Tag: compressors

Double Dare, Double Dragon, Double Mint Gum

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment
1 -Classic Double Dragon Arcade Game from 1987! Spike & Hammer Save The World – This is the game I used to dump quarters in every visit to the mall.

It’s no secret, I’m a kid of the 80s. If you remember any of the three items in the title of this blog, then we may be able to be friends still, and I want to ask a question. How’s your sourdough starter doing? Okay, you got me, the blog isn’t going to be about sourdough, or one of my favorite TV shows from growing up, or the video game I always threw quarters into when we were allowed to spend some money at an arcade, but it’s going to be about Double Acting Reciprocating Air Compressors.

You may have heard from us about the many types of compressors before, and we would just like to make sure we have shared a few different viewpoints on these topics. The double acting compressor is a piston action compressor. Unlike the single action compressor, these will actually build pressure above and below the piston for each rise and fall, rather than just the rise. Because this generates twice as much air, these are generally found in larger sizes than the single acting compressors. This also means the compressor is constantly pushing a load out of the system whenever the motor is turning. While they do put more volume out and work with both directions of the piston, they have been found to only be around 32% more efficient than their single acting counterpart. Nonetheless, they are available in sizes that can supply an entire manufacturing facility and can be used efficiently when placed into a system that is designed correctly.

If you want to learn about more types of compressors, need help with your Konami cheat code, or what to discuss a point of use compressed air application, give us a call, chat, or email.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Classic Double Dragon Arcade Game from 1987! Spike & Hammer Save The World – Joe’s Classic Video Games – retrieved from – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SqYOHpUiDM

Compressed Air Pipe

Intelligent Compressed Air: Distribution System Design

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

No matter what kind of compressor you have, or what you use compressed air for, a critical part of your system is the distribution system. My neighbor has a 5HP reciprocating compressor that sits on top of a 50 gallon tank in his garage. Unlike me, he LIKES working on cars, and has a variety of pneumatic tools, and a really nice air operated paint sprayer that he can make a car look brand new with. Anyway, his “distribution system” is a 1/2″ rubber air hose with a quick connect on the end. And that works just fine for him.

On the other end of the compressed-air-system-complexity spectrum, a large manufacturing facility may have a few (or more) compressors, and they may not even be in the same room. Today, we’re going to look at the factors that affect distribution design, and some of the “pros and cons” of those designs.

The two main types of supply systems…centralized (where there’s one single compressor room), and de-centralized (where individual compressors are located throughout the facility). There are advantages, and disadvantages to both as far as maintenance, number of operators required, controls, utilities, and noise reduction go. The main impact of these on the distribution and storage layout falls largely on distribution design. Supply headers have to be adequately sized, and plumbed, to get sufficient air flow to the farthest usage points from a centralized compressor room. Inadequate initial design, or adding load without considering flow capacity to service added load, can lead to increasing compressor discharge pressure to keep point of use pressure at the required level. De-centralized systems aren’t usually as affected…because they’re closer to their points of use by design, there’s less pressure loss through the distribution lines.

Whether the supply side is centralized or de-centralized, the advantages & disadvantages of different distribution piping layouts are similar in nature. Let’s look at a Loop design:

In this design, the compressors feed a complete loop of piping, with drops at points of use.

Since compressed air loses pressure due to friction as it flows through the distribution piping, it’s always important to design for the distance from the compressor, to the point of use, to be as short as possible. A Loop design facilitates this by allowing the air to reach any point of use from two directions…by definition, the farthest that the air has to travel is half the total length of the piping.

The other basic style of distribution layout is called “Trunk & Branch”:

In this design, the “trunk” (the horizontal line) feeds a series of “branches” (the vertical lines) to various points of use.

If the distance from the compressor(s) to the farthest point of use isn’t excessively long, a Trunk & Branch system is a lower cost alternative, because it uses less pipe. Keep in mind that line loss will necessarily create a pressure drop that steadily increases, the farther it gets from the compressor. If that means you have to use larger pipe, your installation & materials costs start to creep right back up. The larger the facility, the more sense it makes to consider a Loop design. Alternately, a de-centralized compressor layout can minimize line loss in a Trunk & Branch design too. Locating a compressor on the right-hand side of the sketch above, for example, will effectively give you the major benefit of a Loop design: allowing air to reach any point of use from both directions.

At EXAIR, our mission is to help you get the most out of our products, and your compressed air system. If you have questions, we’ve got answers – give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Round and Round They Go…. Rotary Compressors: How They Work

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Positive-displacement and dynamic displacement compressors are the two high level principles for the generation of compressed air or gas. Positive displacement types are the most common found in industrial facilities. These units draw ambient air into a chamber which it seals off and then works to compress and squeeze it down into a smaller volume. The air is then discharged into the outlet system of the compressor. Out of the many types of positive displacement compressors, today we are going to discuss the rotary style positive displacement air compressors.

1 – Simplified Rotary Vane Compressor



These are available in both lubricant-free as well as lubricant-injected versions. The main function of the compressor is the same, both have two inter-meshing rotors what pull air into the inlet port and then after the rotational processing of the compressor the air is discharged through a discharge port. The in between of the ports is where the important information lies. The air after being sucked into the inlet gets pulled in between two lobes and the stator. As the air is being trapped the space between the lobes becomes increasingly smaller, thus increasing the pressure of the air transferring it to the discharge port.

The lubricated versions will often help to dissipate the heat that is created as the air is being compressed. This lubricant is then possible to transfer into the compressed air stream and must be removed before a point of use product if lubricant-free air is needed for the process. These compressors rank amongst the lower efficiencies in the positive displacement air compressors.

If you are visual learner, feel free to take a few minutes for the video below.

2 – Rotary Compressor Operation


If you would like to discuss the way to get the most out of your compressor, no matter the type, contact an Application Engineer and let us help you determine the most efficient way to use the air effectively.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Rotary vane.png – R. Castelnuovo, 10/20/2005 – retrieve from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rotary_vane.png

2 – Rotary compressor operation – HVACRinfo.com – 8/1/2016 – retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxDEK3Ymx30

Centrifugal Air Compressors: How Do They Work?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Centrifugal air compressors are one example of dynamic style air compressors. The dynamic type of compressors have a continuous flow of air that has its velocity increased in an impeller that is rotating at a higher speed. The kinetic energy of the air is increased due to the increase in velocity and then becomes transformed into pressure energy through the use of a volute chamber, or a diffuser. The volute chamber is a curved funnel that increases in surface are as it approaches the discharge port. This converts the kinetic energy into pressure by allowing the velocity to reduce while the pressure increases. Approximately 1/2 of the energy is developed in the impeller and the other half is developed in the volute chamber or diffuser.

1 – Basic Centrifugal Air Compressor

The most common centrifugal air comppressor has between two and four stages in order to generate pressures up to 150 psig. A water cooled inter-cooler and separator is placed between each stage in order to remove condensation and cool the air down prior to being passed on to the next stage. These compressors still have advantages and some disadvantages. The list below showcases just a few.

Advantages:

  • Lubricant-free air is generated
  • Complete packages up to 1,500 hp
  • Initial costs decrease with increase in compressor size
  • No special foundations or reinforcements needed

Disadvantages:

  • Specialized maintenance requirements
  • Higher initial investment
  • Unloading/waste of air required to drop system pressures

To determine which type of compressor may be best suited for your facility, we suggest to locate and contact a compressor sales company in your geographic area. When it comes to determining the volume of air required to operate the EXAIR products and even some other point of use compressed air applications, EXAIR’s Application Engineers can help you determine the volume you will need to ensure the compressor is sized appropriately. If you would like to discuss any other point of use application, please contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Dugan, Tim PE – Basic Centrifugal Air Compressor, Compressed Air Best Practices; retrieved from https://www.airbestpractices.com/technology/air-compressors/centrifugal-air-compressor-controls-and-sizing-basics