Definition of Industrial Compressor

While we typically hear about compressors from air, there are also compressors for other types of gases. For example, in refrigerators there are compressors for refrigerants, however, the most common are air compressors, installed in chemical plants, of foods and others as ancillary services. Among the models, there are laptops.

How does it work?

A compressor is a heat engine, that is, at the expense of work and energy Energy associated with this, the gas inside is compressed and its pressure increases, it is analogous to the work of a pump, with the difference that the pumps are hydraulic machines and, therefore, work with incompressible fluids that do not change their density, while gases do in the case of a compressor.

Well, there is a exchange between the components of the compressor and the gas to be pumped, which causes an increase in its pressure and its

Kinetic energy and gives it the necessary energy so that this gas can flow according to the requirements of the line where this compressor is installed.

Compressor types

According to the medium used to compress the air, there are different types of compressor machines. First, the piston is observed, as in the image:

Although it is also common to see two-stage compressors, that is, with more than one piston, like the following:

When the compressor is two-stage, as in the previous figure, the first piston allows the entry of air from the atmosphere (typically there is a pre-entry filter to prevent entry of unwanted particles) into the cylinder thanks to movement of the piston and, in turn, thanks to the movement of the connecting rod and the crankshaft while one piston sucks the other discharges. In general, the first piston is larger than the second and the first piston will then unload into the cylinder. of the second piston, on the other hand, if it were a single stage, it directly discharges to the network or to the container container. The container container is the one that can be seen below the pistons and is called a lung.

Likewise, the compressors have pressure switches that control its operation, that is, up to a certain pressure, at which pressure the pressure switch control will cut off operation, and as the demand for air increases and the pressure decreases to a certain value, the compressor will start to work again. In general, they have other pressure switches of security as well as pressure relief valves and pistons are driven by a motor and an attached pulley system.

Secondly, there is talk of screw compressors. In this case, both the suction and the discharge are aligned, that is, the air has a linear displacement inside it. The screws are located inside the cylinder or housing and each of the two screws inside rotate in the opposite direction to each other, which causes a decrease in the volume of the gas inside and, therefore, its compression. These screws are also driven by means of a motor and, likewise, an excellent lubrication system is required, therefore, the oil generally enters with the air in the feeding and, on the discharge side (at high pressure), there is an oil separator that filters the air produced and reinjects the oil into the equipment for reuse. Next, we see a scheme typical:

Finally, we will see two types of positive displacement compressors, the piston and the vane. In the first case, the piston is rotary and its operation is based on the rotation of two of them inside the casing. There is a certain synchronization in the movement of both rotors, whose direction is opposite, and in the formed chamber the air is compressed.

In the case of the vane compressor design, a vane rotor is used, which is located eccentrically inside a casing, forming a chamber that contains air during the movement of the paddles. This chamber is larger in the suction zone and as the blades approach the discharge zone, the chamber reduces in size, reducing the volume of gas.