Air Compressors

Compiled by : Charaka Wickramanayake

 Thermodynamics
• The function of the air compressor is to take a
definite quantity of fluid (usually a gas and
most often air) and deliver it at a required
pressure.
• The most efficient machine is one which
accomplish this with the minimum input of
mechanical work.
T-S /P-V Diagrams
P6>P5>P4>P3>P2>P1

V1>V2>V3>V4>V5>V6
P Increase, T increase, V reduced

CONSTANT PRESSURE AND

CONSTANT VOLUME LINES
PLOTTED ON T-S DIAGRAM
FOR A PERFECT GAS

CONSTANT ENTROPY
(Isentropic) AND
CONSTANT TEMPERATURE
PLOTTED ON P-V DIAGRAM
 Work and Heat

Area represent work Area represent Heat

output in a reversible supplied in a reversible
process process
 Compression Process

P-V diagram Actual

The waviness of the

lines d-a and b-c is
P-V diagram with clearance P-V diagram with clearance due to valve bounce.
neglected volume Automatic valves are
less definite action
than cam operated
valves.
Indicated Power
• Indicated work done on the gas per cycle= Area abcd
• = Area abef + area bc0e – Area ad0f

If mass “m” is replaced by mass flow rate ṁ then the equation

gives the rate at which work is done on air, or the indicated
power
Delivery air temperature
 Shaft Power
• Shaft Power = Indicated Power + Friction Power
• The actual power input
to the compressor is • The Mechanical Efficiency of the machine is given by,

larger than the • Comp.Mechanical Efficiency =Indicated Power/Shaft

Power
indicated power, due to
• In order to determine the power input to drive the
the work necessary to compressor, the efficiency of the driving motor must be
taken into consideration
overcome the losses
due to friction etc. • Input Power = Shaft Power/Efficiency of Motor and Drive
Air Compressor & Receiver

Uses of compressed air

• 25 – 30 bar
 Starting of main & auxiliary engines
 Boiler soot blowing
• 4 – 7 bar
 Service air
 Whistle air
 Pneumatic tools
 Life boat, pilot ladder
• 1.5 – 2 bar
 Instrumentation & control
Compression Processes

isentropic
Polytropic
isothermal
Isothermal Efficiency

If mass “m” is replaced by mass flow rate ṁ then the equation

gives the rate at which work is done on air, or the isothermal
power
Cycle with Clearance Volume
Volumetric Efficiency and F.A.D.
Volumetric Efficiency and F.A.D.
Volumetric Efficiency – ƞvol
Volumetric Efficiency – ƞvol
Multi Stage Compression
Advantages of Multi stage Compression
Disadvantage
 Multi stage Compression
• Lower Compression Ratio Per Stage
– Lower Air Temperatures
– Reduced Carbon Build Up
– Increased Valve Life
– Less Valve /Ring Leakage

• Use Of Intercoolers To Reduce The Amount Of

Work Required For A Given Quantity Of Air
Intercooling
Effect of Intercooling
 Types of Air Compressors

There are two generic principles for the

compression of air (or gas): positive
displacement compression and dynamic
compression.
 Positive Displacement Type
• Positive displacement compressors include, for
example, reciprocating (piston) compressors,
orbital (scroll) compressors and different types of
rotary compressors (screw, tooth, vane).
In positive displacement compression, the air is
drawn into one or more compression chambers,
which are then closed from the inlet. Gradually
the volume of each chamber decreases and the air
is compressed internally. When the pressure has
reached the designed build-in pressure ratio, a port
or valve is opened and the air is discharged into
the outlet system due to continued reduction of the
compression chamber’s volume
 Dynamic Type
• In dynamic compression, air is drawn between
the blades on a rapidly rotating compression
impeller and accelerates to a high velocity. The
gas is then discharged through a diffuser, where
the kinetic energy is transformed into static
pressure. Most dynamic compressors are turbo
compressors with an axial or radial flow pattern.
All are designed for large volume flow rates.
Compressor Types
 Difference
• The reciprocating type is having the
characteristics of a low mass rate of flow and
high pressure ratios and the rotary type as
having a high mass rate of flow and low
pressure ratios.
Single Acting & Double Acting
Air Compressor parts
Air compressor valves
First Stage Combine Suction and
Delivery Valve
 Materials
Valve seat
• About 0.4% carbon steel hardened and polished working surfaces.
Valve
• Nickel steel, chrome vanadium steel or stainless steel, hardened
and ground,
• then finally polished to a mirror finish.
Spring
Hardened steel (Note: all hardened steel would be tempered).
Valve leakages do occur in practice and this leads to loss of efficiency
and
increase in running time
Installation of valves
Line Diagram
Two Stage Air cooled Air Compressor
Two Stage air cooled air compressor
Line Diagram
Three stage air cooled compressor
Three stage air cooled compressor
Description
Line Diagram
Screw Compressor
 Intercooler
Fixed Baffles /
Relief
Valve Valve Supports
Plate

Air
Inlet

Air
Outlet

Bursting
Drain Disc
Cooling
Valve
Water
 Effect of Choked Inlet500Filter

1st Stage Outlet Temperature °C

Typical Auto-Ignition Temperature
400

300
50 Typical Flashpoint
200
1st Stage Compression Ratio

40
100
30

20

10

0
0 0.5 1.0
Pressure Across Filter - bar
 Suction Delivery Valve
Lock Lift
Nut Washer
Spring Valve
Plates Plate
 Bumping Clearance

1. Remove suction or discharge valve assembly from the unit

and place a
small loose ball of lead wire on the piston edge, then rotate
the flywheel by
hand to take the piston over TDC. Remove and measure the
thickness of the lead wire ball

2. Put crank on TDC, slacken or remove bottom half of the

bottom end
bearing. Rig a clock gauge with one contact touching some
underpart of the piston or piston assembly and the other on
the crank web. Take a gauge reading. Then by using a
suitable lever bump the piston, that is, raise it until it
touches the cylinder cover. Take another gauge reading, the
difference between the two readings gives the mechanical
clearance.
 Leaking Delivery Valve
P

Lost
Volume

Clearance Induction
TDC BDC V
 Safety Devices
• Relief valve fitted to every stage
• Fusible plug (melts at 120°C)
• Bursting disc or relief valve for cooling jacket
• Alarms and cut outs for:
– High air temperature
– High cooling temperature
– Low lubricating oil pressure
Water Space Relief Valve

Compressor
Casing

Water
Pressure

O Ring Seal
 Safety Devices
Fusible Plug
120°C
Spindle Low Melting
Point Alloy

Spring

Setting Collar

Vent

Valve

Pressure
Air Receiver Mountings
Air Receiver Mountings
Air Receiver inspection
Air Driers

Compressed air entering the air net is always

100 % saturated with water vapour. When
cooling down, this moisture will
condense, causing damage to your air system
Refrigeration Type
Auto Drain
Air Driers-Adsorption Type
The drying process
Wet air from the compressors passes through the inlet filters
that remove the oil, and enters the dryer.
The three way valve assembly then directs the air into the
“live” tower, in this example tower “A”.
The water adsorbing desiccant contained in tower A removes
the water vapour from the air as it passes up the tower. By the
time the air leaves the tower it is dried to a typical pressure
dew point of -40°C/-40°F. Over time the desiccant in the tower
will become saturated; if left unchecked this would result in a
decline of pressure dew point performance

The regeneration process

A small portion of the now dry air is fed into the top of
tower B, whilst the remainder leaves the dryer via a filter,
which removes any desiccant dust picked up during the
drying process.
The small portion of dry (purge) air that is fed into tower B
is used to re-generate the desiccant. During regeneration,
tower B is open to the atmosphere, allowing the purge air
from tower A to expand and travel through the tower, taking
with it the moisture from the desiccant. The silencers on the
outlet ensure quiet operation.
The desiccant regeneration process takes several minutes,
after which the control system closes the exhaust valve.
From that point on the purge air gradually re-pressurises
the tower back to the regular system pressure.
Once tower B is fully pressurised the 3-way valve on the
bottom of the dryer switches over, so that tower B becomes
the live tower drying the air, and tower A becomes the
regenerating tower.