Reciprocating Piston Compressor Functions and Advantages

Reciprocating piston compressor is one of the earliest types of compressors, the wooden bellows invented in China in 1500 BC is the prototype of reciprocating piston compressors. At the end of the 18th century, Britain made the first reciprocating piston air compressor for industrial use. The contravariate structure that emerged in the 1950s greatly reduced the size of reciprocating piston compressors and enabled versatility.

Working principle:

When the crankshaft of the piston compressor rotates, through the transmission of the connecting rod, the piston will do reciprocating motion, and the working volume composed of the cylinder wall, cylinder head and piston top surface will change periodically. When the piston starts to move from the cylinder head, the working volume in the cylinder gradually increases, at this time, the gas is along the intake pipe, pushing the intake valve and entering the cylinder, until the working volume becomes the maximum, then the intake valve closed. When the piston is in reverse motion, the working volume in the cylinder is reduced, the gas pressure rises, and when the pressure in the cylinder reaches and slightly higher than the exhaust pressure, the exhaust valve opens, then the gas discharges out of the cylinder, and the exhaust valve closes. The above process is repeated when the piston is again inverse. In short, the crankshaft of the piston compressor rotates a round, the piston reciprocates once, the process of intake, compression and exhaust realizes successively in the cylinder. Thus, a work cycle is completed.

 

Advantages of piston compressors

1. Wide working pressure range, and the required pressure can be reached regardless of the flow rate;

2. High thermal efficiency, and the unit power consumption is small;

3. Strong adaptability, that is, the exhaust range is wide, and it is not affected by the pressure level, and can be adapted to a wider pressure range and cooling capacity requirements;

4. Relatively mature in technology, and it has accumulated rich experience in production and use.