisdoneby
fi
rstcompressingt heairi
nthel ar
ger,low pressurecy l
inder
,thenont ot hesmall
er,highpressure
cyli
nder
.

Tank
Thisisthecompressorpar
tthatst
orestheai
rbei
ngcompressed.I
tisthebiggestpar
t
oft
heai
rcompr
essoranditcanr
angefrom 1-10gal
lonsorev
enmoreforbi
ggerconst
ruct
ionneeds.

PressureSwi t
ch
Thepr essur
eswi tchautomatical
lyshut
sdownt hemot orwhenther ecei
verr
eachesthe
fact
ory
-setlimit.Oncet hepressurelev
eldropst oapre-setlevelthenthepressureswitchr
estar
tsthe
motorther
ef or
er esumingthepumpi ngofairbyt hecompr essor.Youcancal lthisasanemer gency
swit
chthatregulateshowmuchpr essureyourtankcantake.

DrainValve
Themai npurposeoft hedrai
nv alveisexact
lywhatit
snamei mpli
es.Itdrai
nstheoil
,
dir
t,moistur
e,andot herdebrist hatmightbet r
appedinsi
det hetank.Si
mplemai ntenanceofair
compressorsentai
lsdrai
ningat ankfrom i
mpurit
iesanddebrisfr
om use.Moi
stur
eandoi larethemost
commonr easonsforrustt
odev elopinsi
dethetankwhennotdr ai
ned.

Pr
essureGauge
Thisgaugemeasur escompr essedairpr
essureinthet ankoftheaircompressor.I
tlet
s
theuserknowthatt hereisapr oblem ifthemeasur ementishigherthant heregul
atednormalli
mitand
servesasawar ni
ngt oinspecttheai rcompr essororstopthecompr essionbeforethegaugereaches
even hi
ghermeasur ements.On t hecont rary,ifthereading isveryl ow from thenormalal l
owed
measurement,i
tal soindicat
esapr oblem withthecompr essorsuchasal eakinthetank.Thi
sshould
alsobecheckedrightawayt oav oi
danymor ecompl i
cati
onsandaccident s.

Howdoesi
twor
k?
I
nt he case ofan ai
rcompressor,t
he
compressi
ng mechani sm is compr
essing t
he
atmospher
icair
.Theai r 
compr
essorworks 
int
he
fol
lowi
ngway :

Airent erst hepi ston orv ane,and iti s

compr essedbyi ncreasingi tspressureandatt he
samet imedecr easingi t
sv olume.Assoonast he
pressurer eachesamaxi mum setbyt heoperator
or t he manuf acturer, a swi t
ch mechani sm
preventsanyf urtherairintakeint hecompr essor.
Thecompr essedai ri susedandpr essur
el evels
decrease.As soon as t he pressurer eaches a
minimum, al so set by t he oper ator or t he
manuf acturer,theswi tchallowsai rtoenterthecompr
essor
.Thi
spr
ocedur
eisr
epeat
edasl
ongast
he
compr
essori
sbei
ngused
Basi
cty
pesofAi
rCompr
essor
1. Reci
procat
ingAi
rCompr
essor
s

Ar eci
procati
ngai rcompressorisonewhi chr ecipr
ocat esinsideacy l
inder(li
ner)unit
.Thepi ston
mov esupanddowncont i
nuouslyt opumpt heai raf tercompr essionint otheai rreceiver.These
are posit
ivedispl
acement  
machines,meaningt hattheyi ncreasethepr essureoft heairbyr educi
ngits
volume.Thi smeanst heyaret akinginsuccessivev olumesofai rwhi chi sconfinedwithinacl osed
spaceandel evat
ingthisai
rtoahi gherpr
essure.Ther eciprocati
ngai rcompr essoraccomplishesthisby
api stonwithinacyli
nderasthecompr essi
nganddi splacingel ement.

Thereci
pr ocat
ingaircompr essoris 
singleact
ing whenthecompr essi
ngisaccompl ishedusi
ngonlyone
si
deoft hepi ston.Acompr essorusingbot hsidesoft he 
piston 
isconsi
dered doubleacti
ng.1to50
HP ar
et ypical
lyforr eci
procati
ngunit s.Compressors 
100hp  andabovearet ypicall
yRotaryScr
ew or
Centr
if
ugalCompr essors.

Adv
ant
ages

Simpledesign
Lowiniti
alcost
Easytoinstal
l
Twost agemodelsofferthehi
ghestef
fi
ciency
Nooilcarryover
Largerangeofhorsepower
Specialmachinescanreachextr
emelyhi
ghpressur
e

Di
sadv
ant
ages

Highermaint
enancecost
Manymov ingpart
s
Potenti
alf
orvibr
ati
onproblems
Manyar enotdesi
gnedtorunatful
lcapaci
ty100%oft
het
ime

2.Rot
aryScr
ewAi
rCompr
essor
s

Thesecompr essorsarenotofr eci

procati
ngnat ure,therefor
edoesnothav eanypi stonsand
crankshaf
t.Inst
ead,thesecompressorshavescr ews,vanes,scroll
s,andot herdeviceswhi chr otateand
thuscompr essair.Therotar
ycompr essorsarecl assi
fi
edi nt
oscr ew type,vanety pe-lobet ype,scrol
l
typeandot hertypes.Thistypeofaircompr essorsare posit
ivedisplacement compr essors.Themost
commonr ot
aryaircompressori
sthesinglestagehel i
calorspirall
obeoi lf
loodedscr ewaircompr essor
.

Thesecompressor
sconsistoftwor otor
swithi
nacasingwheret
herot
orscompr
esstheai
r
int
ernal
ly.Ther
earenov alv
es.Theseunit
sar ebasi
call
yoi
lcool
ed(wi
thai
rcool
edorwat
ercool
edoi
l
cooler
s)wheretheoi
lsealsthei
nter
nalcl
earances.

Si
ncethecool
ingtakesplacer
ighti
nsi
det
hecompr essor,t
heworki
ngpartsneverexper
ience
ext
remeoper at
ingt
emperatures.Ther
otar
ycompr
essor
,therefor
e,isacont
inuousduty
,aircool
edor
watercool
edcompressorpackage.

Adv
ant
ages

Simpl
edesign
Lowtomedi um i
nit
ialandmaint
enancecost
Twostagedesignsprovidegoodef
fici
ency
Easyt
oinstall
Fewmov i
ngpar t
s
Mostpopularcompressordesi
gninplant
s

Di
sadv
ant
ages

Highr otat i
onalspeeds
Shorterlifeexpectancythanotherdesigns
Oilinject eddesignshaveoilcar
ryover
Si
ngl est agedesignshavelowereffi
ciency
 Di
ff
icul
tywi
thdi
rt
yenv
ironment
s

3. Cent
ri
fugalAi
rCompr
essor
s

Cent r
ifugalaircompr essorsusear otati
ngdi skorimpel l
erinashapedhousi ngtoforcethegas
tother i
m oft heimpel l
er ,i
ncreasi
ngt heveloci
tyoft hegas.Itisa dynamic compressorwhichdepends
ont r
ansf erofener gyf r
om a rotati
ngimpeller 
totheai r
.Centr
if
ugalcompr essorsproducehigh-pressur
e
dischargebyconv ert
ingangul armoment um impar tedbyther otati
ngimpeller(dynamicdi
splacement).
Inordert odot hi
sefficientl
y,centri
fugalcompressor srot
ateathi gherspeedst hantheothertypesof
compr essor s.Theset ypesofcompr essorsareal sodesignedf orhighercapaci
tybecausef l
owt hr
ough
thecompr essori scontinuous.

Thecentr
if
ugalaircompressorisanoilf
reecompressorbydesi
gn.Theoi
llubr
icat
edr
unni
ng
geari
ssepar
atedfrom t
heairbyshaftseal
sandatmospher
icvents.

Adv
ant
ages

Highef f
ici
enciesappr
oachingtwost ager
eci
procat
ingcompressor
s
Canr eachpressureupto1200psi
Compl etel
ypackedforplantorinst
rumentai
rupthrough500hp
Designedtogiv el
ubri
cantfreeair

Di
sadv
ant
ages

Highi
ni t
ialcost
Complicatedmoni t
oringandcontr
olsyst
em
Highrotationalspeedsrequi
respecialbear
ingandsophi
sti
cat
edv
ibr
ati
onandcl
ear
ance
monit
or i
ng
Speci
alizedmai nt
enanceconsider
ati
ons

Appl
icat
ion
Ai
rcompr
essor
shav
emanyuses,
incl
udi
ng:

supplyi
nghigh-pressurecleanairtof il
lgascy l
inder s,supplyi
ngmoder at
e-pressurecleanairtoa
submergedsurfacesupplieddiver
,supplyingmoderat e-pressurecleanairfordri
v i
ngsomeof fi
ceand
schoolbuil
ding pneumaticHVAC cont r
olsyst
em v alves,supply i
ng a lar
ge amountofmoder ate-
pressur
eairtopowerpneumat i
ctools,suchasjackhammer s,fi
ll
inghighpressureairt
anks(HPA) ,f
or
fil
li
ngti
resandt oproducelargevol
umesofmoder ate-pr essureairforlar
gescaleindust
ri
alprocesses
(suchasoxidat
ionforpetr
oleum cookingorcementpl antbaghousepur gesystems).

Ai
rCompr
essorLeakage

Acompressorl
eak creat
eadr opinsystem pressur
eandcauset ool
stooperat
elesseff
ici
ent
ly,r
un
l
onger
,andshor
tensthelifespanoft
hetool.I
ncreasedrunt
imeaddsmorest
resstot
hesyst
em andcan
l
eadtomoremaintenanceandunschedul
eddownt ime.

Possi
bleCausesofLeakage

From AirFi
lt
er
Airfi
lt
ersarebasical
lyusedtopuri
fytheairbef
oretheyrunint
othecompressor.Thereare
severalconnecti
onsinthefi
lt
erbymeansofsomepipes.I
fyoukeepthepi
pesoft
hefi
lt
erloose,thenoi
l
wil
lleakfrom theai
rfil
ter
.

ExcessiveOi li
nt heChamber
I
ft hereismor eoi li
nt hechamberthannecessar
y,t
heexcessoilwil
lobv
iousl
yleakf
rom t
he
chamber.Also,excessoilintheaircompr
essoroi
lfi
lt
erwil
lcauset
heoilt
oleakaswel.
l

From theHead
Anotherpl
acefrom wheret
heoilcanl
eakisfr
om theheadoft
hecompr
essor
.Oi
lwi
lll
eakf
rom
t
her
eift
heoilcannotpr
operlyf
lowthr
oughthefi
lt
erortheoi
lchamber
.

Fr
om PistonChamber
Mostoftheoily
ouapplygoest
othepist
onasthepist
onneedst
obeasl ubr
icat
edaspossi
ble
t
omaket
heaircompressorr
unsmoothl
y.Butsomet
imesifther
eisaholeatanypointont
hepist
on
chamber
,thent
heoi
lget
sleakedf
rom t
her
easwel
l.

Airhosesandai rhoseconnect ionsorcoupli

ngs
Wor ndisconnects,ordisconnect smissi
ngO-r i
ngs
Fil
ters,l
ubri
catorsandr egulators,i
fimproperlyinstal
led
Leakingorbotcheddr ains
Wor noutsealsorgasket s
Oldorpoor l
ymai ntai
nedpneumat i
ctools
Idl
eorunusedmachi neorpr oducti
onequipmentwi thai
rinput
Fail
edori nf
eriorquali
tythreadseal ant
s,orincorrectl
yappliedt
hreadseal
ant
s
Inappropri
ateuseofai r
, i
.e.asabl owerforcleaninginsteadofusingot
hercl
eani
ngt
ool
s
Usingairtocoolelectri
ccont r
olpanelsandcabi nets

Repai
ri
ngLeaks
Fixi
ngacompr essorleakcanbeassi mpleastight
eningaconnecti
onormor ecompli
cat
edandrequir
e
replaci
ng faul
ty equipment.Purchase high qual
it
y syst
em component sincl
udi
ng,hoses,f
itt
ings,
disconnect
s,andtubing,andinst
allpr
operl
ywiththeappropri
atet
hreadseal
ant.

Ul
tr
asoni
cLeakDet
ect
or
Thesearesophist
icat
edtoolsthatcanaccuratel
ydetectleaksinanoi syproduct
ionenvi
ronmentwhil
e
act
ualproducti
onistaki
ngplace.Theyconsistofdirect
ionalmi cr
ophones,ampli
fier
sandaudiofi
lt
ers,
andtheycanident
ifyt
hehigh-frequencyhi
ssingsoundspr oducedbyairleaks.

Ai
rCompr
essorMai
ntenance
Maint
aini
ngyourai
rcompr
essorisaneasyandv er
ynecessar
ystept
oext endi
ngt
heli
fespanofyour
machine.Al
waysperf
ormthi
sr out
inemaint
enanceatleastonceay earorperthemanufact
urer
's
gui
deli
nes.

St
ep1:Changi
ngYourAi
rCompr
essorOi
l

Changi
ngtheoili
ny ourai
rcompressori
st hemostdi
ff
icul
t(y
et,st
il
lremar
kabl
ysi
mpl
e)under
taki
ngi
n
maint
aini
ngtheef
fici
encyofyourcompressor.

St
ep2:Remov
ingandI
nst
all
ingt
heAi
rFi
lt
er

Changingyourai
rfi
lt
eri
sincredi
blysi
mpl
e.Somemachi
neshav
eascr
ewonai
rfi
lt
erandsome,
liket
he
onepictur
ed,si
mplypul
loutbyhand.

St
ep3:Repl
aci
ngaWor
nCompr
essorBel
t

I
nst
all
inganewbeltony
ourai
rcompr
essorsyst
em shouldbeal
mostaseasyasreplaci
ngy
ourai
rfi
lt
er.
Mostcompr
essor
snowadayshav
eaplast
iccagethatsur
roundt
hemachine'
spul
leys.