Reciprocating compressor 101: An easy to understand guide to Piston Compressors

In this article, I want to talk about reciprocating compressors and tell you all about their parts and then talk a bit about Hydrovane compressors to help you make an informed decision when choosing the right compressor for your system. If you are interested to know more about them, don’t hesitate to read what comes next.

 


What is a reciprocating compressor?

Reciprocating compressor (also known as piston compressor) is a kind of compressor that contains a crankshaft to drive the piston, resulting in the delivery of gasses at high pressure.

The gas then goes into the suction manifold and in the compression cylinder. This gas in this part of the piston compressor will be compressed with a piston. A crankshaft moves the piston in a reciprocating motion to compress the gas and is then discharged. If you want to gain more general information about them, you can check out this article.

 

Reciprocating compressor applications

Piston compressors are used in the petrochemical, gas, chemical and general industrial processes. They can be used in many situations such as chemical plants, gas pipelines, oil refineries, refrigeration plants, air conditioning, and natural gas processing plants.

 

Different Reciprocating Compressor Parts

In the previous sections, we learned about piston compressors and their applications in the industry. Now we will dive deeper into knowing different reciprocating compressor parts to learn their name and use in the system.

There are several parts used in different designs of these compressors. I will introduce the most important parts and explain a bit about them.

There are several basic parts used in the piston compressors including: cylinders, piston, piston rod, rod packing (tangent ring, backup ring, radial ring or pressure breaker ring), and bearing, crosshead, valve (ring type valve, plate type valve, poppet type valve), connection rod, distance piece, crankshaft, and lubrication system.

 

Cylinders are one of the most important parts of reciprocating compressors. Cylinders are used to reduce the temperature in the compression cycle. These cylinders are attached to the frame using a distance piece that works as an intermediate part and are usually created with cast iron for low-pressure and large cylinders, and steel for high-pressure and smaller cylinders. It can be separated from the frame too. Cylinders are equipped with replaceable liners which provide a surface for the wearing portion of the cylinder. The purpose of using them is to eliminate the cost of replacing the whole cylinder when the bore has been scored or worn. Though in the smaller ones, it’s not economical to use replaceable liners.

 

A piston can convert the crankcase’s energy to the gas that’s in the cylinder. This part is made of aluminium. It is equipped with piston rings that are a set of sliding seals to help seal the space between the cylinder and the piston to avoid the leakage of compressed gas. These rings usually have a self-lubricating property to decrease the friction force between the piston and the cylinder caused by sliding.

 

Cross Head has been implemented inside a piston compressor to guide the piston in the cylinder bore.

 

Piston Rod has been designed to transmit the motion from the crosshead to the piston. This part is threaded to the piston and is constructed of alloy steel.

 

The crankShaft is another part of reciprocating compressors. It helps moving the piston with a reciprocating motion to compress the gas. Large compressors (usually above 150 kW) have forged steel crankshafts and others have iron crankshaft. When above 800rpm, this part should be dynamically balanced.

 

The valve is also among the important parts of these compressors. It has two types: Spring-loaded and Gas-actuated and has three configuration types: Ring type, Plate type, and Poppet type. The valve can control the flow in the compressors.

 

These were among the most important parts of reciprocating compressors. If you want to learn about other parts as well, you can click on this link and gain many detailed and useful information about this compressor, its parts, and their use and application.

 

Now, let’s review one of the most famous piston compressors briefly:

 

Hydrovane Compressors

Piston compressors are also referred to as single-phase compressors. Hydrovane compressor is considered as one of the famous single-phase compressors that have been designed to provide consistent and dependable air supply.

 

Why should I choose a Hydrovane Compressor?

These compressors are popular because they have low noise level, and contain fewer components which reduce the energy for maintenance. They also provide high-quality air because they have less than 3ppm OCO! This type is also durable enough and works for more than 100,000 hours.

Hydrovane compressors can be used in farm and agriculture, automotive and garage, food and beverage, medical and dental, and lots of other industries to help us work better and smarter. If you want to learn more about Hydrovane compressors, visit this website and gain lots of useful information.

 

Did you enjoy reading about reciprocating compressors? How about sharing your opinion with us in the comment section?

 

**

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocating_compressor

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/775/reciprocating-compressor

http://www.mechanicalengineeringsite.com/reciprocating-compressor-basic-parts/

https://www.linquip.com/blog/reciprocating-compressor/

https://www.linquip.com/blog/hydrovane-compressors/

https://www.directair.co.uk/products/air-compressors/how-do-air-compressors-work/

https://www.linquip.com/blog/reciprocating-compressor-parts/


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