AIR RECEIVERS

There are two different applications air receivers in your compressed air system. They differentiate themselves by their location. The first I will refer to as the PRIMARY receiver and is located near the compressor after the aftercooler but before any filtration and/or drying equipment. Every positive displacement (reciprocating, rotary screw or vane) air compressor should be piped to a PRIMARY air receiver after the aftercooler and separator. This provides the following for your air compressor and system: a. Dampens fluctuations in pressure so that compressor control functions are smoother and slower. b. Acts as a secondary separator to help remove condensed oil and water. c. Provides a vent point for performing certain service and troubleshooting functions. d. Allows you to perform certain time vs. volume tests with regard to compressor capacity or increased air requirements. A rule of thumb for sizing primary air receivers for applications from 90-125PSIG is as follows: CFM Compressor Capacity = Gallons Receiver Size OR 240 CFM Compressor = 240 Gallon Air Receiver Or Closest standard size SECONDARY receivers would be located very close to the point of air use at a piece of equipment that uses a large volume of air on an intermittent basis. Intermittent is the key word here. If you had a piece of equipment using a large volume of air on a constant basis, a secondary receiver won't do anything to help your system. Let's say that you buy a new piece of equipment for your plant that uses 240 CFM for 3 minutes, then it uses 0 CFM for 1 minute and the cycle repeats. You have a compressor that delivers 300 CFM at 125 PSIG. The new equipment and the other equipment in your plant requires 100 PSIG minimum to operate correctly. The other equipment uses a constant 100 CFM. Your system started out at 125 PSIG but when you turned on the new unit the pressure dropped below 100 PSIG and never recovered. A secondary receiver will definitely help in this case, but what size should it be. Use the following formula: V = T (C-S) P0 P Where: V T P0 C S V V V = receiver volume in cubic feet = time in minutes = atmospheric pressure (psia) P = difference between initial pressure and final pressure = intermittent air requirement in CFM = Constant air supply available in CFM = 3 (240-200) 14.7 25 = 1764 25 = 70 cubic feet

The closest larger standard size I could find was 89 cubic feet. Since this is considerably larger, what is the lowest point the pressure will drop to? Use the same formula, substituting X for P

89 = 1764

X X=19.8 initial pressure 125 P -20 PSIG min. receiver pressure 105 Now we need to make sure that the system has time to recover between cycles. Use the following formula: T=VP P0S T = 89 x 20 14.7 x 200 T = 1780 2940 T = .6 minutes to recover or about 36 seconds Pressure Rating - There is a danger in the use of air receivers of unsound or questionable construction. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has established a code, now incorporated into the laws of most states and municipalities, governing the construction of unfired pressure vessels. Receivers should satisfy this code, as well as any other state or municipal codes which apply locally. the code receiver will have a stamp stating the maximum working pressure of that vessel. Safety Relief Valves - You must have a relief valve capable of relieving the capacity of the connected compressor/s at the pressure you intend to operate. The relief valve can not be set higher than the maximum rated working pressure shown on the ASME stamp affixed to the tank. In addition, you can not operate your system at or right below the pressure relief setting. If you did, the relief valve will tend to chatter or whistle and wasted energy will escape to atmosphere. Another "rule of thumb" is to have your relief valve set 10% above the highest working pressure of the system. Example: Maximum system pressure - 125 PSIG +10% - 12.5 PSIG Relief valve set at - 137.5 PSIG Minimum receiver working pressure - 137.5 PSIG Condensate Drains - the various types of condensate drains - manual valve, float drains, and electric drains were covered in TECH TIP 1. Pressure Gauges - A 4" pressure gauge with large graduations makes it easy to read. If you buy a gauge with a range double that of your anticipated working pressure, then the needle will point straight up when you are in normal operation. A combination snubber/shutoff valve allows you to change out the gauge without bleeding down the system and prevents pressure spikes from damaging the gauge. Installation Suggestions - Mount the receiver on a 4" high concrete house keeping pad. Pipe inlet air in the lower opening and out an upper opening that is on a perpendicular axis to the inlet. This will assist in preventing condensate carryover.

1. Typically the valve manufacturer provides the necessary information such as required torque, stroke, etc...for a particular valve you have selected for your process (or the valve manufacturer is recommending it). 2. The actuator manufacturer provides a pneumatic actuator to meet those needs required by the valve manufacturer, in a size, material, configuration, etc..which suits your application (or multiple actuators with various instrument air requirements, like high/low pressure, high/low flow, etc...). 3. You, the purchaser of the valve/actuator assembly will have to select a particular actuator manufacturer willing to sell his products to you, including the technical details of operating conditions. Then you just leave behind the recalcitrant ones determined to not disclose the operating details of their products to you. You could also trick them by asking the valve supplier to get you the valve with the suitable actuator installed. I bet the valve supplier would

give you the pressure and flow of the instrument air required by the actuator (they got some secret arrangements with the actuator manufacturers). 4. you could calculate the piston area, multiply it by the stroke and multiply it again by the rate of strokes, to get the required flow. It gets tricky with the pressure calculation, 5. Simple approximation: 1. Actuator type, size to be known. 2. Volume of actuator (stroke one way) to be known or guesstimated. (Check with factory data). 3. For on/off actuators in normal condition without leakage from connections etc, air consumption per stroke one way : Volume of actuator at given/necessary pressure, plus safety factor. (One way stroke because you have to know if this is a double acting actuator (air both ways) or spring return (no air) for stroke opposite way. Alternatively consumption as given by factory, volume at given pressure nominaton. 4. For regulating actuators you are totally depending of factory information or actual measurement at site, or a guesstimate based on what additional facts you can find about the regulating actuator and NOTE: running conditions! in addition to the ones mentioned for on/off actuators. The regulating accessories for regulating actuators often requires additional (sometimes constant) air consumption for balance/control purpose in addition to stroke consumption on/off and the stroke adjustments consumption when running the actuator. A regulating device with a 1 mm opening is far different in consumption from one with 0,8 mm or 1,5 mm, and the opening could in addition be adjustable. Summary: all construction and process dependable! 5. For factories/plants with a number of regulating actuators the trend is leaning towards selecting electrical actuators in stead lof air controls because of air cost.