Scroll Compressor Oldham Ring Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing scroll compressors face issues with severe wear on the Oldham ring due to similar material composition, leading to increased vibration noise and eccentric load when formed of high-hardness materials like cast iron, and reliability concerns when formed of aluminum.
Innovation Solution
The Oldham ring is formed of an iron-based sintered alloy with a weight loss portion to reduce weight and wear, and a wear-resistant coating layer is applied to an aluminum base metal Oldham ring to minimize vibration noise and maintain reliability at high speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the Oldham ring is formed of high-hardness material like cast iron to reduce wear, then wear resistance is improved, but weight increases leading to increased vibration noise and eccentric load
Solution Approach 1:
The Oldham ring is divided into two functional segments: a lightweight aluminum alloy base structure and a localized wear-resistant coating layer applied only on the friction surfaces. This segmentation allows the bulk material to remain lightweight while providing protective functionality only where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The Oldham ring uses a composite structure combining aluminum alloy base material with a wear-resistant coating layer (such as DLC, TiN, or ceramic coating). This composite approach integrates the advantages of both materials: low density and good machinability of aluminum alloy with high hardness and low friction of the coating material.
2Weight of moving object
If the Oldham ring is formed of aluminum material to reduce weight, then vibration noise is reduced, but wear increases leading to reliability concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The surface properties of the aluminum alloy Oldham ring are changed by applying a wear-resistant coating layer, transforming the friction and wear parameters without changing the base material's density or overall mechanical properties. The coating layer provides surface hardness comparable to cast iron while maintaining the lightweight characteristic.
3Weight of moving object
If the Oldham ring is formed of similar material to the orbiting scroll (aluminum) to reduce eccentric load, then vibration noise is reduced, but severe wear occurs due to similar material composition
Solution Approach 1:
The Oldham ring has non-uniform material properties: the base material is aluminum alloy for lightweight, while the friction surfaces have localized wear-resistant coating with different properties (high hardness, low friction coefficient). This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between overall lightness and surface durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wear-resistant coating layer acts as an intermediary between the aluminum alloy Oldham ring and the contact surfaces, preventing direct metal-to-metal contact between similar materials. This intermediate layer provides the necessary friction and wear characteristics without requiring the entire ring to be made of heavy material.
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
The solution effectively reduces wear and vibration noise while maintaining the reliability of the scroll compressor by using a different material for the Oldham ring and applying a wear-resistant coating, allowing operation at high speeds without increasing vibration noise.
Implementation Method 1
the Oldham ring may include a ring portion and a plurality of key portions formed in a protruding manner on both axial-directional lateral surfaces of the ring portion... a wear-resistant coating layer is applied to an aluminum base metal Oldham ring to minimize vibration noise
Data Source
AI summary
A scroll compressor is provided that may include a casing having a sealed inner space; a drive motor provided in the inner space of the casing to generate a rotational force; a rotational shaft rotatably coupled to the drive motor; an orbiting scroll formed of an aluminum material, and coupled to the rotational shaft to perform an orbiting movement; a fixed scroll coupled to the orbiting scroll to form a compression space; and an Oldham ring coupled to the orbiting scroll, and formed of a sintered metal. With this structure, it may be possible to prevent the Oldham ring from being worn out due to contact with the orbiting scroll. Further, a weight loss portion or wear-resistant coating layer may be formed on a portion of the Oldham ring, thereby suppressing or preventing vibration noise of the scroll compressor from being increased due to a weight increase of the Oldham ring.