Advantages and Disadvantages of Centrifugal Compressor

1. What is centrifugal compressor?

A centrifugal compressor is a powered compressor in which one or more rotating impellers (the blades are usually on the side) accelerate the gas, and the main gas flow is radial. Powered compressors are subdivided into jet and turbine compressors, and centrifugal compressors are classified as turbine compressor. In a centrifugal compressor, the pressure of the gas is increased by the centrifugal force exerted on the gas by the impeller rotating at high speed and by the pressure expansion exerted on the gas in the expansion channel.

2. How does a centrifugal air compressor work?

Centrifugal air compressor is driven by the impeller to do high-speed rotation of the gas, the gas produces centrifugal force, due to the expansion of the gas in the impeller flow, through the impeller, the gas flow rate and pressure is increased, and continuously produce compressed air. Centrifugal air compressor belongs to the speed type compressor, it works stably and reliably when the air consumption load is stable.

3. Why should you get a Centrifugal air compressor?

There are five clear advantages of Centrifugal air compressor:

① The flow rate is large, the power is large, and it is conducive to energy saving. Turbomachinery flow through the impeller of the medium, has been continuous, the cylinder volume is larger, the impeller can rotate at high speed, so the exhaust flow of turbomachinery and the power generated can be greatly increased. So，the exhaust of centrifugal compressor is uniform, no pulse of airflow.

② Compact structure, good sealing effect, less leakage phenomenon, small size, so the footprint and weight are much smaller than the same volume of piston compressor.

③ Smooth running and reliable operation, so it has a high operating rate, a flat performance curve, a wide operating range, and low maintenance costs and less operators.

④ The compression process of centrifugal compressors can be made absolutely oil-free, and no lubrication is required inside the machine, which is very important for the production of many industries.

⑤ Fewer wearing parts, long operation cycle, fewer and simpler moving parts, and low manufacturing precision, so its manufacturing cost is relatively low and high reliability. It is easy to realize automation and large-scale production.

4. What are the disadvantages of centrifugal air compressor?

① centrifugal compressor is not currently applicable to too small a gas volume and high pressure ratio of the occasion.

② The stable working condition area of centrifugal compressor is narrower, its gas volume adjustment is more convenient, but Less economical. The gas flow speed is large, the parts in the flow path have a large friction loss.

③ The efficiency of centrifugal compressors is still generally lower than that of piston compressors. The adaptability of the operation is poor, and the nature of the gas has a large impact on the operational performance. The load varies greatly during the start-up, stopping and operation of the unit.

④ Centrifugal compressor with high rotational speed may generate mechanical vibration, and in terms of operating characteristics, there will be a phenomenon of wheezing  , which is extremely harmful to the machine.

⑤ Relatively complicated operation, high gear box noise, high technical content of the equipment, and large maintenance costs.

5. Where can centrifugal air compressors be used?

Gas dynamics research results of centrifugal compressor efficiency continues to improve, but also due to high-pressure sealing, small flow narrow impeller processing, multi-oil wedge bearings and other key technologies developed successfully, the development of centrifugal compressors for high pressures and wide flow ranges has been solved, so that on many occasions to replace the reciprocating compressor, and greatly expand the scope of application.

Some basic chemical raw materials, such as propylene, ethylene, butadiene, benzene, etc. can be processed into plastics, fibers, rubber, and other important chemical products, in the production of such basic raw materials in the petrochemical plant, the centrifugal compressor is one of the key equipment. In addition, other industries such as petroleum refining, refrigeration, etc., centrifugal compressors are also extremely critical equipment.

6. How will centrifugal air compressors evolve?

What do Centrifugal air compressors do? Centrifugal compressors can now be used to compress and transport a wide range of gases in industrial production, and their discharge pressures have increased considerably compared to earlier times, and their minimum gas volumes have been reduced, which has correspondingly expanded the range of applications for centrifugal compressors.

Centrifugal compressors need to move towards larger capacities to meet the requirements of the expanding scale of industrial production. Meanwhile, with the development of new technologies, new gas seals, magnetic bearings and lubrication-free couplings, the development trend of centrifugal compressors is mainly manifested in the following three aspects: Continuous development of high-pressure and low-flow products; further study of the three-dimensional flow theory  and its application to the design of components such as impellers and vane diffusers, with a view to achieving high-efficiency units; low-noise, with noise protection to improve the operating environment. Especially with the development of chemical and petrochemical production, the production scale is constantly increasing, with its superior performance, the application of centrifugal compressor in many industrial areas is more and more extensive, the development trend is good.