Int. J. Therm. Sci.

(2001) 40, 5266

2001 ditions scientiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved
S1290-0729(00)01187-X/FLA
Thermodynamic analysis of reciprocating compressors
Pascal Stous
a
*, Mohand Tazerout
b
, Pierre Wauters
c
a
ISITEM, La Chantrerie, BP 90604, 44306 Nantes cedex 3, France
b
cole des Mines de Nantes, 4, rue Alfred-Kastler, BP 20722, 44307 Nantes cedex 3, France
c
Universit Catholique de Louvain, Unit TERM, place du Levant, 2, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique
(Received 29 September 1999, accepted 1 March 2000)
Abstract A global model for the thermodynamic analysis of reciprocating compressors is presented. The model is based on ve
main and four secondary dimensionless physically meaningful parameters. Expressions for the volumetric eectiveness, the work per
unit mass and the indicated eciency are derived. The model has been used in order to predict the performance of a reciprocating
air compressor under various operating conditions. The model proves to be a very accurate and useful tool to analyse the compressor
performance. The relative importance of the various losses and the inuence of dierent parameters on the reciprocating compressor
behaviour are discussed. Especially the in-cylinder residual mass fraction and the wall to uid heat transfer inuences on the
reciprocating compressor performance are highlighted. 2001 ditions scientiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS
reciprocating compressors / thermodynamic analysis / gas-to-wall heat transfer / volumetric eectiveness / experimental
results
Rsum Analyse thermodynamique du fonctionnement des compresseurs piston. Larticle prsente un modle global per-
mettant lanalyse thermodynamique des compresseurs piston. Ce modle est bas sur cinq paramtres physiques adimensionnels
principaux et quatre paramtres physiques secondaires. Les expressions du coecient de remplissage, du travail par unit de masse
et du rendement indiqu sont tablies. Le modle est ensuite utilis pour prdire les performances dun compresseur dair piston
pour dirents rapports de compression. Le modle savre trs prcis et trs utile pour analyser les performances du compresseur.
On discute ensuite limportance relative des direntes pertes et linuence des dirents paramtres du modle sur le comporte-
ment du compresseur. En particulier, on met en vidence le rle de la fraction rsiduelle de gaz et des transferts de chaleur entre le
gaz et la paroi. 2001 ditions scientiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS
compresseur piston / analyse thermodynamique / transfert thermique la paroi / coecient de remplissage / rsultats
exprimentaux
Nomenclature
c
p
heat capacity at constant pressure . . . . Jkg
1
K
1
f shape factor in equation (32)
h specic enthalpy . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jkg
1
m gas mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg
p pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pa
q specic heat transfer . . . . . . . . . . . Jkg
1
s specic entropy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jkg
1
K
1
T temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K
T
m
mean temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . K
V volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m
3
v specic volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m
3
kg
1
W work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J
* Correspondence and reprints.
E-mail address: pascal.stouffs@isitem.univ-nantes.fr (P. Stouffs).
w specic work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jkg
1
Greek symbols

2
heat transfer parameter in (12)

3
heat transfer parameter in (13)

dis
pressure parameter in (3)

suc
pressure parameter in (2)
isentropic exponent

c
clearance factor

v
volumetric effectiveness

f
work parameter in (35)

1
temperature parameter in (9)
efciency

2
=T
2
/T
2,s
, temperature ratio

s
=T
2,s
/T
1
, isentropic compression
temperature ratio
mean heat capacity ratio dened in (42)

w
temperature parameter in (10)
52
Reciprocating compressor analysis

1
temperature parameter in (9)
=p
2
/p
1
, in-cylinder pressure ratio

dis
=p
dis
/p
suc
, pressure ratio
nondimensional work termdened by (37)
nondimensional work termdened by (39)
nondimensional work termdened by (40)
Subscripts
A point of inversion of the gas to wall heat
ux during compression
B point of inversion of the gas to wall heat
ux during expansion
C cylinder
c clearance
dis discharge
f friction, irreversibility
ind indicated
m mechanical
s isentropic
suc suction
w wall
1 state in the cylinder at bottom dead center
2 state in the cylinder at discharge start
3 state in the cylinder at top dead center
4 state in the cylinder at suction start
(superscript) reference value (sensitivity
analysis)
1. INTRODUCTION
Reciprocating compressors are widely used in a lot
of engineering applications. They are simple in principle
and can accept wide variations in suction and discharge
conditions. Their exibility is combined with the mini-
mum power per machine volume over the wide operating
range [1]. Moreover, only reciprocating compressors can
provide very high pressure ratios.
Various modelling methods have been developed for
reciprocating compressors thermodynamic analysis.
These methods can be roughly classied in global mod-
els [26], and in differential models [611] where the
variables depend on time (or crank angle).
In the global models, a limited number of algebraic
equations are supposed to describe the reciprocating
compressor thermodynamic behaviour. Several parame-
ters have to be given a priori or to be identied experi-
mentally. Among these, there is always at least one so-
called polytropic exponent. Very often, the physical phe-
nomena that inuence these parameters are not straight-
forward. Moreover this approach is open to criticism
since the compression and the expansion processes are
usually very different from polytropic processes due to
alternate gas-to-wall heat transfer. Furthermore, in these
models, the inuence of the residual uid (that is the uid
which is contained in the clearance volume and which is
not discharged) on the power consumption is generally
not clearly identied.
In the differential models, at least three nodes are
considered, namely the suction plenum, the cylinder
space and the discharge plenum. In some of these mod-
els [10, 11], the single node corresponding to the cylinder
is replaced by a nite difference grid, so that the veloc-
ity eld in the cylinder, and, ultimately, local gas-to-wall
heat transfer can be better evaluated.
In order to reduce the gap between the sophisticated
differential models and the somewhat empirical simple
global models, we present a more comprehensive global
model. This model relies on ve main and four secondary
dimensionless parameters. These physically meaningful
parameters characterize the reciprocating compressor and
its working uid. The model can predict the volumet-
ric effectiveness, the specic work and the indicated ef-
ciency of the reciprocating compressor for different oper-
ating pressure ratios. The model allows physical interpre-
tation. In particular, the inuence of the various gas-to-
wall heat transfers is dealt with and the negative impact
of the clearance volume is evaluated.
2. THE GLOBAL MODEL
2.1. Indicator diagram
The reciprocating compressor operation can be de-
scribed by the indicator diagram (or WATT diagram),
which shows the pressure variation in the cylinder as a
function of piston position. Such a diagram is presented
in gure 1. In this diagram, volume 1 is dened as the
maximum volume state, and volume 3 as the minimum
volume state whereas points 2 and 4 are conventionally
dened such as p
2
=p
3
and p
4
=p
1
.
An operating cycle is made up of four phases:
during the process (12), the piston compresses the gas
in the cylinder;
during the process (23), the piston discharges the
gas from the cylinder to the discharge plenum; during
this process, the in-cylinder pressure is slightly different
from the discharge plenum pressure p
dis
, due to the pres-
sure drop through the discharge valve, the non-instanta-
neous valve motion and the valve spring; normally the in-
cylinder pressure variations during the discharge process
53
P. Stous et al.
Figure 1. Indicator diagram of a reciprocating compressor.
are small compared to the compression process pressure
variations;
during the process (34), the gas contained in the clear-
ance volume V
3
expands;
during the process (41), the cylinder is fed with gas
from the suction plenum; during this process, the in-
cylinder pressure is slightly different from the suction
plenum pressure p
suc
, due to the pressure drop through
the suction valve, the non-instantaneous valve motion and
the valve spring; normally the in-cylinder pressure varia-
tions during the suction process are very small compared
to the compression process pressure variations.
The work done by the piston on the gas during one
cycle is
W
ind
=

pdV (1)
if it is assumed that the pressure recorded by the indicator
diagram is the same as the pressure which acts on the
piston face.
In the global model, we assume that the spatial
uid properties inhomogeneities in the cylinder are low
enough so that we can dene one pressure, one temper-
ature and one specic volume to describe the instanta-
neous in-cylinder uid state.
2.2. In-cylinder uid state
Experimental results show that during the suction
and the discharge processes the difference between the
in-cylinder and the suction or the discharge plenum
pressures does not depend on the operating pressure ratio.
Accordingly, we assume that pressures p
1
and p
2
=p
3
in
the cylinder respectively differ from pressures p
suc
and
Figure 2. Temperatureentropy diagram of the compression
process.
p
dis
in the suction and discharge plenums following the
expressions:
p
1
=p
suc
p
suc
=p
suc
(1
suc
) (2)
p
2
=p
dis
+p
dis
=p
dis
+
dis
p
suc
(3)
where in some cases
dis
can be negative owing to the
discharge valve behaviour and to the pressure variation
in the discharge circuit.
For convenience, we note
dis
the discharge-to-suction
pressure ratio and the in-cylinder pressure ratio:

dis
=
p
dis
p
suc
(4)
=
p
2
p
1
=

dis
+
dis
1
suc
In the following the subscripts 2, s refer to the state of
the uid which would be obtained by an isentropic com-
pression from pressure p
1
and temperature T
1
to pres-
sure p
2
(gure 2), while the subscripts dis, s refer to the
state of the uid which would be obtained by an isen-
tropic compression from pressure p
suc
and temperature
T
suc
to pressure p
dis
. It is useful to dene the following
isentropic temperature ratios:

s
=
T
2,s
T
1
(5)

dis,s
=
T
dis,s
T
suc
(6)

s
is a function of the in-cylinder pressure ratio
and the temperature T
1
only, while
dis,s
is a function
of the plenum-to-plenum pressure ratio
dis
and the
temperature T
suc
only. These functions depend on the
54
Reciprocating compressor analysis
uid properties. For instance, if the uid is assumed to
be an ideal gas with constant heat capacity we have

s
=
( 1)/
,
dis,s
=
( 1)/
dis
(7)
The temperature T
1
of the uid in the cylinder just
before compression is expressed as
T
1
=T
suc
+T (8)
where the temperature difference T has two parts:
one of them is independent of the pressure ratio and is
expressed as
1
T
suc
, and the other one is a fraction
1
of
the temperature difference (T
2,s
T
1
), so that:
T
1
=(1 +
1
)T
suc
+
1
(T
2,s
T
1
)
=
(1 +
1
)T
suc
1
1
(
s
1)
(9)
Actually, the temperature T
1
results from the mixing of
the residual uid at temperature T
4
with the entering uid
heated by the suction pipe and from the heating of this
mixture by the cylinder wall. This complex phenomenon
is, however, correctly described by means of equation (9)
with the sole parameters
1
and
1
.
The wall temperature T
w
, considered in the plane of
the internal surface of the cylinder head, is expressed as
T
w
=T
1
+
w
T
2,s
T
1
2
(10)
The parameter
w
is about 0.5 or lower if the wall cooling
is efcient.
Temperature T
2
may differ from temperature T
2,s
due to alternate gas-to-wall heat transfer during the
compression process (gure 2). The following expression
is derived in the appendix:
T
2
=
2
T
2,s
(11)
with

2
= 1 2
2
(1
w
)(
s
1)
4 +
w
(
s
1) +2
2

s
(12)
In equation (12)
2
is a dimensionless parameter of
the model which describes the gas-to-wall heat transfer
intensity during the compression process. It can be
seen from equation (12) that temperature T
2
equals
temperature T
2,s
in case of no gas-to-wall heat transfer
(
2
=0) or if the wall temperature is such as the alternate
heat transfer balance is equal to zero during compression
(
w
=1).
Finally, temperature T
3
differs from temperature T
2
due to gas-to-wall heat transfer during the discharge
process. The heat transfer laws suggest to state the
following expression:
T
3
=T
2,s

3
(T
2,s
T
w
) (13)
in which
3
is a parameter of the model describing the
in-cylinder heat transfer during the discharge process. It
is useful to express T
3
as a function of
s
. Combining
equation (10) with equation (13) yields:
T
3
T
1
=
s

3

1

w
2

(
s
1) (14)
2.3. Volumetric eectiveness
As the mass m
3
of gas contained in the clearance
volume V
3
expands from pressure p
3
up to pressure p
4
when the piston goes down, only a part of the piston
stroke from top dead centre to bottom dead centre allows
fresh gas to be admitted in the cylinder. The mass of gas
owing through the compressor over one cycle is
m
C
=m
1
m
3
=
V
1
v
1

V
3
v
3
(15)
The clearance factor
c
is dened as the ratio of the
clearance volume V
3
to the cylinder swept volume V
C
=
V
1
V
3
. The mass of gas over one cycle is, thus,
m
C
=

1 +
c
v
1

c
v
3

V
C
(16)
Pressure loss through the suction valve (p
1
< p
suc
)
and heat transfer from the suction pipe wall to the gas
(T
1
>T
suc
) lead to a specic volume v
1
of the gas in the
cylinder higher than the specic volume of the gas in the
suction plenum v
suc
. It is useful to refer to the suction
state in equation (16), which yields:
m
C
=
V
C
v
suc
v
suc
v
1

1
c

v
1
v
3
1

=
v
V
C
v
suc
(17)
Expression (17) introduces the volumetric effective-
ness
v
, dened as the ratio of the mass m
C
to the mass
V
C
/v
suc
which would ll the cylinder at suction state.
From equation (17) we have:

v
=
v
suc
v
1

1
c

v
1
v
3
1

(18)
It can be deduced fromequation (18) that the volumet-
ric effectiveness will be larger if the clearance factor is
reduced. On the other hand, as it is practically impossible
to remove the clearance volume, the volumetric effective-
ness will be smaller as the compression ratio increases. In
55
P. Stous et al.
order to estimate the importance of this effect, we assume
from now on, for the sake of simplicity, that the uid is
an ideal gas. The model adaptation to other types of uid
is straightforward.
Accordingly, the ratio of the specic volumes v
1
/v
3
of equation (18) is given by
v
1
v
3
=
T
1
T
3
p
3
p
1
=

s

3
(1
w
/2)(
s
1)
(19)
The specic volume ratio v
suc
/v
1
of equation (18) is
given by
v
suc
v
1
=
T
suc
T
1
p
1
p
suc
=
1
1
(
s
1)
1 +
1
(1
suc
) (20)
Rewriting equation (18) with equation (19) and equa-
tion (20) we obtain:

v
=(1
suc
)
1
1
(
s
1)
1 +
1

1
c

s

3
(1
w
/2)(
s
1)
1

(21)
Equation (21) is a decreasing function of the compression
ratio
dis
=p
dis
/p
suc
.
2.4. Indicated work and eciency
Neglecting the kinetic and potential energy variations
between the discharge and suction sections, the specic
mechanical work received by the uid from the compres-
sor is
w
m
=

dis
suc
v dp +w
f
(22)
The specic work w
m
is related to the work done by the
piston (or indicated work W
ind
) over one cycle by
m
C
w
m
=m
C

dis
suc
v dp +w
f

pdV =

V dp =W
ind
(23)
The irreversibilities cannot be neglected during the suc-
tion to discharge process which includes the ow through
the valves. However, for the processes (12) and (34),
we can assume that the in-cylinder temperature and ve-
locity gradients are small enough to allow to neglect the
irreversibilities. If we recall that the compression (12)
is carried out on a closed system of mass m
1
, while the
expansion (34) is carried out on a closed system of
mass m
3
, we obtain:
m
C
w
m
=W
ind
=m
1

2
1
v dp +m
3

4
3
v dp
+

3
2
V dp +

1
4
V dp (24)
The last two terms of equation (24) account for the work
due to pressure variations during the discharge and the
suction processes. These two terms are usually small. We
see that from the energetic viewpoint, if we neglect the
work consumed by the suction and the discharge of the
mass m
C
, the reciprocating compressor can be considered
as a set of two machines, one of them operating the
compression of the mass m
1
, the other one expanding the
mass m
3
.
On the other hand, we have:
m
1
=m
C
+m
3
(25)
The compressor specic work input is given by
w
m
=

2
1
v dp +
m
3
m
C

2
1
v dp

3
4
v dp

+
1
m
C

3
2
V dp +

1
4
V dp

(26)
Equation (26) is made of four terms: the rst one is the
compression work of the mass m
C
, the second one is the
work due to gas-to-wall heat transfer (see further) and the
two last ones respectively correspond to the work due to
non-isobaric suction and discharge.
The specic work corresponding to an isentropic
compression from the suction state (T
suc
, p
suc
) to the
discharge pressure p
dis
would be
w
m,dis,s
=h
dis,s
h
suc
(27)
where the enthalpy h
dis,s
is a function of the pressure
ratio and the uid state in the suction plenum only.
Again this function depends on the uid properties.
The indicated efciency is dened as the ratio of the
real specic work w
m
to the isentropic specic work
w
m,dis,s
:

ind
=
w
m,dis,s
w
m
(28)
56
Reciprocating compressor analysis
2.5. Residual mass fraction
Equation (26) has a term proportional to the residual
mass fraction m
3
/m
C
. This residual mass fraction can be
computed as follows:
m
3
m
C
=
m
3
m
1
m
3
=
V
3
V
1
v
3
/v
1
V
3
=

c
(1 +
c
)v
3
/v
1

c
(29)
which yields, using equation (19):
m
3
m
C
=

c

(1 +
c
)(
s

3
(1
w
/2)(
s
1))
c

(30)
2.6. Eect of in-cylinder heat transfer
If the thermodynamic processes in the cylinder were
isentropic, the compression process (12) would be
collinear with the expansion process (34), so that the
second term of equation (26) would vanish. The residual
uid would act as a spring on the piston face, absorbing
energy during compression and restoring all that energy
during expansion. In practice, however, these processes
are not adiabatic, so that processes (12) and (34) are
not collinear, as shown by the state diagram (gure 3).
It is observed that during the process (12), the
specic entropy increases due to heat transfer from the
wall as long as the wall temperature T
w
is higher than the
gas temperature. On the contrary, the gas specic entropy
decreases as soon as the heat ux reverses. During the
discharge (23), the gas cools due to heat transfer, so that
entropy decreases. During the expansion (34), the heat
transfer effect on the residual gas is to be considered in
the same way as for the compression. Finally, during the
process (41), the gas is heated by heat transfer from the
wall, so that entropy increases.
It should be noted that such (T, s) diagrams have been
obtained both numerically from a differential model and
experimentally, as shown farther. However, in the exper-
imental results, a short temperature lag is observed in the
inversion of the wall heat ux: the maximumentropy dur-
ing compression (point A, gure 3) corresponds to a tem-
perature slightly higher than the minimumentropy during
expansion (point B, gure 3). This could probably be re-
lated to the cyclic nature of the ow: in oscillating ow,
it is well known that time lag between temperature differ-
ence and heat ux can be observed [12, 13]. Moreover, it
Figure 3. Temperatureentropy diagram of the in-cylinder uid
state.
is likely that the cylinder wall temperature is lower dur-
ing the expansion stroke, because of the cooling effect of
the contact with the piston when it moves towards the top
dead center.
The process (1, 2, 3, 4) denes a closed reversed cycle
for the residual mass m
3
. The work given by the piston
to the uid during this cycle has the same value as the
net heat transferred to the wall. It is represented by the
area (1, 2, 3, 4, 1) (gure 3). From the thermodynamic
diagrams properties, recalling that the suction (41) and
the discharge (23) processes are assumed to be isobaric,
the surface area corresponds to the difference between the
v dp integrals during processes (12) and (34):

2
1
v dp

3
4
v dp =

T ds =

T ds

(31)
Before attempting to evaluate this area, it is useful
to make some remarks. First, it is clear now that due
to the particular nature of gas-to-wall heat transfer in
reciprocating compressors, the compression (12) and
the expansion (34) cannot be described by polytropic
processes. Furthermore, even if a polytropic formulation
could be useful, the polytropic exponent essentially
depends on gas-to-wall heat transfer, as pointed out in [5],
and thus, there is no sense to assume that the polytropic
exponent has the same value during compression as
during expansion.
2.7. Estimation of the reversed cycle
area
As it appears in the expression of the specic work
in equations (26)(31), it is useful to estimate the area
of the reversed cycle in the temperatureentropy diagram
57
P. Stous et al.
(gure 3). From the position of points (1, 2, 3, 4) on the
curve, and from its usual shape, we assume that this area
can be expressed as follows:

T ds

=f (s
1
s
3
)(T
2
T
1
) (32)
where f is a shape factor.
From standard thermodynamic relationship, we have:
s
3
s
2,s
=s
3
s
1
=c
p
log

T
3
T
2,s

c
p

T
3
T
2,s
T
2,s

(33)
Combining equations (11), (14), (33) and (32) yields:

T ds

=(
2

s
1)
3

1

w
2

1
1
s

f c
p
T
1
(34)
2.8. Estimation of the suction and
discharge specic work
The suction and discharge specic work mainly de-
pends on the uid velocity during the suction and the dis-
charge processes. In turn, this uid velocity mainly de-
pends on the piston velocity but it is not very modied
by the pressure ratio. So, in accordance with experimen-
tal results it is suggested to correlate the suction and the
discharge specic work by the relation
1
m
C

1
4
V dp +

3
2
V dp

=
f
c
p
T
1
(35)
in which
f
is a work parameter.
2.9. Estimation of the specic work
The rst term of equation (26) is (see appendix A.2
for detailed calculation)

2
1
v dp =(1 +)(h
2,s
h
1
) (36)
with the dimensionless work term given by
=

2
2

2
w
(
s
1)
4 +
w
(
s
1)

1
2
(1
w
)(1
2
) (37)
Combining equations (26), (34)(36) we obtain the fol-
lowing expression for the specic work:
w
m
=[1 + + +](h
2,s
h
1
) (38)
where the dimensionless work terms and are given
by the following expressions:
=
m
3
m
C
f
3

1

w
2

2

1

(39)
=

f

s
1
(40)
The specic work expression equation (38) is made up
of four parts:
the rst one represents the isentropic work of compres-
sion relative to the in-cylinder pressure ratio;
the second one, proportional to the rst one by the
nondimensional work term , is a correction of the rst
term in order to account for internal heat transfer during
compression; this correction can be positive or negative
according to the wall temperature (parameter
w
);
the third term, proportional to the rst one by the
nondimensional work term , describes the work done
by the piston on the residual mass, due to the alternate
gas-to-wall heat transfer: this term is always positive.
It depends on the clearance factor
c
but also on the
pressure ratio. Indeed, when the pressure ratio increases,
not only the residual mass increases, but also the reversed
cycle area, that is the effect of the heat transfer per unit
mass of residual gas;
the fourth term, proportional to the rst one by the
nondimensional work term , corresponds to the work
done by the piston to suck and discharge the uid.
2.10. Estimation of the indicated
eciency
From equations (27), (28) and (38), we obtain the
following expression of the indicated efciency:

ind
=

T
suc
T
1

dis,s
1

s
1

1
1 + + +

(41)
where is a mean capacity ratio dened by
=
(h
dis,s
h
suc
)/(T
dis,s
T
suc
)
(h
2,s
h
1
)/(T
2,s
T
1
)
(42)
is always close to one. For instance, for the air
compressor considered in the next section, ranges from
= 0.982 for a pressure ratio
dis
= 3 to = 0.975 for

dis
=10.
58
Reciprocating compressor analysis
It is observed that the indicated efciency depends on
three factors:
the heat transfer fromthe wall during the suction which
increases the temperature from T
suc
to T
1
;
the valves pressure losses and the pressure variations
in the suction and discharge pipes because of which the
in-cylinder pressure ratio is different fromthe plenum-
to-plenumpressure ratio
dis
; this effect is dominating at
low pressure ratio;
the effect of heat and mass transfer described by means
of the nondimensional factors , and , presented
previously.
2.11. The global model parameters
The set of algebraic equations presented in the previ-
ous subsections denes the global model of reciprocating
compressors. This global model can predict the volumet-
ric effectiveness, the residual mass fraction, the specic
work and the indicated efciency from the suction uid
state and the operating pressure ratio
dis
. Apart from
the usual compressor geometrical data V
C
and
c
and
uid thermodynamical properties (heat capacity and state
equation), the global model relies on nine dimensionless
physically meaningful parameters, which fully describe
the system. These are reminded hereafter:
temperature parameters:

1
and
1
denote the uid temperature at bottom dead
center;

w
describes the cylinder wall temperature;
pressure parameters:

suc
describes the pressure loss due to the suction
process;

dis
describes the pressure loss due to the discharge
process;
work parameters:

f
describes the work consumed by the suction and the
discharge processes;
heat transfer parameters:

2
describes the in-cylinder heat transfer during the
compression process;

3
describes the in-cylinder heat transfer during the
discharge process;
f describes the effect of the in-cylinder heat transfer
on the specic work.
Some of the nine parameters of the model, such as
the temperature, the pressure or the work parameters, can
be easily estimated from direct measurements or from
TABLE I
Estimated global model parameters range.

1
: 0.00.5
f
: 0.040.4

1
: 0.00.5
2
: 0.050.5

w
: 0.20.9
3
: 0.10.9

suc
: 0.00.1 f : 0.51.5

dis
: 1.01.0
TABLE II
Compressor characteristics.
Bore: d =76.2 mm
Stroke: 2R=63.5 mm
Clearance factor:
c
=4.5%
Crank rod length: L=119 mm
Swept volume: V
C
=5.79210
4
m
3
Rotation speed: =98.22 rads
1
practical considerations on the compressor design. The
others can be deduced from data identication based on
experimental results on a fully instrumented compressor
but it is probably more difcult to estimate them a priori
from the compressor design. However, considering the
way these parameters are dened, it is thought that
the usual numerical range for them is very narrow
whatever the system considered. Table I gives a range of
values which should t most reciprocating compressors.
Moreover, it will be shown that practical simulation
results are not very dependent on the numerical value of
the wall temperature parameter
w
and the heat transfer
parameters
2
,
3
and f which are the most difcult to
evaluate. So, a default value in the recommended range
given by table I should be appropriate for them in most
practical cases.
3. EXPERIMENTS
3.1. Experimental device
The experiments have been carried out on a small
commercial system (gure 4). The twin-cylinder recip-
rocating air compressor, of which the main geometrical
data are given in table II, is xed above the compressed
air reservoir. It is driven by an electrical motor of which
the stator is put up on bearings to allow the measurement
of the moment or the torque by means of a lever arm act-
ing upon a manometric dynamometer. Air is sucked from
the atmosphere through a tank which allows the transfor-
mation of the pulsating ow at the compressor inlet in
59
P. Stous et al.
Figure 4. Air compressor used for experiments: 1. twin cylinder
compressor; 2. valves casings; 3. insulated discharge pipe;
4. suction pipe from the inlet tank (not shown); 5. discharge
tank; 6. discharge pressure manometer; 7. inlet orice plate
ow measurement; 8. lever arm for torque measurement.
a steady ow at the mass owrate measurement section.
The owrate is measured by means of an orice plate.
The compressed air is discharged to the reservoir through
an insulated pipe in order to allow the air discharge tem-
perature measurement at the compressor outlet. The dis-
charge pressure is measured by means of a BOURDON
tube manometer and its value can be controlled by means
of an adjustable discharge valve.
In addition the test setup includes a data acquisi-
tion system controlled by means of a PC. This system
is mainly equipped with the following transducers (g-
ure 5):
a piezoelectric pressure transducer of which the mea-
suring head is ush with the internal compressor cylinder
head wall;
a crank angle transducer;
two thermocouples allowing respectively the tempera-
ture measurement of the discharged air and of the internal
compressor wall in the cylinder head gasket plane.
As the pressure is accurately acquired as a function of
the crank angle, not only the indicator diagram (p, V )
can be plotted, but also any thermodynamic diagram,
such as the temperatureentropy (T, s) diagram. The
conversion from the indicator diagram (p, V ) to a ther-
modynamic diagram requires the knowledge of the in-
stantaneous mass contained in the cylinder volume V .
This allows to compute the specic volume v. It is
then easy to convert the classical state variables cou-
ple (p, v) into the state variables (T, s). During the ex-
pansion stroke, the in-cylinder uid mass is the residual
Figure 5. Air compressor used for experiments: 1. pressure
transducer; 2. discharged air temperature measurement; 3. in-
ternal wall temperature measurement.
mass m
3
at the end of the discharge process. This mass
can be determined from the clearance volume V
3
, which
is a known geometrical datum, and from the specic vol-
ume v
3
which can be deduced from the discharge pres-
sure and temperature measurements. During the com-
pression stroke, the in-cylinder uid mass m
1
is the sum
of the residual mass m
3
and the mass m
C
actually sucked
fromthe atmosphere at each cycle. This mass m
C
is com-
puted by dividing the measured mass owrate by the ro-
tation frequency.
3.2. (p, V ) and (T, s) diagrams
Experimental tests have been carried out with ve
different operating discharge pressures, ranging from471
to 795 kPa. In each case, a lot of precautions have been
taken to ensure a complete steady-state operation.
The diagrams are presented for the two extreme
discharge pressures. Figure 6 presents the experimental
indicator diagrams. We have superimposed the isobars
corresponding to the measured suction and discharge
pressures and those corresponding to p
2
= p
3
with
60
Reciprocating compressor analysis
Figure 6. Experimental (p, V) indicator diagrams.
V
3
= V
min
. The isobar p
1
= p
4
with V
1
= V
max
has
not been drawn since it is nearly collinear with the
suction pressure isobar. It can be seen from this gure
that the valves, especially the discharge valve, are poorly
designed, leading to an important suction and discharge
work.
Actually the valves are made up of a 23 mm diameter,
0.7 mmheight, cylindrical steel plate, and a return spring.
The maximumplate lift is 3 mm. The suction valve spring
stiffness is 430 Nm
1
while the discharge valve spring
stiffness is 920 Nm
1
. This quite simple design has
important consequences on the compressor behaviour.
Recalling that the compressor bore is 76.2 mm, it can
be said that the ow area of the valve gap and the valve
plate area are low. The rst point leads to important
pressure losses during the suction and the discharge
process, as it clearly appears on gure 6. Thus,
f
takes
a relatively high value. The second point, combined with
the comparatively high valve plate inertia, implies that
the time needed to obtain the valve opening or the valve
closure is high.
Unfortunately, the valve motions have not been re-
corded. However, considering gure 6, it can be said that
the discharge valve closure motion starts for p >p
dis
but the valve closure is obtained for p < p
dis
. During
the last part of the valve closure motion, air ows
from the cylinder to the discharge plenum due to uid
inertial effects, a well-known phenomenon in the eld
of reciprocating compressor [7] as well as in the eld of
internal combustion engine.
This implies that p
3
< p
dis
. From the point of view
of the global model this will lead to
dis
< 0 and an
Figure 7. Experimental (T, s) thermodynamic diagrams.
TABLE III
Global model parameters used for model validation.

1
= 0.36
suc
= 0.03
2
=0.15

1
=0.0
dis
=0.3
3
=0.74

w
=0.4
f
= 0.165 f = 1.25
in-cylinder pressure ratio smaller than the plenum-to-
plenum pressure ratio <
dis
.
Figure 7 presents the experimental (T, s) diagrams.
It can bee seen from these diagrams that the gas-to-wall
heat transfer yields a non-negligible work consumption.
3.3. Global model parameter
identication
The numerical results from the global model are
obtained assuming that the air is an ideal gas with
temperature-dependent heat capacities. The global model
parameter values used for the simulation are given in
table III.
These parameters have been obtained in a very easy
and straigthforward way. Indeed, for each operating
pressure ratio temperatures T
1
, T
2
, T
3
and T
w
can be
extracted from the experimental les.
1
,
1
,
w
,
2
and
3
can be readily obtained by graphical comparison
of the experimental and modelled temperatures (gure 8).

suc
,
dis
and
f
have been determined from the indi-
cator diagram records (gure 6 ) whereas f is deduced
from graphical comparison of the experimental and mod-
elled (T, s) cycle area (gure 9). A very good agree-
61
P. Stous et al.
Figure 8. Fluid and wall temperatures.
Figure 9. Temperaturespecic entropy cycle area.
ment is observed between the global model and the ex-
perimental results meaning that the heat transfer to the
residual mass is correctly accounted for by the global
model.
3.4. Global model validation
Figure 10 presents the volumetric effectiveness as a
function of the discharge pressure. The global model
results are in very good agreement with the experimental
data. It can be seen that the volumetric effectiveness
decreases from about 0.67 to about 0.51 when the
discharge pressure increases from 300 kPa to 1 MPa.
Figure 10. Volumetric eectiveness.
Figure 11. Specic work.
Figure 11 presents the specic work as a function of
the discharge pressure. Again a very good agreement is
achieved between the global model and the experimental
results.
A good agreement is also achieved between the global
model and the experimental results for the indicated ef-
ciency (gure 12). The indicated efciency is nearly con-
stant, about 0.56 in the experimental discharge pressure
range.
As the global model can predict the uid tempera-
tures, the (T, s) cycle area, the volumetric effectiveness,
the specic work and the indicated efciency very ac-
curately, it is thought that it relies on a correct physical
62
Reciprocating compressor analysis
Figure 12. Indicated eciency.
Figure 13. Residual mass fraction.
description of the compression process in a reciprocating
compressor.
3.5. Discussion
The global model can be used to discuss the experi-
mental compressor performances.
For instance, the residual mass fraction as given by
the global model is shown in gure 13. While the residual
mass m
3
is about 12 % of the mass m
C
delivered over one
cycle when the discharge pressure is 300 kPa, it is worth
to note that it represents more than 45 % of the delivered
mass when the discharge pressure is 1 MPa.
The global model can also give us an invaluable in-
sight into the specic work terms (equation (38)). Refer-
Figure 14. Nondimensional work terms.
ring to this equation and to gure 14 we note that the
nondimensional work term representing the inuence
of the heat transfer during compression is slightly neg-
ative and nearly negligible. The nondimensional work
term which describes the work done by the piston on
the residual mass due to the alternate gas-to-wall heat
transfer is an increasing function of the discharge pres-
sure. When the discharge pressure is 1 MPa the work
done by the piston on the residual mass represents nearly
15 % of the isentropic work of compression. Thus, at
high compression ratio the inuence of the residual mass
on the energy consumption cannot be neglected and it
is not valid to consider the residual mass as a mere
spring releasing in the expansion process all the energy
stored during compression. Finally, the nondimensional
work term , corresponding to the work done by the pis-
ton to suck and discharge the uid is by far the largest
term. Again, this can be explained by the poorly designed
valves of the compressor used for the experiments. For a
discharge pressure of 300 kPa the work done by the pis-
ton to transfer the uid represents nearly 50 %of the isen-
tropic work of compression! However, it is a decreasing
function of the discharge pressure so that it is only 20 %
at 1 MPa and it is then on the same order of magnitude as
the term.
Figure 15 presents the three factors of the indicated
efciency relation (41) as a function of the discharge
pressure. It is very important to notice that in the
case of the compressor considered here we have a
temperature T
1
400 K independent of the discharge
pressure. The rst factor in the indicated efciency
(equation (41)) is constant: we have T
suc
/T
1
= 0.735.
The effect of the heat transfer during the suction process
on the indicated efciency is very detrimental! The
63
P. Stous et al.
Figure 15. Nondimensional eciency factors.
second factor depending on the difference between the
in-cylinder and the plenum-to-plenum pressure ratio is
close to but slightly superior to one. This comes from the
somewhat unusual fact that <
dis
for the compressor
used for the experiments as explained earlier (gure 6).
The third factor in the indicated efciency relation is in
the range 6575 %. It is larger than the rst factor in most
of the discharge pressure range. Again this draws the
attention to the fact that heat transfer from the inlet pipes
to the sucked uid can often be the major loss source.
3.6. Global model parameters
sensitivity
When using the values given by table III to simulate
the compressor used for experiments for a compression
from p
suc
= 100 kPa and T
suc
= 293.5 K to p
dis
=
700 kPa, the following reference results are obtained:
volumetric effectiveness:

v
=0.573,
specic work: w

m
=385 kJkg
1
,
indicated efciency:

ind
=0.568.
Table IV indicates the relative deviations (as percent-
ages) from the previous results when considering the
minimum and the maximum value of each parameter as
given by table I successively, the other parameters re-
maining unchanged.
Obviously, the results given by table IV should be
considered cautiously. Indeed, they concern only one
particular compressor, the combined inuence of several
parameters is not taken into account, the parameter range
given by table I is somewhat marred by the arbitrary,
TABLE IV
Sensitivity to the parameters.

v
w
m
w

m
w

ind

ind

ind
[%] [%] [%]
min max min max min max

1
36.3 9.4 26.4 10.2 35.8 9.3

1
0 33.4 0 49.3 0 33.0

w
1.3 2.8 0.4 1.2 0.4 1.2

suc
3.9 9.1 1.9 4.9 2.0 4.7

dis
2.7 4.9 6.9 12.2 7.4 10.9

f
0 0 13.5 25.4 15.6 20.3

2
0 0 0.6 1.4 0.6 1.4

3
6.6 2.3 5.9 2.2 6.3 2.2
f 0 0 3.9 1.3 4.0 1.3
etc. However, it is thought that the following general
considerations can be inferred from table IV:
the temperature parameters
1
and
1
are by far
the most inuent; fortunately, these parameters are also
probably the easiest to estimate in practical cases;
the work parameter
f
and the pressure parameters

suc
and
dis
also have an important inuence on the
simulated performances of the compressor;
simulation results are not very dependent on the
numerical value of the four other parameters
w
,
2
,
3
and f which are the most difcult to evaluate.
It can be concluded that the global model relies on
ve main parameters (i.e.
1
,
1
,
f
,
suc
,
dis
) and four
parameters of secondary importance (i.e.
w
,
2
,
3
, f )
for which a default value should be appropriate in most
practical cases.
The inuence of the wall temperature
w
, however
small, is worth noting. Paradoxical though it may seem,
table IV indicates that a higher value of the wall tem-
perature leads to better performances of the reciprocat-
ing compressor. This is due to the fact that a low wall
temperature induces an important cooling of the resid-
ual mass fraction. This has two detrimental effects: the
residual mass is larger and the loss due to the residual
mass reversed cycle is also larger. These combined neg-
ative inuences are more important than the work saving
due to the cooling during the compression process. It may
be concluded from inspection of table IV that from the
viewpoint of the reciprocating compressor performances
it is by far better to cool the suction pipe than the cylinder
wall.
64
Reciprocating compressor analysis
4. CONCLUSION
An algebraic model for the thermodynamical analy-
sis of reciprocating compressors is presented. Apart from
the usual compressor geometrical data V
C
and
c
and
uid thermodynamical properties (heat capacity and state
equation), the global model relies on ve main and four
secondary dimensionless physically meaningful parame-
ters, which fully describe the system. Practical value of
these parameters is given. Expressions for the volumet-
ric effectiveness, the residual mass fraction, the specic
work and the indicated efciency are derived and dis-
cussed. These expressions clearly identify the factors af-
fecting the reciprocating compressor performance, which
are the heat transfer from the wall during the suction
process, the valves pressure losses and the work needed
to displace the uid, the heat transfer to the uid during
the compression and the heat transfer to the residual mass
during the expansion.
The numerical results obtained from the global model
are compared to experimental results from an air com-
pressor test bench. The results are in very close agree-
ment over the whole discharge pressure operating range.
The global model is used to discuss the relative impor-
tance of the various losses of the experimental recip-
rocating compressor. Especially the in-cylinder residual
mass fraction and the wall-to-uid heat transfer inu-
ences on the reciprocating compressor performances are
highlighted.
REFERENCES
[1] Hough D., The design, selection, and application of
reciprocating compressors for fuel gas service, J. Eng. Gas
Turbines Power 117 (1995) 8893.
[2] Grodent M., Lebrun J., Lopez K., Saavebra C., Mo-
dlisation dun compresseur piston en rgime perma-
nent, in: Recherche et dveloppement en matire de com-
presseurs Journe dtudes de la SFT, 13 janvier 1993,
Socit franaise des thermiciens, Paris, France, 1993.
[3] Haberschill P., Mondot M., Molle M., Lallemand M.,
Simulation du comportement dun compresseur herm-
tique partir dun nombre limit dessais, in: Recherche
et dveloppement en matire de compresseurs Journe
dtudes de la SFT, 13 janvier 1993, Socit franaise des
thermiciens, Paris, France, 1993.
[4] Cavallini A., Doretti L., Longo G.A., Rossetto L.,
Bella B., Zannerio A., Thermal analysis of a hermetic
reciprocating compressor, in: Proceedings of the 1996
Purdue International Compressor Engineering Conference
(Purdue University), West Lafayette, IN, 1996, pp. 535540.
[5] Pereira R.H., Motta S.Y., Parise J.A.R., A study
on the polytropic exponent: Part 1. Open reciprocating
compressors, in: An. III CIAR-V CONBRAVA, Sao Paulo,
Brasil, 1996, pp. 4758.
[6] Brok S.W, Touber S., van der Meer J.S., Modelling of
cylinder heat transfer Large eort, little eect?, in: Pro-
ceedings of the 1980 Purdue International Compressor En-
gineering Conference (Purdue University), West Lafayette,
IN, 1980, pp. 4350.
[7] Destoop T., Contribution la conception assiste
par ordinateur de compresseurs pistons alternatifs,
Thse de doctorat, Universit des sciences et techniques
de Lille, France, 1988.
[8] McGovern J.A., Harte S., An exergy method for
compressor performance analysis, Int. J. Refrig. 18 (1995)
421433.
[9] Sun S.Y., Ren T.R., New method of thermodynamic
computation for a reciprocating compressor: computer
simulation of working process, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 37 (1995)
343353.
[10] Recktenwald G.W., Ramsey J.W., Patankar S.V., Pre-
dictions of heat transfer in compressors cylinders, in: Pro-
ceedings of the 1986 Purdue International Compressor En-
gineering Conference (Purdue University), West Lafayette,
IN, 1986, pp. 159174.
[11] Keribar R., Morel T., Heat transfer and compo-
nent temperature prediction in reciprocating compressors,
in: Proceedings of the 1988 Purdue International Com-
pressor Engineering Conference (Purdue University), West
Lafayette, IN, 1988, pp. 454463.
[12] Kornhauser A.A., Smith Jr. J.L., Heat transfer with
oscillating pressure and oscillating ow, in: Proceedings of
the 24th IECEC, Vol. 5, 1989, pp. 23472353.
[13] Gedeon D., Mean parameter modeling of oscillating
ow, J. Heat Tran. 108 (1986) 513518.
APPENDIX A
A.1. Estimated thermodynamic properties of
point 2
Point D, dened such as s
D
= s
1
, is assumed to be
symmetrical to point 1 with respect to the isotherm T
w
(gure 16), so that:
T
D
=T
1
+
w
(T
2,s
T
1
) (A.1)
We neglect the curvature of the line (2DA). Geomet-
rical consideration on the similar triangles (2ED) and
(AFD) yields (gure 16):
s
E
s
2
s
A
s
F
=
s
1
s
2
s
A
s
1
=
T
E
T
D
T
D
T
F
=
T
2
T
D
T
D
T
w
(A.2)
On the other hand, from thermodynamics relationship
we have:
65
P. Stous et al.
Figure 16. Temperatureentropy diagram of the compression
process.
s
2
s
2,s
=s
2
s
1
=c
p
log

T
2
T
2,s

c
p
T
2
T
2,s
T
2,s
(A.3)
During the process (1A), the heat exchange per unit
mass can be expressed as follows:
q
1,A
=

A
1
T ds =T
m
(s
A
s
1
) (A.4)
where T
m
is between T
1
and T
w
. Neglecting the curvature
of the line (1A), we state:
T
m
=T
1
+
T
w
T
1
2
(A.5)
Moreover, the heat transfer laws suggest that the heat
exchange is proportional to the temperature difference
(T
w
T
m
), so that we may write:
q
1,A
=
2
c
p
(T
w
T
m
) (A.6)
where the coefcient
2
is a dimensionless parameter de-
scribing the heat transfer intensity during the compres-
sion process. Combining equations (A.4)(A.6) and us-
ing equation (10) yields:
s
A
s
1
=
2
c
p
T
w
T
1
T
w
+T
1
=
2
c
p

w
(
s
1)
4 +
w
(
s
1)
(A.7)
Solving equations (A.2) and (A.3) and using equa-
tion (A.7) leads to the following expression:
T
2
=
2
T
2,s
(A.8)
with

2
=1 2
2
(1
w
)(
s
1)
4 +
w
(
s
1) +2
2

s
(A.9)
A.2. Estimation of

2
1
v dp
Fromthe thermodynamic diagrams properties,

2
1
v dp
is represented in the temperatureentropy diagram by the
area of the surface bounded by the two isobaric curves p
2
and p
1
and by the (12) process curve. Therefore, we
have (gure 16):

2
1
v dp =

2,s
1
v dp +area(1, F, D, A, 1)
area(D, 2, 2
s
, E, D) (A.10)
Neglecting as previously the curvature of the lines (1A)
and (AD), we can write:
area(1, F, D, A, 1) =
1
2
(T
D
T
1
)(s
A
s
F
) (A.11)
which yields, using equations (A.1) and (A.7):
area(1, F, D, A, 1) =

2
2
c
p
T
1

2
w
(
s
1)
2
4 +
w
(
s
1)
(A.12)
In the same way, neglecting the curvature of lines (2D)
and (22
s
), we can write:
area(D, 2, 2
s
, E, D) =
1
2
(T
2,s
T
D
)(s
E
s
2
) (A.13)
which yields, using equations (A.1), (A.3) and (A.8):
area(D, 2, 2
s
, E, D)
=
1
2
(1
w
)(1
2
)(
s
1)c
p
T
1
(A.14)
Considering in the previous equations a mean heat capac-
ity such as
c
p
(
s
1)T
1
=h
2,s
h
1
(A.15)
and combining equations (A.10), (A.12) and (A.14) we
obtain:

2
1
v dp =(1 +)(h
2,s
h
1
) (A.16)
with the dimensionless work term given by
=

2
2

2
w
(
s
1)
4 +
w
(
s
1)

1
2
(1
w
)(1
2
) (A.17)
66