UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MEC3033F – THERMOFLUIDS II
Compressor practical information

Background
The working principle of a cylinder/piston reciprocation compressor is demonstrated in the
idealized process shown in Figure 1.

Suction to BDC

Expansion from TDC

TDC clearance
3

Discharge to TDC
2

Compression from BDC

1

2
pdis
3
Discharge

1
Pressure

Expansion Compression

4
psuc
Suction
BDC
TDC

Volume 5

Stroke

Figure 1
Apparatus
A schematic of the apparatus is shown in Figure 2. It consists of a single stage two-cylinder
reciprocating air compressor, piping, an accumulator vessel, an orifice plate with pressure
traducers at the inlet and outlet, a pressure gauge at the outlet of the compressor, and
thermocouples at the inlet of the compressor, at the outlet of the compressor and at the inlet
and outlet of the orifice plate. The drive shaft of the compressor is also fitted with a torque
measurement devise and a tachometer that indicates the rotational speed.

Inlet

Not used

Orifice
plate
Outlet
Accumulator

Figure 2

One of the two cylinders is also fitted with a pressure transducer and a capacitive piston-stroke
transducer. The output of these transducers is voltage, which can be converted to pressure and
volume respectively. A typical p-V trace visualized via an oscilloscope is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

Technical specifications of compressor

No of pistons 2
Bore 60 mm
Stroke 40 mm
Clearance Volume 3 mm/piston
Aim
To examine aspects of a single-state air-compressor by:
1. To determine the instantaneous value of the polytropic coefficient of compression “n”,
from the slop of the pressure/volume P/v diagram, near the start, in the middle and end
of compression
2. To determine the indicated work-cycle of the compression from the P/v diagram
𝑊/𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 = (𝑀. 𝐸. 𝑃) 𝑥 (𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎) 𝑥 (𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒)
Where
M.E.P. is the Mean Effective Pressure = average pressure

3. To determine the volumetric efficiency of the compressor

𝐹. 𝐴. 𝐷.
𝑛𝑣𝑜𝑙 =
𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

Where F.A.D. is the “Free Air Delivery”, i.e. the volume of air (m 3/min) as measured by the
orifice plate according to the formula:

𝑇0 ℎ. 𝑃2 0.5
𝐹. 𝐴. 𝐷. = 𝐶 [ ] [ ]
𝑃0 𝑇2
Where:
C 0.0209 constant for the orifice plate
P,T Abs Pressure and Temperature respectively in (kPa) and (K)
Subscript 0 Refers to Ambient/inlet conditions
Subscript 2 Refers to conditions upstream/inlet of the orifice plate
H Pressure drop across the orifice plate in (kPa)
Data recording
To address all the points stated in the Aim you will need to record the following data at a single
steady state operating condition:
Parameter Symbol Value Units

Atmospheric/inlet pressure po 100 kPa

Atmospheric/inlet temperature To

Compressor discharge pressure pdis

Compressor discharge temperature Tdis

Pressure inside the air drum 𝑝𝑑𝑟

Temperature inside the air drum 𝑇𝑑𝑟

Pressure at the inlet to the orifice plate 𝑝2

Temperature at the inlet to the orifice plate 𝑇2

Pressure difference over the orifice plate ℎ

Rotational speed N
Torque 
Gas constant Rair 0.287 kJ/kgK

Specific heats ratio γair 1.4

Report
Each individual student must submit a short report that addresses the following:
1. Calculate the polytropic coefficient, “n”, at 3 points on the compression process
2. Calculate the work associated with compression using theoretical approach and
compare it with the experimentally derived value
3. Calculate the volumetric efficiency of the compressor using the formula given
4. Perform an energy balance on the whole system comparing the values of the Power
obtained by theoretical and experiments derivations
5. Draw the actual p-V diagram for the polytropic process and on the same diagram,
compare it to the process if compression was performed isentropically (use γair = 1.4)
6. Your report must be submitted with the completed and signed cover sheet containing
the plagiarism declaration as attached.
7. For extra marks - Discuss the reasons for the different values of the polytropic
compression coefficient (“n” value)