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Overview of Reciprocating and Centrifugal Compressors

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Ministry of high education and scientific researches
Erbil Polytechnic University
Erbil Technical Engineering College
Mechanical & Energy Engineering Department

Reciprocating and Centrifugal

Compressors

Prepared by students:

Dilyar O. Junedi

2020-21

Submission Date:

08- Des- 2020

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D. Junedi
Table of Contents
1. Objective ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2. Introduction: ................................................................................................................................... 3
3. Reciprocating and Centrifugal Compressors .................................................................................... 3
3.1. Reciprocating Compressors ...................................................................................................... 3
3.1.1. Overview of Reciprocating Compressors ............................................................................ 3
3.1.2. Working Principle of Reciprocating Compressors .............................................................. 4
3.1.3. Work in Reciprocating Compressors .................................................................................. 5
3.1.4. Pros and Cons of Reciprocating Compressors ..................................................................... 5
3.1.5. Applications of Reciprocating Compressors ....................................................................... 5
3.2. Centrifugal Compressors .......................................................................................................... 6
3.2.1. Overview of Centrifugal Compressors ................................................................................ 6
3.2.2. Working Principle of Centrifugal Compressors .................................................................. 7
3.2.3. Work in Centrifugal Compressors ...................................................................................... 7
3.1.4. Pros and Cons of Centrifugal Compressors ......................................................................... 8
3.1.5. Applications of Reciprocating Compressors ....................................................................... 8
4. Comparison of Performance of Reciprocating and Centrifugal Compressors ................................... 8
5. Conclusion and Recommendations .................................................................................................. 9
6. References .................................................................................................................................... 10

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1. Objective
The objectives of the present report are:
1-enable understanding of compressors in general
2-provide an overview of the reciprocating and centrifugal compressors
3-show the advantages, disadvantages, and main applications of reciprocating and centrifugal
compressors.
4-make a comparison between reciprocating and centrifugal compressors in terms of performance.

2. Introduction:
The compressor is a device that is used to increase the pressure of compressible fluid from low
pressure to high pressure by using some external energy. In the refrigeration systems, the compressors
used to compress the vapor refrigerant, hence raising its pressure from evaporator pressure to
condenser pressure. The pressure at both suction and discharge are related, corresponding with the
type of compressor. The compressors can be classified into two types based on the working principle:
1-positive displacement type
2-dynamic type
In positive displacement compressors, a certain volume of compressible fluid is drawn and trapped by
closing both suction and discharge valves.
In dynamic compressors, the kinetic energy is delivered to the compressible fluid by gas by velocity or
the centrifugal force and then convert to pressure energy.

3. Reciprocating and Centrifugal Compressors

3.1. Reciprocating Compressors

3.1.1. Overview of Reciprocating Compressors

A reciprocating compressor is a positive displacement compressor, it is like an IC engine (consisting

of cylinders, pistons, crankshaft, connecting rod, and inlet and outlet valve) in which the vapor
refrigerant is compressed by back-and-forth (reciprocating) motion of the piston.
This kind of compressors is used for refrigerant which has large differential pressure and low specific
volume such as (NH3, R-22, R12, R-40).

In general, there are two types of reciprocating compressors of which are:

1-single acting vertical compressors, usually the cylinders are arranged in V or W form or arranged
vertically.
2-double acting horizontal compressors, usually the cylinders are arranged horizontally.
The available sizes of reciprocating compressors are almost 100 watts which are used for small
refrigerators for domestic application up to 150 kW for large capacity installation.

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 Cut away view of multi-cylinder compress

3.1.2. Working Principle of Reciprocating Compressors

The piston at the top is called top dead center in this position both valves (inlet and outlet) are
closed fig.(A) when the piston move down the refrigerant trapped in clearance volume expands fig(B),
hence the volume above the piston increase, consequently the pressure decrease when the pressure
becomes lower then suction pressure the inlet valve gets opened fig(C) and the refrigerant flow
through it into the cylinder until the piston reaches bottom dead center fig(D), when the piston starts
moving upward the volume above piston gets decreased and the pressure of refrigerant increases, once
the refrigerant pressure becomes greater than the pressure applied to the outlet, consequently, the valve
gets opened and the vapor refrigerant is discharged into the condenser and the cycle is repeated. The
process is represented on a pressure-volume diagram. The area of the diagram represents the work
required for the compressor to compress and discharge the compressible fluid.

pressure–volume diagram
Working Principle of Reciprocating Compressors

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3.1.3. Work in Reciprocating Compressors

The work done for compression s given by the cyclic

integral of pdV (contour integration of pdV). Hence
2 3 4 1
W = ∮ pdV = ∫1 pdV + ∫2 pdV + ∫3 pdV + ∫4 pdV

2 4
= ∫1 pdV + p2 (V3 − V2 ) + ∫3 pdV + p2 (V3 − V2 )

= Area 1.2.3.4

this area is also expressed by − ∮ Vdp . Hence

2 2 2 2
W = ∮1 𝑝𝑑𝑉 =∮1 𝑉𝑑𝑝 = 𝑚 ∮1 𝑝𝑑𝑣 = −𝑚 ∮1 𝑣𝑑𝑝

where m is the mass of the suction vapor. Thus,

the specific work is given by Cylinder and piston mechanism and p-V
diagram of a reciprocating compressor
2 2
W = ∮1 𝑝𝑑𝑣 = − ∮1 𝑣𝑑𝑝

3.1.4. Pros and Cons of Reciprocating Compressors

 Pros:
1. Discharges high-pressure gas.
2. Have High efficiency (high speed reciprocating 72 – 85%, low speed reciprocating 75 – 90%)
3. Have low power consumption
4. Early design and production, mature manufacturing technology.

 Cons:
1. The size of the compressor is large for a given capacity.
2. High vibration and noise due to many moving parts that the compressor consists of (piston,
connecting rod, crankshaft, … etc.)
3. Part of the work input is lost due to friction between the piston and cylinder.
4. The speed is limited.

3.1.5. Applications of Reciprocating Compressors

1. Mainly used in the refrigeration and air conditioning plants

2. Natural gas processing plants, oil refineries,
3. Used in blowing of the plastic bottle.

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3.2. Centrifugal Compressors

3.2.1. Overview of Centrifugal Compressors

The centrifugal compressors a dynamic –type compressors and are second only to
reciprocating compressors in the numbers of machines in service.
the centrifugal compressor acts on increasing the pressure of the low-pressure compressible fluid
(refrigerant; in refrigeration and air conditioning applications) to high pressure by centrifugal force.
usually used for refrigerants that require low condensing pressure such as (R-11, R-113, R-717) and
R-12 used for low temperature and large capacity applications, also used for the temperature range of
(-90 to 10 C).

Centrifugal Compressors have two main types of which are:

1. Single-stage centrifugal compressors.
2. Multi-stage centrifugal compressors.

Multi-stage centrifugal compressor

Single-stage centrifugal compressor mainly consists of the following parts:

1. An inlet casing: to accelerate the compressible fluid (vapor refrigerant) to the inlet of the impeller.
2. An impeller: to transfer energy to the compressible fluid in form of kinetic energy and (enthalpy
(rise in pressure).
3. A diffuser: to convert KE at the impeller outlet into enthalpy (causing pressure rise).
4. A volute casing: to collect the compressible fluid and converting the remaining KE into enthalpy.

The main parts of single-stage centrifugal compressor

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3.2.2. Working Principle of Centrifugal Compressors

Single-stage centrifugal compressor is the simplest form. The impeller draws the low pressure
compressible fluid (vapor refrigerant) from the evaporator.
Once the impeller rotates, the vapor refrigerant is pushed from the center to the outer edge of the
impeller (periphery) through centrifugal force. The high rotating speed of the impeller keeps the fluid
at high speed at the vane tips of the impeller. When high-velocity fluid passes through a diffuser the
KE energy of the fluid is converted to enthalpy (rise in pressure) then the volute casing collects the
fluid from the diffuser and converts the remaining KE of fluid to pressure energy before leaving the
compressor.

Working Principle of Centrifugal Compressors

3.2.3. Work in Centrifugal Compressors

In a steady-flow process, the compressible fluid enters the centrifugal compressor, the vapor
passes through blades of the impeller, and is subjected to centrifugal force. Leaving finally, the
compressor through the diffuser at the outlet pressure (discharge).

The steady-flow energy equation for open system

𝑞 − 𝑤 = (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) (1)
From the combination of first and second laws for reversible process,
2 2 2
𝑞 = ∫1 𝑇 𝑑𝑠 = ∫1 (𝑑ℎ − 𝑣𝑑𝑝) = (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) − ∫1 𝑣𝑑𝑝 (2)
Comparing the two expressions 
2
𝑤 = − ∫1 𝑣𝑑𝑝 (3)
Equation (2) represents the energy equation for both compressors (reciprocating and centrifugal).
2
𝑞 = (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) − ∮ 𝑣𝑑𝑝
1
For an adiabatic compression process, i.e., q = 0 
2
𝑤 = − ∮1 𝑣𝑑𝑝 = (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) (4)

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3.1.4. Pros and Cons of Centrifugal Compressors

 Pros:
1. The operation of centrifugal compressors is quite quiet.
2. The efficiency of centrifugal compressors is high (72 – 85%).
3. They have fewer rubbing parts; hence, longer working life as compared to the reciprocating
compressors.
4. Wide range of rotational speed (3000 r.p.m and above).
5. Higher flow rate as compared to positive displacement compressors.

 Cons:
1. The main disadvantage of centrifugal compressors is surging (when the refrigeration load gets
decreased, the refrigerant flows back from the compressor to the evaporator, this is so-called
“surging”).
2. High compression ratio is not achievable, since the increase in pressure per stage is lower than
reciprocation compressors.

3.1.5. Applications of Reciprocating Compressors

1. Used in diesel engine turbocharger and supercharger.

2. Refrigeration, air conditioning, and HVAC.
3. In gas turbines used to provide compression.
4. Used to supply compressed air for all types of pneumatic tools.

4. Comparison of Performance of Reciprocating and Centrifugal

Compressors
o

𝐭 𝐤 : 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (C) , 𝐭 𝟎 : 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (C), 𝐍: 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (r.p.m),

𝐁𝐇𝐏: 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 (), 𝐐′𝟎 : 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 (TR)

The evaporator temperature for centrifugal

compressors changes from almost 2 to 8 C for the load
variation of 100 to 250 TR, while for reciprocation
compressors the temperature in the evaporator varies from
almost -12 to 6 C for the same load variation.

Load variation vs. evaporator temperature

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 For centrifugal compressors, once the condensing
temperature increases, the mass flow rate of refrigerant through the
compressor gets decreased (ultimately, the refrigeration effect
decreases); hence, there will not be overloading of the motor as the
condensing temperature increase.

On the other hand, there is a slight decrease in refrigeration capacity;

hence, there will be overloading of the motor with a high condensing
temperature.

Load variation vs. Condensing temperature

For centrifugal compressors, the power required to drive the

compressor decreases with increasing the condensing temperature,
unlike reciprocating compressors in which the power required gets
increased as the condensing temperature increase.

B.P. variation vs. Condensing temperature

5. Conclusion and Recommendations

Compressor, this device provides a very important service of which is transferring potential energy
stored to the pressurized compressible fluid to perform work. There is a wide range of compressors’
types used for different application, each type has its features and characteristics.
Since the report represents the centrifugal and reciprocating compressors, so as a professional, one
cannot be assured that a centrifugal compressor is better than a reciprocating one or vice versa, where
the decisive factor remains the application or case for which the compressor will be used. But in
general centrifugal compressors in refrigeration and air conditioning applications represents better
characteristics than reciprocating compressors such as low vibration, higher discharged flow rate than
reciprocating, quietness during operation, changing of the temperature inside evaporator which is
lower for the same load variation as compared to reciprocating compressors, as well as non-
overloading characteristic.
In conclusion, the centrifugal compressors will be a preferable choice, except when a very high
compression ratio is required.

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 6. References

[1]. Brown, R.N., 1997. Compressors: Selection and sizing. Gulf Professional Publishing.

[2]. Arora, C.P., 2000. Refrigeration and air conditioning. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

[3]. Khurmi, R.S., Gupta, J.K. and Chand, S., 2016. Refrigeration and air conditioning. Eurasia
Publishing House (P) Limited.

[4]. Bloch, H.P. and Godse, A., 2006. Compressors and modern process applications. John Wiley &
Sons.

[5]. “PetroSkils; John M. Campbell”,

Link: http://www.jmcampbell.com/tip-of-the-month/2015/07/how-to-estimate-compressor-efficiency/

[6]. “Mecholic”, Link: https://www.mecholic.com/p/about.html

[7]. “Wikipedia”, “Centrifugal Compressors”, Link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_compressor

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