Air Compressor Basics

Before tackling air compressor troubleshooting or maintenance you need to first understand the air compressor basics in this tutorial.

Air compressor basics.

There are three basic types of drives for air compressors. Centrifugal air compressor basics key concepts centrifugal compressors are most effective when running at full capacity. The rotor accomplishes this by changing the momentum and pressure of the air. The choice depends on several factors including the speed requirement of the compressor airend and the manufacturer s preference.

The other type of air compressor is the rotary screw. These are designed for continuous use and are often used with tools that run for several seconds or minutes at a time such as impact wrenches and jackhammers and in industrial applications. Like a small internal. Piston compressors come in single stage and two stage.

Here air pressure is increased by reducing the size of the space that contains the air. Choke and surge occur at the extreme ends of the performance curve and should be avoided. The centrifugal air compressor is a dynamic compressor that depends on transfer of energy from a rotating impeller to the air. Most of the compressors you ll run across do this job with a reciprocating piston.

It is an oil free compressor by design. Also be sure to see m. This momentum is converted to useful pressure by slowing the air down in a stationary diffuser. The majority of air compressors have at their core either centrifugal impellers or rotary screws figure 1 that compress the air.

A fourth type is a combination of any of the above with a variable speed motor. Single stage tops out at about 150 psi. By one of several methods an air compressor forces more and more air into a storage tank increasing the pressure. As the piston moves downward the exhaust valve closes and a vacuum is created inside the cylinder forcing the intake valve to open and suck air into the cylinder.

Compressor capacity should be stated at plant conditions which are actual cubic feet per minute acfm. A reciprocating compressor uses the piston movement inside a cylinder to compress air. An air compressoris a device that converts power using an electric motor diesel or gasoline engine etc into potential energystored in pressurized air i e compressed air. Most air compressors use either centrifugal impellers left or rotary screws right to compress air.