COMPRESSORS

ME7313 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION AND CONTROL

DNUSHA G.L.N.
Introduction

A compressor is a type of machine that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.
An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Compressors helps to transport the
fluid through a pipe maintaining the high pressure conditions. It is convers power (using and
electrical motor, diesel or gasoline engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in pressurized
air. The main and important types of gas compressors are illustrated and discussed below.

Compressors

Lobe

Screw

Rotary Liquid Ring

Scroll

Positive
Displacement Vane

Double Acting

Compressor types
Reciprocating Single Acting

Centrifugal Diphram
Dynamic
Axial

According to how a compressor is applying pressure to a fluid, the compressor is broadly

classified to positive displacement compressor and dynamic compressor.

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1 Positive displacement compressor
In a positive displacement compressor, air drawn into a chamber. The trapped air then
compressed physically reducing the volume of the chamber using any mechanism.
Reciprocating compressor is one of positive displacement pump type which air is first drawn
into the cylinder. A piston connected to the cylinder crank mechanism presses the trapped air
against a wall by reducing to inside volume to increase the pressure. Other examples for
positive displacement compressors are rotating screw compressor and rotary vane
compressor. Most special thing of the positive displacement compressor is, it gives constant
rate against variable output pressure. Mainly positive displacement pumps can be divided
into two categories. There are reciprocating and rotary compressors.

1.1 Reciprocating compressors

A reciprocating compressor is a positive-displacement machine that uses a piston to compress
a gas and deliver it at high pressure. So it is called as piston compressor. That piston was
driven by the crank shaft mechanism. The process of the reciprocating compressor is the
intake gas The intake gas enters the suction manifold and flows into the cylinder where it was
compressed by a piston driven in a reciprocating motion by crankshaft.

They are often some of the most critical and expensive systems at a production facility, and
deserve special attention. And this type of compressors are used for gas transmission
pipelines, petrochemical plants, refineries, chemical plants, natural gas processing, and many
other industries.

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1.1.1 Diaphragm compressor
In diaphragm compressors, the compression of gas occurs by means of a flexible membrane,
instead of an intake element. The back and forth moving membrane is driven by a rod and a
crankshaft mechanism. Only the membrane and the compressor box come in touch with
pumped gas. The membrane has to be reliable enough to take the strain of pumped gas. This
diaphragm is actuated mechanically or hydraulically. The mechanical diaphragm
compressors are used with a small flow and low pressure or as vacuum pumps. Hydraulic
diaphragm compressors are used for high pressure applications. Diaphragm compressors are
well suited for pumping toxic and explosive type gases. So It must also have adequate
chemical properties and sufficient temperature resistance.

Internal Components of a diaphragm compressor

A reciprocating compressor is a positive-displacement machine that uses a piston to compress

a gas and deliver it at high pressure. So it is called as piston compressor. That piston was
driven by the crank shaft mechanism. The process of the reciprocating compressor is the
intake gas The intake gas enters the suction manifold and flows into the cylinder where it was
compressed by a piston driven in a reciprocating motion by crankshaft.

They are often some of the most critical and expensive systems at a production facility, and
deserve special attention. And this type of compressors are used for gas transmission
pipelines, petrochemical plants, refineries, chemical plants, natural gas processing, and many
other industries.

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1.1.2 Single acting compressor
They are the reciprocating compressor which has piston working only in one direction. The
other end of the piston is often free or open from which no work is performed. There is only
one side compression or the upper part of the piston is used to compress the air. The bottom
part is open to crankcase and is not utilized for the compression of air.

1.1.3 Double acting compressor

As from its name it uses its both sides to compress the air. These type of compressors have
two sets of suction/intake and delivery/exhaust valve on both sides of the piston. As the piston
moves up and down, both sides of the piston is utilized in compressing the air. The intake
and exhaust valve operates corresponding to the movement of the piston or with the stroke
of the compressor. The air is compressed accordingly and delivered continuously as
compared to single-acting air compressor.

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1.2 Rotary compressors
1.2.1 Rotary-screw compressor
A rotary-screw compressor is a type of gas compressor that uses a rotary-type
positivedisplacement mechanism. They are commonly used to replace piston compressors
where large volumes of high-pressure air are needed, either for large industrial applications
or to operate high-power air tools. The gas compression process of a rotary screw compressor
is a continuous sweeping motion, so there is very little pulsation or surging of flow, as occurs
with piston compressors.

Rotary Screw Compressor

This type of rotating compressors is used when high flow rate and stable flow is required.
The twin screw element’s main parts are the male and female rotors, which rotate in opposite
directions while the volume between them and the housing decreases. Each screw element
has a fixed, build-in pressure ratio that is dependent on its length, the pitch of the screw and
the form of the discharge port. To attain maximum efficiency, the build-in pressure ratio must
be adapted to the required working pressure. The screw compressor is generally not equipped
with valves and has no mechanical forces that cause unbalance. This means it can work at a
high shaft speed and can combine a large flow rate with small exterior dimensions.

Oil-free screw compressors

Oil-free screw compressors had a symmetric rotor profile and did not use any cooling liquid
inside the compression chamber. These were called oil-free or dry screw compressors.

Liquid-injected screw compressors

In liquid-injected screw compressors, a liquid is injected into the compression chamber and
often into the compressor bearings. Its function is to cool and lubricate the compressor

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element’s moving parts, to cool the air being compressed internally, and to reduce the return
leakage to the inlet.
1.2.2 Lobe Rotary Compressors
Twin Lobe Rotary Compressors are positive displacement units, whose pumping capacity is
determined by size, operating speed and pressure conditions. It employs two Twin Lobe
impellers mounted on parallel shafts, rotating in opposite direction within a casing closed at
the ends by side plates. As the impellers rotate, air is drawn into one side of the casing and
forced out of the opposite side against the existing pressures. Effective sealing of the
compressor inlet area from the discharge area is accomplished by use of very small
operational clearance, eliminating the need of any internal lubrication of the lobes. A pair of
accurately machined alloy steel, hardened and ground timing gears maintain clearances
between the impellers, during rotation. The pumping capacity of a lobe compressor, operating
at constant speed remains relatively independent of inlet and discharge pressure

variations.

Lobe rotary compressor

2 Dynamic compressors
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In this type of compressor the gas is first accelerated to high velocity rather than physically
reducing the volume of a capture pocket of air, and then it passed through a diffuser. The
kinetic energy of the air is converted to pressure energy at diffuser before it leaves through
the outlet. Dynamic compressors are the ideal way to get a lot of horsepower for many
applications. They are also call turbo compressors. Dynamic compressors can be again
classified in to two catogories. They are centrifugal compressor and axial compressor. 2.1
Centrifugal compressor

Centrifugal compressors sometime called radial compressors. It is better to have a basic

understand about the fluid and mechanical principle before get into the concept of centrifugal
compressor. The density of the fluids changed with a change in temperature, as well as
pressure. Pressure will be given the main role play in centrifugal compressors. Centrifugal
compressor working on Bernoulli’s fluid dynamic principle. Bernoulli’s principle derived
from conservation of energy. In a centrifugal compressor, an additional kinetic energy
imparted to the fluid by rotating impeller. Then this kinetic energy converted into pressure
energy at diffuser. In a centrifugal compressor, the impeller is connected to a shaft driven by
any mechanism. The rotating impeller draws air through the inlet at the center of the impeller
and guides the air towards the periphery. During this movement, impeller increases the
kinetic energy of air. At the periphery the air is guided through a stationary passage as diffuser
where its velocity kinetic energy decreases. According to Bernoulli’s low reduction in a
velocity cause increase in pressure of the fluid, that is kinetic energy is converted into
pressure energy. For perfect working of the compressor, it must be maintained in an oil seal
environment.
Application of Centrifugal compressors,

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 1. Primarily used in Gas compressor components
2. Gas path for Natural gas
3. Off Shore platform applications
4. Gas Re-injection via subsea export pipeline
5. Gas gathering
6. Typical oil compression
7. Gas shift system
8. 8.Hydraulic compressors for Industrial machines Advantages of Centrifugal
Compressor

1. Wide Operating ranges

2. Very high reliability
3. Low maintenance costs
4. Low initial cost
5. Medium Capacity storage
6. High efficiency
Disadvantages of Centrifugal compressor
1. Very unstable when the flow is reduced.
2. Sensitive to changes in gas compositions
3. Limited compression ratios
4. Limited turn downs
5. Periodic replacement is necessary for proper functioning
2.2 Axial flow compressor

It consists of a set of blades. Air is drawn into one end, flow parallel to the axis of rotation,
and then discharge at the other end. They result in low compression, but high flow rate.
Generally used for ventilation. Axial compressors consist of rotating and stationary
components. A shaft drives a central drum, retained by bearings, which has a number of

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annular airfoil rows attached usually in pairs, one rotating and one stationary attached to a
stationary tubular casing. A pair of rotating and stationary airfoils is called a stage. The
rotating airfoils, also known as blades or rotors, accelerate the fluid. The stationary airfoils,
also known as stators or vanes, convert the increased rotational kinetic energy into static
pressure through diffusion and redirect the flow direction of the fluid, preparing it for the
rotor blades of the next stage. The cross-sectional area between rotor drum and casing is
reduced in the flow direction to maintain an optimum Mach number using variable geometry
as the fluid is compressed.

Application of Axial compressors,

1. Blast furnaces.
2. Air separation plants.
3. Fluid catalytic cracking units.
4. Nitric acid plants.
5. Jet-engine test facilities.
Advantages of Axial Compressor
1. High peak efficiency.
2. Small frontal area for given flow.
3. Straight through flow, allowing high ram efficiency.
4. Increased pressure rise due to increased number of stages with negligible losses.
Disadvantages of Centrifugal compressor
1. Good efficiency over narrow rotational speed range.
2. Manufacturing is difficult.
3. Cost is very high.
4. Heavy weight.
5. High starting power requirements.

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2.3 Vane

The operating principle for a vane compressor is the same as for many compressed air
expansion motors. The vanes are usually manufactured of special cast alloys and most vane
compressors are oil-lubricated. A rotor with radial, movable blade-shaped vanes is
eccentrically mounted in a stator housing. When it rotates, the vanes are pressed against the
stator walls by centrifugal force. Air is drawn in when the distance between the rotor and
stator increases. The air is captured in the different compressor pockets, which decrease in
volume with rotation. The air is discharged when the vanes pass the outlet port.

2.4 Scroll

A scroll compressor (also called spiral compressor, scroll pump and scroll vacuum pump) is
a free standing involute spiral which is bounded on one side by a solid flat plane, or base.

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Scroll compressors are often used in residential HVAC heat pump and air conditioning
systems and a few automotive air conditioning systems employ a scroll compressor instead
of the more traditional rotary, reciprocating, and wobble-plate compressors.

An involute scroll set is a curve traced by a point on a thread kept taut as it is unwound from
another curve. The curve that the thread is unwound from, that is, used for scrolls, is a circle.
A scroll set, is the fundamental compressing element of a scroll compressor. One scroll
component is indexed or phased 180 degrees with respect to the other to allow the scrolls to
mesh, as shown in Figure. Crescent shaped gas pockets are formed bounded by the involutes
and the base plates of both scrolls.

As the moving or orbiting scroll is orbited about the fixed scroll, the pockets formed by the
meshed scrolls follow the involute spiral toward the center and diminish in size. The orbiting
scroll is prevented from rotating during this process to maintain the 180-degree phase
relationship of the scrolls. The compressor or vacuum pump's inlet is at the periphery of the
scrolls. Air is drawn into the compressor as the inlet is formed as shown in Figure. The
entering gas is trapped in two diametrically opposed gas pockets, Figure 1 a, and compressed
as the pockets move toward the center. The compressed gas is exhausted through the
discharge port at the center of the fixed scroll. No valves are needed since the discharge is
not in communication with the inlet. Figure shows the scroll positions as the line connecting
the centers of the two scrolls is rotated clockwise, illustrating how gas pockets diminish in
size as the orbiting scroll is orbited.

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2.5 Liquid ring

Liquid ring compressors are formed by cylindrical stator, within which a rotor supported at
the side covers rotates. The rotor shaft is eccentric respect to stator of liquid ring compressor.
The service liquid, generally water, almost full the liquid ring compressor, producing an
aspiration and compression simultaneously during each revolution, settling down the action
of a piston. Liquid ring compressors are especially suited for medium pressure application,
transporting air and gas of various compositions.

The materials which is used to manufacture the liquid ring vacuum pumps are grey cast iron
(static components) and nodular (dynamic components). Also use different materials like
casting steel or the combination of both types of casting.

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