machine design, Vol.5(2013) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259 pp.

31-36
77
* Correspondence Authors Address: University of Ibadan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Nigeria,
esimmar@yahoo.com


Preliminary note

DESIGN ANALYSIS ALGORITHM OF A PETROL ENGINE-POWERED AIR COMPRESSOR

Emmanuel SIMOLOWO
1,
*
-_
Taiwo OLUMIDE
2

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria


Received (05.06.2012); Revised (27.11.2012); Accepted (03.12.2012)

Abstract: The complete design of a petrol engine-powered air compressor comprises five critical aspects namely, force
analyses, materials selection, power transmission, gearing and bolting. The learning algorithm developed in this work
encompasses the first three stages of the design for the compressor drive train. The algorithm structure presented
herein is characterized by design- input entry, design- path selection, and results computation and display. Unique
features of the program include; a multi-purpose structure due to the various sessions embedded in the program and the
multiple-scenario design ability which enables up to four simultaneous designs on different windows. The validation of
the software algorithm was done by comparing the results generated for a case study in literature with those obtained
following numerical procedures. The results were in the same range with no differences in values. In conclusion,
interactive learning software that will capture the complete design of a powered air compressor has been initiated in
this work by the development of software algorithm for kinematics, force analysis and power transmission design of the
air compressor assembly.

Key words: Machine Design, Interactive Learning, Petrol Engine, Air Compressor

1. INTRODUCTION

This work is on the development of an Interactive
learning computer algorithm for the design of a petrol
engine-powered air Compressor (Figure 1). It presents the
concept behind the air compressor and the functions of
compressor components with the assertion of originisation
as an important factor in engineering education [1, 2, 3].
The design concepts presented in this work can be
synthesized and analyzed in the following stages (i)
Preliminary design of a compressor drive train (ii)
Preliminary design of shafts for a compressor drive train
(iii) Design of spur gears for a compress drive train (iv)
Design of the head bolts for an air compressor. [14]. An
air compressor is a machine that decreases the volume
and increases the pressure of a quantity of air by
mechanical means. Air compressors have helped many
engineering equipment in performing various process
such as breaking of ground by jack hammer tighten or
loosen lug nuts on automobile wheel by the use of
pneumatic wrenches and spraying of paint through an
atomizing nozzle [6, 7].
Computer algorithms have helped engineers to efficiently
develop correct, reliable, and robust programs that assist
in design and eradication of errors during such processes.
Various problems are encountered when performing
numerical design. These include: (i) Tedious, Long and
cumbersome design procedures:- In designing a product
various equations are required to be used and each of
which have their own branches of formulas and
considerations. (ii) Limited illustrations while learning: -
Numerical approach hinders student from adequately
visualising concepts that are difficult or impossible to
view. The objective of this work is to aid the effective
teaching and learning of the design of a compressor drive
train by developing a computer program for its design.
Specifically, this work is to perform; (i) The numerical
design of compressor drive train (ii) The design of the
shafts of the drive train which basically involves making
decisions that help in providing information for the
complete design. Such decisions with regards to the shaft
of drive train include maximum and minimum forces,
maximum and minimum resultant forces, maximum and
minimum moment on the shaft, mean and alternating
components of both moment and torque and many more
which determines the design. (iii) The development of
algorithm which constitutes the bulk of the work to be
done.

2. NUMERICAL DESIGN

The basic parts of the air compressor-assembly
considered in this work as shown in Figure 2 are; (i) The
driving unit (petrol engine) (ii) The transmission unit
(gear Unit) (iii) The compressors components which
include the cylinder, piston, metal ring, connecting rod,
bearing, cylinder crankshaft, value and spring value.
Procedures discussed in earlier works of machine design
as well as other design principles [4, 6, 7, 11, 16] are also
of relevance to this work. Conceptualized and detailed
designs mentioned in other works [9, 10] were done
numerically prior to development of software algorithm.
The aspects of the component design that make up the
complete power transmission design for the air
compressor drive train include force, moment and torque
requirements, shaft dimensions, material selection, fatigue
and stress effects. The maximum (T
max
) and the minimum
(T
min
) torque generated by the crank within the
Emmanuel Simolowo, Taiwo Olumide: Design Analysis Algorithm of a Petrol Engine-Powered Air Compressor;
Machine Design, Vol.5(2013) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 31-36


32



Fig.1. Petrol engine-powered air compressor

compressor are obtained from the analysis of Torque
time relation available in literature [14]. To commence
the design, certain parameters have to be assumed ad later
adjusted to meet up with the design requirements. They
are gear pinion diameter (d
p
), Gear output diameter (d
g(o)
),
pressure angle (), ball bearings of standard diameters are
to be used.

2.1. Force Requirements

The maximum (F
tmax
) and minimum forces (F
tmin
)
generated by the crank mechanism of the compressor
(Figure 3) and transmitted to the output shaft is obtained
using equation (1) where (r
g
) is gear radius

F
tmux
=
1mux
g
(1)
F
tmn
=
1mn
g
(2)

The gear radius is used in equation (1) and (2) because it
is attached to compressor which produces the torque. The
maximum (F
max
) and minimum (F
min
) resultant forces are
calculated using equations (3) and (4).

F
mux
=
Ptmux
cos
(3)

F
mn
=
Ptmn
cos
(4)

The maximum (M
max
) and minimum (M
min
) moments on
the shaft based on the design criteria that the gears are
centered between the simple supported bearings L mm
apart, are determined by equations (5) and (6)

H
mux
= F
mux
j
L
4
[ (5)

H
mn
= F
mn
j
L
4
[ (6)

Since a keyway will probably be needed at the gear, a
stress concentration factor of 3[14] is applied for both
bending and torsion at that critical location where both
moment and torque components are largest. After the
gears are designed and the bearings are selected, the
design can be redefined to include stepped shoulders and
use more accurate stress concentration factors. The
mean (M
m,
T
m
) and alternating (M
a,
T
a
) components of
both moment and torque are obtained using equations (7)
and (8). The loading is combination of fluctuating
moment and fluctuating torque.

H
m
=
Mmux+Mmn
2
(7)

H
m
=
Mmux-Mmn
2
(8)

I
m
=
1mux+1mn
2
(9)

I
u
=
1mux-1mn
2
(10)

2.2. Material Selection

Considering a design based on Low carbon inexpensive
cold rolled steel, the following reference equations (11)
and (12) are used. Where, S
ut
is ultimate tensile strength,
S
y
is yield strength.

Sc|= S] u.SSut or Sut < 1,4uuHpo (11)

Sc|= S] 689HPo or Sut 1,4uuHPo (12)

From eq. (11) Se is the endurance strength and Sf is the
fatigue strength. This must be reduced by various factors
to account for difference between the part and the test
specimen and to obtain the corrected endurance strength
(Se)in equation (13).

Sc = c
Ioud
C
szc
C
Su]
C
cIuI
C
tcmp
Sc (13)

Csur = A (Sut)
b
(14)
Emmanuel Simolowo, Taiwo Olumide: Design Analysis Algorithm of a Petrol Engine-Powered Air Compressor;
Machine Design, Vol.5(2013) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 31-36

33
Loading is bending and torsion where C
load,
C
size
, C
surf
,
C
relial
, C
temp
are all stress concentration factors based on
load type, part size, type of surface finish, reliability and
temperature of operation respectively. The coefficient A
and exponential b corresponding to S
ut
are available in
literature [17]. The notch sensitivity (q) is obtained
based on the neulers constant (a) as expressed in
equation (15) for SI unit. The value of (a) used in
equation (15) is also obtained from standard tables for
various values of S
ut
and r is the assumed notch radius.

q =
1
1+_
c
_
r
2S.4
_
(15)

The fatigue stress concentration factor (k
f
) is given in
equations (16) and (17) where K
t
is geometric stress
concentration factor for the case to be designed. The
coefficient A and exponential b corresponding to
dimension ratios

are available in literature [15].

K
]
= 1 +q(K
t
-1) (16)

b
t
d
r
A K

(17)
2.3. Power Transmission

The output shaft diameter (ds
(o)
) is given by equation (19),
where K
f
is fatigue stress factor, K
fsm
is stress
concentration factor for mean shear stress, K
fs
is stress
concentration factor for shear stress, K
fm
is stress
concentration factor for mean, N
sf
is the factor of safety.
The values of the concentration factors are obtained based
on design situation. For this design the same factors are
used on the mean and shear stress components (eq. 18).
The input diameter (ds
(i)
) is obtained using equation (20)

K
fm
= K
f ;
K
fsm
= K
fs
(18)
Js(o) = _
32Ns]
n
__
_(K]Mu)
2
+[
3
4
((K]s1u)
2
)
S]
_ +
KmHm2+S4KsmIm2Sut1S (19)

Js(i) _
32Ns]
n
__
_(K]Mu)
2
+[
3
4
((K]s1u)
2
)
S]
_ +
KmHm2+S4KsmIm2Sut1S (20)

The coupling suggested for use in this design is of
complaint type (jar type coupling). This is to
accommodate some angular and parallel misalignment
due to tolerance in the mounting of these subassemblies
of engine gearbox and compressor.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING
ALGORITHM
The development of the learning algorithm follows steps
similar to other works [18, 19, and 20]. Other relevant
works are on tools and methodology for software design
of tribo-elements [5,8,12] The main stages involved in the
software development of this work are (i) selection of
appropriate programming language (ii) creation of user
friendly and interactive interfaces (iii) development of
program codes (iv) packaging and deployment. The ideal
choice of programming language for the development of
the software algorithm used in this work is the C
++
. The
choice was made based on the following (i) high program
execution speed (ii) adaptability (iii) the relative ease with
which it allows a user to create interfaces. Once the
algorithm was fully developed a complete evaluation was
conducted by validating the software results with those
obtained in literature.

3.1. Algorithm Structure

The first step in building program algorithm is to decide
on the program structure. Shown in Figure 2 is the
program flow chart. The program structure consists of
two modules; (i) study session (ii) practice session. The
study session involves a systematic and sequential display
of files to the user. The session starts with the display of
the first interface and enables proper navigation through
the study material. The practice session is the largest
component of the software algorithm and consists of
iterative operations such as the collection of data,
computation execution and return of computed values for
further operations. The overall program flow of the design
algorithm is characterized by the following stages (i)
design- input entry (ii) design- path selection by user (iii)
results display. Some of the unique features of the
program include (i) Multi-purpose structure: This feature
is as result of the various sessions embedded in the
program. (ii) Multiple design ability: The program enables
a maximum of four different design scenarios to be
performed using different interfaces as shown in Figure 8.

Emmanuel Simolowo, Taiwo Olumide: Design Analysis Algorithm of a Petrol Engine-Powered Air Compressor;
Machine Design, Vol.5(2013) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 31-36


34



Fig.2. Flow chart of software algorithm

4. SOFTWARE VALIDATION AND RESULTS

The software algorithm developed in this work was
validated using a design case study presented in literature
[14] The design case focuses on the need by a contractor
for a small gasoline-engine powered air compressor to
drive air hammers. The design process begins with
conceptualization and creativity where the following
criteria are taken into consideration. (i) Capacity of
gasoline engine depending on the type of air hammer to
be used. (ii) Type of compressor needed. (iii) General
layout for the design. (iv) Machine elements involved. (v)
Compressor air flow rate and mean effective pressure.
After these design criteria have been properly analyzed,
the following components and specifications were used in
the design [14]. (i) 2.5 hp single-cylinder, two stroke
engine with flywheel at 3,800rpm. (ii) Gear set (ratio
1,500rpm : 3,800rpm or 0.39 : 1). (iii) Compressor (4x10
-
4
stroke volume) rev = 1,500rpm. (iv) Shafts, couplings,
bearings and gears. Shown in Figures 3 and 4 are the
layout of the compressor assembly and stages of design.
The results obtained by applying the procedures discussed
in section 2 are presented in Tables 1. Shown in Figures
5, 6 and 7 are the results of the validation of the software
using the case study considered.



Fig.3. Assembly of Case Study Compressor train





Fig.4. Design Stages for Compressor Assembly
Emmanuel Simolowo, Taiwo Olumide: Design Analysis Algorithm of a Petrol Engine-Powered Air Compressor;
Machine Design, Vol.5(2013) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 31-36

35
Table 1. Case Study Design for Softwares Validation



Fig.5. Comparison of results for Force Requirements


Fig.6. Results for Torque Analyses

Figure 7: Results for Power Transmission Shafting



5. CONCLUSION

The objective of this work which is to commence the
development of comprehensive learning software for the
design of petrol engine powered air compressors has been
achieved. This work shows that the use of computation
and design interactive software constitutes an
improvement on conventional teaching methods. The
interactive software with the aid of appropriate features
takes the user through critical design concepts and offers
a proper understanding of the design principles of a
petrol-engine-powered compressor. The validation of the
software using a design case study in literature proved the
reliability of the software. This work opens further tasks
on various types of engine-powered air compressor
systems by adapting and extending the algorithm
potentialities of the learning software developed herein.

400
200
0
200
400
600
Ftmax
(N)
Ftmin
(N)
Fmax
(N) Fmin(N) L(mm)
SoftwareResults NumericalResults
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
SoftwareResults NumericalResults
0 0,02 0,04 0,06
ds(o)(m)
ds(i)(m)
q((x101)
NumericalResults SoftwareResults
S/N
Design
Parameters
specifications
Status of
Parameter
1. T
max
66.5 Nm
Assumed
values based
on
conceptualizat
ion stage
2. T
min
-20 Nm
3. dp
(i)
10.20 mm
4. dp
(o)
254 mm
5. t
g
50 mm
6. 20
o

7. N
sf
3
Force Requirement
8 F
tmax
523.6 N
Results
obtained
9 F
tmin
-157 N
10 F
max
557.2 N
11 F
min
-167 N
12 L 100 mm
13 M
max
13.93 Nm
14 M
min
-418 Nm
15 M
m
4.875 Nm
16 M
a
9.05 Nm
17 T
m
43.25 Nm
18 T
a
23.75 Nm
Materials Specifications and Design
19
Material
selected
Steel
Selection
based on
formability
20 S
ut
441.12 MPa Standard
values 21 S
y
372.3 MPa
22 Surface Finish Machined
Fabrication
process
23 a 0.104058
Based on S
ut

from tables
24 r 0.254m Assumed
25 q 0.49057
Result
Obtained
Power Transmission Shafting
26 K
t
3
Result
obtained
27 K
f
2
28 d
s(o)
0.025 m
29 d
s(i)
0.02 m
Emmanuel Simolowo, Taiwo Olumide: Design Analysis Algorithm of a Petrol Engine-Powered Air Compressor;
Machine Design, Vol.5(2013) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 31-36


36

Fig.8. Software Interface showing four different design sessions


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