09/05/2015

CompressedAirBasicsPart4:RotaryScrewCompressors

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CompressedAirBasicsPart4:RotaryScrewCompressors
Fri4thApr2014at5:36pm,10comments

Sorryforthedelayonthisone.LastweekIwasoutoftown.Thisweekwearetalkingabout
rotaryscrewcompressors.
Rotaryscrewcompressorsaretheworkhorsesbehindamajorityofmanufacturersworldwide.If
youseeabigbuildingandtheymakestuffthere,there'sagoodchancethereisarotaryscrew
aircompressorpoweringtheirmanufacturingprocess.
Thereisagoodreasonforthis.Anindustrialrotaryscrewcompressorhasa100%dutycycle.It
canrun24/7withoutabreak,andinfactitusuallyworksbetterandlastslongerwhenit'sused
thatway.Apistoncompressornormallyworksbetterwhenitcantakeabreakitlikesa
intermittentdutycycle.However,therotarycangoallout,alldaywithoutstoppingitdoesn'tlike
startingandstoppingconstantly.
Anotherreasonisthatwhensizedcorrectly,rotaryscrewscanbesomeofthemostenergy
efficientcompressorsonthemarket.Thekeysarecorrectsizing,properairsystemdesign,and
intelligentcompressorcontrol.Youcanthrowthemostefficientcompressorintheworldinanair
system,butifthesystemandcontrolschemearepoorlydesigned,thecompressorwon'tbe
efficient.

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Atypicalrotaryscrewaircompressorhastwointerlockinghelicalrotorscontainedinahousing.
Aircomesinthroughavalve,typicallycalledtheinletvalveandistakenintothespacebetween
therotors.Asthescrewsturn,theyreducethevolumeoftheair,thusincreasingthepressure.

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Therearerotaryscrewaircompressorswithjustonescrew,aswell.However,they'renotvery
popularwhenitcomestocompressingair.You'llseethemmoreinrefrigerationapplications.
Theirprincipleofoperationisbeyondthescopeofthisblog,butifyou'reinterested,youcanread
morehere.Fortherestofthisblogpost,itcanbeassumedthatwearetalkingabout
compressorswithmorethanonescrew.
Theassemblythatincludestherotorsandthehousingthey'reiniscalledan"airend"orairend.
Thisisactuallythecorrectterminologyforallrotarycompressors,whethertheyberotaryvane,
scroll,screworlobethepartthatcompressestheairiscalledtheairend.
Rotaryscrewcompressorscaneitherbeoilfloodedor"oilfree."Oilfreeisinquotationmarks
becauseoilfreecompressorsdon'tprovideoilfreeair(there'soilintheairaroundus).However
thedifferenceisthatwithoilfreerotariesthereisnooilinthecompressionchamber.
Inanoillubricatedrotaryscrewcompressorthemalerotorisdrivenbythemotororengine,and
thefemalerotorisdrivenbythemalerotor,oractuallybythethinfilmofoilthat'sbetweenthem.
Theoilalsosealsthecompressionchamberandactsasacoolant.
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CompressedAirBasicsPart4:RotaryScrewCompressors

Inanoilfreerotaryscrewcompressorasetofgearscontrolsthetimingbetweenthemaleand
femalerotor.Thereisnooiltosealthechamber,sowithoutmultiplestagesyoucannotachieve
ashighasapressureasyoucanwithanoillubricatedone.Additionallythere'snocoolingoil,
sotheyrunhotter,andthatdecreasestheefficiency.Becauseofthisoilfreerotaryscrew
compressorsareusuallylimitedtospecialapplications.Therearesomeoilfreecompressors
thatusewaterasacoolant,butthosearerare.
Thereissomuchmoretoarotaryscrewcompressorthantheairend.Let'stakealookatthe
typicaloillubricatedrotaryscrew:

Theairenddoesn'tjustcompressairitcompressesanair/oilmixture.Thatmixturethenflows
intoatankcalledtheseparatortankorsump.Theoilisseparatedoutoftheairbycentrifugal
forceastheairspinsaroundinthetank,theoildropsoutbecausetheoilparticlesareheavier
thantheairparticles.Usuallytherearebafflesinthetankthatassistwiththis.Thereisalsoa
separatorelementthattakesoutnearlyalltheremainingoilallbutafewpartspermillion
(usually3ppm).
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Fromtheretheoilandairtaketwoseparatepaths.Theairthengoesoutthroughacoolerand
thenouttoyourapplication.Theoilwilleithergobackintotheairendorthroughanoilcooler.
Thereisusuallyathermostaticvalvethatdirectstheoilonewayortheother,basedonthe
temperatureoftheoil.Youdon'twantthecompressortoruntoohotortoocold.Ifyouruntoo
hotyou'llfrytheoil,decreaseefficiencyandburnoutothercomponents.Ifyouruntoocold,you'll
nevergethotenoughtoboilofftheliquidwaterthatdroppedoutoftheairwhenitwas
compressed.Toomuchliquidwaterintheoilwillcauseairendfailure.
Usuallythereisaminimumpressurevalveoraminimumpressurecheckvalvewhichdoesn'tlet
theairoutintotheairsystem,untilthereisminimumpressureforthecompressortolubricate
itself.Thereisanoilfilterthatfiltersoutcontaminantsintheoil.Thereisalsoanairfiltertokeep
largecontaminantsfromgettingin.Anothercommoncomponentisablowdownvalve(or
unloadingvalve)thatblowstheexcesspressureinthesumptoidlepressurewhenthe
compressorisidling.
Anoilfreerotaryhasdifferentcomponents.Normallytherearetwoairendsandtheairiscooled
withanintercoolerbetweenthem.Typicallythegearsforbothairendsarehousedinthe
gearboxandthatgearboxislubricated.Anoilsealandpositivepressureareusedtokeepthe
oilfromthegearboxoutoftheairend.There'snoseparatortank,oilcooler,orthermalvalve,but
theothercomponentsareusuallythere.
That'sitforthebasicsonrotaryscrewaircompressors.Nextwe'llgooverthebasicsofscrollair
compressors.

Comments
IamanElectricalEngineerappearingforENERGYAUDITORSEXAMINATION.Thisarticleisvery
usefulinclearingbasicconcepts.MyRegards.
Mon2ndJun2014at8:41ambyPKSHARMA
amamechanicalengineergraduateandifindthisquiteenlightening
Thu3rdJul2014at8:07ambycollins
Excellent.......boss
Thu7thAug2014at12:48pmbyshaba
Hi,whatwillbetheimplicationifarotaryscrewcompressordoesn\'trunforextendedperiodsof
time?whatwillthedamagesbeandwhatwouldyousuggestbetheminimumhoursa
compressorshouldruninamonth?
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Mon11thAug2014at4:55ambySam
Sameverymanufacturerhaslongtermstorageprocedures.Itisrecommendedthatyourotate
theairendbyhandanpouralittleoilinitevery36months,ifit\\\'ssittinginstorage.Theremaybe
otherprocedures,dependingonthemanufacturer.
Thu14thAug2014at4:19pmbyGregSinkovich
DearIamanelectricalEngineerBasicallyYouCleartheConceptbutiamfacingaproblemon
sitewhenirunmyscrewaircompressor(drivenbyAnElectricMoter)itrunsnormallybutwheni
s/witoffitgivesabackstrokemeanstheoilcomesfrominletside&withfullpressureeveryside
istheinletvalveisnotoperatingortheoutletvalveiamveryconfusedcoziftheinletvalvefailed
toworkthenhowthecompressorisworkingcoziftheinletvalveremainopenthencompressor
givesheavyloadonthedrivingmoter&mymotercanburniftheoutletvalvefailedtoworkthen
allmycompressedairwillcomeoutbutinothappningwhenirunitthenmyinletvalvetakes30
secondstoopen&thenitsrun&afterthelimitwhenitsturnedofautomaticallythencompressor
rotateinrevese&evengivenrotationtomoter&thenoilcomesoutfromitsintakemreallyvery
confusedmycustomerwillkillmeonethingiforgottotellyouthecompressorisverygreasyitsoil
iszamedlikeglueitcanbeareasonbutwhenitopenedititwassworkingok
Tue9thSep2014at6:37pmbySandhu
Hello,thanksforyourusefularticle.Myaircompressordischargeswaterwithalittleoil.Theoil
tankislosingabout1literofoilperday.Thetemperatureoftheoilis185F.Irecentlygottheairoil
separatorrepairedbyreinsertingnewglassfiber.Afteryouwhatisthecauseoftheproblem?
Thankyouinadvance.
Sun14thSep2014at11:27ambyChea
Sandhucallyourlocalcompressedairshopandhavethemlookatit.Youneedaprofessional
compressorrepairtechnician.Ifyou\'reinFloridaortheCaribbean,giveusacall.CheaWe
needmoreinformation,butitsoundslikeyouneedtochangetheseparatorintheoilsump,not
thecoalescingfilterdownstream.Ifthatdoesn\'tfixtheproblem,getaprofessionalcompressor
repairtechnician.
Fri19thSep2014at3:34pmbyGregSinkovich
Ihavetwo8hp,3phaserotarycompressorsthatarehavingsimilarsymptons.Iamgettingwater
mixedinthesumpoil.CoulditbetoohumidinOrlandoforthesetobeoutsiderunning?Thanks
foragreatresource!
Sat11thOct2014at2:19pmbyTimTipton
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TimIt\'snotthatthey\'reoutside(althoughthatcouldcauseotherproblems).Theproblemmost
likelyisthatyourcompressoristoobig.Thecompressorisnotrunningenoughtogethotenough
toboiloffthecondensation.Weseethatallthetime,oversizedrotarycompressorinFloridawill
getwaterintheoil.
Fri17thOct2014at9:16ambyGregSinkovich

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