DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTISTAGE SUCTION AIR COOLING SYSTEM FOR RECIPROCATING COMPRESSORS AND INVESTIGATION OF ITS IMPACT ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY
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The energy efficiency of reciprocating compressors largely depends on the initial thermodynamic state of the air entering the compressor, particularly its temperature. A high temperature of the suction air leads to a decrease in gas density, which increases the work required during the compression process and consequently results in higher electrical energy consumption. The aim of this study is to develop a multi-stage suction air cooling system for reciprocating compressors and to evaluate its effect on thermodynamic and aerodynamic characteristics using computational fluid dynamics methods. In the proposed technical solution, the suction air is cooled before entering the compressor through a series of sequentially arranged multi-stage tubular heat exchangers. The research was carried out using SolidWorks Flow Simulation software, where temperature and pressure fields were modeled. The simulation results showed that the temperature of the suction air decreases from 40 °C to 7–8 °C. This increases air density, reduces the work required for compression, and improves the energy efficiency of the compressor. At the same time, the pressure loss in the device ranges between 14–26 Pa, which indicates minimal hydraulic resistance. The obtained results confirm that the proposed multi-stage cooling system increases the volumetric efficiency of the compressor, reduces electrical energy consumption, and improves overall energy efficiency. The proposed technical solution can be applied in Reciprocating compressor, suction air, multi-stage cooling, heat exchanger, computational fluid dynamics, energy efficiency, volumetric efficiency, pressure loss.
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References
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