Computationally ecient model for refrigeration

compressor gas dynamics

M.N. Srinivas
a
, Chandramouli Padmanabhan
b,
*
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
b
Department of Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
Received 22 February 2001; received in revised form 22 November 2001; accepted 30 November 2001
Abstract
In this paper a computationally ecient steady state model for a typical refrigeration reciprocating compressor is
proposed. The plenum cavity is modelled using the acoustic plane wave theory, while the compression process is
modelled as a one-dimensional gas dynamics equation. Valve dynamic models, based on a single vibration mode
approximation, are coupled with the gas dynamics equation and acoustic plenum models. The steady-state solution of
the resultant coupled non-linear equations are posed as a boundary value problem and solved using Warners algo-
rithm. The Warners algorithm applied to compressor simulation is shown to be computationally more ecient as
compared to conventional techniques such as shooting methods. Comparisons are based on the number of iterations
and time taken for convergence. Eect of operating conditions on the overall compressor performance is also investi-
gated. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Refrigerant; Gas; Compression; Reciprocating compressor a` ; Modelling; Design
Compresseur frigorique : mode` le ecace pour e tudier la
dynamique des gaz
Mots cles : Frigorige ne ; Gaz ; Compression ; Compresseur a` piston ; Mode lisation ; Conception
1. Introduction
Reciprocating compressors are widely used in food
processing, chemical and air conditioning/refrigeration
industries. They are favored for variable-speed operations
in refrigeration industries as compared to rotary vane and
semi-hermetic compressors [1]. Modelling of the recipro-
cating system and its simulation is of immense impor-
tance as it provides an insight into the energy used
during the compression process, compressor eciency
and inuence of various design parameters on the com-
pressor performance. The steady-state simulations are
used in fault diagnosis [2] wherein the simulated pres-
sure prole is compared with the experimental one.
Discrepancies reveal problems such as leakage and slug-
ging. Steady state indicator diagram has been used to
analyze the importance of phenomena such as valve lift,
valve stiness and leakage on compressor performance [3].
The mass ow rate that occurs through the valves into
the suction and discharge plenums leads to gas pulsa-
0140-7007/01/$20.00 # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
PI I : S0140- 7007( 01) 00109- 8
International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092
www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrefrig
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +44-235-0509.
E-mail address: mouli@iitm.ac.in (C. Padmanabhan).
tions due to the nite volume associated with the ple-
nums. These pulsations have been identied as a major
source of noise radiation from reciprocating com-
pressors. In order to predict and hence reduce the noise
generated, a good understanding of the parameters that
control the source of pressure pulsations is required [4].
Soedel et al. have done extensive work in the modelling
of the plenum gas pulsations in the case of single and
multi-cylinder compressors [5,6]. Their formulation
couples the compressor gas dynamics with that of the
plenum by using an impedance approach. Benson and
Ucer [7] modelled the compressor-pipe interactions
using a modied homentropic theory by the method of
characteristics. Dufour et al. [8] have used experimental
steady-state pressure prole in the simulation of the
transient(start-up and shut-down) and steady-state
dynamics of compressor housing and analyzed the
vibration of the whole unit.
Related modelling eorts include those of Popovic et
al. [9] who modelled the positive displacement recipro-
cating compressor using a semi-empirical method which
is based on thermodynamic principles and a large data
base. It needs data on pressure, temperature, mass ow
rates, at the compressor inlet and the outlet and power
input. The model took into account the energy transac-
tions that occur between compressor and its surround-
ings. McGovern et al. [10] analyzed the compressor
performance using exergy method where an energy
approach is undertaken. The non-idealities are char-
acterized as exergy destruction rates as losses to friction,
irreversible heat transfer, uid throttling and irreversible
uid mixing.
Almost all of the prior investigators of reciprocating
compressor gas dynamics have carried out their simula-
tions using numerical integration of the non-linear cou-
pled structural gas dynamics equations [47,11]. They
viewed the problem as an initial value problem, and per-
formed simulations which always included the transient
solutions. This had the following disadvantages:
these simulations need to be performed until
steady state conditions are attained and is a time
consuming process;
the initial conditions for the compressor para-
meters were chosen such that the solution con-
verges to steady-state [6]. The problem of
choosing initial conditions becomes a major issue
as the number of model parameters increase. For
instance, this approach will not work well for
the case of multi-cylinder simulations. In such
cases, convergence is achieved only with rea-
sonable guesses of steady-state values.
Recently, Srinivas and Padmanabhan [12] demon-
strated the computational eectiveness of Warners
algorithm [13] in compressor plenum acoustics simula-
tions. In the present work, the focus is on developing a
computationally ecient tool for modelling the dynam-
ics of the compression process in a single cylinder com-
pressor with one suction and discharge valve.
Temperature eects are not incorporated in the present
model. However, other non-idealities, as identied by
Woollatt [3], have been introduced in the present model.
This leads to a non-linear boundary value problem, and
Warners algorithm [13] is incorporated to obtain the
steady-state solution directly. Since this procedure cir-
cumvents the need to calculate the transient solutions it
is computationally superior. The computational e-
ciency of this approach is demonstrated by comparing
the time for convergence and number of iterations with
Nomenclature
A
d
, A
s
Cross sectional area of the valve, m
2
A
sv
, A
dv
Suction ow area, m
2
c Velocity of sound, m/s
C
ds
, C
dd
Coecient to account for non-ide-
ality
F
pd
, F
ps
Spring pre-loads, N
k
d
, k
s
Valve spring constants, N/mm
l Length of the plenum, mm
m
c
Cylinder gas mass, kg
m
d
, m
s
Valve mass, kg
n Polytropic gas constant
m
.
in
Mass ow in the cylinder, kg/s
m
.
out
Mass ow out the cylinder, kg/s
P
c
Cylinder pressure, Pa
P
suc
, P
dis
Plenum pressures, Pa
P
1
Plenum pressure just outside the
valves, Pa
Q
1
Mass ow rate, kg/s
S
1
Cross sectional area of the plenum,
m
2
S
2
Cross sectional of the anechoic ter-
mination pipelines, m
2
t Time, s
V
c
Cylinder volume, m
3
V
str
Volume swept by the piston, m
3
V
cle
Clearance volume, m
3
x
d
, x
s
Valve displacement, m
x
max
d
, x
max
s
Maximum valve displacement, m
x
.
d
, x
.
s
Valve velocity, m/s
Z(o) Impedance, Pas/m
Greek letters
a
c
Cylinder gas density, kg/m
3
a
s
, a
d
Density of plenum gas, kg/m
3
t Time period (2/o
c
), s
o
c
Compressor running frequency, rad/s
1084 M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092
traditional techniques. Important parameters aecting
the compression process are studied for a variety of
operating conditions.
2. The mathematical model
As shown in Fig. 1, the system that is considered is
the reciprocating air compressor cylinder, with spring
type suction and discharge valves. The plenums are of
nite volume. We consider a very long coiled tube being
connected to the plenums (not shown in Fig. 1), so that
we can assume that this arrangement approximates an
anechoic or non-reecting termination. The piston has
reciprocating action through the crank shaft arrange-
ment and no leakage is assumed. A clearance volume of
10% of the stroke volume is assumed.
We are not interested in capturing the pressure varia-
tion of the compressor cylinder spatially, rather, only
the average pressure as the reciprocation takes place.
This facilitates the use of the overall mass balance
equation in the contracting volume of the system as a
whole.
m
c
a
c
V
c
1
dm
c
dt
m
.
in
m
.
out
2
V
c
V
cle

V
str
2
1 cos o
c
t

3
Assuming the gas to be polytropic one gets:
P
c
a
n
c
constant 4
Eqs. (1) and (4) in Eq. (2) yields:
dP
c
dt

nP
c
V
c
dV
c
dt

nP
c
a
c
V
c
m
.
in
m
.
out
5
where m
.
in
, and m
.
out
, the mass ow rates through the
suction and the discharge valves, are functions of cylin-
der pressure P
c
, valve motions x
s
and x
d
, and plenum
pressures P
dis
and P
suc
. Due to the non-ideality of the
valve, it does not shut down instantaneously as soon as
an unfavorable pressure dierence is created. It takes
some time for it to get decelerated from its original
motion, turn the direction and shut the opening. We
need to account for this leakage of gas and its eect on
cylinder pressure P
c
for a real simulation. Including
these eects makes the mass ows in the valves take the
following forms based on the ow past orices [14]:
m
.
in

C
ds
a
s
A
sv

2 P
suc
P
c

a
s
q
for P
suc
>P
c
and x
s
>0
C
ds
a
c
A
sv

2 P
c
P
suc

a
c
q
for P
c
>P
suc
and x
s
>0
8
<
:
6
m
.
out

C
dd
a
c
A
dv

2 P
c
P
dis

a
c
q
for P
c
>P
dis
and x
d
>0
C
dd
a
d
A
dv

2 P
dis
P
c

a
d
q
for P
dis
>P
c
and x
d
>0
8
<
:
7
Here A
sv
and A
dv
are the ow areas through which
the suction and the discharge take place from the cylin-
der respectively, and are given by 2x
s
r
v
and 2x
d
r
v
,
where x
s
and x
d
are the suction and discharge valve
displacements from the closed position.
Valve dynamics have been modelled by many authors
[1416]. The frame of reference is from the static equili-
brium position (closed position) such that, the valves do
not have any negative displacements. A maximum dis-
placement restriction is placed so as to make the equa-
tions emulate the real system. Considering the forces
acting on the valve(s), the modelling equation for the
Fig. 1. Schematic of single cylinder reciprocating compressor.
M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092 1085
discharge and suction valves become, on using a single
vibration mode approximation [5]:
m
d
d
2
x
d
dt
2
k
d
x
d
C
fd
A
d
P
c
P
dis
F
pd
. for x
d
> 0 and x
d
- x
max
d
8
m
s
d
2
x
s
dt
2
k
s
x
s
C
fs
A
s
P
suc
P
c
F
ps
. for x
s
> 0 and x
s
- x
max
s
9
where F
pd
and F
ps
are pre-loads acting on the valves.
Preload accounts for the compression of the spring
valves at its closed state so as to avoid any leaks. Since
the pre-loads have a negligible eect usually, they were
neglected in the calculations. The values of C
fd
and C
fs
can be obtained from [16]. These co-ecient account for
the loss of the energy due to the orice ow.
3. Simulation
As one can observe, Eqs. (5), (8) and (9) form a cou-
pled system of non-linear equations which need to be
solved simultaneously over one cycle time of the crank-
shaft during which the piston completes one backward
and one forward stroke. Eqs. (8) and (9) being of second
order, makes the actual number of ordinary dierential
equations, (ODEs) with the introduction of two vari-
ables (x
.
s
and x
.
d
), to be solved as ve. The aim of this
work is to obtain the steady-state variation of these
variables for a given mechanical conguration (the size
of the cylinder, operating frequency o, volume of the
plenums, mass, diameter of the valve openings, spring
constant of the suction and the discharge valves) of the
compressor, operating conditions and the properties of
the uid used (P
const
suc
. P
const
dis
, a
s
). This is achieved using
a computationally ecient technique (Warners algo-
rithm [13]) for solving boundary value problems (BVP).
In this method the initial value problem is converted to
a two-point BVP with periodic boundary conditions.
The steady state solution is characterized by the follow-
ing boundary conditions:
P
c
t t
0
P
c
t t
0
t
x
s
t t
0
x
s
t t
0
t
x
d
t t
0
x
d
t t
0
t
x
.
s
t t
0
x
.
s
t t
0
t
x
.
d
t t
0
x
.
d
t t
0
t
9
>
>
>
>
=
>
>
>
>
;
10
where t is the time period for one crankshaft rotation.
Calculations are triggered with some initial conditions
at t=0 for the ve variables involved. The above system
of Eqs. (5), (8) and (9) are integrated for one period of
rotation of the crankshaft using the RungeKutta
method of order 7. After time t=t we get a set of 5
values corresponding to the nal state. If the initial
conditions correspond to the steady-state, all the ve
variables involved will have the same value at t=t as at
t=0. Usually this will not happen and the value
obtained at t is taken as the initial conditions for the
next iteration. In the conventional method, the above
steps are repeated until the steady state is reached.
The origin of time is when the piston is at the top
most position. Because we operate the compressor
between P
suc
and P
dis
, which may dier by a very high
magnitude, we can expect that both the suction and the
discharge valves not to be open simultaneously. We
assume that at the beginning of the cycle, x
s
(t=0)=0
and x
.
s
(t=0)=0. This brings down the number of
steady-state initial unknown values to three. (x
d
(t=0),
x
.
d
(t=0) and P
c
(t=0)).
4. The Warners algorithm
This algorithm gives the initial values for the next
iteration using n+1 sets of guesses and the miss-dis-
tances where n is the number of variables, by solving a
matrix equation which reads as:
x
T
0 b
T
1. q
T
x
1
0

1. q
T
x
2
0

.
.
.
1. q
T
x
n
0
2
6
6
6
6
6
6
4
3
7
7
7
7
7
7
5
1
x
1
0

T
x
2
0

T
.
.
.
x
n1
0

T
2
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
4
3
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
5
11
where x
n
(0) represents the nth guess of initial conditions
matrix for the next iteration, b is the n+1 dimensional
column vector, b
T
={1,0, . . .,0}. q(x
n
(0)) is the miss-dis-
tances vector for the nth guess vector of the initial
values. Since the solution is periodic the vector q is given
by, q(x
n
(0))=x
n
(t)-x
n
(0).
The number of variables being three, simulations are
carried out for four dierent sets of initial guess values
and the miss-distances are calculated. Through the
Warners algorithm, the initial value vector for the next
iteration is calculated and the corresponding vector q is
obtained. The error for each set is:
e
k
q
T
x
k
0

q x
k
0

. k 1. 2. . . . . n 1. 12
The set having the maximum error (e
k
) is replaced
with the new set found from the algorithm. The
iterations are carried out until the e
k
for the newly
guessed values becomes less the tolerance specied for
convergence.
1086 M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092
5. Eect of plenum volumes
The niteness in the volume of the suction and dis-
charge plenums aects the P
suc
and P
dis
as seen by the
cylinder, due to non-linear mass ow. As the mass ow
occurs, the plenum pressure just above the valves uc-
tuates. These variations are propagated to the other side
of the plenum at the speed of sound and are called the
acoustic back pressure eect. This problem has been
addressed adequately by workers on acoustics. The
pressures keep varying throughout the piston cycle time.
Therefore, steady-state also requires these variations in
the plenum pressures to repeat themselves after every
cycle. The variations depends on the mass ow rate
variations throughout the cycle time. These pulsations
can be modelled in two ways, using nite element ana-
lysis of the plenum volumes, or using the plane wave
acoustic theory [17] to obtain the impedance assuming
an anechoic termination. The latter method has been
applied extensively by Soedel et al. [4,18]. Soedel and
Singh [18] characterized the coupling between com-
pressors in a multi-cylinder case by dening transfer
impedances in a distributed parameter model. Soedel
and his co-workers [19,6], used a lumped parameter
model to simulate the pulsations. Chen [20] developed a
graphical method for the calculations of the pressure
pulsations in the piping. From plane wave acoustic the-
ory the acoustic impedance at the discharge/suction
valve may be given as:
Z o
P
1
Q
1

ac
S
1
g
c
S
1
S
2
coskl jsinkl
coskl j
S
1
S
2
sinkl
13
where P
1
is the plenum pressure at the valve position
and Q
1
is the volume velocity (or ow rate) exiting the
valve. A harmonic analysis of volume velocity (Q
1
)
yields,
Q
1

X
M
n0
B
n
cos n [
n
14
Substituting the above expression into Eq. (13), one
gets the plenum pressure at the valves (P
1
) as:
P
1
P
fixed

X
M
n1
B
n
Z

no
c
cos n [
n
c no
c

15
The above equations are applicable for both the suc-
tion and discharge plenums. The acoustic back pressure
is included in the simulation by assuming initially that
the plenum pressures do not change with time. The
steady-state initial conditions for the system variables
are calculated using Warners algorithm for a given ple-
num pressure variation. From the mass-ow rate varia-
tions at the calculated steady-state conditions, the
Fourier coecients (B
n
and c
n
) are calculated. Using
these coecients the plenum pressure (for both suction
and discharge) variations are calculated using Eq. (15).
Now, the new steady state condition is calculated with
the new plenum pressure variations. The above proce-
dure is repeated until the variations converge to the tol-
erance provided. The computational procedure followed
is shown in Fig. 2.
6. Results and discussions
6.1. System considered
The considered compressor system had the following
specications:
o
c
314 rads r
s
10.75 mm
m
d
m
s
0.0162 kg n 1.12
k
s
k
d
3.64754 Nmm stroke 45.97 mm
r
d
15.75 mm
a
s
5.6 kgm
3
bore 66.68 mm
The suction and discharge plenums have the follow-
ing specications: Anechoic pipe diameter=15 mm;
Plenum diameter=150 mm; Velocity of sound(c)=150
m/s; Length of the plenum (l)=70 mm.
The numerical simulation was performed with 500
time steps over one cycle of piston motion. Validation is
done by calculating independently the total mass ow
per cycle through the suction and discharge valve from
mass ow rate data. Excellent agreement is obtained as
shown in the Table 1.
6.2. Degree of convergence
The convergence of the given compressor calculations
using Warners algorithm is shown in Fig. 3. The error
involved with each new prediction is brought down expo-
nentially which showcases the eectiveness in the use of
Warners algorithm in such boundary value problems.
Even with the worst guesses (amounting to an error of the
order of 10
8
%), the algorithm assures convergence as
early as in the sixth iteration for a tolerance of 10
6
.
Table 2 compares the number of iterations required by
the conventional shooting methods, and the Warners
algorithm for various pressure ratios. Given in brackets
is the time taken (in seconds) for convergence of itera-
tions. For almost all the cases, Warners algorithm dis-
plays good convergence. It can be observed that the
number of iterations required increases as the pressure
M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092 1087
ratio decreases. The gures correspond to the number of
iterations to obtain the steady-state solutions, given the
suction and discharge plenum pulsations.
6.3. Parameter studies
In order to discuss the various phases that a com-
pressor undergoes during its steady-state, let us take the
case of an operating pressure ratio of 1:5. The steady-
state cylinder pressure variation is shown in the Fig. 4.
We note that the initial cylinder pressure is almost equal
to the discharge pressure. We can expect this, because
the volume variation is taken such that the slope of the
prole gradually approaches zero at the t=t. Therefore,
there is not much compression that takes place in the
last part of t=t. The compressed gas has enough time
to be vented out through the discharge valve.
As the piston moves from its top position, P
c
follows
the perfect polytropic gas law as the mass content is
constant. One could note that P
c
comes down with a
high slope, corresponding to the high rate of volume
variation. Once P
c
-P
suc
, the suction valve opens. With
the slope of P
c
being high, the suction valve opens up
with a high velocity, thus making the compressor
experience a high mass ow rate (Fig. 5). The initial rate
of increase of x
s
in Fig. 5 indicates this. As P
c
increases
the driving force for the suction ow reduces. Thus the
valve starts closing even though there is some driving
force for the ow to take place because of the potential
energy of the compressed spring. Consequently, this
decreases the ow into the cylinder. The valve does not
shut fully as can be clearly seen from the suction valve
velocity prole in Fig. 6. During this closing phase of
the valve, there exists no back ow. The volume of the
cylinder still increasing, the pressure of the cylinder falls.
Again the valve opens and allows the ow to take place.
This occurs when t is approximately
t
2
. This time the
valve closure is accompanied with some leakage.
Table 1
Validation of mass ow calculations, integrated over one cycle,
from simulation (in kg)
Pressure ratio Suction ow Discharge ow % Error
1:2 23.3115 22.9669 1.478
1:4 11.2715 11.1632 0.961
1:5 16.1335 15.3992 4.55
1:6 11.7862 11.1897 5.06
1:7 8.9069 8.7477 1.786
1:9 4.6304 4.6438 0.289
Fig. 3. Convergence rate of iterations using proposed technique.
Fig. 2. The owchart for the algorithm.
Table 2
Comparison of computational eort between conventional and
proposed simulation methods. Shown is the number of itera-
tions for convergence with time taken in seconds in parenthesis
Pressure ratio Conventional method Warners method
1:2 Diverges 12 (5)
1:4 54 (10) 10 (4)
1:5 30 (7) 7 (3)
1:6 20 (5) 5 (2)
1:8 12 (4) 5 (2)
1088 M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092
Then the system undergoes a pure compression phase.
The discharge valve opens up, once a favorable pressure
drop is created. The rate at which the compression
occurs being very high, the discharge valve opens up
with a jerk allowing the gas to go out at a high rate (see
Fig. 7). This jerk almost brings down the P
c
to P
dis
leading to the oscillation in the P
c
prole. The jerk gives
the discharge valve a great displacement as shown in
Fig. 7. Once the mass gets vented out, the spring
restoring force starts to close the valve, even though
there exists a favorable pressure drop. It takes some
time for the pressure dierence to decelerate the high
valve velocity, and make it turn its direction as seen in
Fig. 6. Meantime, the pressure builds up and again the
valve sees a jerk. This continues until t=t. This utter-
ing of the discharge valve is more prominent for the low
pressure ratio cases. The velocity prole clearly depicts
this phenomena.
The steady-state values of several parameters, such as
peak pressure reached in the cylinder, the net amount of
air being compressed in the cylinder including the losses
due to back-ow and the back-pressure, were found to
depend heavily on the operating pressure ratio. For the
simulation, the average discharge pressure was kept
constant at 2.826 MPa and the suction pressure was
changed.
6.3.1. The maximum and minimum pressure reached
The steady-state cylinder pressure proles for various
operating ratios are shown in Fig. 8. It can be observed
that the magnitude of the peak value decreases as the
pressure ratio increases. The low pressure ratio case
exhibits a higher value of peak pressure because of the
higher amount of the gas being compressed in each
cycle. Also, the position at which the peak value occurs
moves towards the minimum volume position and the
Fig. 5. Suction valve motion and ow rate into the cylinder for
a pressure ratio 1:5.
Fig. 6. Suction and discharge valve velocity for a pressure ratio
of 1:5. Fig. 4. Variation of cylinder pressure for a pressure ratio of 1:5.
Fig. 7. Discharge valve motion and ow rate out of the cylin-
der for a pressure ratio of 1:5.
M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092 1089
steady state initial pressure of the cylinder decreases, as
the ratio increases.
6.3.2. Motion and mass ow rates of valves
6.3.2.1. The discharge valve. The mass ow rate past the
discharge valve at steady-state for two operating pres-
sure ratios, as simulated by the application of Warners
algorithm is shown in Fig. 9. It can be seen that the
valve utters more for the lower pressure ratio, due to
high ow rates. As the pressure ratio increases, the
amount of time for which the valve is open decreases.
6.3.2.2. The suction valve. Mass ow rates m
.
s
for two
operating pressure ratios are shown in Fig. 10. The
conspicuous peaks observed can be attributed to the
presence of local maxima in the pressure prole. The
valve is being accelerated as it closes and the duration
over which the valve is open increases as the pressure
ratio increases.
The valve displacement follows the mass ow rate
trend for both suction and discharge valves.
The conguration of the suction and discharge ple-
nums volumes were found to play an important role in
the steady-state working of a compressor. The deviation
associated with not including the niteness in the plenum
volumes and the associated pressure pulsations in the
simulation is shown in Fig. 11. Percentage deviation in
Fig. 11 is calculated as:
Deviation
P
withp.v
c
P
without
c
P
withpv
c
16
Not including the eect of the nite volume of the
plenums can give an error of almost 4% for lower pres-
sure ratios, although only around 0.2% error is
observed for higher pressure ratios. In the discharge
plenum, frequency corresponding to the 12th harmonic
Fig. 9. Mass ow through discharge valve for pressure ratios
of 1:2 and 1:7.
Fig. 8. P
c
for dierent pressure ratios.
Fig. 10. Mass ow through suction valve for pressure ratios of
1:2 and 1:7.
Fig. 11. Percentage deviation in cylinder pressure calculation
on neglecting the acoustic back pressure eect.
1090 M.N. Srinivas, C. Padmanabhan / International Journal of Refrigeration 25 (2002) 10831092
of the working frequency of the compressor (o
c
) is
observed to be prominent (see Fig. 12). This is found to
be the same for all pressure ratios. The resonating fre-
quency is found to be only dependent on the congura-
tion of the plenums. Also shown in the same gure, the
suction plenum pressure pulsations about their mean
values. The dominant frequency of the uctuations is
observed to be the second harmonic of o
c
.
7. Conclusions
Major parameters that aect a compressor system
were identied and modelled accordingly. The coupled
set of non-linear equation is solved at steady state using
Warners algorithm. This was demonstrated to be com-
putationally more ecient as compared to the conven-
tional modelling and simulation techniques. Performance
of the suggested approach was demonstrated by compar-
ing the number of iterations and time for convergence.
Drastic reduction could be observed in the number of
iterations. Steady state predictions were carried out for
various values of the ratios of operating pressures.
Future work will focus on extending the analysis to
multi-cylinder compressors system and including heat
eects.
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