MINISTRY OF HIGHIER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES

ERBIL POLYTHECHNIC UNIVERSITY

TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL AND ENERGY ENGINEERING DEP.
REFRIGERATION 4th STAGE (2020-2021)

Reciprocating compressor

Prepared by: wrya luqman Hussein

Supervised by: Dr. Ranj Sirwan Abdullah

Date of submission: 12-12-2020

2020-2021
Introduction
Compressors are work absorbing devices which are used for increasing pressure of fluid
at the expense or work done on fluid.
The compressors used for compressing air are called air compressors. Compressors are
invariably used for all applications requiring high pressure air. Some of popular
applications of compressor are, for driving pneumatic tools and air operated equipment,
spray painting, compressed air engine, supercharging surface cleaning, refrigeration and
air conditioning, chemical industry etc. compressors are supplied with low pressure air
(or any fluid) at inlet which comes out as hhigh-pressureair (or any fluid) at outlet. Work
required for increasing pressure of air is available from the prime mover driving the
compressor. Generally, electric motor, internal combustion engine or steam engine,
turbine etc. are used as prime movers.
Compressors are similar to fans and blowers but differ in terms of pressure ratios. Fan is
said to have pressure ratio up to 1.1 and blowers have pressure ratio between 1.1 to 4
while compressors have pressure ratios more than 4.
5.2 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPRESSORS
Table-1 Types of Compressors

Compressors can be classified in the following different ways.

(a) Based on principle of operation: Based on the principle of operation compressors
can be classified as.
(i) Positive displacement compressor.
(ii) Non-positive displacement compressors.
In positive displacement compressors the compression is realized by displacement of
solid
boundary and preventing fluid by solid boundary from flowing back in the direction of
pressure gradient. Due to solid wall displacement these are capable of providing quite
large
pressure ratios. Positive displacement compressors can be further classified based on the
type of mechanism used for compression. These can be

(i) Reciprocating type positive displacement compressors

(ii) Rotary type positive displacement compressors.

Reciprocating compressors generally, employ piston-cylinder arrangement where

displacement of piston in cylinder causes rise in pressure. Reciprocating compressors are
capable of giving large pressure ratios but the mass handling capacity is limited or small.
Reciprocating compressors may also be single acting compressor or double acting
compressor. Single acting compressor has one delivery stroke per revolution while in
double acting there are two delivery strokes per revolution of crank shaft. Rotary
compressors employing positive displacement have a rotary part whose boundary causes
positive displacement of fluid and thereby compression. Rotary compressors of this type
are available in the names as given below;
(i) Roots blower
(ii) Vane type compressors
Rotary compressors of above type are capable of running at higher speed and can handle
large mass flow rate than reciprocating compressors of positive displacement type.
Non-positive displacement compressors, also called as steady flow compressors use
dynamic action of solid boundary for realizing pressure rise. Here fluid is not contained
in definite volume and subsequent volume reduction does not occur as in case of
positive displacement compressors. Non-positive displacement compressor may be of
‘axial flow type’ or ‘centrifugal type’ depending upon type of flow in compressor.

(b) Based on number of stages: Compressors may also be classified on the basis of
number of stages. Generally, the number of stages depend upon the maximum delivery
pressure.
Compressors can be single stage or multistage. Normally maximum compression ratio of
5 is realized in single stage compressors. For compression ratio more than 5 the
multistage compressors are used.
Type values of maximum delivery pressures generally available from different type of
compressor are,
(i) Single stage Compressor, for delivery pressure up to 5 bar.
(ii) Two stage Compressor, for delivery pressure between 5 to 35 bar
(iii) Three stage Compressor, for delivery pressure between 35 to 85 bar.
(iv) Four stage compressors, for delivery pressure more than 85 bar
(c) Based on Capacity of compressors : Compressors can also be classified depending
upon
the capacity of Compressor or air delivered per unit time. Typical values of capacity for
different compressors are given as;
(i) Low capacity compressors, having air delivery capacity of 0.15 m3/s or less
(ii) Medium capacity compressors, having air delivery capacity between 0.15 to 5 m3/s.
(iii) High capacity compressors, having air delivery capacity more than 5 m3/s
(d) Based on highest pressure developed: Depending upon the maximum pressure
available
from compressor they can be classified as low pressure, medium pressure, high pressure
and
super high-pressure compressors. Typical values of maximum pressure developed for
different compressors are as under:
(i) Low pressure compressor, having maximum pressure up to 1 bar
(ii) Medium pressure compressor, having maximum pressure from 1 bar to 8 bar
(iii) High pressure compressor, having maximum pressure from 8 to 10 bar
(iv) Super high-pressure compressor, having maximum pressure more than 10 bar.
5.3 Reciprocating Compressors
Reciprocating Compressor has piston cylinder arrangement as shown Fig.5.1

Fig.1
Reciprocating Compressor has piston, cylinder, inlet valve, exit valve, connecting rod,
crank, piston pin, crank pin and crank shaft. Inlet valve and exit valves may be of
spring-loaded type which get opened and closed due to pressure differential across them.
Let us consider piston to be at top dead center (TDC) and move towards bottom dead
center (BDC). Due to this piston movement from TDC to BDC suction pressure is
created causing opening of inlet valve. With this opening of inlet valve and suction
pressure the atmospheric air enters the cylinder.
Mathematically, for the compression work following polytropic process, PVn=C.
Assuming negligible clearance volume the cycle work done.
The isothermal efficiency of a compressor should be close to 100% which means that
actual compression should occur following a process close to isothermal process. For
this the mechanism be derived to maintain constant temperature during compression
process.
Different arrangements which can be used are:
(i) Faster heat dissipation from inside of compressor to outside by use of fins over
cylinder. Fins facilitate quick heat transfer from air being compressed to
atmosphere so that temperature rise during compression can be minimized.
(ii) Water jacket may be provided around compressor cylinder so that heat can be
picked by cooling water circulating through water jacket. Cooling water
circulation around compressor regulates rise in temperature to great extent.
(iii) The water may also be injected at the end of compression process in order to cool
the air being compressed. This water injection near the end of compression
process requires special arrangement in compressor and also the air gets mixed
with water and needs to be separated out before being used. Water injection also
contaminates the lubricant film inner surface of cylinder and may initiate
corrosion etc, the water injection is not popularly used.
(iv) In case of multistage compression in different compressors operating serially, the
air leaving one compressor may be cooled up to ambient state or somewhat high
temperature before being injected into subsequent compressor. This cooling of
fluid being compressed between two consecutive compressors is called
intercooling and is frequently used in case of multistage compressors.
Considering clearance volume: With clearance volume the cycle is represented on
Fig.5.3
The work done for compression of air polytropic ally can be given by the area enclosed
in cycle 1-2-3-4. Clearance volume in compressors varies from 1.5% to 35% depending
upon type of compressor.
 Fig.2 P-V diagram for Reciprocating Compressor with Clearance

In the cylinder of reciprocating compressor (V1-V4) shall be the actual volume of air
delivered per cycle. Vd = V1 – V4. This (V1 – V4) is actually the volume of air in hated
in the cycle and delivered subsequently.
Conclusion
A reciprocating compressor includes cylinders and pistons. A cylinder is closed at one
end by the cylinder head and by a movable piston at the other. Cylinder valves sit at the
base of the valve pockets. During the expansion phase, gas enters the cylinder through
the suction valve when the piston moves and creates a vacuum. Then the piston reverses
its direction of motion and starts to compress the gas. When the pressure in the cylinder
exceeds the pressure in the discharge piping, the discharge valves open and the gas is
pushed out of the cylinder. At the upper dead point, only a narrow gap between the
piston and the cylinder head is left.
The operation of reciprocating compressors may seem simple. However, complex
phenomena are associated with these machines. During compression, the pressure
distribution in the cylinder is almost uniform, but when the pressure valve opens, a
rarefaction wave is initiated, which travels back and forth in the compression chamber.
Unwanted effects of these waves are oscillating moments on the piston, increased valve
losses and decreased compressor efficiency.
Based on these unwanted effects, pulsation, valve operation and dynamic behaviors can
pose major concerns for reciprocating compressors. Cylinder valves should be operated
at each cycle. These values experience considerable dynamic loading and fatigue stress.
The cyclic operation of a reciprocating compressor generates pulsation, which will be
transferred to suction and discharge systems. Dynamic effects such as unbalance,
movements caused by reciprocating action, waves (such as rarefaction waves), and
many more effects should be considered for reciprocating compressors.
The capacity control is often determined by the compressor discharge pressure.
Compressor capacity-control methods are utilized to maintain a required compressed gas
delivery under variable process conditions. The main capacity control methods for
reciprocating compressors are variable-speed drives, suction valve unloaders, step-less
methods, clearance pockets and bypass recycling. The two main reasons why a
reciprocating compressor capacity regulation is used are to adjust the suction mass-flow
to match the process demand and to save energy.
Variable-speed reciprocating compressors are attractive, theoretically. However, they
have many practical, technical and cost limitations. The minimum speed — because of
some limitations in the compressor frame or variable speed drive (VSD) electric motor
system — might not be sufficient for the necessary reduction in the volume flow.