FACULTY OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING LABORATORY V
BDA37501
(THERMODYNAMICS II)

PROPOSAL OF TWO-STAGE AIR COMPRESSOR

Section: 11
Group 11C

Name of Group Members Matrix Number

NIK ZAHIRUDDIN BIN MOHD

AD180123
ZAMRI
PUTERI ALYA MEDINA BINTI
AD180110
IBRAHIM

YEE HONG WEI AD180242

YOONG YING YING AD180240

ZIYAD BIN MOHD ZAHIDIN AD180186

MUHAMMAD HARIZ BIN

AD180177
MOHD RIZAL

INSTRUCTOR : Ts. Dr. MOHAMAD FARID BIN SIES

 TOPIC

TWO-STAGE AIR COMPRESSOR

TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this topic, students eill be able to:

 Understand the polytropic process in the two-stage air compressor.
 Determine the polytropic efficiency of a compressor.

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION
First of all, the air compressor is a device that converts power into potential energy
stored in pressurized air. Besides, in order to increase the pressure, air compressor
forces more and more air into a storage tank. When the tank’s pressure reaches its
engineered upper limit, the air compressor shuts off. Then, the compressed air when
held in the tank until it called to use. The energy contained in the compressed air can
be used for a variety of applications, utilizing the kinetic energy of the air as it is
release and the tank depressurizes. Next, the air compressor can be classified
according to the design and principle of operation. Therefore, this experiment is to
study the flow process of the two-stage air compressor.
Two-stage air compressor features a series of cylinders, each a different diameter.
Next, between each compression stage, the air passes through a heat exchanger, where
its cooled. Cooling the air reduces the amount of work necessary to compress it
further. Besides, air in the compressor will force into an added chamber where its
pressurized. Moreover, the performance of the two-stage air compressor is
theoretically better than that of single stage compressor for the same pressure ratio
and the same inlet air temperature. This is due to the difference of the number of
times the air gets compressed between the inlet valve and the tool nozzle. In a single
stage compressor, the air is compressed once while in a two-stage air compressor, the
air is compressed twice for double the pressure, By increasing the number of cylinder
stages and pressure, these machines work more effectively with a faster recovery time
and can handle more tools at once. Thus, two-stage air compressor is used in plastic
industries, petrol pumps, pneumatic operations and more.

EXPERIMENTAL THEORY
A compressor is a mechanical device that takes an ambient air and increase its
pressure. In the past, the compressor was bellow that used by blacksmiths to intensify
the heat in their furnaces. Besides that, the first industrial compressor was simple, a
reciprocating piston-driven machine powered by a water wheel. Now, the current
industrial compressor is a system composed of several sub-systems and many
components. An air compressor uses an electric motor to convert the electrical energy
into mechanical energy which is converted to thermodynamic energy in form of
compressed air. Next, the air compression in the compressor usually undergoes a
polytropic process. Thus, in order to run the experiment smoothly, understanding the
polytropic process in the two-stage air compressor is important.
Air compressors are utilized to raise the pressure of a volume air. Therefore, all
air compressors design utilize at least the basic principles: staging, intercooling,
compressor displacement and volumetric efficiency. In order to reduce the
temperature rise and improve the compression efficiency, the compressor is staged.
To enter the intercooling stage, the temperature of the air leaving each stage is cool.
An after-cooling should also be used to reduce the temperature of the air before it
enters the storage tank and to discharge the cooling medium to the surrounding at low
temperature.
For the first compression, the filtered free air is induced at the first stage
compressor intake (P0,T0). This air is cooled by the heat exchanger to reduce the high
temperature after the first compression (P1, T1) before entering the second stage
compressor. Next, the intake condition of the air for the second compressor is at P1
and T2. Before this last compressed air is delivered into the storage tank, it is again
cooled by the second heat exchanger to reduce its temperature. After the cooling
process (T9), the temperature of the cooling medium also decreases. Water is used as
the cooling medium for both the heat exchangers. Moreover, the mass flow rate shall
be regulated in the same level during the operation to avoid unnecessary losses.
 Furthermore, polytropic process of the air compressor can be written as
pvn=constant, where n is the polytropic coefficient. With assumption that the real air
is considered as ideal gas with its characteristic equation pv/T=const. Thus, the
relationship between the temperature and pressure, or temperature and volume for any
point during the process as follows can be obtained.
t (1)

The property of the ideal gas follows the equation: t (2)

From (2) it yields: (3)

And together with equation (1):

(4)

Index 1 and 2 refers to the air condition at inlet and outlet of the compressor.
The mass of air delivered per second is called the compressor capacity and it is also
expressed as Free Air Delivery as the volume of air delivered measured at ambient
conditions.

Clearance
volume V3=Vc

Figure 1:P-V diagram

By referring to figure 1,
(5)
where,
V1 = cylinder volume, m3

Vs = swept volume or stroke volume, m3

 d2
 L
4
Vc = clearance volume, m3

The percentage of the stroke volume is called as the clearance volume.

The mass of air in the cylinder at any point can be calculated by applying the
characteristic gas equation at that point.
Mass of air in the cylinder at the beginning of compression,
(6)

Mass of air remaining in the cylinder at the end of discharge,

(7)

Then, the mass of air delivered per cycle

(8)
Compressor capacity,

h (9)

where,
m = mass flow rate of air, kg/s
z = number of cylinders
e = effective number of cycles per revolution
= 1 for single acting compressors
= 2 for double acting compressors
N = compressor speed, rpm
m = mass of air delivered per cycle, kg
To find the indicated power required,
refer to the figure 1, indicated work = area of the cycle 1-2-c-d-1
The indicated power input,
 n 1

n m  p  n
i. p.  RT1    1
 2
(10)
n  1 M air  p1  
 
where,
m = mass flow rate of air delivered, kg/s
Mair = 29 is molecular mass of air, kg.mol/kg
R = 8314.34 J/kg mol· K is the Universal gas constant
Value of the polytropic constant of compression, n is depending on the rate of heal
loss from the compressor cylinder. Therefore, if the cylinder is cooled perfectly then n
will become 1 and the compression process follows the isothermal process. By that, it
will minimized the compressor work.
The Polytropic Constant, n can be determined as follows:
1
n (11)
  T2  
 log  
1   T1  
 P P 
 log 1 atm
 
  Patm  
where pressure, P and temperature, T are in absolute values.
Volumetric efficiency is used to measure the performance of compressor. It is the
ratio of the volume of fluid actually displayed by a piston to its swept volume.
By referring figure 1,
LL Q t Q ‫݁ݓ‬
Volumetric efficiency t Q ‫݁ݓ‬
(12)

Polytropic efficiency is a value used to describe the efficiency of a compressor. A

polytropic process is more difficult to analyse than a system under the isentropic or
adiabatic assumptions. The difficulty arises from the fact that heat flows in and out
of the system, and this added energy changes some of the basic gas properties,
specifically the ratio of specific heats. For air, this value is a constant equal to 1.4.
For a polytropic process, each new calculation requires a new value for this ratio.

(13)
Multistage compressors
A multi-stage compressor is one in which there are several cylinders of
different diameters. The intake of air in the first stage gets compressed
and then it is passed over a cooler to achieve a temperature very close to
ambient air. This cooled air is passed to the intermediate stage where it is
again getting compressed and heated. This air is again passed over a
cooler to achieve a temperature as close to ambient as possible. Then this
compressed air is passed to the final or the third stage of the air
compressor where it is compressed to the required pressure and delivered
to the air receiver after cooling sufficiently in an after-cooler.

We know that PV^n = C, where n is the polytropic compression index.If

we want to compress air from atmospheric pressure to a pressure of 30
bar, and say the ambient temperature is 27 degree Celsius:

The compression index n = 1.35 and the compression ratio for

single-stage compressor would be 30:1.

Also we know that T1/T2 = (P1/P2) ^ ((n-1)/n).

Thus when calculated using the above expression, T2= 450 degree
Celsius. Thus it is evident that the delivery temperature of compressed air
is 450 degree Celsius

Advantages of Multi-stage compression:

1. The work done in compressing the air is reduced, thus power can
be saved
2. Prevents mechanical problems as the air temperature is controlled
 3. The suction and delivery valves remain in cleaner condition as the
temperature and vaporization of lubricating oil is less
4. The machine is smaller and better balanced
5. Effects from moisture can be handled better, by draining at each
stage
6. Compression approaches near isothermal
7. Compression ratio at each stage is lower when compared to a
single-stage machine
8. Light moving parts usually made of aluminum, thus less cost and
better maintenance

EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT
The PCB100 bench allows to study the operating principle of a two-stage air
compressor. (see Figure )

Figure 2, Two-stage air compressor - PCB100

Figure 2 shows the two-stage air compressor (PCB100). The PCB100 bench allows to
study the operating principle of a two-stage air compressor. The ambient air is drawn
at the level of a filter where a diaphragm is found allowing to measure the incoming
air flow by means of a manometer column. The air passes successively through two
air-water exchangers (1st stage and 2nd stage) connected to the water network of the
institution. At the output of second exchanger, the air returns in the tank then at the
level of a pressure reducer connected to an output of air flowmeter as well as three
diaphragms connected to a differential pressure sensor allowing to measure the air
outlet flow rate. Anodized aluminum structure on multidirectional wheels with brakes
gives it a very robust as well as a high flexible integration into your premises.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

1. Turn on the water circuit, W1 and W2 and set the flow rate to 100 litres per hour.
2. Switch on the compressor.
3. Make sure that the connection at the valve, D1 is tight enough.
4. Wait 10 minutes so that the compressor reaches the steady state condition.
5. Maintain the value of P4 at 2.5 bar throughout the experiment.
6. Record the value of T0, P0, T1 and P1 after 10 minutes.
7. Record the value of T2 by turning the selector 1 to number 3, T3 by turning the
selector 1 to number 4 and P2 as the value shown in the pressure gauge after 5
minutes.
8. Repeat the steps after 5 minutes in order to get the value of final compression T4
by turning the selector to number 5 and P3 from the pressure gauge.
9. Then, record the value of T5 by turning the selector 1 to number 6 and selector 2
to number 1.
10. Next, record the value of water circuit, W1 and W2, air flow rate and input
power.
11. Record the value of T6, T7, T8 and T9 by turning the selector 2 to number 2,3,4,
and 5 respectively.
12. After that, close the valve D1, and change the connection to valve, D2, maintain
the value of P4 is 4 bar.
13. Repeat the steps 1 to 11 in order to get all the values required.
14. Lastly, close the valve D2, and change the connection to valve D3, maintain the
value of P4 is 7 bar. Repeat the steps 1 to 11 to get the values that are required.

ADDITIONAL THEORY
Please describe additional theory according to this topic.

RESULTS
a) Fill in the experiment result in the table
b) Calculate and fill up table
 Table 1 Remarks for two-stage air compressor
NO ITEM CHARACTERISTIC VALUE REMARKS
1 Motor Rotation Speed 2880 rpm

2 Compressor First Stage Diameter: 104.7 mm

Length: 55.5 mm
Clearance Volume: 4 cm3

Second Stage Diameter: 54.7 mm

Length: 55.5 mm
Clearance Volume: 2.7 cm3

3 Storage Tank Capacity 2701

Table 2 experimental results

PRESSURE AMBIENT FIRST STATE OF SECOND STATE OF FINAL
AIR COMPRESSION COMPRESSION COMPRESSION
P4 T0 P0 T1 P1 T1 P1 T1/T0 β1 T2 T3 P2 T3 P2 T3/T2 T4 P3
– – – –
T0 P0 T2 P1
2.5

Table 3 Calculation of power input of air compressor

PRESSURE TANK WATER AIR INPUT AIR EXCHANGE EXCHANGE EXCHANGE

TEMPERATURE CIRCUIT FLOW POWER TANK WATER 1 WATER 2 WATER
RATE (kW) INLET OUTLET OUTLET
(m3/h)

P4 T5 W1 W2 T6 T7 T8 T9
(L/h) (L/h)
2.5
4
7
CALCULATION
Show your calculation.

DISCUSSION
Briefly explain about the results of this experiment.

CONCLUSION
Comment on experimental work in terms of achievement, problem facing throughout
the experiment and recommendation for improvement.