Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Influence of water injection parameters on the performance of a water-lubricated single-screw air compressor

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A thermodynamic model of a water-lubricated single-screw air compressor was established to examine the impact of water injection parameters on performance. Heat transfer and leakage between humid air and water was considered by analyzing the impacts of rotation speed, discharge pressure, the rate of water injection, and diameter of droplets on the performance of a compressor. The discharge temperature could be reduced by increasing the rate of water injection, resulting in the compression procedure moving towards an isothermal state. The increase in the rate of water injection under rated conditions from 60 L/min to 80 L/min resulted in a reduction in the compressor discharge temperature, increased the volume efficiency, and increased adiabatic efficiency by 11.1 K, 1.5 %, and 2.8 %, respectively. Water injection atomization increased the area of transfer of heat between humid air and water and improved the performance of compressor.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

C :

Flow coefficient

c :

Specific heat, J/(kg·K)

c r :

Correction coefficient of helically coiled tube

d :

Diameter, mm; Humidity ratio of humid air

f :

Slip factor

h :

Specific enthalpy, J/kg

k :

Heat convection coefficient, W/(m2·K)

L :

Length, m

m :

Mass of fluid, kg

Nu :

Nusselt number

n :

Rotation speed of screw rotor, rpm

P :

Power, W

Pr :

Prandlt number

p :

Pressure, Pa

Q :

Heat transfer quantity, J

Re :

Reynolds number

r 1 :

Radius of the screw rotor, m

r 2 :

Radius of the gate rotor, m

r o :

Outside radius of rotor, m

r i :

Inside radius of rotor, m

r l :

Latent heat of water, J/kg

S :

Area, m2

T :

Temperature, K

q v :

Volume flow of fluid, m3/s

u :

Specific internal energy, J/kg

V :

Volume, m3

v :

Velocity, m/s; Specific volume, m3/kg

W :

Work, J

z :

Potential head, m

α :

Void fraction

β :

Kinetic energy correction factor

ζ :

Atomization rate

θ :

Rotation angle of screw rotor, rad

λ :

Thermal conductivity, W/(m·K)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity, N·s/m2

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

X :

Mass fraction of gas

ω :

Angular velocity of screw rotor

a :

Dry air

ad :

Adiabatic compression

c :

Control volume

d :

Discharge

e :

Evaporation

g :

Gas mixture

in :

Inflow of control volume

inj :

Water injection

l :

Water

lea :

Leakage of fluid

out :

Outflow of control volume

real :

Real value

th :

Theoretical value

v :

Saturated water vapor

References

  1. Y. Y. Zhao, L. S. Li and H. G. Wu, Theoretical and experimental studies of water injection scroll compressor in automotive fuel cell systems, Energy Conversion and Management, 46 (9–10) (2005) 1379–1392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. J. F. Li, H. G. Wu and B. M. Wang, Research on the performance of water-injection twin screw compressor, Applied Thermal Engineering, 29 (2009) 3401–3408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. J. B. Shen, Z. W. Xing and X. L. Wang, Analysis of a single-effect mechanical vapor compression desalination system using water injected twin screw compressors, Desalination, 333 (2014) 146–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. C. Wang, Z. W. Xing and W. Q. Chen, Development of an oil free water-lubricated twin-screw air compressor, Applied Thermal Engineering, 143 (2018) 396–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. C. Wang, Z. W. Xing and W. Q. Chen, Analysis of the leakage in a water-lubricated twin-screw air compressor, Applied Thermal Engineering, 155 (2019) 217–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Y. F. Tian, J. B. Shen and C. Wang, Modeling and performance study of a water-injected twin-screw water vapor compressor, International Journal of Refrigeration, 83 (2017) 75–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Z. L. Wang, Z. Liu and H. Wang, Geometric characteristics analysis for inner surface of working chamber in single screw compressor with multicolumn envelope meshing pair, International Journal of Refrigeration, 108 (2019) 347–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Z. L. Wang, H. Wang and Z. M. Wang, Theoretical study on heat transfer characteristics of single screw refrigeration compressor with Multicolumn envelope meshing pair, Applied Thermal Engineering, 166 (2020) 114536.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Z. L. Wang, Z. Liu and W. F. Wu, Research of leakage characteristics of single screw refrigeration compressors with the multicolumn envelope meshing pair, International Journal of Refrigeration, 49 (2015) 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Q. Y. Wen, R. P. Zhi and Y. T. Wu, Performance optimization of a heat pump integrated with a single-screw refrigeration compressor with liquid refrigerant injection, Energy, 207 (2020) 118197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Y. W. Lu, S. W. Liu and Y. T. Wu, Performance improvement of single screw compressor by meshing clearance adjustment used in refrigeration system, Journal of Thermal Science, 30 (2020) 149–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. T. Li, W. Jiang and X. T. Gan, A theoretical method for evaluating the lubrication performance of the meshing pair profiles in water flooded single screw compressors based on the micro deflecting motion trajectory, Applied Sciences, 10 (2020) 5244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. T. Li, R. Huang and Q. K. Feng, Hydrodynamic lubricating characteristics of water flooded single screw compressors based on two types of meshing pair profile, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology, 230 (9) (2016) 1092–1106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. T. Li, Z. Liu and R. Huang, Research of the hydrodynamic lubrication characteristics of different meshing pair profiles in water-flooded single screw compressors, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 230 (3) (2016) 247–259.

    Google Scholar 

  15. T. Li, Y. C. Wang and X. L. Mao, Development and experi mental study of the first stage in a two-stage water-flooded single-screw compressor unit for polyethylene terephthalate bottle blowing system, Energies, 13 (2020) 4232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. J. L. Yang, C. Zhang and Z. T. Zhang, Study on mechanical vapor recompression system with wet compression single screw compressor, Applied Thermal Engineering, 103 (2016) 205–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. L. L. Shen, W. Wang and Y. T. Wu, A study of clearance height on the performance of single screw expanders in small-scale organic Rankine cycles, Energy, 153 (2018) 45–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. L. L. Shen, W. Wang and Y. T. Wu, Theoretical and experimental analyses of the internal leakage in single-screw expanders, International Journal of Refrigeration, 86 (2018) 273–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. H. G. Wu, Z. W. Xing and P. C. Shu, Theoretical and experimental study on indicator diagram of twin screw refrigeration compressor, International Journal of Refrigeration, 27 (2004) 331–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Z. Y. Wu and G. L. Tao, Simulation of high speed single screw compressor in fuel cell, Journal of Zhejiang University, 40 (2) (2006) 309–313.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Y. F. Tian, Z. W. Xing and Z. L. He, Modeling and performance analysis of twin-screw steam expander under fluctuating operating conditions in steam pipeline pressure energy recovery applications, Energy, 141 (2017) 692–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. S. M. Yang and W. Q. Tao, Heat Transfer, 4th Ed., Higher Education Press, Beijing (2006).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Y. N. Li, J. F. Wang and Y. T. Wu, Influence of water injection atomization on the performance of water-lubricated single-screw air compressor, 2021 2nd International Conference on Energy Power and Automation Engineering (2021).

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge research funding provided by the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation (No. 3181001).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yanan Li, Jingfu Wang, Yuting Wu, Biao Lei, Ruiping Zhi & Lili Shen

  2. Key Laboratory of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yanan Li, Jingfu Wang, Yuting Wu, Biao Lei, Ruiping Zhi & Lili Shen

Authors
  1. Yanan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jingfu Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuting Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Biao Lei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ruiping Zhi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Lili Shen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yanan Li.

Additional information

Yanan Li got her Master’s degree from Yanshan University, China, in 2011. Now she is a Post-graduate student at Beijing University of Technology. Her research interests in water-lubricated single-screw air compressor.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, Y., Wang, J., Wu, Y. et al. Influence of water injection parameters on the performance of a water-lubricated single-screw air compressor. J Mech Sci Technol 36, 445–456 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-1242-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-1242-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation