Gas compressor 1

Gas compressor
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.
Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a
pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas. Liquids are relatively
incompressible, while some can be compressed, the main action of a pump is to pressurize and transport liquids.

Types of compressors
The main types of gas compressors are illustrated and discussed below:

Hermetically sealed, open, or semi-hermetic

Compressors are often described as being either open, hermetic, or
semi-hermetic, to describe how the compressor and motor drive is
situated in relation to the gas or vapour being compressed. The
industry name for a hermetic is hermetically sealed compressor,
while a semi- is commonly called a semi-hermetic compressor.

In hermetic and most semi-hermetic compressors, the compressor and

motor driving the compressor are integrated, and operate within the
pressurized gas envelope of the system. The motor is designed to
operate and be cooled by the gas or vapour being compressed.
The difference between the hermetic and semi-hermetic, is that the
A small hermetically sealed compressor in a common consumer or ; it typ
hermetic uses a one-piece welded steel casing that cannot be opened
for repair; if the hermetic fails it is simply replaced with an entire new
unit. A semi-hermetic uses a large cast metal shell with gasketed
covers that can be opened to replace motor and pump components.
The primary advantage of a hermetic and semi-hermetic is that there is
no route for the gas to leak out of the system. Open compressors rely
on either natural leather or synthetic rubber seals to retain the internal pressure, and these seals require a lubricant
such as oil to retain their sealing properties.
An open pressurized system such as an automobile air conditioner can leak its operating gases, if it is not operated
frequently enough. Open systems rely on lubricant in the system to splash on pump components and seals. If it is not
operated frequently enough, the lubricant on the seals slowly evaporates, and then the seals begin to leak until the
system is no longer functional and must be recharged. By comparison, a hermetic system can sit unused for years,
and can usually be started up again at any time without requiring maintenance or experiencing any loss of system
pressure.
The disadvantage of hermetic compressors is that the motor drive cannot be repaired or maintained, and the entire
compressor must be removed if a motor fails. A further disadvantage is that burnt out windings can contaminate
Gas compressor 2

whole systems requiring the system to be entirely pumped down and the gas replaced. Typically hermetic
compressors are used in low-cost factory-assembled consumer goods where the cost of repair is high compared to the
value of the device, and it would be more economical to just purchase a new device.
An advantage of open compressors is that they can be driven by non-electric power sources, such as an internal
combustion engine or turbine. However, open compressors that drive refrigeration systems are generally not totally
maintenance free throughout the life of the system, since some gas leakage will occur over time.

Centrifugal compressors
Centrifugal compressors use a rotating disk or impeller in a shaped
housing to force the gas to the rim of the impeller, increasing the
velocity of the gas. A diffuser (divergent duct) section converts the
velocity energy to pressure energy. They are primarily used for
continuous, stationary service in industries such as oil refineries,
[1]
chemical and petrochemical plants and natural gas processing plants.
[2] [3]
Their application can be from 100 horsepower (75 kW) to
thousands of horsepower. With multiple staging, they can achieve
extremely high output pressures greater than 10000 psi (69 MPa).

Many large snowmaking operations (like ski resorts) use this type of
Figure 1: A single stage centrifugal compressor
compressor. They are also used in internal combustion engines as superchargers and turbochargers. Centrifugal
compressors are used in small gas turbine engines or as the final compression stage of medium sized gas turbines.
Sometimes the capacity of the compressors is written in NM3/hr. Here 'N' stands for normal temperature pressure
(20°C and 1 atm ) for example 5500 NM3/hr.

Diagonal or mixed-flow compressors

Diagonal or mixed-flow compressors are similar to centrifugal compressors, but have a radial and axial velocity
component at the exit from the rotor. The diffuser is often used to turn diagonal flow to an axial rather than radial
direction.

Axial-flow compressors
Axial-flow compressors are dynamic rotating compressors that use
arrays of fan-like airfoils to progressively compress the working fluid.
They are used where there is a requirement for a high flow rate or a
compact design.
The arrays of airfoils are set in rows, usually as pairs: one rotating and
one stationary. The rotating airfoils, also known as blades or rotors,
accelerate the fluid. The stationary airfoils, also known as stators or
vanes, decelerate and redirect the flow direction of the fluid, preparing
[1]
it for the rotor blades of the next stage. Axial compressors are almost
always multi-staged, with the cross-sectional area of the gas passage
diminishing along the compressor to maintain an optimum axial Mach
An animation of an axial compressor.
number. Beyond about 5 stages or a 4:1 design pressure ratio, variable geometry is normally used to improve
operation.

Axial compressors can have high efficiencies; around 90% polytropic at their design conditions. However, they are
relatively expensive, requiring a large number of components, tight tolerances and high quality materials. Axial-flow
compressors can be found in medium to large gas turbine engines, in natural gas pumping stations, and within certain
Gas compressor 3

chemical plants.

Reciprocating compressors
Reciprocating compressors use pistons driven by a crankshaft. They
can be either stationary or portable, can be single or multi-staged, and
[1] [4]
can be driven by electric motors or internal combustion engines.
[5]
Small reciprocating compressors from 5 to 30 horsepower (hp) are
commonly seen in automotive applications and are typically for
intermittent duty. Larger reciprocating compressors well over 1000 hp
(750 kW) are commonly found in large industrial and petroleum
applications. Discharge pressures can range from low pressure to very
high pressure (>18000 psi or 180 MPa). In certain applications, such as
air compression, multi-stage double-acting compressors are said to be
the most efficient compressors available, and are typically larger, and
[6] A motor-driven six-cylinder reciprocating compressor that can operate wi
more costly than comparable rotary units. Another type of
reciprocating compressor is the swash plate compressor, which uses
pistons which are moved by a swash plate mounted on a shaft - see Axial Piston Pump.

Household, home workshop, and smaller job site compressors are typically reciprocating compressors 1½ hp or less
with an attached receiver tank.

Rotary screw compressors

Rotary screw compressors use two meshed rotating positive-
[1] [7]
displacement helical screws to force the gas into a smaller space.
[8]
These are usually used for continuous operation in commercial and
industrial applications and may be either stationary or portable. Their
application can be from 3 horsepower (2.2 kW) to over 1200
horsepower (890 kW) and from low pressure to moderately high
pressure (>1200 psi or 8.3 MPa).

Rotary screw compressors are commercially produced in Oil Flooded,

Water Flooded and Dry type. Diagram of a rotary screw compressor

Rotary vane compressors

Rotary vane compressors consist of a rotor with a number of blades inserted in radial slots in the rotor. The rotor is
mounted offset in a larger housing which can be circular or a more complex shape. As the rotor turns, blades slide in
[1]
and out of the slots keeping contact with the outer wall of the housing. Thus, a series of decreasing volumes is
created by the rotating blades. Rotary Vane compressors are, with piston compressors one of the oldest of
compressor technologies.
With suitable port connections, the devices may be either a compressor or a vacuum pump. They can be either
stationary or portable, can be single or multi-staged, and can be driven by electric motors or internal combustion
engines. Dry vane machines are used at relatively low pressures (e.g., 2 bar or 200 kPa; 29 psi) for bulk material
movement while oil-injected machines have the necessary volumetric efficiency to achieve pressures up to about
13 bar (1300 kPa; 190 psi) in a single stage. A rotary vane compressor is well suited to electric motor drive and is
significantly quieter in operation than the equivalent piston compressor.
[9]
Rotary vane compressors can have mechanical efficiencies of about 90%.
Gas compressor 4

Scroll compressors
A scroll compressor, also known as scroll pump and scroll vacuum
pump, uses two interleaved spiral-like vanes to pump or compress fluids
such as liquids and gases. The vane geometry may be involute,
[10] [11] [12]
archimedean spiral, or hybrid curves. They operate more
smoothly, quietly, and reliably than other types of compressors in the
lower volume range

Often, one of the scrolls is fixed, while the other orbits eccentrically
without rotating, thereby trapping and pumping or compressing pockets
of fluid or gas between the scrolls.
This type of compressor was used as the supercharger on Volkswagen
G60 and G40 engines in the early 1990s.

Mechanism of a scroll pump

Diaphragm compressors
A diaphragm compressor (also known as a membrane compressor) is a variant of the conventional reciprocating
compressor. The compression of gas occurs by the movement of a flexible membrane, instead of an intake element.
The back and forth movement of the membrane is driven by a rod and a crankshaft mechanism. Only the membrane
[1]
and the compressor box come in contact with the gas being compressed.
Diaphragm compressors are used for hydrogen and compressed natural gas (CNG) as well as in a number of other
applications.
The photograph included in this section depicts a three-stage
diaphragm compressor used to compress hydrogen gas to 6000 psi
(41 MPa) for use in a prototype compressed hydrogen and compressed
natural gas (CNG) fueling station built in downtown Phoenix, Arizona
by the Arizona Public Service company (an electric utilities company).
Reciprocating compressors were used to compress the natural gas.

The prototype alternative fueling station was built in compliance with

all of the prevailing safety, environmental and building codes in
Phoenix to demonstrate that such fueling stations could be built in
urban areas.

A three-stage diaphragm compressor

Air bubble compressor

A mixture of air and water generated through turbulence is allowed to fall into a subterranean chamber where the air
separates from the water. The weight of falling water compresses the air in the top of the chamber. A submerged
outlet from the chamber allows water to flow to the surface at a lower height than the intake. An outlet in the roof of
the chamber supplies the compressed air to the surface. A facility on this principal was built on the Montreal River at
[13]
Ragged Shutes near Cobalt, Ontario in 1910 and supplied 5,000 horsepower to nearby mines.
Gas compressor 5

Temperature
Compression of a gas naturally increases its temperature, often referred to as the heat of compression.
where

so

with n taking different values for different compression processes (see below).
• Adiabatic - This model assumes that no energy (heat) is transferred to or from the gas during the compression,
and all supplied work is added to the internal energy of the gas, resulting in increases of temperature and pressure.
[14]
Theoretical temperature rise is :
with T and T in degrees Rankine or kelvins, and k = ratio of specific heats (approximately
1 2
1.4 for air). R is the compression ratio; being the absolute outlet pressure divided by the absolute inlet pressure. The
c
rise in air and temperature ratio means compression does not follow a simple pressure to volume ratio. This is less
efficient, but quick. Adiabatic compression or expansion more closely model real life when a compressor has good
insulation, a large gas volume, or a short time scale (i.e., a high power level). In practice there will always be a
certain amount of heat flow out of the compressed gas. Thus, making a perfect adiabatic compressor would require
perfect heat insulation of all parts of the machine. For example, even a bicycle tire pump's metal tube becomes hot as
you compress the air to fill a tire. The relation between temperature and compression ratio described above means
that the value of n for an adiabatic process is k (the ratio of specific heats).
• Isothermal - This model assumes that the compressed gas remains at a constant temperature throughout the
compression or expansion process. In this cycle, internal energy is removed from the system as heat at the same
rate that it is added by the mechanical work of compression. Isothermal compression or expansion more closely
models real life when the compressor has a large heat exchanging surface, a small gas volume, or a long time
scale (i.e., a small power level). Compressors that utilize inter-stage cooling between compression stages come
closest to achieving perfect isothermal compression. However, with practical devices perfect isothermal
compression is not attainable. For example, unless you have an infinite number of compression stages with
corresponding intercoolers, you will never achieve perfect isothermal compression.
For an isothermal process, n is 1, so the value of the work integral for an isothermal process is:

When evaluated, the isothermal work is found to be lower than the adiabatic work.
• Polytropic - This model takes into account both a rise in temperature in the gas as well as some loss of energy
(heat) to the compressor's components. This assumes that heat may enter or leave the system, and that input shaft
work can appear as both increased pressure (usually useful work) and increased temperature above adiabatic
(usually losses due to cycle efficiency). Compression efficiency is then the ratio of temperature rise at theoretical
100 percent (adiabatic) vs. actual (polytropic). Polytropic compression will use a value of n between 0 (a
constant-pressure process) and infinity (a constant volume process). For the typical case where an effort is made
to cool the gas compressed by an approximately adiabatic process, the value of n will be between 1 and k.
Gas compressor 6

Staged compression
In the case of centrifugal compressors, commercial designs currently do not exceed a compression ratio of more than
a 3.5 to 1 in any one stage (for a typical gas). Since compression generates heat, the compressed gas is to be cooled
between stages making the compression less adiabatic and more isothermal. The inter-stage coolers typically result
in some partial condensation that is removed in vapor-liquid separators.
In the case of small reciprocating compressors, the compressor flywheel may drive a cooling fan that directs ambient
air across the intercooler of a two or more stage compressor.
Because rotary screw compressors can make use of cooling lubricant to remove the heat of compression, they very
often exceed a 9 to 1 compression ratio. For instance, in a typical diving compressor the air is compressed in three
stages. If each stage has a compression ratio of 7 to 1, the compressor can output 343 times atmospheric pressure (7
× 7 × 7 = 343 atmospheres). (343 atm/34.8 MPa; 5.04 ksi)

Prime movers
There are many options for the "prime mover" or motor which powers the compressor:
• gas turbines power the axial and centrifugal flow compressors that are part of jet engines
• steam turbines or water turbines are possible for large compressors
• electric motors are cheap and quiet for static compressors. Small motors suitable for domestic electrical supplies
use single phase alternating current. Larger motors can only be used where an industrial electrical three phase
alternating current supply is available.
• diesel engines or petrol engines are suitable for portable compressors and support compressors. Common in
automobiles and other types of vehicles (including piston-powered airplanes, boats, trucks, etc.), diesel or
gasoline engines can power compressors using their own crankshaft power (this setup known as a supercharger),
or, using their waste exhaust gas to spin a turbine connected to the compressor (this setup known as a
turbocharger).

Multiple compressor configurations

It is possible to connect two or more compressors in tandem, effectively doubling their CFM output and air storage
capacity. The advantages of such a configuration are portability and cost savings. It is significantly less expensive to
purchase smaller compressors and rig them together than it would be to purchase one large compressor with the
same output. See: http:/ / stonetoolequip. com/ 2010/ 11/ 03/ how-to-connect-two-or-more-compressors-in-tandem/
[15]

Applications
Gas compressors are used in various applications where either higher pressures or lower volumes of gas are needed:
• in pipeline transport of purified natural gas to move the gas from the production site to the consumer. Often, the
compressor in this application is driven by a gas turbine which is fueled by gas bled from the pipeline. Thus, no
external power source is necessary.
• in petroleum refineries, natural gas processing plants, petrochemical and chemical plants, and similar large
industrial plants for compressing intermediate and end product gases.
• in refrigeration and air conditioner equipment to move heat from one place to another in refrigerant cycles: see
Vapor-compression refrigeration.
• in gas turbine systems to compress the intake combustion air
• in storing purified or manufactured gases in a small volume, high pressure cylinders for medical, welding and
other uses.
Gas compressor 7

• in many various industrial, manufacturing and building processes to power all types of pneumatic tools.
• as a medium for transferring energy, such as to power pneumatic equipment.
• in pressurised aircraft to provide a breathable atmosphere of higher than ambient pressure.
• in some types of jet engines (such as turbojets and turbofans) to provide the air required for combustion of the
engine fuel. The power to drive the combustion air compressor comes from the jet's own turbines.
• in SCUBA diving, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and other life support devices to store breathing gas in a small
[16] [17]
volume such as in diving cylinders.
• in submarines, to store air for later use in displacing water from buoyancy chambers, for adjustment of depth.
• in turbochargers and superchargers to increase the performance of internal combustion engines by increasing
mass flow.
• in rail and heavy road transport to provide compressed air for operation of rail vehicle brakes or road vehicle
brakes and various other systems (doors, windscreen wipers, engine/gearbox control, etc.).
• in miscellaneous uses such as providing compressed air for filling pneumatic tires.
• in the case of the fire piston and the heat pump, the desired outcome is the temperature rise of the gas, and
compressing the gas is only a means to that end.

References
[1] Perry, R.H. and Green, D.W. (Editors) (2007). Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook (8th ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-142294-3.
[2] Dixon S.L. (1978). Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery (Third ed.). Pergamon Press. ISBN 0-08-022722-8.
[3] Aungier, Ronald H. (2000). Centrifugal Compressors A Strategy for Aerodynamic design and Analysis. ASME Press. ISBN 0-7918-0093-8.
[4] Bloch, H.P. and Hoefner, J.J. (1996). Reciprocating Compressors, Operation and Maintenance. Gulf Professional Publishing.
ISBN 0-88415-525-0.
[5] Reciprocating Compressor Basics (http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=775&pagetitle=Reciprocating
Compressor Basics) Adam Davis, Noria Corporation, Machinery Lubrication, July 2005
[6] Introduction to Industrial Compressed Air Systems (http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/machinery-tools-supplies/
Industrial-Compressed-Air-Systems)
[7] Screw Compressor (http://www.blackmer.com/tech-screw.jsp) Describes how screw compressors work and include photographs.
[8] Technical Centre (http://www.domnickhunter.com/tech_Centre.asp?chapter=1&section=3_Screw-Compressors_2_3.htm&
getIndex=false) Discusses oil-flooded screw compressors including a complete system flow diagram
[9] Mattei Compressors (http://www.matteicomp.com/compressor-news.htm?id=165176063)
[10] Tischer, J., Utter, R: “Scroll Machine Using Discharge Pressure For Axial Sealing,” U.S. Patent 4522575, 1985.
[11] Caillat, J., Weatherston, R., Bush, J: “Scroll-Type Machine With Axially Compliant Mounting,” U.S. Patent 4767293, 1988.
[12] Richardson, Jr., Hubert: “Scroll Compressor With Orbiting Scroll Member Biased By Oil Pressure,” U.S. Patent 4875838, 1989.
[13] Maynard, Frank (November 1910). "Five thousand horsepower from air bubbles" (http://books.google.com/?id=-N0DAAAAMBAJ&
printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false). Popular Mechanics: Page 633. .
[14] Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook 8th edition Perry, Green, page 10-45 section 10-76
[15] http://stonetoolequip.com/2010/11/03/how-to-connect-two-or-more-compressors-in-tandem/
[16] Millar IL; Mouldey PG (2008). "Compressed breathing air – the potential for evil from within." (http://archive.rubicon-
foundation.org/ 7964). Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. (South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society) 38: 145– 51. . Retrieved 2009-02-
28.
[17] Harlow, V (2002). Oxygen Hacker's Companion. Airspeed Press. ISBN 0967887321.
Article Sources and 8

Article Sources and Contributors

Gas compressor Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=446049633 Contributors: *drew, Alan.ca, AlekH, Anatolyb, Andre Engels, Andreas Pain, Andy Dingley, Andyb-at-drum,
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