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INFORMATION PACK
Compressors
In the recent years scroll compressors have been more widely used especially for relatively small chilled stores. If the reciprocating compressors technology can be considered as rather mature, on the other side, in the last decades there has been a strong research activity for improving the efficiency and the reliability of scroll and screw compressors. However, if compared to the widespread use of reciprocating and screw compressors, the application of scroll machines in cold stores can still be considered a niche and so this technology is not investigated in this info pack. temperatures, the reciprocating compressor can reach up to 1200 kW, whereas the screw compressor can reach up to 5 times higher cooling capacity. With reference to the lowest cooling capacity achievable, the reciprocating compressors present no limitations, as it is well known. On the contrary, the screw type is usually not available for cooling capacities below 150 kW, in refrigeration applications (lower cooling capacities are available for screw compressors for air conditioning applications). Some models of ammonia compressors by different manufacturers have been considered in Cavallini et al., 2007. Swept volume [m3/h] data sets, taken from company web sites, have been compared. The difference between screw and reciprocating compressor displacement is remarkable. The reciprocating compressor swept volume can reach, at most, 3000 m3/h, even for two-stage machines. Screw compressors, instead, can display a far larger swept volume, which can reach 10000 m3/h. Also single-screw compressors are available on the market: they display compact dimensions and low displacement. Ammonia screw compressors can reach very high refrigeration power and there is a wide selection of models. Except for single-screw ones, all the models have a nominal cooling capacity higher than 100 kW; some of them go over 1000 kW. On the contrary, nominal refrigeration powers of reciprocating compressors are far lower and only few of them have a cooling capacity higher than 300 kW. Basing on previous considerations, one can in general state that reciprocating compressors are more widespread for relatively small cold stores. -10/+25 C stage compression with high

The most used type of compressors in refrigerated stores are reciprocating and screw ones.

Reciprocating vs screw compressors.

As mentioned, because of its technological maturity, it seems difficult to implement innovation strategies that could markedly improve the energetic efficiency of open reciprocating compressors during full load operation. However, improvements are still possible by achieving higher efficiency of the electric statement, motors the especially efficiency of in screw small and semihermetic compressors. As a general reciprocating compressors at full load are similar, whereas part load operations with variable ones. Reciprocating compressors are more suitable for single pressure ratios. In the recent years the reliability of screw type compressors has been improved so that nowadays it can be considered quite similar to the reciprocating technology. Regarding the cooling capacity of a single unit, referring to evaporation/condensation saturation pressure ratios of reciprocating compressor are somehow higher than screw

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a piston

Figure 1: typical values of the discharge temperature for reciprocating and screw compressors, as a function of pressure ratio.
1.0

0.9

VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY v

Screw compressors

0.8

Reciprocating compressors
0.7

0.6

0.5 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17

Pressure ratio,

Figure 2: typical values of the volumetric efficiency for reciprocating and screw compressors, as a function of pressure ratio.

Figure 1 and 2 report the volumetric efficiency and the discharge temperature, respectively, as a function of pressure ratio. Accordingly, the reader can appreciate the different attitude of screw when and of reciprocating under high compressor working

before the suction phase, of the refrigerant vapor trapped in the dead volume.

pressure ratios.

Screw compressors show lower discharge temperature thanks to the vigorous cooling effect promoted by the lubricant injection
in the compression chamber during the refrigerant compression. This aspect is very advantageous with ammonia: the high discharge temperature for high pressure ratios makes mandatory the use of twostage reciprocating compressors, whereas single stage screw compressor are normally use (Note: the choice of the designer of installing two-stage screw compressors with ammonia is usually based only on energetic

The screw compressor displays an higher volumetric efficiency for all the pressure ratios thanks to the more
favorable fluid-dynamics of the refrigerant (lower drag), to the lower vapour heating during the suction phase and, above all, thanks to the missing penalization (that is on the contrary remarkable in reciprocating compressors) effect caused by the expansion

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Figure 3: part loading efficiency of compressors, case of ammonia. For screw type, two different pressure ratios (rp=9.4 and 3.8) and variable or fixed vi are considered. considerations, temperature). Given the particular thermodynamic and thermophysical properties of ammonia, a dedicated paragraph can be found in the present info-pack, after some general (applicable both to synthetic refrigerants and to ammonia) consideration on energetic aspects of screw compressors. not to technological strongly dependent on the ratio vi of the volume of the vapour at the beginning of compression process and the volume of the same amount of gas at the end of the discharge process. In general it is possible to choose between a limited number of values (three or four) between 2.5 and 5.5 of the above mentioned volumetric ratio vi. Accordingly, when the screw compressor works in off-design conditions it easily shows energetic penalizations. A common practice is the use of a part loading slide: this device moves along the screws vane and opens a by-pass lane that permits a recirculation of part of the vapour previously sucked that is sent back to the inlet port, before the suction line. As a consequence, it occurs a reduction of vi, under the hypothesis of a uniform shape of the discharge port. The compressors producers try to optimize the design of the discharge port by combining an axial port at the end of the screws and a radial port that is extended to the side of the screws. It is not the target of this info pack to give detailed description of the ports design procedure: what is crucial is to highlight that the variation of vi (linked to the particular design of the screw compressor) affects the isoentropic efficiency of the compressor, especially at part load operation and with high pressure ratios. This aspect is clearly depicted in figure 3. For pressure ratios higher than 10, even if the cooling capacity is reduced by some 70%, with respect to full load,

aspects, such as the high discharge

Screw compressor efficiency

energetic

Screw compressor do not have discharge or suction valves: this peculiarity improves reliability and reduces pressure losses during refrigerant flow inside the machine. Furthermore, thanks to the valve-less design, screw compressor can bear the suction of small amount of liquid refrigerant.

The main drawback of the screw compressor is linked to the presence of a discharge port:
when the compression chamber reaches the discharge port, the discharge pressure, for a given suction condition, attains a set value that could not fit the pressure level in the discharge manifold. If this occurs, the indicator diagram area (that, as well known, corresponds to the compression comparison work) with the increases, ideal case in of

pressure at the discharge port identical to the discharge manifold pressure. As a consequence, the nominal design conditions for a screw compressor are

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1.0

v
0.9

vi variable vi=4.8 i vi=3.5 vi=2.6 vi variable

0.8 i v 0.7

vi=4.8
0.6

vi=3.5

vi=2.6
0.5 1 3 5 7 Pressure ratio, 9 11 13 15

Figure 4: typical value of isoentropic and volumetric efficiency of screw compressors, with variable vi and for different constant values of vi, as a function of pressure ratio. Ammonia.
1.0

v
0.9

vi variable vi=4.8 vi=3.5

0.8 i v 0.7

i vi=2.6

vi variable
0.6

vi=3.5 vi=2.6
0.5 1 3 5 7 pressure ratio, 9 11 13

vi=4.8

15

Figure 5: typical value of isoentropic and volumetric efficiency of screw compressors, with variable vi and for different constant values of vi, as a function of pressure ratio. R404A. the compression power is reduced by less than 40 %. Furthermore, figures 4 and 5 show the isoentropic and volumetric efficiency for screw compressor with fixed and variable vi (this latter technology is usually achieved through a suitable design of the radial port shape) at full load operation. As expected, similarly to reciprocating compressors, both the isoentropic and the volumetric increasing efficiency the decrease with ratios. pressure contrary, more and more widespread is the use of economizers that permits rather good system efficiency with relatively low increase of investment costs. It is worth noting that the use of the economizer is effective only close to full load operation (with the possibility of excluding the economizer for operation below 75% of the nominal cooling capacity) as a consequence of the shifting of the part loading slide, that reduces the head pressure on the economizer port. On the basis it of the previous that part considerations, pres appears

Nevertheless, the use of screw two-stage compressors is limited even for low temperature freezing applications: on the

loading of screw compressors at high

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4.2 4.1 4 COP [-] 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.5 10 100 1000 10000 cooling capacity [kW]
Figure 6: comparing screw and reciprocating compressors at full load for large machines, with ammonia. Ref. conditions -10/+35 C. pressure ratios (i.e. frozen cold stores) could be a source of energetic penalization. One must also consider that in case of cold stores for frozen food are usually characterized by relatively long time constants, depending on the amount of frozen foodstuffs one can loaded. As an the example consider In Cavallini et al. 2007, a survey on data available in the open literature was carried out. The results are reported in figure 7. The first data set by Bowater (2004) refers to experimental tests on a reciprocating, two-stage compressor. It is compared to data for some different screw compressors: single-stage with super-feeding, feeding. There two-stage are not with superfeeding and single-stage without supersignificant differences between reciprocating and screw compressors and between systems with or without super-feeding; can be considerable improvements

screw comp. rec.

temperature profile during compressors off period considered in one of the audits carried out during within ICE-E project. Accordingly, the cold store refrigerating system operator should consider the possibility of installing more than one compressor, storing the cooling effect during low cost electric energy tariff time and then running a limited number of compressors during high energy cost periods. In this way, it is possible to have rather efficient operation of the store, with screw compressor, without needing compressor part loading.

observed if a two-stage compressor is used instead of a single-stage one. Rivets data points (2004) refer to screw compressors used in ammonia cascade systems. Data of Korfitsen and Kristensen (2005) is taken from experimental tests on a reciprocating compressor; it is used both in a refrigerant cycle and as a heat pump. As expected, heat pump COP is higher than refrigeration cycle one, but it is calculated only in a narrow pressure ratio range. All this data shows that the COP decreases when pressure ratio increases.

AMMONIA COMPRESSORS Ammonia compressors efficiency analysis

In the literature it is hard to find papers which report the efficiency of a single compressor; more often the COP of the whole cycle is provided. In figure 6 system COP evaluated for large capacity ammonia reported. compressors (according data) to is manufactures calorimetric

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8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00

Bowater (2004) Rivet (2004)

C O P[-]

4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 0.00

Korfitsen and Kristensen (2005) Refrigeration Korfitsen and Kristensen (2005) heat pump

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

Pressure ratio [-]

Figure 7: Ammonia compressor COP (from Cavallini et al. 2007)..

-Rivet P., 2004, Green solutions for freezing applications, 6th IIR G. Lorentzen Conf., 4b: 1-8. -Korfitsen E., Kristensen A. P. R., 2005, Ammonia high pressure heat pumps in food refrigeration applications, Int. J. Refrigeration, 21(3): 212-218. -Bowater F. J., for 2004, low Selection of compressors temperature

ammonia refrigeration systems, 6th IIR G. Lorentzen Conf., 4c: 1-12. -Cavallini A, Chiarello M, Del Col D, Zilio C The (2007). 22nd Compressors International for natural of refrigerants: state-of-the-art review. In: Congress Refrigeration. Beijing (PRC), August 2126, 2007, ISBN: 978-2-913149-59-5.

For more information, please contact: Claudio Zilio (claudio.zilio@unipd.it)