Lightweight Compressor Piston With Circumferential Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional compressor pistons are excessively heavy, restricting compressor speed and requiring heavy, expensive crossheads and complex manufacturing processes, while also being prone to material contact damage and gas leakage, which leads to vibration and efficiency issues.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight double-acting compressor piston design featuring a circumferential opening at the outer diameter, eliminating unnecessary material and preventing oil/liquid accumulation, which reduces weight, eliminates the need for o-ring seals, and minimizes gas leakage, allowing for faster operation and reduced manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional solid piston design is used, then structural strength is maintained, but piston weight becomes excessive restricting compressor speed
Solution Approach 1:
The piston is divided into two separate piston bodies (first piston body and second piston body) that are axially opposed and connected through piston rod bores. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently and reduces overall material usage while maintaining structural integrity through the connection between the two bodies.
Solution Approach 2:
Material is extracted from the piston design by creating a circumferential opening at the outer diameter between the mating surfaces of the two piston bodies. This removes unnecessary material that does not contribute to structural strength, significantly reducing piston weight while maintaining the required mechanical properties.
2Strength
If heavy pistons are used to maintain strength, then structural integrity is ensured, but extra heavy crossheads are required increasing device complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The piston is segmented into two axially opposed piston bodies connected through piston rod bores, allowing the structure to maintain strength through the connection geometry while reducing overall mass. This eliminates the need for oversized crossheads that would be required to support heavier single-piece pistons.
Solution Approach 2:
The strength requirement is addressed by transitioning from a single massive piston to a two-body construction where strength is achieved through the spatial arrangement and connection of two lighter bodies, effectively solving the strength problem in a different dimensional configuration.
3Weight of moving object
If multi-piece piston construction is used to reduce weight, then piston weight decreases, but contact damage occurs at mating surfaces requiring preload tension
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful contact between piston pieces is eliminated by extracting material to create a circumferential opening at the outer diameter between the mating surfaces. This prevents the two piston bodies from contacting each other at the OD, eliminating the source of contact damage, galling, and fretting that would otherwise require preload tension to prevent.
4Weight of moving object
If conventional hollow piston design is used, then some weight reduction is achieved, but gas fills the interior causing vibration and efficiency loss
Solution Approach 1:
The piston interior is segmented into two separate cavities by the piston rod bores that extend through each piston body. This segmentation prevents a continuous gas-filled space, allowing each cavity to be managed independently and reducing the vibration and efficiency loss associated with gas pressure changes in a large continuous cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful continuous gas-filled interior is addressed by extracting material to create the circumferential opening and piston rod bores, which segment the internal space and eliminate the conditions that cause gas pressure-induced vibration and efficiency loss.
5Reliability
If o-ring seals are added to prevent oil/liquid accumulation, then sealing is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The need for o-ring seals is eliminated by extracting material to create a circumferential opening at the outer diameter between the piston bodies. This design modification prevents oil and liquid from accumulating in the piston interior in the first place, eliminating the requirement for additional sealing components and reducing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A piston may be provided which includes a first piston body portion having an end wall extending radially about a central axis along which the piston reciprocates. The piston may also include a second piston body portion having an end wall extending radially about a central axis along which the piston reciprocates. The first piston body portion and the second piston body portion are axially opposed. The piston may further include a first piston rod bore disposed in the first piston body portion extending along the central axis and a second piston rod bore disposed in the second piston body portion extending along the central axis. The piston may also include a circumferential opening disposed between the mating of the first piston body portion with the second piston body portion.