What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of centrifugal air compressors

1. What is a centrifugal air compressor?

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The Centrifugal Air Compressor is also known as Radial Compressor, Centrifugal Turbo Compressor or Turbo Air Compressor. This kind of compressor is a type of dynamic compressor.

The centrifugal compressor brings the air into the center through a rotating impeller, which pushes forward the air through centrifugal, or outward force. By increasing the velocity of the air using this rotating impeller, the centrifugal air compressor imparts kinetic energy into the air stream and then converts this energy into potential energy in the form of pressure.

There can be a multi-stage type centrifugal turbo compressor and between each stage of compression, the air is cooled and the excess moisture is removed. This design allows the turbo air compressor can be used to produce large quantities of air in small packages. Besides, this multiple-stage design makes the centrifugal compressor more suitable for applications above 200 total horsepower.

2. Is centrifugal air compressor oil-free?

Compared with other types of air compressors, The centrifugal air compressor is featured by an advanced life cycle cost and lower maintenance due to its simple structure, continuous and steady airflow production, and less vibration and noise.

As it’s mentioned before, the working principle of the centrifugal compressor is transferring the energy from a change to the centrifugal forces. And due to this unique design, the oil lubricant inside the units does come in contact with the air stream, which results in 100% oil-free air downstream. This oil-free air compression doesn’t only mean the purity of production and environmental benefit but also a reduction of overall ownership cost, which is very important.

As a professional centrifugal air compressor manufacturer, Sollant has been dedicated to providing the oil-free centrifugal air compressor of high efficiency. Compared with other centrifugal compressor manufacturers, we offer a wider range of products suitable for many applications.

For more information about Sollant Centrifugal Compressors, please check: Centrifugal Air Compressor and Centrifugal Turbo Compressor

3. What are centrifugal air compressors used for?

The centrifugal air compressor can be used to compress air of high volume and low compression ratio; it can also be used to compress air of very high flow. However, this turbo air compressor isn’t very suitable for high ratio and low-volume applications.

More specifically, the main applications are the followings:

*Petrochemical Industry:

As we mentioned before, the centrifugal air compressor offers an absolutely oil-free compression, which is very important for the chemical medium compression as the purity is essential in the petrochemical industry. Besides, the centrifugal air compressor helps to reduce the emission in the compression process, which makes it environment-friendly.

*Power Plant:

A centrifugal turbo compressor is also a cost option for the power plant: nowadays more and more power plants work on integrating the compression systems for an efficiency optimization, which makes requires a high capacity of the single air compressor. The centrifugal compressor meets this requirement for it can offer an oil-free and high-efficient compression.

*Automobile Industry:

Many types of air compressors can be used in the automobile industry. Compared with other types, the centrifugal air compressor is a more ideal choice due to its simpler installation, high degree of automation, large volume, and high quality of compressed air.

*Food and beverage industry :

The centrifugal compressor provides oil-free compressed air for some sensitive applications such as food processing.

4. What are the advantages of the centrifugal air compressor?

Low weight, easy to design and manufacture.

Suitable for continuous compressed air supply, such as the cooling unit.

They have fewer rubbing parts and require low maintenance.

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It renders a high-flow rate than the positive displacement compressor and offers a higher pressure ratio per stage than the axial flow compressor.

It is important to know the principle of compression used for your application needing compressed air and gases to ensure that your process remains efficient.  

There are two main types of compressors: positive displacement, and dynamic. Dynamic compressors are further categorized into axial and centrifugal compressors.

Both axial and centrifugal compressors, also referred to as turbo compressors operate by the velocity of gas and convert the energy to pressure.

A dynamic compressor works at a constant pressure, unlike a displacement compressor which works with a constant flow. Dynamic compressor performance is affected by external conditions like ambient air temperature, for example and this can vary the outlet capacity.

This article will explore the major differences between axial and centrifugal compressors.

As the name suggests, axial compressors are known for their axial flow.

In axial compressors, the gas or air passes along the shaft of the compressor through stationary and rotating blades. It increases the velocity of the air gradually while the stationary blades convert the kinetic energy to pressure.

Axial compressors are smaller in size and lighter in weight, compared to centrifugal compressors and normally operate at higher speeds.

Common applications for axial compressors are found in gas turbines electricity generation or for the propulsion of air crafts. 

Axial flow compressors are comprised of multiple stages of stationary and rotating blades. The air is drawn in parallel to the axis of the rotation. It is then compressed at every stage.

These compressors are very high-speed and gas flows into the intake ports and pushes the gas through the compressional space via stationary stators rotating rotor blades.

In the axial-flow compressors, the flow enters the compressors in an axial direction, as the name suggests. The flow then exits from the gas turbine. In axial compressors, it works by accelerating the fluid and diffusing it so that the pressure increases.

The industrial gas turbine has low pressure ratio and firing temperatures. The compressors compress the working fluid by accelerating the fluid and diffusing it so that the pressure increases. 

Centrifugal compressors are known for their radial discharge flow.

In centrifugal compressors, air is drawn to the center of a rotating impeller that had radial blades. The air is then pushed towards the perimeter of the impeller by centrifugal forces.

The radial movements lead to a rise in the pressure as well as in generating kinetic energy. The air passes through a volute and a diffuser where it converts the kinetic energy into pressure and is then led to the center of the impeller. 

Centrifugal compressors have a rotating impeller disk. This impeller disk sucks the air into the center of the disk through an inlet, adjusted at a 90-degree angle to eye of the disk’s center.

The disk comes with impeller vanes which is why it looks like a pie. Around the impeller disk is a diffuser vane volute casing. The air enters the eye of the impeller disk and gets redirected outward because of the inertia of rotation and the impeller vanes.

The low-pressure air gets to the edge of the disc to enter the casing through the diffuser. Eventually, the diffuser and the casing slow down the air, increasing the pressure. Centrifugal compressor can be 1 stage for low pressure applications and at the same time in 2 or 3 stages with intercoolers (stainless-steel) for medium pressure air where pressure ratios per stage is keep lower to have better efficiency. A high-speed gearbox is integrated with the compressor stages to rate the impellers on high-speed pinions.
This technology is preferred for process industries or plants with large constant air demands. 

We hope that this article was helpful in getting a deeper understanding of the differences of centrifugal and axial compressors.

Atlas Copco provides robust axial and centrifugal compressor solutions that are capable of handling pressures up to 205 bar and volume flows up to 560,000 m3/h.

For more information on the axial and centrifugal compressors,  get in touch with our technical experts.