Screw Compressor Oil Supply via Segmented Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In oil cooling type screw compressors, direct return of oil with hot-temperature air to the suction port or tooth groove leads to degraded volume efficiency and increased power consumption due to oil shortage and backflow issues.
Innovation Solution
A compressor design that includes a primary and secondary oil separation system, where the secondary separation oil is mixed with compressed gas and supplied to the compression tooth groove space, promoting oil dispersion and atomization, thereby preventing oil shortage and backflow, and enhancing cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If oil is directly returned to the suction port or tooth groove, then oil separation is achieved, but volume efficiency is degraded and power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the oil return process into two distinct paths: primary separation oil is supplied to the tooth groove space, while secondary separation oil is returned to the suction port. This segmentation prevents hot oil with large air content from directly entering the compression zone, thereby maintaining volume efficiency while achieving effective oil separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality requirements to different oil return locations. Oil supplied to the tooth groove space requires higher separation quality to prevent backflow, while oil returned to the suction port can tolerate more air content. This local differentiation of oil quality resolves the contradiction between separation effectiveness and volume efficiency.
2Reliability
If oil is directly returned to the suction port or tooth groove, then oil separation is achieved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the oil return process into two distinct paths: primary separation oil is supplied to the tooth groove space, while secondary separation oil is returned to the suction port. This segmentation prevents hot oil with large air content from directly entering the compression zone, thereby maintaining volume efficiency while achieving effective oil separation.
3Reliability
If secondary separation oil is supplied alone to the compression tooth groove space, then oil separation is improved, but oil dispersion is insufficient and deflection occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges primary separation oil and secondary separation oil in the tooth groove space. The primary separation oil acts as a carrier fluid that promotes dispersion of the secondary separation oil, preventing deflection and ensuring stable oil distribution in the compression zone.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces the power needed to drive the compressor by improving sealing performance, increasing air discharge, and enhancing the cooling process efficiency, leading to a more isothermal compression state.
Implementation Method 1
a primary separation unit which primarily separates an oil from the gas compressed by the compressor body
Implementation Method 2
a secondary separation unit which secondarily separates an oil from the gas from which the oil is primarily separated by the primary separation unit
Implementation Method 3
the fluid mixture of the primarily separated oil and the pressurized gas is supplied to the compression tooth groove space of the female rotor. Accordingly, when the fluid mixture is released to the compression tooth groove space of the female rotor, the dispersion of the oil is promoted
Implementation Method 4
the atomization of the oil is promoted, and hence the surface area of the oil with respect to the amount of the oil supplied to the female rotor increases
Implementation Method 5
heat is easily exchanged between the oil supplied to the compressor body and the gas in the course of compression. Accordingly, since the efficiency of the cooling process using the oil is improved
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
Screw compressor and oil supply method thereof, the compressor including: a compressor body (10) that includes a suction port (13) which suctions a gas, a female rotor (22) and a male rotor (24) which compress the gas in cooperation with a rotor chamber (11), and an discharge port (14) which discharges the gas; an oil collector (30) that includes a primary separation unit (34) and a secondary separation unit (32); a primary separation oil supply line (41) that is connected to a compression tooth groove space (27) of the female rotor (22) defined by an inner wall of the rotor chamber (11) and a pair of adjacent teeth of the female rotor (22) in a cross-section perpendicular to a rotor shaft and the oil collector (30) and supplies a primarily separated oil to the compression tooth groove space (27) of the female rotor (22); an oil drain line (54), and a secondary separation oil supply line (52) that supplies a secondarily separated oil to the compression tooth groove space (27) of the female rotor (22) and is connected to the primary separation oil supply line (41).