MARINE AIR

COMPRESSOR

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Uses of compressed air
Installation requirements
Air compression theory
Multistage compression
Volumetric efficiency
Constructional details
Operation and Maintenance
Compressor lubrication
Explosion hazard
Air receivers

BAA 1
 AIR COMPRESSOR TEORY
Nearly perfect gas, as air is composed of mainly 23% oxygen and 75.5%
nitrogen & rest other gases by mass

Mixture of gases behave as near as perfect gases

Follows perfect gas laws Boyles and Charles laws

During compression
Volume reduces
Pressure & temperature increases
Mass remains constant

Air follows the combination of gas laws:

PV = mRT; PV / T = mR = Constant

TYPES OF 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

BAA 2
 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

BAA 3
 VOLUMETRIC LOSS
DUE TO CLEARANCE VOLUME

EFFECT OF INCREASING
CLEARANCE VOLUME

BAA 4
 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, vol 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.

BAA 5
 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

MULTISTAGE & INTERCOOLINC

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

BAA 6
 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

CLEARENCE 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 volumetric efficiency of compressor
Reduces compressor capacity & increases discharge 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

BAA 7
 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

END

BAA 8
 COMPRESSOR

TWO STAGE AIR COMPRESSOR

BAA 9
 TWO STAGE AIR COMPRESOR IN LINE

TWO STAGE AIR COMPRESSOR

BAA 10
 THREE STAGE AIR COMPRESSOR-IN-LINE

MATERIAL - SUC/DEL V/V

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

BAA 11
 PISTON
Trunk type piston is used in single acting compressor

Tandem piston is used in multistage compact design

Aluminium alloy material is used for

good friction properties
high strength with low coeff. of thermal expansion

Piston rings material is alloyed cast iron

HP piston rings are made thicker

BEARING/CRANKSHAFT
BEARINGS
Thin shell type in modern compressor
Requires L.O. pressure above 2 bar
Conventional thick shell can run even at 1.0 bar

CRANKSHAFT
Usually forged carbon steel integral with counter weight
Cast steel being fatigue prone is not us

BAA 12
 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

BAA 13
 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

UNLOADER
PREVENTS COMPRESSOR TO START ON LOAD

Some of many methods to unload compressor cylinder

throttling of suction
speed variation
by-pass discharge to suction
depression to hold suction v/v plates on their seats

Last two methods are most widely used in marine compressors.

BAA 14
 UNLOADER

SUCTION VALVE DEPRESSION

Fitted on each stage suction valves

Actuated by solenoid or pilot air

AIR RECIEVER
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/m2 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

BAA 15
 AIR RECIEVER

AIR RECIEVER

BAA 16
 FUNCTION OF COMPRESSOR LUBRICANT

Lubricate bearing, gears & rubbing parts

Remove heat due to compression & friction
Provide sealing to minimize air loss
Prevent corrosion
Be suitable for long term use

LUBE OIL RECOMENDATION

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

BAA 17
 LUBRICARION 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

END

BAA 18