A study of cardioid refrigeration compressor

• Main Author: R. S. Kumaresh
• Other Authors: Ooi Kim Tiow
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science; DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/54059
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Compressors are an essential part of refrigeration and air conditioning systems, without which, the comforts of daily life would not exist. Compressors are also used in many other applications that require the use of compressed gases. In recent times, there has been a growing need to develop energy efficient devices so as to cut operating costs and more importantly, to curb environmental problems. As such, much effort is being dedicated towards the development of new compressors and also into improving the designs and performance of existing compressors. This project is a continuation of the previous work done towards the development of a novel compressor, called the Cardioid Compressor. From the originally developed design and mathematical model, it was found that the Cardioid Compressor had a plausible leading edge over existing compressors. Thus, it was decided that an experimental study be conducted on the Cardioid Compressor, so as to verify and validate the working principle of the Cardioid Compressor. An experimental prototype, with several modifications made to the original design, was fabricated. Subsequently, experiments were conducted on the prototype, with air as the working fluid, to determine crucial compressor characteristics such as pressure and volume flow rate. The measured pressure and volume flow rate were found to increase with operating speed. The measured volume flow rate was also found to decrease with increasing pressure. Lastly, the temperature rise of the cylinder was found to increase at a faster rate, with increasing operating speeds. In summary, the experimental results showed that the compressor characteristics of the Cardioid Compressor did, in fact, match the expected behavior of compressors operating on similar principles, hence validating its working principle.