Identification of energy wastes through sound analysis in compressed air systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a new approach which is able to identify energy losses of compressed air in any CAS based on acoustic energy emission. By means of a previously validated mathematical model, the inverse problem that finds air power lost over time from the sound generated by air expansion is solved. The developed method is tested in a laboratory scale while a tank is being emptied through artificial holes with different diameters in a pipe. Two supplying cases: continuous supply of compressed air to the tank and single filling of the tank are considered. All measurements are made in an anechoic chamber to record pure air expansion noise without any background sounds. The analysis shows that over certain range of leakage hole diameters there is a dependence between the generated sound pressure level and the mass flow and, therefore, the power loss. Thus, acoustic monitoring could be effective in leakage diagnosing in CASs, which is important for production energy efficiency management.