Air Compressor & Receiver

Uses of compressed air

25 30 bar

Starting of main & auxiliary engines

Boiler soot blowing

4 7 bar

Service air
Whistle air
Pneumatic tools
Life boat, pilot ladder

1.5 2 bar

Instrumentation & control

Installation Requirements
Compressors
Minimum 2 or more compressors
Sufficient capacity to charge air receivers within 1 hour from atm. to max.
pressure to provide

6 starts for non reversible engine

12 starts for reversible engine

1 emergency air compressor & receiver for dead ship condition

Air Receivers
At least 2 air receivers with sufficient capacity without replenishment and
able to provide

6 starts for non reversible engine

12 starts for reversible engine

Installation Requirements
Pressure Relief devices
Relief v/v to be fitted after each stage of compression
Relief v/v to be fitted on the air receiver
Relief v/v or bursting disc to be fitted on inter & after coolers

Air Temperature
Limited to 93OC to prevent explosion
Fusible plug or high temp cut out provided as safety measure

Pressure Test
Cylinders, cylinder covers, inter & after coolers are tested by hydraulic
pressure to twice their working pressure.
Casing of intercooler and after cooler is hydraulically tested to 1.5 times the
cooling water pressure

Air compression Theory

Types of Air Compression
Isothermal compression (PV = C)

no rise in temp during compression

heat is removed during compression
least power input & most efficient
difficult to achieve in practice

Adiabatic/Isentropic compr. (PV1.4 = C)

no heat removed & temp. rises progressively

during compression
power input is max. & efficiency is low

Polytropic compression (PV1.3 = C)

actual compression process in practice

heat is extracted during compression
lies between isothermal and isentropic
compression
work done to compress air is reduced

Ideal P-V Diagram

4-1

Air induction

1-2

Air compression

2-3

Air delivery

3-4

Expansion of
remaining air

Vc

Clearance vol.

Vs

Swept vol (V1 Vc)

VI

Induced vol (V1 V4)

Vol eff. = Induced vol/Swept vol

Compr. ratio = V1/ V2 = P2 / P1

Actual P-V Diagram

Similar to ideal except
induction & del. process
Which are modified by v/v
action
Waviness of the lines 4-1 and
2-3 is due to
v/v bounce
v/v inertia
spring action
variation in back pressure

Volumetric Loss
Due to clearance Volume

Effect of increasing
Clearance Volume

Multistage Compression
As the pressure increases, more stages are required with intercooling due
to following disadvantages of single stage compression:
Low volumetric efficiency

As pressure ratio P2 / P1 is increased, volumetric efficiency drops

High air delivery temperature

Increase in pressure ratio results in higher delivery temp. causing

excess coke deposits

thermal stress
Lubrication problem
Explosion hazard

Increased power input

Inter-stage cooling lowers the work done in compressing air

Number of stages is governed by the required final pressure of the

compressed air.

Multistage Compression
Applied when delivery press.
is high
Compression is carried out
in stages
Ensures equal rise in temp in
each stages to prevent v/vs
& springs damage
Requires minimum work;
shaded area indicates the
wok saved
If stage pressures are P1, P2
& P3, P4
P2 = P1 . P3 & P3 = P2 . P4

Multistaging & Intercooling

Advantages:
Compression work is reduced
Vol efficiency and hence compressor capacity is increased
It approximates isothermal compression
Vol of air delivered is reduced; as a result reduced size of
cylinder, piston and delivery pipes is required
Reduced air delivery temp gives less thermal &mechanical
loading and better lubrication of piston & cylinder
Due to less temp, suc & del valves remain clean
Facilitates moisture separation
Use of intercooler allows smaller receiver

Volumetric Efficiency
It is the relationship between the Qty of air discharged
and the swept volume.
vol of air discharged as free air
Vol efficiency =
swept vol of L.P. piston
Free air is air at atm. press and at 15 deg C
Vol.eff. always refer to low pressure piston

Significance of Clearance Volume

To provide for thermal expansion and prevent the piston from
striking cylinder cover, a small clearance, called bumping
clearance is maintained between cylinder cover & piston
Bumping clearance must be as small as possible
High bumping clearance reduces vol effn. of compressor
Reduces compressor capacity & increases disch air temp.
Bumping clearance is effected by bearing wear & gasket
thickness
Low bumping clearance can cause mechanical damage
Bumping clearance must be checked after overhauling
Clearance volume is about 6% of swept volume

Factors affecting volumetric efficiency

Clearance volume - gaskets , bearing wear down
Valves dirty, leaky, spring tension
Leakage past piston rings
Insufficient cooling water due to dirty coolers
High cooling water temp.
High air inlet temp.
Throttling of air intake due to
Dirty intake filter
Insufficient suction v/v lift
Strong suction v/v spring

Compressed Air System

Two Stage Compressor

Two Stage Air Compressor

Components
Air Filter
Material felt or paper, metal gauze or nylon strands
Remove contaminant to prevent
abrasive wear of piston rings, valves
deposit on valves casing source of ignition

Very dirty filter will cause

Reduction in suction pressure
Increase in compression ratio
Increase in discharge temperature may cause coke deposit
Less air flow and danger of overheating coke deposits
In extreme case disch. temp.may exceed auto ignition temp of LO,
resulting in an explosion

Components
Suction & Delivery Valves
Low inertia automatic valves which operate on low diff pressure
Material used for
Valve seat 0.4% carbon steel hardened & polished surface
Valve plate Nickel or stainless steel hardened & polished
Spring tempered hardened steel

Usually of same type, only differences are

spring load and the valve lift
Excessive lift causes impact & v/v breakage
Late closing of v/v affects volumetric efficiency
Coke deposits make v/vs
leaky & sticky
causing overheating
reduce vol. efficiency

Inter-cooler & After-cooler

Multi Tubular
Copper tubes expanded in brass
tube plates with allowance for
expansion of tube nest
Cast iron casing with bursting disc,
to protect against sudden over
pressure
Drain pocket to remove moisture
Relief v/v to protect against over
pressure on air side
In case of tube leakage, leaky tube
is plugged / replaced

Inter-cooler & After-cooler

Single Coil Type
A single long copper coil
is used
Casing is protected by
bursting disc
in case of coil leakage,
complete replacement
of coil is required

Drain Trap
Provided to drain off water & oil automatically from
compressed air system
Water must be drained at each stage to prevent
Removal of oil film from cylinder wall, assisting wear of liner
and piston ring
Corrosion to form iron oxide, assisting degradation of oil

Requires regular inspection

Air Receiver
Size depends on engine requirements
Should have sufficient capacity to give
12 consecutive starts for reversible engine
6 consecutive starts for non reversible engine

Fabricated from good quality mild steel with UTS 500 MN/m 2 with an
elongation of not less than 23% to 25%
having one longitudinal welded seam
welded hemispherical dish at the ends with elliptical manhole door

Must be cleaned internally & coated with paint or copal varnish

Fitted with necessary mountings

Air Receiver

Air Receiver

Function of Compressor Lubricant

Lubricate bearing, gears & rubbing parts
Remove heat due to compression & friction
Provide sealing to minimise air loss
Prevent corrosion
Be suitable for long term use

Lube Oil Recommendation

Lubricating oil is recommended according to compressor classification
-- light, medium, or heavy duty depending upon parameters as:
Compressor design
Type of cooling
Number of stages
Air flow rate
Oil retention time

Ambient condition
Ambient temp
Coolant temperature
Presence of dust or oil vapour

Operating system
Continuous or intermittent
maintenance

Lubrication Selection
According to normal lubrication requirement and to minimise coke
deposit
Plain mineral oil is not used as it oxidises easily at high temp. and
pressure
Lube oil must have anti-oxidant additives for good oxidation resistance
Low viscosity easy spreading, effective sealing,
hydrodynamic lubrication with low friction
Flash point above 220oC
Oil with minimum heavy ends
If oil has too broad distillation range, the more volatile portion may
tend to evaporate leaving behind heavier ends in the hot zone

Mechanics of Explosion
Oxidation of oil
Rate of oxidation depends on
Temperature
Air pressure
Presence of catalyst iron oxide
Exposure time

Heat generated due to oxidation is removed by air flow & CW

Coke Deposits
Due to oxidation coke deposit on leaky valves cause high temp.
Max tolerable thickness of coke layer 2 mm (for 10 to 30 bar press)

Explosion
Fire can initiate in unloaded compressor
Burning coke could act as ignition point for air-oil vapour mixture
Spontaneous ignition followed by weakening the metal wall can initiate
explosion

Prevention of Explosion
Design of compressor Installation
Air flow rates & exposure time
Prevent oil accumulation
Air flow rate of 8m/sec keeps the pipes clean by moving the large
oil droplets to cooler areas

Operation & Maintenance

Lubricating oil oil feed rate, viscosity, antioxidant, oil change,
draining of excess oil
Air filtration - contaminants
Temperature air flow, leaky valves, CW flow, clean coolers
Catalysts Iron oxides (rust) requires regular draining of water

Synthetic Oil
Product made of chemical synthesis
Raw materials or base stock may be mineral oil derived
The chemical structure is planned and controllable
The molecular structure is variable so that product
performance may be modified
Additive treated to produce lubricant with superior
properties to mineral oil

Synthetic Oil
Advantages
Superior to mineral oil & excellent protection against corrosion
Suitable for severe operation
Good thermal & oxidation stability
Operate over wide temperature range
Good viscosity vs temp. properties
Low pour point (-33OC to - 48OC)
Good wear resistance with low viscosity
Reduced maintenance
Cleaner compressor due to minimum deposits
Long service life
Enhanced safety due to high flash point (246 to 266 deg C)

Synthetic Oil
Disadvantages
Less compatible with seals & paint
Initial cost is high, but overall it may be
cost effective
Possible mineral oil incompatibility
Potential toxicity

Operational Problems of Air Compressor

Drop of compressor capacity / pressure
Choking of air filter
Valves leaking
Increased bumping clearance
Leaky piston rings
Worn crank pin or journal bearing
Leaky cooler / breakdown of cooler
L.O. contamination
Fire and explosion