What is Compressor ?

PD: Operate by trapping a specific volume of

air and forcing it into a smaller volume. Sliding Vane
Compressor is a device which is Centrifugal: Operate by accelerating the air
used to increase the pressure and converting the energy to pressure
of air from low pressure to high Artificially cooled, Liquid Piston
pressure by using some pressure ratio more
external energy than 1.15, fluid Rotary Helical
• For filling the air in tube of medium - Gas
vehicles
Lobe
• In automobile service station Intermittent
flow / positive
to clean vehicles. displacement
(PD)
• For spray painting in paint Screw
industries.
• In vehicle to operate air Reciprocating
Mechanical
Piston
brakes. Compressor
• For cleaning workshop Radial /
machines. Centrifugal

• For supercharging of an IC
engines. Dynamic Mixed

• For operation of pneumatic Continuous flow

tools i.e. rock drills, vibrators Ejector Axial
etc.
• Quiet operation
• High volume of
air, steady flow.
• Lower energy
cost , small size
• Suitable for
continuous
operation (24/7),
• low efficiency
• Low pressure Low mass flow rate,
ratio Service life longer,
high pressure ratios,
bigger size, and is
relatively cheap. Reciprocating
Rotary – screw compressor

Ejector Centrifugal
Process plant optimization. Gas compression. compressor:
Production boosting. Jet engine
cutaway
showing the
centrifugal
Centrifugal compressor is widely used in chemical and compressor
petroleum refinery industry for specifies services. and other parts
Definitions of Compressor
Compression ratio:- It is defined as the ratio of volume of air before compression to the
volume of air after compression.
Compressor capacity:- It is the quantity of air actually delivered by a compressor in m3/minute
or m3/sec.
Free air Delivered(FAD):- It is the volume of air delivered by compressor under the compressor
intake conditions ( i.e. temperature and pressure ).
Swept Volume:- The volume displaced or swept by piston when it moves between top dead
center and bottom dead center.
Clearance volume:- it is the difference between the total volume and the swept volume,
basically the gap that remains between the piston head and the cylinder head when at top
dead center.
Efficiencies:
Volumetric efficiency:-
It is the ratio of actual volume of the FAD at standard atmospheric condition in one delivery
stroke (Actual air intake) to the swept volume (theoretical air intake) by the piston during
the stroke.
Isothermal efficiency:-
It is defined as the ratio of isothermal power (Piso) (i.e. required input power at isothermal
process) done to the indicated power (IP) or actual work done.
Mechanical efficiency:-
It is the ratio of indicated power (IP) to the shaft(Brake) Power (Pshaft).
Overall efficiency:-
It is the ratio of isothermal power (Piso) to the shaft(Brake) Power (Pshaft).
Reciprocating Compressor
The primary components of a
typical reciprocating compressor
system can be seen in Figures.
The compression cylinders, also
known as stages, of which a
particular design may have from
one to six or more, provide
confinement for the process gas
during compression. A piston is
driven in a reciprocating action
to compress the gas.
Arrangements may be of single-
or dual-acting design. (In the
dual-acting design, compression
occurs on both sides of the
piston during both the advancing
and retreating stroke.) Some
dual-acting cylinders in high-
pressure applications will have a
piston rod on both sides of the
piston to provide equal surface
area and balance loads.
Reciprocating Compressor
Tandem cylinder arrangements
help minimize dynamic loads by
locating cylinders in pairs,
connected to a common
crankshaft, so that the
movements of the pistons
oppose each other. Gas
pressure is sealed and wear of
expensive components is
minimized through the use of
disposable piston rings and
rider bands respectively. These
are formed from comparatively
soft metals relative to piston
and cylinder/liner metallurgy or
materials such as
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Reciprocating Compressor Suction line Valve plate
Discharge valve
Discharge line
In a reciprocating compressor, a volume of air is
drawn into a cylinder, it is trapped, and compressed Head
by piston and then discharged into the discharge line. Suction
The cylinder valves control the flow of air through the valve
cylinder; these valves act as check valves.
Rings
Single – Acting compressor
Connecting
It is a compressor that has one discharge per Rod Piston
revolution of crankshaft.
Double – Acting Compressor
It is a compressor that completes two discharge
strokes per revolutions of crankshaft. Most heavy-
duty compressors are double acting. Crankshaft

Multi-staging :Reduction in power required to drive the

compressor.
Better mechanical balance of the whole unit and
uniform torque.
Increase in volumetric efficiency.
Reduced leakage loss.
Less difficulty in lubrication due to low working
temperature.
Lighter cylinders can be used.
Cheaper materials can be used for construction as
the operating temperature is lower.
 Front Face View
Dial weight
Manometer Reading (Kg)
Reading P2 Intercooler
(orifice) 1st Stage T2
cylinder T3 2nd Stage cylinder Mechanical
guard dynamometer
T1,
P1
Silencer
cum filter
Air Box Unloader
valve Thermo Motor (without
meter grouting i.e. Stand/
Crank Case: P3 support)
Splash type Safety Valve
Lubricating Pressure
Oil indicator control
Switch Main Switch
Receiver
Tank

Motor (without grouting) to produce opposite torque for mechanical dynamometer.

Water outlet
Unloader valve: to keep the starting compressor operation in ambient pressure.
Drain Cock
 Back Face View

Motor RPM
Compressor RPM
Centrifugal Compressor
• Centrifugal compressors accelerates the velocity of the gases
(increases kinetic energy) which is then converted into pressure as
the air flow leaves the volute and enters the discharge pipe.
• Deliver much higher flow rates than positive displacement
compressors
• if higher pressure ratio with larger unit
– prefer axial flow compressor
• Usually operate at speeds > 3,000 rpm.
• Smaller length, contaminated atmosphere doesn't affect the
performance
• Disadvantages- larger frontal area and lower maximum efficiency
Basic Components
• Impellers, Vanes, Volutes, Suction Eyes, Discharge lines, Diffuser
Plates, Seals, Shaft, Casing
• Suction Vane Tips = Part of the impeller vane that comes into contact with air first.
• Discharge Vane Tips = Part of the impeller vane that comes into contact with air last
Applications
Most well-known centrifugal compressor applications are gas turbines and
turbochargers.
Either or both axial and centrifugal compressors are used to provide
compressed air to Modern gas turbines which operate on the Brayton cycle. The
types of gas turbines that most often include centrifugal compressors include
turboshaft, turboprop, auxiliary power units, and micro-turbines.
Centrifugal compressors used in conjunction with reciprocating internal
combustion engines are known as turbochargers if driven by the engine’s exhaust
gas and turbo-superchargers if mechanically driven by the engine.
Centrifugal Compressor
Inlet
The inlet to a centrifugal compressor is typically a simple
pipe. It may include features such as a valve, stationary
vanes/airfoils (used to help swirl the flow) and both pressure
and temperature instrumentation. Figure 1.
Turbocharger
Centrifugal impeller Construction and
The key component that makes a compressor centrifugal is the Flow of Gases
centrifugal impeller. It is the impeller’s rotating set of vanes (or
Figure 2.
blades) that gradually raises the energy of the working gas. This open
is identical to an axial compressor with the exception that the impeller
gases can reach higher velocities and energy levels through the
impeller’s increasing radius. In many modern high-efficiency
centrifugal compressors the gas exiting the impeller is traveling
near the speed of sound. Figure 3.
full
Impellers are designed in many length
configurations including “open” (visible splitter
impeller
blades), “covered or shrouded”, “with
splitters”. Most modern high efficiency
impellers use “backsweep” in the blade Figure 4.
shrouded
shape. Euler’s pump and turbine
impeller
equation plays an important role in Figure 5. backsweep impeller
understanding impeller performance.
Centrifugal Compressor
Diffuser
The next key component to the
simple centrifugal compressor is
the diffuser. Downstream of the
impeller in the flow path, it is the
diffuser’s responsibility to convert
the kinetic energy (high velocity) of
the gas into pressure by gradually
slowing (diffusing) the gas velocity.
Diffusers can be vane less, vaned or
an alternating combination.
Hybrid versions of vaned diffusers include: wedge, channel, and pipe diffusers. There are
turbocharger applications that benefit by incorporating no diffuser. Bernoulli’s fluid dynamic
principle plays an important role in understanding diffuser performance.
Collector / Casing
The collector of a centrifugal compressor can take many shapes and forms. When the diffuser
discharges into a large empty chamber, the collector may be termed a Plenum. When the
diffuser discharges into a device that looks somewhat like a snail shell, bull’s horn or a French
horn, the collector is likely to be termed a volute or scroll. As the name implies, a collector’s
purpose is to gather the flow from the diffuser discharge annulus and deliver this flow to a
downstream pipe. Either the collector or the pipe may also contain valves and
instrumentation to control the compressor.
Axial Flow Compressor

Composed of a rotor that has rows of fanlike blades.

• In industry, axial compressors are used a lot high flows and pressures are needed.
• Air flow is moves along the shaft.
• Rotating blades attached to a shaft push air over stationary blades called stators.
• Stator blades are attached to the casing.
• As the air velocity is increased by the rotating blades, the stator blades slow it down. As
the air slows, kinetic energy is converted into pressure.
• air velocity increases as it moves from stage to stage until it reaches the discharge.
• Multi-Stage axial compressors can generate very high flow rates and discharge pressures.
• Axial compressors are usually limited to 16 stages (due to temperature/material
limitations)
• Pound for pound, axial compressors are lighter, more efficient, and smaller than
centrifugal compressors.