Attenuation of pulsations in the reciprocating compressor piping system with an elbow-shaped surge tank

Abstract

An elbow-shaped surge tank is proposed to suppress the pressure pulsations. The transfer matrix method was developed and the mathematical model was established to predict the distribution of pressure pulsations in the piping system (on which a surge tank was already installed) with an elbow-shaped surge tank. Simulation work of the whole piping system was performed. The results show that the elbow-shaped surge tank has good performance to attenuate the pressure pulsations. The frequency analysis shows that the amplitude for the first pulsation frequency is attenuated to a low level. The impulse response was analyzed to examine the efficiency of suppressing pulsations by using the suppressor. The theoretical analysis showed that there exists the optimal suppression performance when setting the distance between the elbow-shaped surge tank and the existing one. Meanwhile, modifying the ratio of length to diameter with a fixed surge volume could also impact the pressure pulsations. The analysis results can be used as a reference in designing and installing the elbow-shaped surge tank.

Design and investigation of an airbag-free buffer throttle device

“…Jia investigated the effect of orifice plate size on the attenuation of gas pulsations in reciprocating compressor pipelines [5] . Ma designed an elbow-shaped buffer tank to suppress pressure pulsations [6] . Gong simulated and analysed the pressure pulsation suppression and vibration damping effect of a multi-hole variable diameter Helmholtz pulsation buffer [7] .…”

Theoretical and experimental study of a novel compressor

“…Generally, in the reciprocating compressors, the main sources of vibration are the gas pulsations in the suction and discharge manifolds which excite the acoustic modes of the interior of the compressor and thus radiate as noise. A study by Ma et al [18] showed that the installation of a surge tank attenuates the pulsation frequency to a lower level. The periodic fluttering of the valve which is often spring-loaded, valve hitting the retainer and the seat are another source of noise [8].…”