A critical review of the experimental studies related to twin screw compressors

Abstract

Twin-screw compressors are often used for generating compressed fluids useful for various industrial applications, thereby necessitating the need for evolving energy efficient designs. In the past few decades, several experimental studies were conducted to understand the phenomenon inside the twin-screw compressor, thereby leading to performance improvement and design optimization. The present study summarizes the various experimental investigations on screw compressors which include analysis related to various parameters such as leakages, pulsations, noise, liquid injection, capacity control, pressure losses, optimization of rotor, indicator diagrams, etc. In order to improve the understanding of thermo-fluid-solid interaction phenomenon in twin-screw compressor, further investigations using visualization techniques such as LDV/PIV are suggested. As the leakages within the screw compressor are complex phenomenon, it is suggested to explore simplified experimental and numerical studies by simulating the leakages using equivalent nozzles and developing appropriate leakage models.

Internal Flow Field Analysis of Twin-Screw Compressor Based on Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation

“…In recent years, with the rapid development of CFD simulation software, screw compressor has also been a rapid breakthrough [1][2] . However, leakage, suction and exhaust flow field characteristics and other problems in the working process of screw compressor restrict the development of screw compressor [3] . The main factors affecting the performance of screw compressor are inlet and exhaust pressure, inlet temperature, rotational speed, clearance size and lubrication mode, etc., and the change of any factor has a certain degree of influence on the performance [4][5][6] .…”

A geometric study of different curves for the rotor profiles of a twin-screw compressor

“…Literature is rich of works dealing with screw compressors from both theoretical and experimental points of view. Two interesting review works can be referred here as concerns mathematical models for performance calculation [2] and experimental researches [3], respectively. Rotor profile shapes and machining precision affect both performance and efficiency.…”

A Review of Recent Research and Application Progress in Screw Machines

“…Screw machines mainly include the single-screw type and twin-screw type, whose typical structures are shown in Figure 1. Twin-screw machines have occupied a large market share in industrial positive displacement machines due to their high reliability, high efficiency, easy operation, well adaptability, and low maintenance costs [5]. Meanwhile, single-screw machines have exhibited sustained growth of market share in several applications because of the balanced loading of the main screw, high volumetric efficiency, low noise, and low vibration [6].…”

“…Among them, there are four relevant review papers about screw machines. Patel and Lakhera [5] reviewed the various experimental investigations on TSCs, related to various parameters such as leakages, pulsations, noise, liquid injection, capacity control, pressure losses, optimization of rotors, indicator diagrams, etc. Wei et al [7] summarized the research status of the leakage, rotor geometry, sealing and lubrication, processing and manufacturing of TSEs, and introduced the application status and potential utilization of TSEs.…”