A better design for pulsation dampeners

Abstract

Volumetric compressors produce a pulsating flow which is transmitted downstream within pipes and equipment creating high vibration and noise levels. Acoustic reactive filters are commonly used for pulsation control at low and medium frequencies due to their effectiveness and very low maintenance costs. This paper compares two design solutions in respect to pulsation attenuation and total pressure loss. The first design solution is a classic two chambers reactive filter, the other one has an identical geometry but it contains a perforated tube inside the chambers in a similar way as used within automotive industry. Attenuation analysis was conducted using the acoustic theory and a 3D FEM solver. Pressure loss was calculated using 3D compressible CFD solution. Results show that the new design solution has a similar attenuation characteristic with the classical one but it has a 400 % lower pressure loss. However several simulations showed that porosity of the perforated tube may have influence on acoustic attenuation and total pressure drop of the dampener, so an optimization is possible as a future work.