Variable Displacement Air Compressor Engine Load Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air compressors often overload prime movers, reducing fuel efficiency and increasing pollutant emissions due to sustained power demands, limiting the power available for other loads and necessitating larger prime movers.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic air compression system with a proportional control valve that regulates air flow and power demand by varying the activation state, allowing for variable pressure and power consumption, enabling efficient operation of air compressors without overloading prime movers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a prime mover drives an air compressor at sustained delivery, then air flow is provided continuously, but the prime mover becomes overloaded and fuel efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a variable displacement air compressor with a piston whose displacement volume can be dynamically adjusted during the compression stroke. This allows the compressor to vary its air flow delivery in real-time, matching the actual demand and preventing sustained high-power operation that would overload the prime mover and reduce fuel efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the displacement parameter of the compressor piston during operation. By varying the piston displacement volume, the system can reduce power consumption when full air flow is not required, thereby improving fuel efficiency while maintaining the ability to deliver high air flow when needed.
2Productivity
If a prime mover drives an air compressor at high power, then high air flow rates are achieved, but the prime mover cannot support other loads
Solution Approach 1:
The variable displacement mechanism allows the compressor to dynamically adjust its power consumption. When high air flow is needed, the piston displacement increases; when other loads require power, the displacement decreases, thereby adapting the power distribution between air compression and other system loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can operate at partial capacity by reducing the piston displacement volume, providing just enough air flow when needed rather than continuously operating at full capacity. This partial action approach allows the prime mover to have available power for other loads while still meeting air compression demands when required.
3Reliability
If the air compressor operates continuously at full capacity, then compressed air is always available, but pollutant emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system can periodically adjust the piston displacement based on actual air flow demands rather than operating continuously at full capacity. This periodic variation in operation reduces the total fuel consumption and associated pollutant emissions while maintaining compressed air availability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the displacement parameter of the piston during operation, the system can reduce power consumption and fuel burning when full air flow is not required, thereby reducing pollutant emissions while maintaining the ability to provide compressed air when demanded.
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 solution allows for efficient delivery of compressed air with reduced power consumption, enabling smaller, more compact prime movers to handle high air flow rates at low pressures while supporting multiple loads without overloading, thus improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.
Implementation Method 1
regulates a pressure acting on the flow control member to regulate the flow of the compressed air produced by the pneumatic air compression system in a variable manner
Implementation Method 2
compress the inlet air to produce compressed air
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are systems that enable proportional air flow delivery control for an air compressor. One system includes a pneumatic air compression system having a flow control member and being adapted to receive inlet air and to compress the inlet air to produce compressed air. The system also includes a pneumatic flow control system including a proportional control valve having a proportionally variable activation state. Varying the activation state of the proportional control valve regulates a pressure acting on the flow control member to regulate the flow of the compressed air produced by the pneumatic air compression system in a variable manner, and further regulates a power demand placed on the engine by the pneumatic air compression system in a variable manner.