DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

THERMODYNAMICS LABORATORY

TITLE: Single Stage Compressor

OBJECTIVES:
To determine the followings;
i) Polytropic index of compressor,
ii) Indicated power input,
iii) Motor efficiency
iv) Isothermal efficiency
v) Mechanical efficiency
vi) Overall isothermal efficiency

THEORY:
Compressor is a mechanical device that compresses air to another type of gas from a low
inlet pressure (usually atmospheric) to a higher desired pressure level. The compressed air
will be stored in air receiver from where it can be taken out for use. There are many
applications that used air compressor such as for inflating automobile tires, in refrigeration
cycle and air conditioning, air tools, air brake system and others.

A single stage air compressor works using the force of a piston and pressure valve. In a
single-stage compressor, the air compressed one time which differ to two-stage compressor
that the air compressed twice for double the pressure. The work done on the air per unit
time is equal to the work done per cycle times the number of cycles per unit time.

The indicated power,

𝑛 𝑚̇𝑎 (𝑛−1)
𝑊̇𝑖𝑛𝑑 = 𝜌𝑎 [𝑟 𝑛 − 1]
𝑛−1 𝜌𝑎

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 DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

Where;
𝜌𝑎 = 1.225 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚3 (density of air)
𝑚̇𝑎 = 4.307 × 10−4 √∆ℎ (mass flow of air)
𝑝
𝑟 = 𝑝1 (pressure ratio)
0

Motor electrical input power,

𝑊̇𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝑉𝑜 𝐴𝑜

Mechanical work done rate,

2𝜋𝑁𝐺𝑇𝑞1
𝑊̇𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ =
60
Where;
𝐺 = 3 – gear ratio between the motor and compressor, for the GT103 MK 11
𝑇𝑞1 – first stage motor torque (compressor torque = 3 x motor torque)

Isothermal work done rate,

𝑊̇𝑖𝑠 = 𝑚̇𝑎 𝑅𝑇1 ln 𝑟

Hence, for the efficiency are as follows;

𝑊̇𝑖𝑠
Isothermal efficiency 𝜂𝑖𝑠 =
𝑊̇𝑖𝑛𝑑
𝑊̇𝑖𝑛𝑑
Mechanical efficiency 𝜂𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ =
𝑊̇𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ
𝑊̇𝑖𝑠
Overall isothermal efficiency 𝜂𝑖𝑠𝑜 =
𝑊̇𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ
𝑊̇𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ
Motor efficiency 𝜂𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑊̇𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟

APPARATUS: One set of Compressor Set.

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 DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

PROCEDURE:
Please watch the video provided. The lab instructor will demonstrate the procedure of
conducting the experiment.

After watching the video, you are required to write the steps of conducting the experiment
in your laboratory report.

RESULTS :

Experimental Data:
Table 1
𝑝3 𝑝1 𝑇1 𝑇3 ∆ℎ 𝑉𝑜 𝐴𝑜 𝑇𝑞1
(receiver) (bar) ℃ K ℃ K (mm) (volt) A (N.m)
2
3
4
5

All pressure and temperature must be in absolute units. Where;

𝑝𝑜 = 1 𝑏𝑎𝑟 (𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟)
𝑝1 = 𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 + 𝑝𝑜 (𝑏𝑎𝑟)
𝑇1 & 𝑇3 − 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠

Experimental Results:
i. Calculate and complete the following table;
𝑝1 𝑇3 𝑝1 𝑇 ̇ ̇ ̇ ̇
log ( ) log ( 3 ) 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑊𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑊𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ 𝑊𝑖𝑠 𝜂𝑖𝑠 𝜂𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ 𝜂𝑖𝑠𝑜 𝜂𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝑝𝑜 𝑇1 𝑝𝑜 𝑇1

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 DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

𝑇 𝑝
ii. Plot the results on log (𝑇3 ) against log (𝑝1 ) graph. Since 𝑝𝑉 𝑛 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 and
1 𝑜

𝑝𝑉 = 𝑚𝑅𝑇;
𝑛−1
𝑇3 𝑝1 𝑛 𝑇3 𝑛−1 𝑝1
( )=( ) ∴ log ( ) = log ( )
𝑇1 𝑝𝑜 𝑇1 𝑛 𝑝𝑜

𝑛−1
Therefore, is the slope of the graph. From the graph determine the value
𝑛

of 𝑛. It cannot lie outside the range 𝑛 = 1 (isothermal) and 𝑛 = 1.4 (adiabatic).

The value obtained is typical. Most compressors operate between 𝑛 =
1.2~1.3.

iii. Plot the graph isothermal, mechanical, overall and motor efficiency against
stage pressure ratio (𝑟).

DISCUSSION:

i. Compare and discuss the efficiency against the pressure ratio

ii. States the advantages of single stage compressor.

CONCLUSION:

Give conclusion of this experiment based on its significances, applications and suggestions
to improve the quality of experiment.

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 DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMA STUDIES, SPACE
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

APPENDIX

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