Analysis of the novel multi-vane Revolving Vane compressor – Theoretical modelling and experimental investigations

Abstract

• A novel rotary compressor of multiple vanes and a rotating cylinder is introduced. • The compressor is deemed to be energy efficient yet low in gas pressure pulsations. • Mathematical models are formulated to describe its operational characteristics. • A prototype is instrumented and tested in an R134a refrigeration system. • Good agreement is obtained between the predicted and measured mass flow rates. This paper presents a new variant of the Revolving Vane (RV) compressor, suitable for applications that require high cooling capacity yet low pressure pulsation. By adding supplementary free sliding vanes into the original RV mechanism, the compressor produces multiple discharge cycles per revolution, and hence, it can be configured to produce high volumetric capacity with lower pressure pulsations which are expected to lower the discharge noise level. In this paper, the working principles and the theoretical modelling of the multi-vane RV compressor are presented. A functional prototype has been designed, fabricated, instrumented and tested at the industrial grade compressor performance test bench, using refrigerant R134a as the working fluid. The prototype has operated at 1000 to 2000 rpm and attained pressure ratios of 5.3. The prototype's mass flow rates and volumetric efficiency were successfully measured and correlated with the predictions from numerical simulations. Discrepancies between the predicted and the measured mass flow rates are within ±15%.