Parametric analysis of refrigerant flow in coupled vane compressor

• Main Author: Lye, Yu Zhe
• Other Authors: Ooi Kim Tiow
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159063
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Over the years, there have been an increase in global demand for rotary compressors. The coupled vane compressor is introduced and simulated using a 2D mesh to gain insights to possible flow features of the compressor. The simulation was carried out in ANSYS Fluent using the overset method with refrigerant R1234yf as the working fluid. Through the simulation, data for pressure, temperature, density, and mass flow at varied operating speeds and inlet temperatures are obtained. It was concluded from the data obtained that compressor performance is affected by pressure effects that resulted from over compression at varying operating speeds, with an increase in pressure of up to 80.7% within the experimental range. On the contrary, compressor performance is affected by fluid density when varying inlet temperatures, with a density drop of up to 4.74% at higher inlet temperatures within the experimental range. Thus, this 2D simulation provided insights to flow features of the coupled vane compressor.