CPM Selecting A Compressor For Process & Speciality Gas Applications

TECHNICAL BULLETIN
SELECTING A COMPRESSOR FOR PROCESS & SPECIALTY

GAS APPLICATIONS
INTRODUCTION
The question often asked of us is which type of gas compressor is the BEST? The answer is not which type is
best, but which is best suited for a specific application.
To intelligently select a gas compressor many factors must be considered:
What is the composition of the gas being compressed?

What is the specific gravity or molecular weight of the gas?
What is specific heat ratio of the gas?
Is the gas explosive?
Is the gas corrosive?
Is the gas toxic?
Is the gas reactive?
Is it a dry gas or a wet gas?
What is the available suction pressure?
What discharge pressure is required?
What volume of gas must be compressed?
What will the duty cycle be?
What materials are compatible with the gas?
What is a permissible degree of impurities (lubricating oil carry over etc.)?
What ambient temperature will the compressor operate on?
What will be the suction temperature of the gas itself?
Is there an inexpensive source of cooling water or is air-cooling required?
What elevation will the compressor operate at?
To understand which type of compressor suits an application, we must first understand the operation of each
type of compressor.
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Three methods are used to compress a gas:

1. Trap consecutive volumes of gas in a chamber and reduce the volume of the chamber to increase
pressure, and then open the chamber to allow the gas out (reciprocating, rotary screw and vane
compressors etc.)
2. Trap consecutive volumes of gas in a chamber; carry it without a change in volume to the discharge and
build-up pressure against backflow in the piping (lobe type blowers).
3. Accelerate the velocity of the gas using high-speed impellers and then reduce the velocity suddenly, to
create pressure (centrifugal, axial compressors).
COMPRESSOR CLASSIFICATIONS
From these compression methods compressors and blowers are classified into two categories these are
POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT units which use the first two methods and ROTARY DYNAMIC units (sometimes
simply called dynamic) which use the third method.
Each has its own individual features, benefits and drawbacks.
Positive Displacement Compressors
These Compressors or blowers compress by trapping consecutive volumes of gas in a chamber and then
increase the pressure by decreasing the size of the chamber.
Positive displacement units generally consist of the following types:
1.
Reciprocating Compressors are available in either lubricated or oil-free versions and compress
through the reciprocating motion of a piston.
Their ability to be multi-staged for high pressures make reciprocating units one of the most common
types of compressors.
Because of their reciprocating motion some attention must be given to piping pulsation and unit
vibration, particularly in larger frame machines.
Pressures as high as 6000 PSIG are attainable.
Reciprocating Compressors
Single Acting Reciprocating Compressors

With a SINGLE-ACTING reciprocating compressor, compression takes place at one end of the cylinder only.
The other end of the cylinder is normally open to the crankcase or a distance piece. In other words, there is
only one compression stroke for every revolution of the crankshaft.
A SINGLE-ACTING compressor brings gas in through intake valve A during the suction stroke, as the piston
moves to the right. Gas is compressed during the second half of the crankshaft revolution when the piston
moves to the left. Compressed gas goes out discharge valve B.
Single Acting Compressor

Double Acting Reciprocating Compressors
DOUBLE-ACTING compressors provide TWO complete compression cycles per revolution of the crankshaft.
Compression stroke for intake A acts as the suction stroke for intake C and vice versa.
Double Acting Compressor
Both ends of the cylinder are enclosed and the piston rod is fitted with a packing gland where it enters the
cylinder to prevent a loss of efficiency from blow-by.
Double Acting Compressor

Cylinder Configurations
The earliest reciprocating compressors were of vertical design and required heavy concrete foundations to
absorb the inertia forces and movements caused by the reciprocating movement.
o
Many modern compressors now use a 90 V-type cylinder formation in which the inertia forces of one cylinder is
compensated by the corresponding component of the other cylinder. As a result, these compressors can be
operated at up to about 1800 RPM, which was not possible with the original one cylinder vertical design. For
the most part however, piston compressors operate in the 400 900 RPM range.
Besides inertia compensation, the compact design is another advantage of the V-type
compressor
described above, in particular in the case of the two-stage compressors, because there is space between the
cylinders for the accommodation of the intercooler.
This space can also be used for an additional cylinder which results in an even more space saving and compact
o
W-type unit, making foundationless installation possible with a V-angle of 60 between the cylinders.
Single and Double Acting Configurations
2.
Twin Rotor Screw Compressor (also called helical or spiral-lobe compressor) uses TWO intermeshing
helical rotors to compress the gas. Screw compressors are available as oil-flooded units, that are most
commonly used or oil-free units for applications requiring completely contamination free gas. Multi
staging is possible by placing units in series.
Twin Screw Compressor
Speed increasing gears are generally used to turn the drive rotor at the correct speed.
In conventional oil lubricated screws, the female rotor is driven by the male rotor, with the male rotor absorbing
approximately 85% of the input power. A thin film of oil, which is injected into the compressor, prevents metalto-metal contact.
The use of one rotor driving the other is known as a pitch line drive system. The stronger male rotor being
used as the drive rotor, while the female rotor acts as an idler.
A clearance of 3 to 5 thousandths of an inch is maintained between the rotors, by an injected fluid film,
therefore, there is no metal-to-metal contact.
Sealing strips consisting of a raised lip and a groove on the male rotor, and a raised lip on the tip of the female
rotor, reduces the amount of gas that leaks back into the previous cavity.
In most units the inlet is located at the top of the compression element and at the drive end, while the discharge
port is located on the bottom on the opposite end.
Gas is compressed in much the same way that it would be done if a bowling ball were rolled through a pipe with
very tight tolerances. The ball would advance like a piston, compressing the gas that is trapped in front of it as it
moves forward.
As the two rotors revolve in opposite directions, gas is trapped in the pockets between the rotors and
compression is accomplished by moving the trapped volume of gas away from the inlet and towards the
discharge.
As the position of the lobes completes the discharge phase, the voids at the opposite (inlet) end began to fill
with gas through the inlet port. When the female lobe is filled with gas along its entire length, the intake phase is
completed.
Further rotation causes the male lobe to mesh with the female rotor, trapping the gas that has been taken in.
The male rotor then begins to squeeze the trapped gas toward the discharge end of the compressor. As the
male rotor progressively reduces the trapped gas volume, oil is injected into the compression chamber.
Upon reaching its maximum discharge pressure the rotors pass over the discharge port and the gas is
discharged.
In oil-free rotary screw compressors the compression cycle is identical to a lubricated unit however, the
rotating screws are synchronized by means of external timing gears. Since the rotors do not touch each other,
lubrication is not required within the compression chamber and the gas is therefore oil-free.
For oil-injected compressors discharge pressures of up to 350 PSIG can be achieved in single stage versions
and up to 500 PSIG on two-stage units.
Oil-free models are limited to approximately 150 PSIG.
3.
Single Screw Compressors (often called a monoscrew)

Although similar in operation to a twin-screw, the more recently developed monoscrew design consists
of a single female rotor and two intermeshing male gate-rotors mounted on opposite sides of the main
rotor.
The compression cycle begins after inlet gas fills the top and bottom grooves of the main screw at the
suction end of the casing. Because the screw compressor has two gaterotors, the compression process
occurs simultaneously on opposite sides of the screw. As the main screw rotates, it drives the
gaterotors. The meshing of the gaterotor with a screw groove traps the gas and begins the
compression process.
As the screw rotates, the engagement of the gaterotor continues, reducing the initial volume of the
groove and increasing the pressure. This occurs simultaneously on opposite sides of the screw. As the
main screw rotates towards completion of the compression cycle, the groove aligns with a port in the
housing at the discharge end of the casing. The gas in the groove is discharged radically through the
discharge port.
One advantage of the single screw compressor is that there are no radial or axial forces exerted on the
main screw. Because the compression process occurs simultaneously on opposite sides of the screw,
the forces caused by compression are cancelled out.
Also, because the monoscrew compressor has six compression strokes per revolution and generally
operates at 3600 rpm, the amount of gas compressed with each groove is a very small percentage of
the total flow. The number of strokes and the speed of rotation result in very low pulsations at the
compressor outlet and negligible pulsations downstream of the compressor.
Despite these advantages, the single screw compressor is just beginning to be widely used because
until recently the machining of the rotors for single screw compressors required the use of specially
designed machine tools and the utilization of expensive manufacturing processes.
With the exception of the compression element, the flow and downstream components used on both the
twin-screw and mono-screw compressors are identical.
Single Rotor Screw Compressor
Rotary Sliding Vane Compressors Rotating within a cylindrical compression chamber or stator is an
eccentrically mounted slotted rotor, which is fitted with sliding vanes. As the rotor spins, the vanes are held in
contact with the stator wall by centrifugal force, or in some cases by springs. They are generally of single stage
design and suitable for pressures up to 150 PSIG, but are most widely used for pressures in the 50 100 PSIG
range.
The gas is compressed by the decreasing volume of the compartments formed by the rotor, stator and vanes,
until the delivery port is uncovered by the vanes.
As one of the blades passes a sealing point between the inlet and discharge ports, it prevents any of the
compressed gas from leaking back to the suction.
Rotary Vane Compressor

4.
Hydraulic Driven Gas Pressure Boosters

Most of these compressors are designed using a double-acting hydraulic cylinder with a high-pressure
barrel attached to each end. As the hydraulic cylinder is cycled, the high-pressure pistons alternately
compress and eject the gas from one barrel while simultaneously filling the opposing one. In the case
of a two-stage compressor, gas from the first stage is used to fill the second and then further
compressed by the second stage piston.
The direction of the flow of the gas is controlled by inlet and discharge check valves. The hydraulic fluid
is isolated from the gas being compressed and the section between the two is vented to the
atmosphere.
These compressors are particularly well suited for booster applications and are capable of discharge
pressures as high as 60,000 PSIG.
Interstage Cooler
LP Gas Inlet
5.
HP Gas Outlet
Diaphragm-type Compressors In a diaphragm compressor, oscillating hydraulic pressure on one side

of the diaphragm causes it to move inside a chamber, compressing the gas on its other side. Inlet and
discharge valves allow low pressure gas to enter the compressor, and the pressurized gas to be
discharged to the system. The oscillating pressure is generated by a piston moving in a cylinder.
The crankcase of the compressor is essentially a hydraulic pump. The piston moves in the cylinder and
pulses the hydraulic fluid in the head producing an oscillating movement of the diaphragm.
The diaphragm group consists of three diaphragms clamped and sealed at the periphery between the
gas plate and orifice plate.
The orifice or channel plate has the role of distributing the hydraulic fluid uniformly under the diaphragm
and the gas plate. Contains the suction and discharge check-values. They are generally limited in
output although some larger units are used in specialized applications.
Pressures as high as 10,000 PSIG are attainable.
Diaphragm Compressor
6.
Scroll Compressors
In a scroll compressor, two spiral-shaped members fit together, forming crescent-shaped gas pockets.
One member remains stationary, while the other orbits around the stationary one. The orbiting motion
causes continuous crescent-shaped gas pockets to be formed and become smaller in volume as they
near the center of the form.
Air is drawn into the outer pocket created by the two members, sealing off the open passage. As the
spiral motion continues, the gas is forced toward the center of the scroll as the pocket continuously
becomes smaller in volume, creating higher gas pressures. When the compressed gas reaches the
center of the fixed scroll member, it is discharged.
Several pockets of gas are compressed simultaneously. The result is a smooth, nearly continuous
compression cycle.
There is space remaining between the scrolls at the completion of the discharge phase but this is not a
capacity inhibitor like clearance volume on a reciprocating compressor. This is because this volume is
never opened to the suction.
At present, scroll compressors are limited to relatively low capacities and pressures of approximately
100 150 PSIG.
Scroll Compressor Cycle
Scroll Compressor
7.
Hook and Claw Compressors The hook and claw compressor is an OIL-FREE, positive displacement,
rotary machine.
Steps on two meshing rotors form the equivalent of cylinders in a reciprocating compressors, however
no inlet or discharge valves are used.
Instead, gas enters the casing through an inlet port located at the center, between the rotors. The gas
is drawn is into a recessed zone of FIVE interconnected pockets on the rotor. This pocket is then
sealed off as the rotor turns past the inlet.
Hook and Claw Compressor

Raised protrusions on the opposite rotor enter the recessed pockets and force the gas into the last
central pocket, compressing the gas.
By the time all of the gas is in the last pocket, this pocket has rotated to the discharge port, located at
the top of the casing and near the center of the rotors.
Four of these cycles per revolution result from two series of pockets on each rotor.
Because the stepped rotor has no oil injection for sealing, close machining tolerances are necessary for
efficient operation. The steps on the rotor are separate machined blocks, bolted to a cylindrical roller.
At present the largest of these machines has a capacity of about approximately 500 CFM and pressures
are limited to approximately 50 PSIG for single stage units, but can be multi-staged for higher
pressures.
8.
Two-lobe and Three-Lobe Rotary Blowers (often called Roots principle blowers) use straight mating
lobed impellers to trap gas and carry it from intake to discharge. There is no compression or reduction
of gas volume during the turning of the rotors.
Compression is by backflow into the casing from the discharge piping when the discharge port is
uncovered. Then the compressed gas is displaced into the discharge system. These are generally
single-stage units used for pressures up to about 12 15 PSIG. Three-lobe designs are also available,
but operation is similar to two-lobe designs. Sealing is by close clearances and lubrication is not
required within the compression chamber.
GAS DISCHARGE
GAS INTAKE
Rotary Lobe Blowers
9.
Liquid Ring Compressors (or liquid piston) compressors use a rotor with multiple blades driving a
captive ring of liquid (usually water) around the inside of an elliptical casing. The liquid acts as a piston
to compress and displace the gas. Discharged gas is saturated at the discharge temperature. Excess
liquid is removed by passing the gas-liquid mixture through a baffle or centrifugal separator to remove
the free liquid. Final discharge temperature of the gas can be close to the temperature of the inlet
cooling water, providing a continuous flow of cool compressed gas.
Liquid Ring Compressor

Rotary Dynamic Compressors
Dynamic compressors are centrifugal (radial) type or axial types and gain their name because they operate on
the principle of DYNAMIC compression. Although this term sounds complicated, their design is very simple and
straightforward.
Dynamic compression takes place when the velocity of the gas is accelerated to a very high speed, and then
passed through a diffuser that decelerates (slows down) the high-speed gas resulting in a pressure increase.
This is different from positive displacement compressors because it does not use a compression chamber to
trap consecutive volumes of gas.
As their name implies, flow through radial or centrifugal compressors is in a radial direction, while flow through
an axial compressor is in an axial direction.
For the most part, dynamic compressors are not widely used for gas compression, except for large capacities.
Radial Flow Centrifugal Compressor
Axial Flow Compressor
Copyright by Canadian Purcell Machinery.
All rights Reserved. No part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transcribed in
any form without prior written permission of the Company.

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TECHNICAL BULLETIN

SELECTING A COMPRESSOR FOR PROCESS & SPECIALTY

What is the composition of the gas being compressed?

Three methods are used to compress a gas:

Single Acting Reciprocating Compressors

Single Acting Compressor

Double Acting Compressor

Double Acting Compressor

Single and Double Acting Configurations

Twin Screw Compressor

Single Screw Compressors (often called a monoscrew)

Single Rotor Screw Compressor

Rotary Vane Compressor

Hydraulic Driven Gas Pressure Boosters

Diaphragm-type Compressors In a diaphragm compressor, oscillating hydraulic pressure on one side

Scroll Compressor Cycle

Hook and Claw Compressor

Liquid Ring Compressor

Radial Flow Centrifugal Compressor

Axial Flow Compressor

Copyright by Canadian Purcell Machinery.

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