Theoretical and Experimental Evaluation of Compressed Air Leakages

Abstract

The use of compressed air (CA) is common in almost every industrial sector and requires a significant share of the overall electricity consumption. Many studies have underlined the importance of energy efficiency in compressed air systems and have highlighted two key areas for the improvement of energy efficiency in compressed air systems, heat recovery and use and the reduction of air leakages. However, there is very little research so far on the quantification of air leaks and the effects and relations of leak configurations, pressures and air quality. The quantification of air leakages is still based on rather rough assumptions and calculations with a broad band of values and only few experimental evaluations.