Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Basic Theory & Working Principle

1.1.1 Basic Theory

The usually called screw compressors refer to twin screw compressors. Compared
with piston compressors and all other types of compressors, screw compressor is
considered to be a modern machine.

The basic structure of screw compressors is shown in Fig1-1. A pair of inter-

meshing helical rotors is parallel placed in the housing of the screw compressor. In
general, the rotor with lobe outside the pitch circle is called male rotor or male screw; the
rotor with concave lobe inside the pitch circle is called female rotor or female screw.
Normally male rotor is connected with the prime movers, driving the female rotor. So,
the male rotor is also called driver rotor, and the female rotor is called driven rotor. The
ball bearing on the rotor allows the rotor to implement axial orientation and receive the
axial forces from the screw compressor. Similarly, the cylindrical roller bearing on both
ends of the rotor allows the rotor to implement radial orientation and receive radial forces
from the screw compressor. Ports in certain shape and size are respectively opened on
both ends of the compressor, one is for suction, thus called suction port; the other for
discharge, called discharge port.
Suction port Male rotor Housing Ball bearing

Female rotor Cylindrical roller bearing

Fig 1-1 Sketch Map of Structure of Screw Compressors

1.1.2 Working Principle

The working cycle of screw compresses includes suction, compression and

discharge process. When the rotors are rotating, every pair of inter-meshing lobes shall
finish the same working cycle respectively, for simplicity, only one pair of the lobes is
discussed here.

1
 1. Suction Process

Fig 1-2 shows the suction process of screw compressors, the discussed pair of
lobes is marked with arrow. In Fig 1-2, the male rotor rotates anticlockwise, and the
female rotor cooperates clockwise. The rotor end plane in this figure is suction end plane.
On the casing, there is a suction port in specific shape, shown as the solid heavy lines in
the figure.

a) b) c)
Fig 1-2 Suction Process of Screw Compressors
a) very beginning of suction b) during suction c) end of suction process

Fig 1-2a shows the rotor position right before the commencement of the suction
process. At this moment, the profiles of the front end of the lobes mesh completely, ready
to connect the suction ports.

With the start of the rotation of the rotors, one end of the lobe discontinues
meshing gradually, thus forming the rotor inter-tooth space, which expands and creates
vacuum inside. As the space only connects with the suction port, the gas flows to the
suction port under differential pressure, as dashed area shown in Fig 1-2b. During the
later rotation of the rotors, the rotor lobes of male rotor detach from the flute of the
female rotor, the space expands and still connects with the suction port. In a sense, this
process can be considered as the slipping of piston (male rotor lobes) inside the cylinder
(flute of female rotor).

The rotor position at the end of the suction process is shown in Fig 1-2c, its obvious
characteristic is that the space between rotor lobes maximizes, and the space stops
increasing with the rotation of the rotors. The inter-tooth space disconnects the suction
port at this position, ending the suction process.

2
2. Compression Process

Fig 1-3 shows the compression process of screw compressors. These are the inter-
meshing rotors viewed from above. The rotor end plane in the figure is the discharge end
plane, the discharger port on the casing is shown as heavy lines in the figure. Here, the
male rotor rotates clockwise while the female rotor moves anticlockwise.

Fig 1-3 Compression Process of Screw Compressors

a) very beginning of compression b) during compression c) end of compression,
suction process is about to start.

Fig 1-3a shows the rotor position right at the beginning of the compression
process. At this time, the air is surrounded in a closed space by rotor lobes and the casing.
The space between rotor lobes starts to reduce with the meshing of the rotor lobes.

During the rotation of the rotors, the space reduces gradually because of the
meshing of the rotor lobes. The air confined in the space occupies less space which
results in the rise of the pressure, implementing the compression process. Refer to Fig 1-
3b. The compression process continues before the inter-tooth space starts to disconnect
the discharge port, as shown in Fig 1-3c.

3. Discharge Process

Fig 1-4 Discharge Process of Screw Compressors

a) discharging b) end of discharge process

3
 Fig 1-4 shows the discharge process of screw compressors. The discharge process
starts when the space between rotor lobes connects the discharge port. With the gradual
shrink of the space, the air with discharge pressure is discharged through the discharge
port (Fig1-4a). This process continues till the profiles at the lobes end mesh completely
(Fig 1-4b). At this time, all air in the inter-tooth space is discharged through discharged
port; the volume shall reduce to zero.

We can see from the above working principle that screw compressor is a type of
volume air compressing machines in which the working space takes the gyratory motion.
The compression of air relies on the change of the space, which is conducted through the
movement of rotors inside the casing. What is different from piston compressors is that
the spatial position of the work volume changes while the periodicity rises or reduces.
The basic working process of compressors—suction, compression and discharge can be
easily carried out with the appropriate equipment of suction and discharge ports on the
casing of the machine.

1.2 Characteristics of Screw Compressors

Screw compressors, are same as piston compressors in the principle of the rise of
the air pressure, both belong to displacement compressors; with the movement mode of
the main components taken into account, they are same as turbine compressors.
Therefore, screw compressors combine the two characteristics of the above mentioned
two types of compressors.

Advantages of screw compressors:

1) High reliability. Screw compressors have fewer components and do not have
wearing parts, which results in the reliable operation and long-lived usage,
besides, the interval for overhaul can be 40,000-80,000 hours.
2) Easy operation and maintenance. The operators don’t require long time training,
and the machines can operate without watch.
3) Good dynamic force equation. Screw compressors do not have imbalance inertia
force, and can run stably with high speed without any initial movement, especially
suitable for portable compressors for the advantages of the small size, light weight
and less requirements for space.
4) High flexibility. Screw compressors have a feature of compulsory air
transmission, the air displacement can hardly be influenced by the discharge
pressure, which can remain rather efficient in spacious place.
5) Multi-phase transmission. There is actually space between the rotor lobes of the
screw compressors, which allows them to be in condition to liquid impinge, and
pressure feed the gas such as liquid contained gas, dust gas, and easily
polymerized gas etc.

4
 The main disadvantages of screw compressors include:

1) High cost. The rotor lobes of screw compressors is sort of spatial surface, which
requires specially made cutter tools to process on the very costly special
instruments. In addition, there are still crucial requirements for the process
accuracy of the cylinder of screw compressors.
2) Not applicable in high-pressure applications. Due to the limitation of inflexibility
of rotors and lifetime of the bearings etc, screw compressors can only be
applicable in medium or low pressure places, and the discharge pressure should
not be more than 4.5Mpa (45 bar).
3) Mini-type machine is unavailable. Screw compressors pressurize the air by means
of clearance. Normally, the volume flow should be more than 0.2m3/min (7 cfm)
and then screw compressors can have a predominant performance.

1.3 Categories and Applications

1.3.1 Categories
There are many classifying ways for screw compressors: according to the
different running mode, there are oil-free compressors and oil-flooded compressors; in
terms of different types and purposes of compressed air, there are air compressors,
refrigeration compressors and process compressors; and portable, fixed, open and
hermetic compressors according to the different structures. The categories of the common
screw compressors are listed as below:

The working principles of the above mentioned screw compressors are totally
same, but certain main feature of the machines distinguishes them. Every type of screw
compressors has its own inherent features, satisfying certain functions, and suitable
within certain application.

The air in oil-free screw compressors does not contact the lubricating oil when being
pressurized. Fig 1-5 shows the structure of oil-free screw compressors, the rotors of oil-
free machines don’t contact directly, and remain space between each other. Male rotors
drive female rotors through timing gear rotating in high speed, while the timing

5
 Fixed compressors
Air compressors
Portablecompressors

Open compressors
Oil − flooded compressors Re frigeration compressors Semi - hermeticcompressors
Hermeticcompressors

Pr ocess compressors

Screwcompressors
Air compressors
Dry Compressors
Processcompressors
Oil − free compressors
Air compressors
Water - injectioncompressors
Processcompressors

Timing gear Female rotor shaft seal

Male rotor

Fig 1-5 Structure of Oil-free Screw Compressors

6
gear transfers the forces, it also keeps the space between rotors. Particularly, the so called
“oil-free” means that the air during compression does not contact oil at all, i.e. there is no
lubricating oil in the compression chamber or rotors of screw compressors. However, the
main components of screw compressors like bearings, gears etc are lubricated by
methods of normal lubrication, and isolating shaft seals are applied between these
lubricated parts and the compression chamber.

In oil-flooded screw compressors, much lubricant is injected into the compressed

air, which helps to lubricate, compress, refrigerate and reduce noise. There is no timing
gear in oil-flooded screw compressors, for the pair of rotors can work the purpose, the
male rotor drive the female rotor directly. In this sense, the structure of oil-flooded
compressors is simpler.

1.3.2 Applications

1. Oil-flooded air screw compressors

Oil-flooded air screw compressor has fixed and portable types. The fixed one
remains in the same place, driven by motors and has excellent noise countermeasures,
mainly is used to provide compressed air for air tools and pneumatic control instruments.
The portable one is applicable for outdoor work, driven by internal-combustion engine or
motor.

The oil-flooded air screw compressors for dynamic force have been serialized,
generally inbreathing air under the atmospheric pressure, and the single stage discharge
pressure includes different types such as 0.8Mpa (8 bar), 1.1Mpa (11 bar),1.4MPa(14bar)
etc. The discharge pressure of minor two terminal compressors used to drive large
pneumatic drill can reach 2.6MPa(26 bar). Currently, the volume flow of oil-flooded air
screw compressors ranges from 0.2m3/min (7 cfm) to 100 m3/min (3500 cfm). Thanks to
the development of gas-oil separation and gas purification technology, oil-flooded air
screw compressors have been widely used in places where there is very high demand for
air quality, such as food, medicine and textile companies, occupying great market share
of the oil-free compressors.

2. Oil-flooded Screw Refrigeration Compressors

Screw refrigeration compressors operate in the way of oil-flooded lubrication.

According to different ways of connection with motor, there are three types such as open,
semi-hermetic and hermetic compressors. The open screw refrigeration compressors
connect the motor through clutch, reliable shaft seal is required to be fixed on the
extended shaft to prevent the leakage of refrigerants and lubricating oil. The motor and
compressor of semi-hermetic machine are united, connected with flange in between,
which can effectively avoid the leakage of refrigerants and lubricating oil. The use of
refrigerants for cooling motor eliminates the noise caused while the motor is cooling the
fan inside the open screw refrigeration compressors. The hermetic compressors confine

7
the motor and compressor in one container, which thoroughly avoids the leakage of
refrigerants and lubricating oil, and brings rather low noise. At present, the semi-hermetic
and hermetic screw refrigeration compressors have been widely used in residential
houses, the central air-conditioning system in commercial buildings, whose outputs
surpass those of the open screw refrigeration compressors. In addition, screw
refrigeration compressors can also be used in industrial refrigeration, food freezing, cold
storage as well as the refrigeration devices in vehicles. Now most of the screw
refrigeration compressors use R22 or NH3 refrigerants, and some others choose R134a or
R410A refrigerants etc.

Operating under the environmental temperature, single stage screw refrigerators can
obtain evaporating temperature of –25°C, if economizer or bipolar compression is
adopted, it can reach -40°C. Moreover, more and more screw refrigerators have been
used as heat pump, which can transfer the heat to heat source with highest temperature of
100°C. The screw unit with heat and cold dual purposes which can provide coldness and
heat has been developed rapidly in recent years. Currently, the refrigerating capacity of
screw refrigeration compressors ranges 10-2500kW under standard working conditions.

3. Oil-flooded Screw Process Compressors

Oil-flooded screw process compressors are used in every process flow to

pressurize the gases, not only including the inert gases such as CO2 and N2, but also the
light gases such as H2 and He, as well as some gasses of active chemical property such as
HCl, Cl2 etc. As the requirements are similar, normally oil-flooded screw process
compressors are stripped-down from oil-flooded screw refrigeration compressors,
operated under their designed working conditions.

The working pressure in oil-flooded screw process compressors depends on the

process flow, single stage pressure ratio reaches 10, and the discharge pressure is
normally lower than 4.5MPa (45 bar), but can reach highest 9.0 MPa (90 bar), the volume
flow is 1-200m3/min (35-7060 cfm).

4. Dry Screw Compressors

Dry screw compressors are used as air compressors or process compressors. No

liquid is refrigerated or lubricated during compression. The rotating speed of dry screw
compressors is usually very high, and it has a very high command on the bearing and
shaft seal, besides, the discharge temperature is also very high, single stage pressure ratio
is low. Currently the single stage pressure ratio of normal dry screw compressors is 1.5-
3.5, however, the bipolar pressure ratio can be 8-10, the discharge pressure is normally
lower than 2.5MPa(25 bar), and the volume flow is 3-500m3/min (106-17600 cfm).

8
 5. Water-injected Screw Compressors

Oil-free screw compressors have been developed by erupting water to the

compression chamber in order to reduce the discharge temperature in dry screw
compressors and raise the single stage discharge pressure. As water can not be used for
lubrication, timing gear is also designed in these compressors, whose structure is same as
that of dry oil-free screw compressors. Reliable shaft seal shall also be designed in the
connection between compression chamber and bearing or gears for the separation of the
injected water and the lubricating oil.

In some other conditions, injecting water into the compressors is sometimes

adopted. For example, some gases while compressed, may be polymerized because of the
changes of temperature or pressure, and thus leave a thin plastic-like film on the rotors or
the casing. During the operation of compressors, it might not cause any problem, but
when the compressors stop, the rotors with stick with each other, which will prevent the
compressors from restarting. Besides, some gas mixture containing such compound as
asphalt may cause the same problem. In these cases, appropriate solvent can be sprayed
to the inlet of compressors to wash away these compounds. The spraying of the solvent
can be continuous or before the compressors stop running.

6. Other Screw Machines

Screw compressors can be used as vacuum pump, the single stage vacuum ratio
can reach 98%, and the energy consumption is 20%-50% lower than other types of
vacuum pumps. The screw expanders whose function is opposite to that of screw
compressors can also be used for dynamic force reclamation of high pressure gases and
the kinetics transformation of low grade heat source. The substitution of screw
compressors for throttle in the refrigeration system improves the comprehensive
performances of the whole refrigeration system. In addition, the screw multi-phase
pumps similar to screw compressor, can be used to mix-transform oil, gas and water,
which can reduce the cost in oil extraction and raise the yield of the oil well.

1.4 History and Future of Screw Compressors

1.4.1 History

In the 1930s, when Sweden engineer Alf Lysholm was studying the gas turbine,
he hoped to find a kind of compressors which could perform the gyroscopic motion and
require its rotating speed should be much higher than that of the piston compressors, so
that the gas turbine could drive directly and would not cause surge. In order to achieve
the above goal, he invented screw compressor. In theory, screw compressor has those
features he desired, but the operation of the gas turbine required very big volume flow, so
screw compressor was not applied in this field. Still Alf Lysholm and the Sweden SRM

9
company he was working in continued the profound study on the application of screw
compressors in other fields.

In 1937, Alf Lysholm successfully developed two types of screw compressors,

experimental prototypes in SRM Company, and achieved very satisfactory test result. In
1946, British James Howden Company in Scotland was the first to be authorized by SRM
Company to manufacture screw compressors. Later on, many companies from Europe,
America and Japan obtained this authorization from Sweden SRM Company,
manufacturing and selling screw compressors.

The earliest developed screw compressor was oil-free screw compressor. In 1957,
oil-flooded air screw compressor was put into use, and in 1961, oil-flooded screw
refrigeration compressor and screw process compressor were successfully developed. The
advantageous property of screw compressors continues to emerge during performance
through continuous the study on basic theory and product development test, as well as the
improvement on rotor profiles and the successful development of dedicated rotor
processing devices.

1.4.2 Future

Screw compressors have been widely used in the industry sectors such as mining,
chemical, momentum, metallurgy, construction, machinery, refrigeration etc, and
substituted other types of compressors with extensive capacity and working conditions.
Statistics shows the sales volume of screw compressors is above 80% of that of the
displacement compressors, and among those formally applied displacement compressors,
50% are screw compressors. In future, the market share of screws compressors shall
expand gradually; especially oil-free air screw compressors and all other screw process
compressors will develop rapidly.

In order to improve the property of screw compressors and expand the

applications, further study shall be carried out in following aspects:

1) Create new high efficiency profiles to raise the efficiency of screw compressors
based on the study on meshing characteristic of profiles, distortion after forces
exerted on rotors, and the heat expansion.
2) Analyze the influential mechanism regarding the leakage, heat exchange and
friction in the working process of screw compressors caused by oil injection, and
enable the design change from current empirical design to rise to mechanism
design and optimum design.

10
3) Study the flow characteristic of suction and discharge process, on the basis of
flowfield analysis, further configure appropriately both the suction and discharge
ports and the relative connecting pipes.
4) Analyze the mechanism of noise of screw compressors, study the effects on noise
index by those factors such as profile design and port configuration so as to
reduce the noise efficiently.

5) Study the processing technology for rotor helical surface, besides the study of
dedicated devices for high accuracy and high productivity, new manufacturing
technology with less cutting or without cutting shall be developed.
6) Widen the parameter range of screw compressors, mainly aim to achieve small
volume flow and high discharge pressure. Meanwhile, study the airflow
regulating gear and intelligent control system, increase the economical efficiency
of compressors under adjustable working conditions and further expand the
application of screw compressors.

11