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Injecting oil inside the compressor chambers of the oil-flooded, twin-screw compressors has several advantages. Oil cools the compressing fluid upon mixing with it and hence the compression process is brought nearer to the ideal isothermal compression process. The oil also serves as a lubricant between the meshing rotors and other clearance gaps in the compressor. The thin film of oil formed in the clearance gaps prevents internal leakages too; enhancing the volumetric efficiency of the compressor. Among these desirable effects of injecting oil in screw compressors, there is an undesirable effect too. The interaction (friction) of oil films formed in various clearance gaps with the rotors leads to a drag power loss. Recent studies such as Abdan et al. have proposed more detailed and accurate methods to estimate the oil drag losses in screw compressors. These methods enable the modelling of the effect of even minor changes in rotor profile on the drag loss power. Predictions of this model were hence used to tweak the screw rotor profiles with an objective to reduce the oil drag losses. Such profiles were then retrofitted in the existing machines and tested. Comparing the differences in power consumption of these machines, the component of oil drag loss was deduced. The experimental results show close agreement with the oil drag loss prediction model. The reduction of oil drag losses through profile modifications led to an improvement in the specific power of oil-flooded screw compressor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotary twin screw compressors are widely used because of their high efficiency and reliability. Their most common mode of operation is as oil-flooded machines when delivering air and gases at moderate pressures and flow rates. In order to achieve the best performance, it is essential to be able to predict the optimum amount of oil, required for the oil injection process, accurately. Analytical procedures for the design and performance estimation of twin screw compressors are well developed and widely available, but the determination of oil drag losses, in oil-flooded machines is only guesstimated. This paper describes a more detailed and accurate procedure for estimating oil drag loss, using a combined Couette-Poiseuille flow model and gives the results of studies on three sizes of machines operating over a range of pressure ratios and speeds. To this end, a parametric analysis has been developed based on a combined Couette-Poiseuille flow model and has been used to estimate the individual effects of pressure ratio, the various clearances and the oil viscosity on the total drag loss, for different sizes of the compressor. It can be seen from the results that at pressure ratios of up to 8.5, the drag loss due to the discharge axial clearance gap is nearly 2/3rd of the total, while nearly 1/3rd is due to the radial clearance. At normal operating speeds, the loss due to the interlobe clearance is insignificant, but as the pressure ratio increases, this rises more rapidly than that due to the axial and radial losses. The gain in the drag loss due to greater oil viscosity becomes more significant as the compressor size is increased. In larger machines, when clearance values are increased, the radial and axial elements of the drag loss are reduced more rapidly than that due to the interlobe loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clearance gaps in twin-screw compressors are critical for their performance and reliable operation, as the leakage flows through these clearances influence the volumetric and adiabatic efficiencies. The amount of leakage flows depends on the clearance size and shape as well as various geometric and operating parameters. Usually, the isentropic nozzle equations along with appropriate flow coefficients are used for more accurate estimation of the leakage flow rates through the clearance gaps. Hence, a proper understanding of the flow coefficients and their relationship with the dimensionless parameters (such as pressure ratio, Reynolds number, and aspect ratios) is critical for an accurate prediction of the leakage flows. In the present study, considering the interlobe clearance gap in screw compressor in terms of rectangular openings, the interlobe leakage flow rates are estimated for various opening sizes and pressure conditions using isentropic nozzle equations and an iterative method. The flow coefficients are determined by comparing the experimental values obtained using a specialized test rig and the flow rates obtained from the analytical methods. The dimensionless parameters are varied to see their individual effect on the leakage mass flow rates and on the flow coefficients. The mean deviation from the experimental results when using an analytical iterative procedure (-8.5%) is substantially lower in comparison to the mean deviation (+26.8%) using the isentropic nozzle equations. The study validates that the iterative method can be preferred (for an interlobe leakage flow rate prediction) over the isentropic nozzle equation method.

The clearance gaps in twin-screw compressors are critical for their performance and reliable operation, as the leakage flows through these clearances influence the volumetric and adiabatic efficiencies. The amount of leakage flows depends on the clearance size and shape as well as various geometric and operating parameters. Usually, the isentropic nozzle equations along with appropriate flow coefficients are used for more accurate estimation of the leakage flow rates through the clearance gaps. Hence, a proper understanding of the flow coefficients and their relationship with the dimensionless parameters (such as pressure ratio, Reynolds number, and aspect ratios) is critical for an accurate prediction of the leakage flows. In the present study, considering the interlobe clearance gap in screw compressor in terms of rectangular openings, the interlobe leakage flow rates are estimated for various opening sizes and pressure conditions using isentropic nozzle equations and an iterative method. The flow coefficients are determined by comparing the experimental values obtained using a specialized test rig and the flow rates obtained from the analytical methods. The dimensionless parameters are varied to see their individual effect on the leakage mass flow rates and on the flow coefficients. The mean deviation from the experimental results when using an analytical iterative procedure (-8.5%) is substantially lower in comparison to the mean deviation (+26.8%) using the isentropic nozzle equations. The study validates that the iterative method can be preferred (for an interlobe leakage flow rate prediction) over the isentropic nozzle equation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum sphere method and the minimum cross-section method are proposed to calculate the interlobe clearance between two mating screw rotors and to determine the shapes and sizes of all the leakage paths. These two methods are inspired by the red-lead and tooth-contact pattern and can be used to evaluate the interlobe leakage and to design the mating rotor profiles. The combined results of these two methods provide the basis for an exact evaluation of the fluid leakage, and this feature increases flexibility in geometrical designing and manufacturing of the screw rotors. These methods are also suitable for non-conjugate rotors and contribute to thermal analysis and optimum programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]