Thermodynamics Lec.5
Thermodynamics Lec.5
Alomary
Reciprocating compressors
1. Introduction
A typical refrigeration system consists of several basic components such as
compressors, condensers, expansion devices, evaporators, in addition to several
accessories such as controls, filters, driers, oil separators etc. For efficient operation
of the refrigeration system, it is essential that there be a proper matching between
various components. Before analyzing the balanced performance of the complete
system, it is essential to study the design and performance characteristics of
individual components. Except in special applications, the refrigeration system
components are standard components manufactured by industries specializing in
individual components. Generally, for large systems, depending upon the design
specifications, components are selected from the manufacturers’ catalogs and are
assembled at site. Even though most of the components are standard off-the-shelf
items, sometimes components such as evaporator may be made to order. Small
capacity refrigeration systems such as refrigerators, room and package air
conditioners, and water coolers are available as complete systems. In this case the
manufacturer himself designs or selects the system components, assembles them at
the factory, tests them for performance and then sells the complete system as a unit.
2. Compressors
A compressor is the most important and often the costliest component (typically 30
to 40 percent of total cost) of any vapor compression refrigeration system (VCRS).
The function of a compressor in a VCRS is to continuously draw the refrigerant
vapor from the evaporator, so that a low pressure and low temperature can be
maintained in the evaporator at which the refrigerant can boil extracting heat from
the refrigerated space. The compressor then has to raise the pressure of the
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
Reciprocating Compressor
• Used for air and refrigerant compression
• Works like a bicycle pump: cylinder volume reduces while pressure increases, with
pulsating output
• Many configurations available
• Single acting when using one side of the piston, and double acting when using both
sides
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
Reciprocating compressors
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
condenser pressure. The purpose of the manifolds is to provide stable inlet and outlet
pressures for the smooth operation of the valves and also provide a space for
mounting the valves. The valves used are of reed or plate type, which are either
floating or clamped. Usually, backstops are provided to limit the valve displacement
and springs may be provided for smooth return after opening or closing. The piston
speed is decided by valve type. Too high a speed will give excessive vapor velocities
that will decrease the volumetric efficiency and the throttling loss will decrease the
compression efficiency.
Performance of reciprocating compressors
For a given evaporator and condenser pressures, the important performance
parameters of a refrigerant compressor are:
a) The mass flow rate (𝑚̇ ) of the compressor for a given displacement rate
b) Power consumption of the compressor (Wc)
c) Temperature of the refrigerant at compressor exit, Td, and
d) Performance under part load conditions
The mass flow rate decides the refrigeration capacity of the system and for a given
compressor inlet condition, it depends on the volumetric efficiency of the
compressor. The volumetric efficiency, ηV is defined as the ratio of volumetric flow
rate of refrigerant to the maximum possible volumetric flow rate, which is equal to
the compressor displacement rate, i.e.,
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚̇𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚̇ ∗ 𝑉𝑒
𝜂= =
𝑐𝑜𝑚̇𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚̇𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑉𝑠𝑤
Where 𝑚̇ 𝑉 𝑠𝑤 are the mass flow rate of refrigerant (kg/s) and compressor
displacement rate (m3/s) respectively, and Ve is the specific volume (m3/kg) of the
refrigerant at compressor inlet. For a given evaporator and condenser temperatures,
one can also use the volumetric refrigeration capacity (kW/m3) to indicate the
volumetric efficiency of the compressor. The actual volumetric efficiency (or
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
volumetric capacity) of the compressor depends on the operating conditions and the
design of the compressor.
The power consumption (kW) or alternately the power input per unit refrigeration
capacity (kW/kW) depends on the compressor efficiency (ηC), efficiency of the
mechanical drive (ηmech) and the motor efficiency (ηmotor). For a refrigerant
compressor, the power input (Wc) is given by:
𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙
𝑊𝑐 =
𝜂𝑐 𝜂𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ 𝜂𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟
Where Wideal is the power input to an ideal compressor.
The temperature at the exit of the compressor (discharge compressor) depends on
the type of refrigerant used and the type of compressor cooling. This parameter has
a bearing on the life of the compressor. The performance of the compressor under
part load conditions depends on the type and design of the compressor.
a) Ideal reciprocating compressor:
An ideal reciprocating compressor is one in which:
i. The clearance volume is zero, i.e., at the end of discharge process, the volume of
refrigerant inside the cylinder is zero.
ii. No pressure drops during suction and compression
iii. Suction, compression and discharge are reversible and adiabatic
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
Process A-B: This is an isentropic compression process. During this process, the
piston moves from ODC towards IDC. Both the suction and discharge valves remain
closed during the process and the pressure of refrigerant increases from Pe
to Pc
Process B-C: This is an isobaric discharge process. During this process, the suction
valve remains closed and the discharge valve opens. Refrigerant at a constant P is
expelled from the compressor as the piston moves to IDC.
Since the clearance volume is zero for an ideal compressor, no gas is left in the
compressor at the end of the discharge stroke, as a result the suction process D-A
starts as soon as the piston starts moving again towards ODC. The volumetric flow
rate of refrigerant at suction conditions is equal to the compressor displacement rate
hence; the volumetric efficiency of the ideal compressor is 100 percent. The mass
flow rate of refrigerant of an ideal compressor is given by:
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
𝑉𝑠𝑤
𝑚̇ =
𝑉𝑒
Thus, for a given refrigeration capacity, the required size of the compressor will be
minimum if the compressor behaves as an ideal compressor. The swept volume
𝑉 𝑆𝑊 of the compressor is given by:
𝜋𝐷2
𝑉𝑠𝑤 = 𝑛𝑁 𝐿
4
Where
n = Number of cylinders
N = Rotational speed of compressor, revolutions per second
D = Bore of the cylinder, m
L = Stroke length, m
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
Thus, the work input to the ideal compressor per cycle is equal to the area of the
cycle on P-V diagram. The specific work input, w id (kJ/kg) to the ideal compressor
is given by:
𝑃𝑐
𝑊𝑖𝑑
𝑊𝑖𝑑 = = ∫ 𝑉. 𝑑𝑃
𝑀𝑟 𝑃𝑒
Where Mr
is the mass of refrigerant compressed in one cycle and v is the specific volume of
the refrigerant. The power input to the compressor Wc is given by:
𝑉𝑠𝑤 𝑃𝑐
𝑊𝑐 = 𝑚̇𝑤𝑖𝑑 = ∫ 𝑉. 𝑑𝑃
𝑉𝑒 𝑃𝑒
The mean effective pressure (mep) for the ideal compressor is given by:
𝑊𝑐 1 𝑃𝑐
𝑚̇𝑒𝑝 = = ∫ 𝑉. 𝑑𝑃
𝑉𝑠𝑤 𝑉𝑒 𝑃𝑒
The concept of mean effective pressure is useful for real compressors as the power
input to the compressor is a product of mep and the swept volume rate. Thus, the
power input to the compressor and its mean effective pressure can be obtained from
the above equation if the relation between v and P during the compression process
A-B is known. The above equation is valid for both isentropic and non-isentropic
compression processes; however, the compression process must be reversible, as the
path of the process should be known for the integration to be performed. For the
isentropic process, 𝑃𝑉 𝛾 = constant, hence the specific work of compression wid can
be obtained by integration, and it can be shown to be equal to:
𝑃𝑐
𝛾 𝑃𝑐 𝛾−1
𝑊𝑖𝑑 = ∫ 𝑉. 𝑑𝑃 = 𝑃𝑒 𝑉𝑒 ( ) [( ) 𝛾 − 1]
𝑃𝑒 𝛾 − 1 𝑃𝑒
The work of compression for the ideal compressor can also be obtained by applying
energy balance across the compressor, Fig. 5. Since the process is assumed to be
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
reversible and adiabatic and if we assume changes in potential and kinetic energy to
be negligible, then from energy balance across the compressor:
𝑊𝑐
𝑊𝑖𝑑 = = (ℎ𝑐 − ℎ𝑒 )
𝑚̇
The above expression can also be obtained from the thermodynamic relation:
Tds=dh-vdP ⇒ dh=vdP (∵ 𝑑𝑠 = 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑠𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠)
𝑃𝑐 𝑃𝑐
𝑊𝑖𝑑 = ∫ 𝑉. 𝑑𝑃 = ∫ 𝑑ℎ = (ℎ𝑐 − ℎ𝑒 )
𝑃𝑒 𝑃𝑒
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
The clearance ratio (ε) depends on the arrangement of the valves in the cylinder and
the mean piston velocity. Normally (ε) is less than 5 percent for well-designed
compressors with moderate piston velocities (≈ 3 m/s); however, it can be higher for
higher piston speeds. Due to the presence of the clearance volume, at the end of the
discharge stroke, some amount of refrigerant at the discharge pressure Pc will be left
in the clearance volume. As a result, suction does not begin as soon as the piston
starts moving away from the IDC, since the pressure inside the cylinder is higher
than the suction pressure (Pc> Pe). As shown in Fig. 6, suction starts only when the
pressure inside the cylinder falls to the suction pressure in an ideal compressor with
clearance. This implies that even though the compressor swept volume, VSW= VA-
VC the actual volume of the refrigerant that entered the cylinder during suction stroke
is VA-VD. As a result, the volumetric efficiency of the compressor with clearance,
ηV,cl is less than 100 percent,
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
The above expression shows that ηV,cl ↓ as rp ↑ and ε↑ as shown in Fig. 7. It can also be
seen that for a given compressor with fixed clearance ratio ε, there is a limiting pressure
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
ratio at which the clearance volumetric efficiency becomes zero. This limiting pressure
ratio is obtained from the equation:
Thus, the mass flow rate and hence the refrigeration capacity of the system decreases as
the volumetric efficiency reduces, in other words, the required size of the compressor
increases as the volumetric efficiency decreases.
Fig. 7 Effect of pressure ratio (rp) and index of compression (n) clearance
volumetric efficiency (𝜂𝑉.𝑐𝑙).
V diagram. The specific work with and without clearance will be given by the same
expression:
Thus, the power input to the compressor and mep decrease with clearance due to decrease
in mass flow rate with clearance. If the process is reversible and adiabatic (i.e., n = k), then
the power input to the compressor with clearance is given by:
Example 1:
sol:
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
Sol:
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
example 4:
Sol:
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Thermodynamics 2 second year M.SC. mohammed Q. Alomary
Home work
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