Purdue University

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International Compressor Engineering Conference School of Mechanical Engineering

1988

Further Results of a Rotary Compressor for an

Aircraft Pod Cooling System
William J. Godecker
Sundstrand Pneumatics Systems

Charles B. Parme
Sundstrand Pneumatics Systems

Follow this and additional works at: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/icec

Godecker, William J. and Parme, Charles B., "Further Results of a Rotary Compressor for an Aircraft Pod Cooling System" (1988).
International Compressor Engineering Conference. Paper 653.
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/icec/653

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 Further Results of a Rotary Compressor
For an Aircraft Pod Cooling System

sundstrand Pneumatics Systems

San Diego, CA

William J. Godecker Charles B. Parme

Group Engineer Program Engineer

The design of compressors for the fighter aircraft environment

is a continuous challenge. The size, weight, and power draw must
constantly be improved. This paper is a sequel to one delivered at
the 1986 conference. lt updates many of the changes in the LANTlRN
compressor as this program enters the production phase.

The application of this compressor is for an Environmental

Control Unit (ECU) used on the Low Altitude Navigation and
Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system. These
electro-optica l pods are flown on the F15 and F-16 fighter
aircraft.

The ECU described previously houses a fully contained R114

vapor compression system for cooling of electronic components at
ambient extremes of +48 to +205. The compressor is a semihermetic,
motor driven, sliding vane, rotary piston type. The 15 built in
the development phase of the program have proven successful despite
the application.

Several major changes occurred between development and

production. Most notable was an increase in capacity requirements
and the addition of a microprocessor controller. These changes were
required without increasing the package size and only 6 pounds of
additional weight. To accomplish this the compressor speed was
increased from 3700 RPM to 5600 RPM and the volume was reduced
25%.The speed increase and volume reduction were not accomplished
without bringing on some unexpected problems.

Specific areas discussed in this paper include the updated

design requirements, the second generation compressor development,
oil inventory control problems with respect to package constraints,
and the benefits and downfalls of higher speeds.

FIGURE 1

416
 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
red for use on
LANTiRN pod set con figu
Show n in Figu re 1 is the Mar tin Mar iett a Ele ctro nic Syst ems
raft .
an F-16 figh ter airc the Uni ted stat es
syst em und er con trac t with
Div isio n dev elop ed the is for 700 pod sets . Thi s syst em
ord er
Air For ce, The cur ren t rati on at low alti tud es, in the dark ,
ope
allo ws figh ter airc raft diti ons .
und er adv erse wea ther con
par atio n for
exte nsiv e rede sign in pre
The ECU has und ergo ne an to the ECU are:
ant
pro duc tion . Mos t sign ific
/HR (180 0 wat ts) to
incr ease d from 8500 BTU
1. Net coo ling cap acit y wat ts).
1160 0 BTU/HR (26b 0
to Mac h .85.
poi nt spee d from Mac h .81
2. An incr ease in des ign
ic and Bui lt In
oce ssor for con trol log
3, Inc lusi on of a mic ropr
Tes t (BIT ) sequ enc ing,
g
4. Mod ular com pone nt pack agin
high
to pro tect com pon ents from
5. A duc ted ram air circ uit
vel oci ty air flow .
ous ope rati on
2) is desi gne d for con tinu mai ntai ning
The syst em (see Fig ure to 89"C ), whi le
to +192 "F (-40 "C
at amb ient s from -40" F g deli ver ed to the pod
betw een +40 "F and
coo lant tem pera ture s bein The hea rt of the syst em, the vap or
+86 °F {5"C and 3o• c). an R114 syst em with a slid ing van e rota ry
com pres sion uni t, rem ains con den ser, sub boo ler sup erhe ater
hea t
com pres sor, eva por ator , e. The vap or com pres sion
exp ansi on valv
exc han ger, and --th erm al coo lant tem pera ture is
abov e 6l"F (16" C)
syst em is on any time theente ring the con den sing hea t exch ang er is
and ram air tem pera ture
abov e 70"F (2l" C).

BYPASS FLOW
SWITCH
COOL ANT CHEC K VALVE
BURST
DISC
COOL ANT
SOLENOID
V.. LVE

ECU FLU ID SCHEMATIC·

FIGURE 2

417
 DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRODUCTION COMPRESSOR
Five years of flight testin g in the develo
provid ed the opport unity to refine the pment program had
ECU into a remark ably
depend able packag e. It was a logica l decisi
on to redesi gn for the
new produc tion require ments using the basic
buildi ng blocks of the
develo pment ECU.

To meet the higher perform ance requir ement

were availa ble if the rotary compre ssor was s only two option s
speeds or an increa se in displa cemen t. to be used: Higher
develo pment The pump used in the
program was alread y operat ing at its
displa cemen t. Any increa se would requir e a maximum
larger pump body.
The next readil y availa ble size pump would
terms of displac ement vs. pump size. An over not be optimu m in
weight and size of which there was none size pump means extra
to spare. This led to
increa sing the speed.

The rotary compre ssor used in the develo

meet the perform ance require ments if the speedpment program could
3700 RPM to 5600 RPM. ~his accoun ts for the was increa sed from
additi onal 3100 BTU/HR
(800 watts) of heat load and the higher conden
inspec tions indica ted that the moving parts sing pressu re. Field
resista nce operat ing at 3700 RPM and may had plenty of wear
RPM. A protot ype was needed to test the be able to handle 5600
hardwa re at the higher
speeds .

Three factor s entere d into sizing

discha rge pressu re, and a differ ent motorthe motor: speed, higher
efficie
normal losses from higher speeds such as windag ncy. Beside s the
larger than normal air gap would have e and frictio n, a
to
increa sed shaft deflec tion. At 3700 RPM the be used becaus e of
.006". At 5600 RPM this deflec tion increa ses rotor would deflec t
to .009".
Early result s were only partia lly succes
roller and bearin g plates appear ed to handle sful. The cylind er,
quite well but the nose of the alumin um silica the higher speeds
30 hours. te vane wore out in

The wear problem was eventu ally cured

mater ial to 7330 Torlon . Torlon is a Thermby changi ng the vane
blend of carbon fiber and fluoro carbon s. oplasti c made with a
specif ically for slidin g vanes. It offers 7330 was develo ped
streng th (26 kpsi) along with some lubric ity. a relati vely high

With the Torlon vane fitted into the

wear problem s went away. An endura nce test protot ype compr essor, the
was done to evalua te the
long term life of the machin e. After 500
detail ed inspec tion was done. The result s werehours of testin g, a
Measur ed wear indica ted that the depen dabili a comple te succes s.
not be compro mised at these higher speeds . ty of the machin e would

The next chore was to packag e this compre ssor

to make room for the contro ller and reduce more effici ently
previo usly design ed compr essors, includ ing the weight . All
develo pment progra m, were made with a dome the one used in the
diame ter to house the entire assemb ly. This having a large enough
base plate that also secure d the pump/m dome then bolted to a
otor assemb ly. Althou gh
simple to constr uct, it was not the most space
consci ous.
The produc tion config uratio n housin g molds
The sump is molded around the pump body which around the items.
the size at the bottom . The upper sectio drasti cally reduce s
n
stator design that elimin ates the large stator featur es a patent ed
suppor t housin g.

418
 10
by over sizin g the botto m of
The stat or is supp orted bolt ing flan ge. This type
ns and usin g them as a
lami natio eter in
the dome to have a redu ced diam
stat or is ligh ter and allow s
the uppe r sect ion.
hs
its fina l conf igur ation , weig
The prod uctio n com pres sor, inier than FSED but 25% sma ller.
heav
1.8 lbs. This is only 1.1 lbs

PRODUCTION
ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT
ECU COMPRESSORS
FIGURE 3
RATION TECHNIQUES
LUBRICATION INVENTORIES AND SEPA
buil ds came out some prob lemst
When the firs t prod uctio n ECU a shor
Repe ated lock -ups of the comp resso r afte r only
deve lope d.
conc ern. Disa ssem bly of the faile d
time of oper ation drew much of the
com pres sors reve aled larg eroll amou nts of gall ing and pitt ing
er pass es. A lack of lubr icat ion was
bear ing plat es wher e the e of thes e lock -ups .
the most high ly susp ecte d caus
m
l woul d alwa ys be at the botto
Duri ng oper ation the oil leve rdle ss of fill leve l or quan tity
ing plat e rega
of the lowe r bear note d in othe r com pres sors but
not as
adde d. This had alwa ys been
seve re.
ent
een the engi neer ing deve lopm in
A comp ariso n was made betw (see figu re 3). Refr iger ant
and the prod uctio n desi gn
desi gn cyli nder
disc harg ed from the pump ing up the
the prod uctio n comp resso r is From here it trav els
into the stat or supp ort cup. of the
ed out the open ing in the top
roto r stat or gap to be disc harg ded to occu r at the top of the
dome . Oil sepa ratio n was inten the oil
of the roto r woul d forc e
roto r. The spin ning actio n drai n back to the sump whil e the
outw ard, towa rd the wall , to in the cent er and disc harg es out the
ligh ter refr iger ant gas stay s
top.

419
 The engineering development compressor has a more natural flow
path with respect to oil return. The refrigerant goes up the rotor
stator gap as in the production design but then turns and comes
down the outside wall. The large open passage gives a long
residence time and low velocities to allow for oil drop out.

Table 1 shows a comparison of some of the pertinent parameters

relative to oil-refriger ant flow between the two designs. It was
noted that velocities. in areas critical for oil drop out were
considerably higher in the production design. But what criteria
should be used to determine the velocities needed for oil carry
over?

ENGINEERING MODIFIED
COMPRESSOR DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTION PRODUCTION
MASS FLOW (lb/minl 3.7 5.5 5.5
FLOW AREA (in 2 l 3.93 .54 1. 23
MASS FLUX (lb/sec/ft 2 ) 2.25 24.4 10.6
Min Mass FLux (lb/sec/ft 2 ) 34.6 21.0 25.9
OIL CARRY OVER NO YES NO
TABLE 1

The technique used for this compressor was to employ standard

oil carry over techniques for refrigerant piping. Specifically , a
paper written for ASHRAE by Jacobs, Scheideman, Kazan and Macker
(No. 2423) was referenced whereby a "mass flux" or flow rate per
unit of area is calculated. In this paper Jacobs et al give a
method of calculating a minimum mass flux which they believe will
ensure oil carry over. Their interest in such a calculation is the
opposite of our desire here. Their assumption is that oil is
pushed upward along the walls and held in ">Uspension by the gas
flow as long as the gas momentum is high enough to support the
weight of the lube. The lube, of course, is a mixture of oil and
condensed refrigerant which has been absorbed. The ability of this
oil to move with the gas stream is a function of the mass flux
given as:

( 1)
And the density of liquid lube mix which Jacobs et al gives as:
(/J ~ RE._. -----,,...1-~

F l+R(~-1) ( 2)

Jacobs et al then give the following as a means of determining the

minimum mass flux needed to keep oil in suspension:

G'" .n3jQ8 •g•D,8• (Qj-Qg) ( 3)

Sample calculations are shown in Appendix 1.

Mass flux densities within the compressor were calculated

using an equivalent diameter. As shown in Table 1, the mass flux
densities calculated are such that good oil return should occur in
the development compressor but not necessarily the production
compressor which, in fact, was the occurrence.

420
 tha t
sup po rt hou sin g
red esi gn ed sta tor are a wh ile
Fig ure 4. sho ws thepa th. Th is des ign inc rea ses flo w ed to the
fea tur es a rev~sed ou tsi de pac kag e. Dr ain ho les we ge of the cup
flo w re add
no t inc rea sin g the . ed .fo r bo th oil dra ina
Th is all ow tor .
sta tor sup po rt cup ou tsi de of the sta far ·
ow ed for som e gas to go up the ed to all ow
and als o all k and res hap
wa s als o cu t bac
The sta tor cup and dra in bac k are a.
ad dit ion al flo w
tha t
flu x wa s cha nge d so
be see n fro m tab le 1, the ma ss wa s rai sed abo ut sta tor
As can Some con cer n d as
oil dro p ou t sho uld
occ ur. mo unt ing me tho d use the
at thi s po int , bu t wi th the sta tor pin gin g dir ec tly on
co oli ng flo w im
ass um ed tha t the end tur ns, wo uld
be
de scr ibe d, it wa s tor and ove r the top
of the sta
ou tsi de oli ng .
su ffi cie nt for co

MODIFIED PRODUCTION
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION
USINGS
STATOR SUPPORT HO
FIGURE 4

ol did
we d tha t oi l co ntr
du cti on un it shobe lev el
Re bu ild of the pro sum p cou ld co ntr oll ed at any
oil lev el in the
ret urn . The
du rin g op era tio n.
ATING HARDWARE
SPEED EFFECTS ON ROT
ol the
on oil lev el co ntr
ndo us hea dw ay ma de fai led com pre sso rs wo uld
De spi te the tre me aw ay. Sin ce the
go ro lle r we ars ,
loc k-u ps did no t pla tes wh ere the ara nc e. Th is
ng on the be ari ng cle
alw ays sho w ga lli d to be inc rea se the ro lle r end ng ro lle r end
the sol uti on see me no t rel iev e the pro ble ms eve n usierr or, it wa s
app roa ch sti ll didh as .00 4". Mo stly by tri al and
cle ara nc es as hig rs we re far mo re
t the se hig he r spe ed com pre ssoRPM com pre sso rs.
dis cov ere d tha tin g cle ara nc es tha
n the 370 0
sen sit ive to op era sin gle
e see me d to be they bu ilt
ro lle r to cy lin de r wa ll cle ara nc sso rs pre vio usl
The l com pre
the loc k-u ps. Al wa ll cle ara nc e.
big ge st cau se of .00 05" to .00 1" ro lle r to cy lin de r s tha n . 001 0"
to hav e thi ng les
we re set
se hig h spe ed com pre sso rs at any 15" -.0 020 " no ga lli ng
set tin g the set to .00
a loc k-u p. Wh en as tig ht as .00 14
.
wo uld gu ara nte e wi th ro lle r end cle ara nc es
wo uld app ear eve n

421
 Handling of the parts has become intensely critical. Small
dings and burrs that would have been ignored in the past, are
catastrophic to this machine. Deburring done by the manufacturer
must all be rechecked carefully prior to assembly. Corner breaks on
this compressor are double of other compressors.

Despite the larger roller to cylinder wall clearance and

generous corner brakes used, this compressor has better volumetric
efficiency. It appears that the higher speed more than compensates
for the larger leak paths. Table 2 provides a comparison of
performance between the ED and the production compressor.

CYLINDER ROLLER END CORNER VOLUMETRIC OVERALL

COMPRESSOR SET CLEARANCE BREAKS EFFICIENCY EFFICIENCY
DEVELOPMENT .0010" .0006" .0020" 85.2% 38.2%
PRODUCTION .0018" .0018" .0080" 92.5% 45.7%
* Efficiencies measured at 15 psig suction pressure with 40°F
superheat and 155 psig discharge pressure.
TABLE 2

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PLANS

The primary conclusions of this compressor program are as

follows:

1. The commercially available compressor parts used for this

application are adaptable to higher speed rotation, specifically
5600 RPM. The assembly of parts, finishes and clearances becomes
even more critical, but it is an acceptable approach to reduction
of package volumes for use on fighter aircraft.

2. Package volume reduction can bring on problems with oil

carry over, but traditional methods for calculating oil carry over
in evaporators and piping systems can be used to also prevent oil
carry over in compressors.

3. The rotary compressor has proven itself the right choice for
pod mounted aircraft cooling. ·
Compressor optimization continues to be an active effort in
spite of ongoing production. The compressor represents 25% of the
total ECU weight. Weight is always a high priority on fighter
aircraft, and efforts are underway to reduce its weight. Alternate
materials for bearing plates are being investigated to improve wear
resistance for high speed application.

422
 SYMBO LS

G=Ma ssflux l!t =density of liqutd refrigerant

G.,.,. =Mass flux needed for oil carry over (!g =density of refrigerant gas
m =refrigerant mass flow Dg =-nominal diameter of rotor gap
Ag = airgap flow area Xg =air gap
Aw = wall flow area Dw = nominal diameter of gap at wall
(!j= densttY of 01ll!quid refrtgerant - oil
mixture
X..,"' nominal gap at wall
l!o =density of oil At= total area
F =density correction factor g =gravitational constant
R =frigerant - oil solubility

APPENDIX I

ration assummg best flow spilt. Pan of the refrig-

The calculations shown here are for the as-built configu
up between the rotor air gap and pan of the flow goes up the outside of the smtor. The
erant flow goes
area of the air gap is:

Ag =n• D0 • Xg = n(3.361 )(.009) =.095in,

2
Aw "'n • Dw • Ww = n(S .625) (.025) = .442in
At =Ag+A w = .537in'
Tit= 5.47lb/min
G = m - (5.47) (144) 24.411>/.<ec ft,
At (60) (.537)

Qo = 53.0/b/ft'

R = .60(/or 210 psra and 250°F)

F = .92 (From Jacobs)

l!l = 73.5/blft' (for Z10 psia)

Qj= 69.211>/ft'

G,. .., =. 723 jl! 8 • g • Deg • (l!r l!g)

D eg -- --;-- V{4(.53
V(4A;- -"--- .827 m. -- .069 ft
--------;;---7)-
l!g = 6.06 lblfr' lor 210 psia and 250 degreeF
21.0
Gmln" .723/6- 06 (32.17) (.069) (69.2 - 6.06)

.-. 01/ Should Carry Over

423