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COMPRESSOR PISTON SEALING

COMPRESSOR PISTON SEALING

Mehmet Samancioglu Follow
Rotating Equipment Consultant a… 164 30 11

The reliability of reciprocating gas compressors depends upon the function of certain critical
components. Among these, Compressor Valves, Piston Rings, Rider Rings and piston rod sealing
systems, which has come a long way in last 25 years developments, both in design and material
technology.

PISTON RINGS:
In reciprocating compressors, pistons work against pressure and must have a sliding seal to
allow the piston to compress the gas without leakage past the piston. The piston rings provide
this sealing for maximum cylinder capacity and efficiency. The piston sealing elements are only
subject to the dynamic pressure component varying between the suction and discharge
pressure. piston ring, the gas pressure pushing ring outward against cylinder wall and side of
ring results in sealing as shown below.

Pressure distribution across the rings has been analyzed and measured and, for a two-ring
piston, would look as illustrated in Fig 1 below.

The number of piston rings selected for a particular application is calculated taking into
account the Gas molecular weight, Pressure differential, whether the cylinder is lubricated or
non-lubricated, the speed of the compressor and Space available on the piston. There is
significant variation in the number of piston rings recommended by different manufacturers
and compressor builders.
Pressure deferential             Rings quantities.
Up to 300 psi                        2
300 to 900 psi                       3
900 to 1500 psi                      4
Over 1500 psi                         6
       Piston rings made of PTFE will have an end gap clearance of 0.020" to 0.024" per inch of
piston diameter when fitted into the cylinder bore. Side clearance in the groove should be
0.010"-0.015" per inch of width. It should be remembered that Teflon expansion rates are
approximately seven times those of cast iron. Values for oil-lubricated compressors with cast
iron rings are 0.0035" per inch of diameter for the ring.A piston used in a non-lube cylinder is
usually made 0.125" to 0.250" smaller in diameter than the cylinder bore, depending on the
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size.
Piston Ring back clearance = (0.0025 x cylinder diameter) + 0.005
Approximate leak rates from end gap can be in large variations, from 0.03 scfm in a small
cylinder all the way up to 40 scfm in a very large one. For new rings in lubricated applications,
loss of V.E. with open joint rings will be about 0.5% up to approximately 3%. Power needed to
overcome ring friction will usually be only about 0.5% to 2%.
  Piston Rings Types:
     There are two basic ring types: one-piece and segmental. The most common ring joint is an
‘‘open type’’ angle or butt cut. Angle cut has some slight advantage, less gap clearance (0.7 butt
cut). At high speed, 720 RPM and over, there is a tendency for this ring to rotate or spin. This
will cause wear of the piston groove especially for an aluminium piston so Butt joint ring should
be used. At atmosphere or below 10 psi or vacuum suction an expander may be required to
provide additional loading of the ring against the cylinder. Step cut joint used for performance
issue where low leakage is desirable. Segmental two pieces or more is used when the ring
material is not flexible or very hard. There is some reduction in wear if piston rings do leak
slightly and thus, distribute the pressure drop over more than one ring. A good rule is that
piston rings should be changed when they have worn between 30% - 50% of their original
radial thickness.

RIDER RINGS:
   Rider bands protect the cylinder liner against contact with the piston. (They also allow
operation with a lower lubrication feed rate for processes that are damaged by lube oil.).The
rider supports piston weight plus one-half rod weight. This load is considered to be carried by
the projected contact area of a 120 arc (=0.866DW). Loading is usually acceptable if kept below
5 psi for non- lubricated cylinders. For lubricated service American Petroleum Institute Standard
API 618 limits rider loading to 10 psi, but this has been extended to more than 70 psi
successfully in a number of applications with improved new materials. One major problem with
riders is preventing them from pressure actuating like the sealing rings. The angle cut rider ring
normally used in the centre of the piston between the piston rings with side relief grooves
and occasionally face relief grooves to prevent the ring from trying to act as a seal ring. Single
acting: rider ring positioned after the piston rings. Double acting: rider ring positioned in
between piston rings. A guide when the rider ring standout from the piston O.D. is reduced to
20% of its original then the rider rings should be changed.or 0.25 mm minimum.

 Rider Ring Diameter Clearance:                                         Steel or Cast iron Piston

= (0.0015 x cylinder diameter) + 0.005          Aluminium piston   = (0.0025 x cylinder
diameter) + 0.005
 PISTON SEALING MATERIALS:
For lubricated service, time-proven bronze and cast iron are still commonly used materials. For
non-lubricated, Low-friction materials are capable of running without lubrication. By careful
formulation and selection of filler materials, the sliding wear behaviour or self-lubricating
properties of filled PTFE materials have been improved to give longer lifetimes, especially in dry
gases. But should not be operated under conditions of intermittent oil supply which usually
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results in high ring wear. Rider bands & piston rings and packing are made from PTFE (Teflon)
with various fillers such as Glass fibre 5-25%( hardness, can be very abrasive), Carbon 10-35%
( deformation strength, Performs well in water and steam applications), Graphite 5-15%
(excellent wear properties, is good where aluminium and water are concerned.), Bronze 40-60%
(high thermal conductivity), MoS2 5-7%(reduce friction, is excellent in dry gas with better
wear), all the above are compression molded made .
    Or made from  HOT Compression Molded, proprietary, filled PEEK compound for higher
pressure, PI Polyimide Resin (chemical resistance, temperature, Excellent in dry service), PPS
(elevated temperatures and pressures).Thermoplastic materials based on Polyetheretherketone
(PEEK) and Polyimide (PI) represent the high engineering segment or the high-performance
polymer alloys. All these materials are products of powder technology.

WEAR MECHANISM.
The process by which self-lubricating sealing components provide their own lubrication and
wear resistance is described as a transfer mechanism. Self-lubricating materials operate by
what is termed an “adhesive wear mechanism”. They deposit a thin film onto the sliding
counter-surface. This film once stabilized becomes the lubricant against which the component
(piston or packing ring) can continue to slide with reduced friction and an acceptably low wear
rate. 

The advances made in self-lubricating materials have put the reciprocating compressor
companies back into best position for reliability. A graph shows an ideal wear profile is shown
in fig.2. The initial part of the profile corresponds the deposition of the transfer film and the
time for this transfer depending on the working conditions of the compressor.

 Factors influencing the wear mechanism;

Apart from the proper selection of self-lubricating material, there are a number of important
operating factors which influence the actual running life which can be obtained in a given
compressor system. These includes:
Differential pressure
Gas temperature
Counter-surface material & surface finish
Gas type & dryness
Gas cleanliness (e.g. absence of solids or liquids)
Cylinder &Packing cooling
Speed & stroke.  
Any selected polymer has gas pressure and temperature application limits.
  The max differential pressure; filled PTFE (non-lubricated) materials, across the piston up to
580 psi, and packing up to 870 psi. The polymer alloys (non-lubricated) max pressure
differential across the piston up to 2100 psi and across packing 3100 psi.
  Gas mean temperature; filled PTFE (no- lube) materials up to 250 F, Polymer alloys (non-
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lube) up to mean temperature 350 F.
    Liner Material: For the majority of applications grey (flake graphite) cast iron (BSI 1452 grade
250 or 300) has proved to be an ideal choice. The preferred hardness should be at least 200 HB.
Optimum liner surface finish is in the range 0.4 to 0.6 microns Ra.There may be several grades
of stainless steel which can be centrifugally cast for liner manufacturer. Liners which have
become polished by abrasive wear should be re-roughened to restore optimum ring life.
    Piston rods Material: Alloy (AISI 4140) or stainless steels (AISI 420) have proved successful,
but these must be hardened to 50 / 55 Rc to give adequate stability for the transfer film,
Optimum Rod surface finish is in the range 0.2 to 0.3 microns Ra.....
        Gas dryness (bone-Dry): Process gas with a dew point lower than -20 °C, will contain less
than 1000 ppm H2O. The influence of gas dryness and, in particular, its water vapour content,
significantly affects the transfer process when the components are manufactured from filled
PTFE materials.

     The abrasive effect of the particles can be highly destructive to a set of self-lubricating rings
and to the transfer film which they have so carefully laid down.
     Cylinder inlet coolant temperature should be less than 10 F from gas inlet temperature, the
maximum coolant inlet 60 F. API 618 recommends packing not cooled for standard PTFE
material non-lube up to 17 bars, for lube up to 35 bars. Most polymer alloys can stand for non-
lube up to 80 bars, for lube up to 100 bars not cooled.
     The sliding speed limit of Double acting horizontal 700 ft/m for lubricated for non-lubricated
600 ft/m, for vertical compressors with lubricated 800 ft/m for non-lubricated 700 ft/m .the
speed of 4 m/s is close to the upper level of average piston speed normally encountered in an
oil-free reciprocating compressor.
  Actual field experience in a closely matching gas type is the best guide to the proper selection
of ring (and counter surface) material.
 CONCLUSIONS
The development of new polymer alloys has enabled users of oil-free reciprocating compressors
to achieve exceptional improvements in consistency and life of the sealing rings.
Are your Compressors Piston Sealing up-to-date?
 
REFERENCES:                                                          
   1-Advances in piston and packing ring materials for oil-free compressors     
   Robin S Wilson
2-COMPRESSOR HANDBOOK
Paul C. Hanlon
 
Mehmet Samancioglu
Ankara 21 Mar 2016
 
 
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Mehmet Samancioglu
Rotating Equipment Consultant a… Follow

30 comments

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Mehmet Samancioglu 1y
Rotating Equipment Consultant at Free-Lancer

updated,
Like Reply 1 Like

xavier HUIN 1y
Sales Manager Europe chez Amiad Water Systems Europe

It reminds me of my first steps in my professional life. I feel old as it was a while ago.
Souvenir of old CPI time and people. Regards from France
Like Reply 1 Like

Sidney Kanda 1y
Sidney MBA Candidate, Jr. Accountant at Dover Precision Components - Dover Corporation
Kanda
It is always a pleasure to read your articles about reciprocating and centrifugal
compressor product. Good job Mehmet, I share.
Like Reply 1 Like

Ahmad Termeh, PE 1y
Senior Mechanical Engineer at Parsons Corporation

Thanks
Like Reply 1 Like

Behrouz Barati 2y
Engineer

Dear Mehmet, Nice article. I have found many useful points in your article. I would
like to know, how can I design a rider ring for replacement of a damaged one. If we
 have piston diameter, rider ring groove diameter on piston and width of groove of
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rider ring? We are passing a course and the lecturer has poor knowledge about this
matter. I have asked him if we have a broken rider ring with the above mentioned
parameters and also have the thickness of rider ring from broken parts how we can
made it?
Like Reply 2 Likes 7 Replies

View Previous Replies (5)

Jim Jim Johnson

1y
Johnson * at *

Mehmet Samancioglu Great answer! Piston ring and rider ring criteria is still
rather crude to some manufacturers but if you apply science and
experience you will have much better results.
Like Reply 1 Like

Majid Azadegi 1y
Majid Sales and market development
Azadegi
Behrouz Barati‫ در ﺻورت ﻣﺷﮐل ﺑﺎ ﻣن ﺗﻣﺎس ﺑﮔﯾدﯾد‬.‫ﺳﻼم‬
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Amir Zarifnia 2y
University of Warwick - Warwick Business School

Dear Sir, We are sourcing for Piston and Rod for Clark Compressor TCV 16" . Do you
know any reliable manufacturer . Pls advise. Tnx
Like Reply 1 Reply

Mehmet Samancioglu 2y
Rotating Equipment Consultant at Free-Lancer

Dear Amir , I know a few company they can manufacture very well piston
and piston Rod. here I would not like to mention any name.So please send
me your email. I will advice then.
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