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Compressor Efficiency Definitions Explained

There are many definitions of compressor efficiency used in the industry that can cause confusion. For positive displacement compressors, there are two main types of efficiency: volumetric efficiency which characterizes flow, and other efficiencies that characterize power, such as adiabatic, isothermal, and mechanical efficiencies. Vairex has adopted definitions for volumetric efficiency, specific overall adiabatic efficiency, and system efficiency to satisfy conventions and standards. Volumetric efficiency is the ratio of the experimentally measured mass or volume flow rate to the theoretical swept volume rate. Specific overall adiabatic efficiency is the ratio of the theoretical adiabatic compression work to the experimentally measured shaft power. System efficiency is the product of the specific

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53 views1 page

Compressor Efficiency Definitions Explained

There are many definitions of compressor efficiency used in the industry that can cause confusion. For positive displacement compressors, there are two main types of efficiency: volumetric efficiency which characterizes flow, and other efficiencies that characterize power, such as adiabatic, isothermal, and mechanical efficiencies. Vairex has adopted definitions for volumetric efficiency, specific overall adiabatic efficiency, and system efficiency to satisfy conventions and standards. Volumetric efficiency is the ratio of the experimentally measured mass or volume flow rate to the theoretical swept volume rate. Specific overall adiabatic efficiency is the ratio of the theoretical adiabatic compression work to the experimentally measured shaft power. System efficiency is the product of the specific

Uploaded by

Kai Joe
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Compressor Efficiency Definitions: Summary

K. Ueno, PhD, and R. E. Bye, VAIREX corportation, and K. S. Hunter, University of Colorado

There are many different compressor efficiency definitions in use by the compressor industry,
which can cause confusion when comparing compressors. For positive displacement compres-
sors (non-dynamic), there are two major types of efficiency. One characterizes flow (mass
flow or volume flow) and is called volumetric efficiency. The other characterizes power, and
comes in a wide variety of forms: adiabatic, isothermal, mechanical, overall, and system, to
name a few.

Vairex has adopted the following definitions to satisfy industry convention and theoretical
standards. Below are brief descriptions of the volumetric efficiency, specific overall adia-
batic efficiency, and system efficiency, which Vairex currently uses in specifications. For a
more complete explanation of these efficiencies and their derivation, please see our more
comprehensive document on the subject [LINK].

Volumetric Efficiency
ṁe (ACFM )e
ηV,e = =
ṁS V̇S
Here and throughout, ṁe is the experimentally measured discharge mass flow rate, ṁS is the
theoretical swept-volume mass flow rate, (ACFM )e is the experimentally measured volume
flow rate in actual cubic feet per minute, and V̇S is the theoretical swept-volume flow rate.
The former definition (ṁe /ṁS ) is preferred, but in the absence of mass-flow meters, the
latter is acceptable. We note that both swept-volume rates are functions of only compressor
geometry.

Specific Overall Adiabatic Efficiency


"  n−1 #

Specific Theoretical Adiabatic
 P2 n
ṁe cp T1 −1
Compression Work P1
η̄overall ,ad = =
(Specific Experimental Shaft Power) Ẇshaft ,e
In this efficiency, cp is the specific heat of air at constant pressure evaluated at T1 , T1 is the
theoretical (standard) inlet temperature, P2 /P1 is the theoretical pressure ratio, and Ẇshaft ,e
is the experimentally measured shaft power.

System Efficiency

ηsys = η̄overall ,ad · ηmotor · ηcontroller · ηauxiliary

where ηmotor , ηcontroller , and ηauxiliary denote efficiencies of the compressor motor, controller,
and auxiliary device, respectively. This efficiency is the product of all component efficiencies.

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