G o o d P r a c t i c e

I - i i -i W -

Energy efficient selection and operation

of refrigeration compressors

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B E S T P R A C T I C E P R O G R A M M E
L
 ENERGY EFFICIENT SELECTION AND
OPERATION OF REFRIGERATION
COMPRESSORS
This booklet is No. 59 in the Good Practice Guide Series. This Guide is aimed at users and
specifiers/designers of industrial and large commercial refrigeration plant, and is intended to
improve the readers understanding of refrigeration compressors so that refrigeration systems
are designed and operated more efficiently.

Prepared for the Energy Efficiency Office by:

ETSU
Hanvell
Oxfordshire
OX1 1 ORA

and

March Consulting Group

March House
13 Park Street
Windsor
Berkshire
SL4 1LU

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0 Crown copyright 1994
First published 1994
Reprinted 09/1994

Other titles in the Good Practice Guide Series

I. GUIDANCE NOTES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION O F SMALL-SCALE PACKAGED COMBINED

H E A T AND POWER
2. GUIDANCE NOTES F O R REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION COSTS O F ELECTRIC MOTOR
A N D DRIVE SYSTEMS
3. INTRODUCTION T O SMALL-SCALE COMBINED HEAT A N D POWER
13.

14.
17.
18. REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION COSTS BY STEAM METERING
30. ENERGY EFFICIENT OPERATION O F INDUSTRIAL BOILER PLANT
31. COMPUTER A I D E D MONITORING AND TARGETING F O R INDUSTRY
36. COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION PLANT: ENERGY EFFICIENT OPERATION A N D MAINTENANCE
37. COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION PLANT: ENERGY EFFICIENT DESIGN
38. C O M M E R C l A L REFRIGERATION P L A N T : ENERGY E F F I C I E N T INSTALLATlON
42. INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION PLANT: ENERGY EFFICIENT OPERATION A N D MAINTENANCE
43. INTRODUCTION T O LARGE-SCALE COMBINED HEAT AND POWER
44. INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION PLANT: ENERGY EFFICIENT DESIGN
47.
48.
49.
50. GUIDANCE NOTES FOR THE EFFICIENT OPERATION O F C O R E L E S S INDUCTION FURNACES
58. CUPOLA MELTING O F CAST IRON IN IRON FOUNDRIES
59. ENERGY EFFICIENT DESIGN A N D OPERATION O F REFRIGERATION COMPRESSORS
60. THE APPLICATION O F COMBINED H E A T AND POWER IN T H E UK HEALTH SERVICE
63. METAL DlSTRIBUTlON AND HANDLING IN IRON FOUNDRIES
64. REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION A N D COSTS IN S M A L L BAKERIES
65. ACHIEVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN T H E MALTINGS INDUSTRY
66. ROTARY DRYING IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
67. ENERGY CHAMPlONS: A SELECTION DF C A S E HISTORIES
68. ELECTRIC HOLDING O F H O T METAL I N IRON FOUNDRIES
69. INVESTMENT APPRAISAL FOR INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY
70. ENERGY CONSERVATION IN THE DRY-CLEANING INDUSTRY
72. MONITORING AND TARGETING IN THE FABRIC CARE INDUSTRY
76. CONTINUOUS STEEL REHEATING FURNACES: SPECIFICATION. DESIGN A N D EQUIPMENT
77. CONTINUOUS STEEL REHEATING FURNACES: OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
78. ENERGY CONSERVATION IN LAUNDERING
83. ENERGY EFFICIENT LIQUID RING VACUUM PUMP INSTALLATIONS I N T H E PAPER INDUSTRY
84. MANAGING A N D MOTIVATING S T A F F T O S A V E ENERGY
85. ENERGY MANAGEMENT TRAINING
86. RUBBER MOULDING & CURING IN THE RUBBER PROCESSING l N D U S T R Y
87. T H E PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
88.
89.
90. ENERGY EFFICIENCY I N T H E PROVISION A N D U S E O F INDUSTRIAL G A S E S
91. MONITORING A N D TARGETING I N LARGE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES
92. REDUCING ELECTRICITY USE I N EXTRUSION-BLOW MOULDING O F THERMOPLASTICS
114. ENERGY EFFICIENT REFINING O F PAPERMAKING STOCK
I IS. A N ENVIRONMENTAL G U I D E T O SMALL-SCALE C O M B I N E D HEAT AND POWER
116. ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS O F LARGE-SCALE COMBINED H E A T A N D POWER
126. CO\(PRESSIN(i A I R C O S I S
127. I.:NFRGI ~ l l ' I ( ' l E K 1L K V I R O S U I N I ' A I . ('ONTKOL I K THF. G I . \ S S ISI)lISTHY
128. h ( 0 K l T O R I V C i AND TAK(iI'T1KG I S I ' H I ('I & Y BRICK IVDUSTRY

Copies of these guides may be obtained from:

Energy Efficiency Enquiries Bureau

ETSU
Harwell
Oxfordshire
OX11 ORA
Tel No: 01235 436747. Fax No: 01235 432923. Telex No: 83135

Overseas customers please remit 3 per copy (minimum of 6) with order to cover cost of
packaging and posting. Please make cheques, drafts or money orders payable to ETSU.

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 FOREWORD
This guide is part of a series produced by the Energy Efficiency Office under the Best Practice
programme. The aim of the programme is to advance and spread good practice in energy
efficiency by providing independent, authoritative advice and information on good energy
efficiency practices. Best Practice is a collaborative programme targeted towards energy users
and decision makers in industry, the commercial and public sectors, and building sectors
including housing. It comprises four inter-related elements identified by colour-coded strips
for easy reference:

- energy consumption guides: (blue) energy consumption data to enable users to establish
their relative energy efficiency performance;
- good practice guides and case studies: (red) independent information on proven energy
saving measures and techniques and what they are achieving;
- new practice projects: (green) independent monitoring of new energy efficiency measures
which do not yet enjoy a wide market;
- future practice R&D support: (purple) help to develop tomorrow's energy efficiency good
practice measures.

If you would like any further information on this document, or on the Best Practice programme,
please get in touch with your Regional Energy Efficiency Office. Their addresses are
given below:

ENGLAND
Energy Efficiency Office Energy Efficiency Ofice Energy Efficiency Office
(East Midlands Region) (Eastern Region) (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Cranbrook House Heron House Dept of Economic Development
Cranbrook Street 49-53 Goldington Road Netherleigh
Nottingham Bedford Massey Avenue
NG1 1EY MK40 3LL Belfast
Tel: 0115 935 2292 Tel: 01234 276194 BT4 2JP
Tel: 01232 529358
Energy Efficiency Office Energy Efficiency O f i c e
(North East Region) (South West) Energy Efficiency Office
Government Office for the Room 309 (SCOTLAND)
North East Government Office for the Scottish Office Industry Dept
Wellbar House South West Energy Division R6l47
Gallowgate Tollgate House New St Andrew's House
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Houlton Street Edinburgh
NE1 4TD Bristol BS2 9DJ EH1 3TG
Tel: 0191 201 3343 Tel: 0117 987 8665 Tel: 0131 244 4665

Environmental Issues Unit Energy Efficiency Office Energy Efficiency Office

(North West Region) (West Midlands Region) (WALES)
Government Office - North West Room 603 Welsh Office
Sunley Tuwer Five Ways Tower Industry Department
Piccadilly Plaza Frederick Road Cathays Park
Manchester Birmingham Cardiff
M14BE B15 ISJ CFl 3NQ
Tel: 0161 838 5335 Tel: 0.121 626 2222 Tel: 01222 823126

Energy Efficiency Office Energy Efficiency Office

(South Eastern Region) (YorkshireIHumherside Region)
Charles House Dept of the Environment
Room 565 City House
375 Kensington High Street New Station Street
London Leeds
W 14 8QH LS1 4JD
Tel: 0171 605 9160 Tel: 0113 283 6376
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 CONTENTS

Section Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Compressor Performance and System Performance 1
1.2 Structure of this Guide 2

2. REFRIGERATION COMPRESSOR BACKGROUND 3

2.1 Compressor Enclosures 3
2.2 Gas Compression Systems 3
2.2.1 Reciprocating Compressors 4
2.2.2 Screw Compressors 5
2.2.3 Rotary Vane Compressors 1
2.2.4 Centrifugal Compressors 8
2.2.5 Scroll Compressors 8
2.3 Compressor Efficiency Comparison 9
2.4 Compressor Maintenance 9

3. COMPRESSOR EFFICIENCY DEFINITIONS 10

3.1 Losses in a Refrigeration Compressor 10
3.2 Isentropic Efficiency 10
3.3 Drive Efficiency 11
3.4 Electrical Efficiency 11
3.5 Auxiliary Loads 12
3.6 Combined Efficiency Parameters 12
3.1 The Effect of Compressor Energy Efficiency 13
3.8 Volcmetric Efficiency 13

4. CALCULATION OF COMPRESSOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY 14

4.1 Manufacturers Data Books 14
4.2 Variations in Cycles 14
4.3 COP Comparison 17
4.4 Calculating Compressor Shaft Energy Efficiency 18
4.5 Shaft or Motor Power? 18
4.6 Compressor Comparison Summary 19
4.7 Adjustment for Suction Temperature 19
4.8 Engineering Units 19
4.9 Efficiency Contours 19

5. SELECTING COMPRESSORS TO MINIMISE RUNNING

COSTS 23
5.1 Common Operating Conditions 23
5.2 Appropriatc Compressor Size 25
5.3 Optimising Full-Load Efficiency 26
5.3.1 Design Point and Off-Design Conditions 26
5.3.2 Volume Ratio 26

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Section Page No.

6. PART-LOAD OPERATION 27
6.1 Compressor Unloading Systems 27
6.2 Auxiliaries 29
6.3 Integrated or Modular Designs 30
6.4 Integrated and Modular Plant Part-Load Response 30
6.5 Avoiding Part-Load Operation 32

I. MINIMISING RUNNING COSTS OF EXISTING PLANT 33

7.1 Use of Existing Compressors 33
1.2 New Compressors 35
8. COMPRESSOR MAINTENANCE 36
8.1 Identifying Compressor Faults 36
8.2 Resolving Faults 37
9 CONCLUSIONS CHECKLIST 38

Appendices

Appendix 1 Calculation of compressor shaft energy efficiency 39

FIGURES Page No.

Fig 1 Twin-screw compressor 5

Fig 2 Single-screw compressor 6

Fig 3 Slide valve operation 6

Fig 4 Lift valve unloading I

Fig 5 Rotary vane compressor I

Fig 6 Scroll compressor operation 8

Fig I Compressor energy usage 11

Fig 8 Sample compressor performance curves 16

Fig 9 Single-stage refrigeration cycle 17

Fig 10 Pressure enthalpy chart - compressor A 17

Fig 1 1 Pressure enthalpy chart - compressor B 17

Fig 12 Twin-screw contour plot using R22 refrigerant 20

Fig 13 Rotary vane 3:l Vi 21

Fig 14 Reciprocating machine ^.

LI

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Fig 15 Rotary vane 5:l Vi 22

Fig 16 Part-load performance of reciprocating compressors 27

Fig 17 Part-load performance of twin- and single-screw compressors 28

Fig 18 Integrated compressors 30

Fig 19 Modular compressor packages 30

Fig 20 Screw compressor part-load COP 31

Fig 21 Single-stage refrigeration cycle 39

Fig 22 Pressure enthalpy diagram 39

TABLES

Table 1 Refrigeration compressor comparison 4

Table 2 Influence of compressor energy efficiency 13

Table 3 Sample compressor data table 15

Table 4 Example compressor data 14

Table 5 Example compressor performance data 19

Table 6 Common operating conditions, Example A 24

Table 7 Common operating conditions, Example B 25

Table 8 The effect of volume ratio 26

Table 9 Water chiller sequencing 29

Table 10 Brewing compressor sequencing 34

Table 1 1 Brewery compressor seqnencing options 35

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 1

ENERGY EFFICIENT SELECTION AND OPERATION OF REFRIGERATION

COMPRESSORS

1. INTRODUCTION

Refrigeration is a very significant user of electricity in the UK, with a consumption worth
some E2 hillionlyear (1990 prices) representing around 17% of the UK total. Around one
quarter of this is used in systems using compressors of a size which are the subject of this
Guide. These include use in the industrial, retail and coldlchill storage sectors and in
computer environment conditioning. Refrigeration systems encompass a wide range of
sizes, from simple domestic refrigerators consuming a few tens of watts to large industrial
systems which absorb megawatts, and temperatures from simple chilling duties close to
ambient temperature down to cryogenic levels. Almost all refrigeration systems, irrespective
of size or temperature level, use vapour compression cycles.

The most important energy-using component in such refrigeration systems is the compressor.
Although the compressor energy consumption is influenced by many external factors, it is
vital that the compressor is properly selected, operated and maintained. If refrigeration
compressors are inappropriately selected or operated, energy wastage will occur (losses of
20.30% are not uncommon). This Good Practice Guide provides valuable guidance on these
issues and, if followed, the advice on compressor selection and operation contained within
this Guide could lead to savings of 5 - 1 0 8 in the energy requirement to operate refrigeration
systems. Annual savings could therefore be E50 M or 1,100 GWh/year.

This Guide is specific to refrigeration compressors and should he read in conjunction with
the Good Practice Guides No. 42 - Industrial Refrigeration Plant: Energy Efficient Operation
and Maintenance and No. 44 - Industrial Refrigeration Plant: Energy Efficient Design. In
the industrial guides a description of different categories of energy efficiency measures was
given. The four areas identified were:

process design, in which the refrigeration requirements are defined and load
minimisation opportunities, such as free cooling, are explored;

system design, in which refrigerant choice, cycle configuration, heat exchanger

type, use of secondary refrigerants and other related decisions are made;

component design, in which each component of the refrigeration system is

examined in detail;

maintenance and operation, which encompasses on-going initiatives to run a plant

in the most efficient way.
Compressors fall into several of these categories. When carrying out system design it is
important that the correct sizes of compressors are chosen if inefficient part-load operation
is to be avoided. During the component design phase, appropriate compressors with
maximum efficiency across the expected range of operation conditions must then he
identified. Finally, compressors must be maintained and operated in such a way that
running costs are minimised.

1.1 Compressor Performance and System Performance

It is important to differentiate between compressor performance and refrigeration system
performance. These issues are oftenconfnsed and it is vital that the reader understands their
relationship.

Refrigeration system performance is an indication of the energy efficiency of the whole

refrigeration cycle. It is usually expressed by the Coefficient of Performance (COP), which
is the ratio of the amount of cooling carried out to the energy consumed by the system.

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2

The COP of a refrigeration plant is influenced by several factors, which include:

the refrigerant used;

the cycle configuration;

the evaporating and condensing temperatures:

the compressor performance;

auxiliary power consumption

Each of these factors can have a significant effect on COP, and hence on energy efficiency.
For example, a 1C drop in condensing temperature can reduce compressor power
consumption by about 3%.

The important observation to make is that compressor efficiency is only one of the factors
that influences compressor power consumption and hence COP. This Guide only deals with
compressor performance. Other issues such as temperatures. refrigerant and cycle
configuration are discussed in Good Practice Guides No. 42 - Industrial Refrigeration Plant:
Energy Efficient Operation and Maintenance and No. 44 - Industrial Refrigeration Plant:
Energy Efficient Design.

1.2 Structure of this Guide

This Guide is structured so that the reader can first understand the basic principles of
efficient compressor selection and operation and then see how these principles are applied
in practice. In Section 2 some general background to industrial refrigeration compressors is
given, together with general comments on the applicability of different types of compressor.
Section 3 provides a clear definition of compressor energy efficiency and distinguishes
between compressor energy efficiency and COP. In Section 4 details are given on how to
calculate compressor energy efficiency from manufacturers data.

After these sections on background and basic principles, the Guide gives specific advice on
compressor selection and operation. Section 5 deals with full-load performance and emphasises
the necessity to consider operation at off-design conditions. Section 6 deals with part-load
operation, Section 7 withcompressor sequencing and finally Section 8 addresses compressor
maintenance.

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2. REFRIGERATION COMPRESSOR BACKGROUND

Refrigeration compressors are used for an enormous variety of applications, resulting in a

wide range of requirements in terms of size, refrigerants, temperature levels etc. Inevitably
this has led to the development of a range of different compressor types. These can he
categorised in two ways: by enclosure and by compression method.

2.1 Compressor Enclosures

Three types of compressor enclosure are used:

hermetic;

semi-hermetic (also called accessible-hermetic);

open
Hermetic compressors, together with their drive motors, are completely enclosed within a
welded shell. Hermetic machines are not often found in large commercial or industrial
applications. Most hermetic compressors are very small (absorbing a few hundred watts),
although they can sometimes absorb up to around 20 kW. The advantage of the hermetic
enclosure is that there is no rotating shaft seal, which reduces the risk of refrigerant leakage.
However, the welded construction makes maintenance impossible.

In a semi-hermetic compressor, the compressor and motor again are fully enclosed. However,
the enclosure can be opened by undoing bolts, and so the motor and compressor can he
serviced. Semi-hermetic designs range up to about 100 kW input power and are common
in industrial and commercial applications.

An open compressor is a hare-shafted machine, with a rotating shaft seal. Compressor drive
is either by direct coupling of a motor or by a pulley system. Open compressors are most
common in industrial applications, and typically range in size from about 20 kW drive
upwards.

It should he noted that only open drives are suitable for ammonia, because in hermetic or
semi-hermetic enclosures the ammonia would react chemically with the copper used in the
drive motor.

2.2 Gas Compression Systems

A variety of compression systems have evolved over the years which all have advantages
and disadvantages influencing their selection for particular applications.

The compressor system types fall into two sub-categories:

positive displacement compressors;

rotodynamic compressors
In a positive displacement compressor, a volume of gas is trapped and then reduced, leading
to an increase in pressure. The most common example of a positive-displacement machine
is the reciprocating compressor. Other important positive-displacement compressors are
screw compressors (both single and twin-screw), rotary vane compressors and the more
recently developed scroll compressor.

Rotodynamic compressors work on a quite different principle. Gases flowing along curved
aerofoils experience pressure changes due to differences in gas velocity. This principle is
used on aircraft wings to provide a pressure difference that produces lift. It can also be
applied in gas compression systems i n the form of centrifugal or axial compressors.

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Centrifugal compressors are quite common in refrigeration, but axial machines are only used
in highly specialised applications where very large volume flows must be handled.

More detailed descriptions of the most important compressor types are given in the following
sections. Table 1 compares machines

Table 1 Refrigeration compressor comparison

Compression Swept Typical Typical applications

system volume capacity
Liquid Unitary sir Medium Low temp Boosters Industrial

. . .
(mhr) control
chillers conditioning temp s i r air coolers pr 0 E e s s

1 1 1 1 . . 1 .1.
COOlerS
I cooling
Reciprocating Small on1off e

1
up to 200
Large Cylinder ~

, 200 - 1,600 unloading-

. .
e
~ ~

I Screw 60 13,000 Slide valve

~

I I I I I I I
Rotary Vane Small Speed e
up to 100 onloff
__ A

- 1
~ ~~~~~~~~

Large Onloff ~

I 0 0 - 6,000

.
Centrifugal Above Inlet guide e
2.500 vane
Scroll S - 70 Onloff
.-

2.2.1 Reciprocating Compressors

These are the most common type of compressor and are positive-displacement machines.
They essentially comprise one or more single-action pistons, driven by a piston rod from a
crankshaft, reciprocating within cylinders. Cylinders may form an inline V or W
configuration, and can range in number from 1 to 16. Inlet and exhaust non-return valves
allow gas in and out of the cylinders. The basic design is simple and highly developed, so
reciprocating compressors are often lower in price than competing sy5tems. A small
reciprocating compressor will absorb less than 10 kW, a medium sized-machine 10-50 kW
and a large machine 50 kW and over. There is no practical limit to machine size and very
large multi-cylinder machines are available, although in practice rotary machines are more
common over about 150 kW motor power. Some multi-cylinder compressors take advantage
of internal or external manifolding to operate as two-stage machines. Reciprocating
compressors are suitable for all refrigerants. Capacity control in multi-cylinder machines
is normally achieved by cylinder unloading, and so output is reduced in steps (e.g. to 75%,
50% and 25% of full load for an eight-cylinder machine).

More recently, variable speed drives have become available. These give more flexible
control, although minimum speed (and hence capacity) is governed by lubrication needs.
Minimum capacity is higher than when cylinders unload. Care must also be taken to avoid
operation at speeds coinciding with resonant frequencies.

The reciprocating compressor has no inbuilt volume ratio and is well suited to low-volume
high pre5sure ratio applications. A limit to practical pressure ratios is imposed by high
discharge gas temperatures which may occur. However, in some machines these are reduced
by liquid refrigerant injection.

Reciprocating compressors have a large number of moving parts and the larger machines
can be relatively expensive to maintain. Cylinder clearance volumes are kept low to provide
high volumetric efficiency (see Section 3.7), which means that reciprocating compressors
can be susceptible to damage caused by entrainment of liquid refrigerant in suction gases.

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2.2.2 Screw Compressors

Two types of screw compressor (the single or Zimmern screw and the twin or Lysolm screw)
are manufactured. Although the gas compression mechanisms of each are quite different,
machine characteristics are similar and so they are discussed together.

In the twin-screw machine, a male helical rotor (analogous to the piston of a reciprocating
machine) meshes with a female rotor. Fig 1 depicts the gas compression system. Suction
gases fill the space between the rotor lobes and the gas volume is reduced as the rotors turn.
Early twin-screw compressors were oil free, and gears at the end of the rotor shafts were
used to ensure that the male and female rotors did not touch. However, the necessary
clearance spaces caused relatively inefficient operation and manufacturing costs were high.
A breakthrough came in the late 1950s when oil was injected into screw compressors. The
oil acted as a hydrodynamic seal, improving performance and removing the need for such
close tolerances in manufacture. It also eliminated the need for timing gears, as the driven
rotor is able to drive the other rotor directly. It is usual for the compressor motor to drive
the male rotor which in turn drives the female rotor through the meshing action. However,
in some machines the female rotor is driven. This increases the machine speed (as the female
rotor has more lobes) and hence also increases volume flow and refrigeration capacity.
Twin-screw machines are manufactured by many companies.

Fig 1 Twin-screw compressor

The single-screw machines gas compression system is depicted in Fig 2. It uses a single
helical rotor which meshes with one or two star wheels. At the machines inlet port, an
element of gas becomes trapped between the rotor and star wheels. On rotation, the
entrapped volume is progressively reduced and the gas is compressed. Finally, the section
of rotor trapping the compressed gas passes the exhaust port and the compressed gas is
discharged. Few manufacturers offer large single-screw industrial-scale compressors,
although these machines are used in a number of packaged water chillers intended for air
conditioning applications.

Screw compressors do not use inlet-or exhaust valves. Only the location of the discharge
port governs how much compression occurs before the gas is discharged. This means that
both types of screw machine have a fixed gas volume ratio for a given machine geometry.
In a typical manufacturers range, volume ratios might vary from 2.2 to about 5, each
suitable for different evaporating and condensing conditions. Selection of a machine of
inappropriate volume ratio can result in either compressed gas re-expanding into the
condenser, or high pressure gas from the condenser attempting to expand back into the
compressor. Both cases lead to loss of efficiency and, to overcome this, some manufacturers
of twin-screw machines offer variable volume ratio machines.

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Suction Compression Discharge

U 2 U

Fig 2 Single-screw compressor

Capacity control of both types is usually by slide valve, shown in Fig 3. This works by
opening a recirculation passage which bypasses a portion of gas to the suction housing
before compression begins. Hence the effective length of the rotor is changed. Slide valves
give continuously variable loading down to 10-3010 of full load output.

Suction -
Discharge

Full Load

-
.
Suction

Bypass to ~ qt<D[scharge
Suction

Part Load

Fig 3 Slide valve operation

An alternative method of capacity control, which is typically used in semi-hermetic screw

machines, is lift valve unloading. This system provides unloading i n discrete steps, typically
25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Lift valve unloading is shown in Fig 4. With either unloading
system, efficiency falls at low loads especially at high pressure ratios.

Both types of machine can be used in a pseudo two-stage mode, in which an economiser
port, part way down the screw length, is connected to an intercooler. At high loads this
brings worthwhile gains in output for modest extra input power. At low loads the system
does not operate since the economiser port is uncovered.

Both types of machine are much more compact than a reciprocating machine of equivalent
duty. The compact design means that very large screw machines are available up to swept
volumes of 13,000m3/hr. This duty implies maximum absorbed powers for normal temperature
applications of about 2,000 kW. In fact, one screw machine can often he installed in place
of several reciprocating machines.

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 Suction

Discharge

Lifted valve permits

bypass to suction

Fig 4 Lift valve unloading

Manufacture of rotors demands very accurate machining and is expensive. This, together
with the cost of necessary auxiliaries such as oil pumps, coolers and separators, has made
screw compressors uncompetitive in capital cost terms compared with reciprocating
compressors in small sizes. Until recently, few screw compressors were used with the power
input below 75 kW. However this seems to be changing, and smaller machines are becoming
available down to 20 kW drive.

Both types of screw machines have relatively few moving parts. They are considered to
require less routine maintenance than large reciprocating machines. These machines can be
used to compress virtually any gas and are quite tolerant to small quantities of liquid
refrigerant although these can cause wear. They can be used at differential pressures up to
about 20 bar, although gas bypass between the rotors limits efficiency under these extreme
conditions. Semi-hermetic and open designs are manufactured.

2.2.3 Rotary Vane Compressors

A rotary vane compressor comprises a shaft carrying radial blades which rotates within a
stator cavity, as shown in Fig 5 . The blades move over the cylinder lining trapping gas as
they pass the inlet port. As the shaft rotates, the volume of the trapped gas is reduced and
the gas is compressed, eventually passing the exhaust port where it is discharged. Similarly
to screw compressors, an economiser port can be used to increase system output. These
machines range in size from under 1 kW (machines of this size being used outside the UK
in domestic refrigerators) up to around 400 kW input. Their typical application is as high
volume ratio machines in low-temperature applications, where they can have pressure ratios
up to 20: 1. Capacity control is achieved by speed control, or bypass of partially compressed
gas to suction. At high differential pressures, efficiency becomes poor due to gas bypass
over blades

r
Ea r
0
a
$
.$
0
a

c
kc
E
w
8
W
8
W

Suction Compression Discharge

~

Fig 5 Rotary vane compressor

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2.2.4 Centrifugal Compressors

This is the only type of machine discussed here which is not a positive-displacement
compressor; the centrifugal compressor is a rotodynamic machine which increases the
kinetic energy of the suction gas. Single and multi-wheel machines are well suited to high
gas volume applications, but their maximum pressure ratio for one wheel is around 4: 1.
Multi-wheel machines can have much higher pressure ratios up to 20:l. The rotodynamic
design makes the centrifugal machine most suitable for high molecular weight refrigerants,
which have traditionally been R I I in single-wheel machines and RI2 or R22 in multi-wheel
applications. R11 and R12 refrigerants are now being replaced by ozone-friendly R123 and
R 134a respectively.

Centrifugals often have good efficiency at design conditions but a very narrow high
efficiency operating range. Capacity control is by inlet guide vanes and part-load efficiency
is often poor especially for multi-wheel machines. These compressors are potentially
susceptible to surging which limits the ability of the compressor to operate away from design
conditions. Intermediate pressure gas can be introduced between wheels on multi-wheel
machines, giving the machine the ability to work as a pseudo two-stage economised
compressor. This compressor design is susceptible to damage by liquid refrigerant.

2.2.5 Scroll Compressors

The scroll compressor is a rotary positive-displacement machine used at present in small

(5-35kW) air conditioning and heat pump units, and car air conditioning systems. Compressor
operation is depicted in Fig 6 .

Inlet- First Orbit

As the bottom scroll orbits. two
refrigerant gas pockets are I
formed and enclosed.

Compression second Orbit

The refrigerant gas is compressed
as the volume is reduced cioser
to the centre of the scroll.

Discharge -Third Orbit

The gas is compressed further and
discharged through a small port in
the centre of the fixed scroll.

Fig 6 Scroll compressor operation

A scroll is an involute spiral mounted on a flat plate. The scroll set comprises two scrolls:
one is fixed and the other, phased 180C from the first. moves around a fixed point on the
fixed scroll (translates). As the moving scroll translates, gas enters the space between the
scrolls at the edge of the scroll set. Further motion traps the gas in a crescent-shaped pocket
formed between scrolls and propels the gas towards the centre of the scroll set. As the gas
moves inwards, the volume of the pocket is reduced and the gas is compressed. Eventually
the discharge port is uncovered and compressed gas is discharged.

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The scroll compressor is a constant volume ratio machine. Control of the number of wraps
of the involute and the locations of the suction and discharge ports governs the volume ratio
of the machine, which must be optimised for any application. Scroll compressors are
claimed to be around 10% more efficient than reciprocating machines used in small air
conditioning units. The industrial user is unlikely to select these machines because of their
small size, except in specific room air conditioning applications.

2.3 Compressor Efficiency Comparison

Refrigeration equipment is required for widely ranging conditions of temperature and size.
To reflect this, different compressor designs have evolved which are optimised for particular
conditions of cooling duty, operating temperature and refrigerant.

The energy efficiency of a compressor (see Section 3 . 2 ) is highly dependent upon the
application and can vary from 40% to 85% for a single machine. Refrigeration compressors
are highly sensitive to operating conditions, and it is vital to select one that has high
efficiency across the range of conditions that may be encountered in a particular application.
It is dangerous to generalise this complex situation and state that one compressor type is
more efficient than another. The correct selection for one application will not necessarily
he the hest under different running conditions.

2.4 Compressor Maintenance

Compressor maintenance requirements are related to the compressor mechanism, the
compressor/motor enclosure, the refrigeration system design and to the operating requirements.

Rotary machines generally have relatively few moving parts and, in large industrial
applications, consequently require less day-to-day maintenance than reciprocating
machines. Major maintenance requirements over the lifetime of the compressor are not
dissimilar to those of reciprocating machines.

In smaller capacity installations, hermetic or semi-hermetic compressors (reciprocating and

rotary) are commonly used. These machines require minimal maintenance and are usually
replaced or exchanged when required.

Maintenance requirements are also affected by the system design and operating conditions.
In small direct expansion systems, compressor lubricating oil is returned automatically to
the compressor. In larger systems, oil can be trapped in heat exchangers and vessels; it must
he recovered and returned to the compressor or discarded as appropriate. If a compressor
is run at excessively high pressure ratios (often because of a fault such as a dirty condenser)
then there is a considerable risk of damage to the compressor.

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3. COMPRESSOR EFFICIENCY DEFINITIONS

This Guide deals with the selection and operation of refrigeration compressors that will
achieve maximum energy efficiency in particular refrigeration installations. In order to do
this it is necessary to compare the relative performance of different compressors using an
appropriate performance parameter. The most useful parameter for assessing compressor
performance is the overall compressor energy efficiency, which is defined in this chapter.

It is worthwhile referring to the comments made in Section 1 about COP and compressor
performance. The COP of a refrigeration cycle, and therefore the compressor power
consumption, is influenced by many design and operational issues. Compressor performance
is one of these factors and it must be optimised along with all the others. However, when
trying to assess compressor performance in isolation, COP is not the ideal performance
parameter as it must include assumptions about other critical design issues. Compressor
energy efficiency is a much more specific performance parameter that relates only to the
compression process itself. Compressor energy efficiency relates the actual power consumption
of a compressor to the consumption of an ideal lossless compressor.

3.1 Losses in a Refrigeration Compressor

An ideal compressor is one without losses. In a real compressor losses can occur in the five
areas discussed below.

Fluid losses: As a gas is compressed, friction between molecules causes wasteful heat to
be generated. Other fluid losses occur as the gases flow through inlet and outlet valves, and
through heat exchange that can take place between the suction vapour and the walls of the
compressor.

Leakage losses: High pressure gas can leak past the compression mechanism to lower-
pressure regions of the machine.

Compressor mechanical losses: The compressor has several moving parts which exhibit
frictional losses.

Drive system losses: The shaft of the compressor must be connected to an electric motor.
Frictional losses in the drive system occur, and are quite significant if belt drives are used.

Electric motor losses: The motor used to drive the compressor suffers losses. The
principal losses are due to resistance in the rotor, magnetisingleddy currents in the stator,
and mechanical losses caused by the motor fan and by friction.

The relative significance of these losses is strongly influenced by the compressor mechanism.

Fig 7 is used to explain how these losses are combined in various compressor efficiency
definitions. In an ideal losslesy compressor, work PI would be required to achieve
isentropic compression from suction to discharge pressure. In a real compressor the losses
described above lead to an actual power consumption that is higher than PI .

3.2 kentropic Efficiency

This takes into account all the losses within the compression device itself, including fluid
losses, leakage losses and mechanical losses. The isentropic efficiency is the ratio of the
ideal lossless power consumption (PI) to the actual power that must be applied to the
compressor shaft (Ps).

PI
lsentropic efficiency rll =
PS
~

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~
Total power input
PTOT I
Motor

1 Drive
e.g. direct drive
belt drive
Drive loss

e.g. 01 pump e.g. screw, reciprocating Compressor loss

Ideal gas

. , , ., , ', ,. , ,', ., , , ., , , , , . .

Fig 7 Compressor energy usage

3.3 Drive Efficiency

A compressor may he direct-driven by its motor or it may utilise a drive system such as
pulleys. Drive efficiency accounts for mechanical losses in the drive system and is defined
as the ratio of shaft power (Ps) to drive motor output power (PM).

PS
Drive efficiency q O =
PM
~

3.4 Electrical Efficiency

Losses occur in the electric motor which drives the compressor. Electrical efficiency is
defined as the ratio between motor output power (PM) and electric power input (PE).

PM
Electrical efficiency =
PE
~

3.5 Auxiliary Loads

It is sometimes found necessary to operate auxiliary equipment, such as oil pumps or
compressor case cooling fans, in order to sustain the operation of the compressor. Account
must he taken of the electrical consumption (PA) of these auxiliaries when comparing
compressors.

3.6 Combined Efficiency Parameters

The losses described above are reasonably simple to follow and one would expect them to
he combined into a well used and unambiguous efficiency parameter. However, this is not
the case because there is an intrinsic difference between open compressors and hermetic/
semi-hermetic machines.

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In the case of an open machine, the compressor manufacturer has no direct influence on the
selection of drive mechanism or motor. Hence it is natural to supply efficiency data based
on the compressor shaft power Ps.

However, in the case of hermetic and semi-hermetic machines it is almost impossible to

measure Ps. Hence, it is quite logical to use the electric motor power PE as a basis for
efficiency data.

Unfortunately, many people use the term isentropic efficiency for both shaft power or
electric motor power based efficiencies. Clearly there is a big difference. For example, for
the following data:

Ideal lossless compression PI = 10 kW

Actual compressor shaft power Ps= 13 kW
Motor output power PM= 14 kW
Compressor electrical input power PE = 16.5 kW
Auxiliary power PA = 0.2 kW

The calculated efficiencies are as follows:

Efficiency based on shaft power is 10/13 = 77%

Efficiency based on input power is 10/16.5 = 61%
Efficiency based on total input power is 10/16.7 = 60%

To avoid confusion, two definitions of energy efficiency are used in the remainder of this
Guide, as follows.

a) Compressor shaft energy efficiency, qs

ideal .~~
power
- input - PI
-
Is
= actual shaft input power
~~~

Ps
~

b) Overall compressor energy efficiency, qo

ideal power input -

pi
0 = total;nFt=
Note that many people use the term isentropic efficiency instead of qs. However, because
it is also used instead of qo, only the above terminology is used in this Guide.

3.7 The Effect of Compressor Energy Efficiency

Example

Consider two singlestage refrigeration cycles using R22, evaporating at - 10C and condensing
at 4 0 C such as might be used in a brewery cold room chilling system. Cooling duty is
100 kW. Compressor power consumptions for a range of compressor energy efficiencies
are compared in Table 2 . In this example it can be seen that the use of an average compressor
(compressor shaft energy efficiency of 65%) in place of a good compressor (compressor
shaft energy efficiency of 80%) will increase power consumption by 23% and annual
running cost by &3,100. Compressor power consumption is inversely proportional to
compressor energy efficiency. It should be noted that the power or cost differences in
percentage terms between two machines is always greater than the difference in percentage
points between the two machines efficiencies.

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Table 2 Influence of compressor energy efficiency

Compressor shaft power Annual running cost

(kW)
Ideal efficiency = 100% 24.2 10,769

Good compressor
efficiency = 80% 30.3 13,459 I
Average compressor
efficiency = 65% 37.3
I
I
16,567 I
Cycle Conditions Evaporating at -1o"C, 5 deg C suction superheat.
Condensing at + 4 0 C I deg C liquid subcooling.
Refrigerant R22.
Load Conditions Load 100 kW.
Annual duty 8,000 hours.
Compressors Direct drive assumed with motor efficiency 90% and electricity price 5plkWh.

If manufacturers' tables are used to compare an open compressor with a semi-hermetic, it

is vital that it is recognised that one set of data does not include drive/electrical losses while
the other does.

On a medium-sized (50 kW) belt driven compressor these extra losses could easily be 15%
and they must be fully accounted for in a design assessment.

3.8 Volumetric Efficiency

All of the discussion above relates to energy efficiency. Another commonly quoted parameter
in the refrigeration field is the volumetric efficiency. This must not be confused with energy
efficiency parameters.

The volumetric efficiency is a measure of the compressor's ability to pump gas, and is
defined by the following expression:

compressor pumped volume

Volumetric efficiency =
compressor swept volume

For example, if a compressor of swept volume 100 litredsec compresses 70 litredsec of gas
then the volumetric efficiency is 70%. Volumetric efficiency has no direct influence upon
the energy efficiency of a compressor. A compressor which has a high volumetric efficiency
over its operating range has good load matching qualities.

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4. CALCULATION OF COMPRESSOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY

In Section 3 the definitions of compressor shaft energy efficiency and overall compressor
energy efficiency were given. This Section explains how these efficiencies can be calculated.

The starting point for the assessment of efficiency must be the performance data published
by the compressor manufacturer. Comprehensive data tables for each compressor/refrigerant
combination are published. Manufacturers rarely publish efficiency data in these tables, so
it is often necessary to calculate efficiency or to request these extra data from manufacturers.

Computer-based compressor catalogues are becoming increasingly common. These systems

have the advantage that the calculated efficiency is often included. Selections may also he
made at operating conditions somewhat different from the standards presented in data tables
or graphs.

4.1 Manufacturers Data Books

Table 3 shows a typical set of data published by a manufacturer. It can be seen that the data
consist of the cooling capacity and power absorbed under a range of different evaporating
and condensing temperatures. For example, when the evaporating temperature (Te) is 0C
and the condensing temperature (Tc) is 4 0 T , the table indicates a cooling capacity of
67.27 kW and an absorbed power of 18.65 kW. In this case the data have been given in
tabular form, hut in many cases the data are presented graphically as shown in Fig 8.

It is important to understand precisely what is meant by these figures. The purpose of a

refrigeration compressor is to compress a low-pressure vapour to a higher pressure. A
compressor by itself does no cooling, and yet the compressor data show a cooling duty and
a power input. The manufacturer is assuming that the compressor is operated in a standard
vapour compression refrigeration cycle; the exact definition of standard cycle is always
given in the data hook, although often only in the small print. If the compressor is operated
in this standard cycle configuration then the user will expect to achieve the published
compressor performance. However, factors such as refrigerant line pressure drops and heat
gain to the suction line will affect compressor performance and must be taken into account.
Published data are the starting point for such calculations.

4.2 Variations in Cycles

If all manufacturers made the same assumptions when defining their standard cycle it
would he relatively easy to compare compressors directly from manufacturers data. British
Standard BS3122 part 2, I S 0 9309, directs how data should he presented; however, some
manufacturers material does not comply and material in old data hooks may he to earlier
standards. For example, compare the data extracted for two compressors given in Table 4
below. It would appear that compressor B must be better than compressor A: it is achieving
more cooling and absorbing less power! The COP with compressor A is 210/53 which is
3.96, whereas the COP with compressor B is 215/51 which is 4.21. This seems to imply
that B must be about 6% better than A.

.:
Table 4 Example compressor data

l L , j i : -
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ i : ~

Compressor B
~~ Compressor A
Cooling capacit,y (kW) 210
Absorbed power (kW)
COP 3.96 4.21
Suction superheat (deg C) 0 5
Liquid suhcooling (deg C) 0 i 10

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Evaporating Temperature = 0C; Condensing Temperature = 40C; Refrigerant = R22
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16

Refrigeration Capacity
Assumes 10F (56C) superheat at compressor suction and liquid at
intermediatelcondensing pressure with no subcooling. No allowance has been made
for pressure losses between the evaporator and the compressor suction flange
4

0.7

0.5
0.4

0.3

0.2

4 0 F -30F -20F -10F 0F 10F 20F 30F 40F 50F

Evaporation I 1 I I I 1 1 I
~~

Temperature I 1
40C -30C -20C -10C 0C 10C

400

300

2
0)

Q
0) 200
2
0
I

100

_ _ _ _ Other Vi sDecificationscan be more efficient

Fig 8 Sample compressor performance curves

Unfortunately, the situation is not so simple. The manufacturers have made different
assumptions ahont their standard cycles which mask the true performance of the compressors.
To define a single-stage refrigeration cycle it is necessary to state two other parameters apart
from the evaporating and condensing temperatures. These are:

Suction superheat: This is the difference (superheat) between the temperature of

suction vapour and the evaporating temperature. Part of the superheat is caused by
useful heat transfer in the evaporator and part is caused by heat gain to the cold
suction line.

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Liquid subcooling: This is the difference between the temperature of liquid

refrigerant entering the expansion device and the saturation temperature at the
prevailing pressure.

4.3 COP Comparison

Fig 9 shows the basic components in a refrigeration cycle. The numbers 1 to 4 denote the
four different conditions through which the refrigerant fluid passes. At point 1 the refrigerant
is a low-pressure vapour about to enter the compressor. At point 2, the vapours have been
compressed to a higher pressure and, in most cases, superheated. In the condenser the
vapours are cooled to their condensing temperature and then condensed to a liquid at point
3. Finally, the condensed liquid is allowed to fall in pressure by passing through an
expansion valve. Some of the liquid flashes so that point 4 is a low-pressure mixture of
liquid and vapour refrigerant at temperature Te.

Expansion
Valve

4 t 1

Fig 9 Single-stage refrigeration cycle

Figs 10 and 11 show these points plotted on a pressure enthalpy diagram (Mollier Diagram)
for the standard cycles assumed by the manufacturers of compressors A and B. For
compressor A there was no suction superheat or liquid subcooling, whereas for compressor
B there is 5 deg C useful superheat and 10 deg C subcooling. P, indicates the condenser
pressure, and PE the evaporator pressure.

ressure P Compressor A I Pressure P

t
Compressor B

\
Specific Enlhalpy h
I Specilic Enthalpy h I
Fig 10 Pressure enthalpy chart - Fig 11 Pressure enthalpy chart
Compressor A Compressor B

The cooling capacity of a cycle is related to the enthalpy difference between point 1 and
point 4 (ie hl-hd). The power absorbed by the compressor is equivalent to (hz-hl). Because
of the assumptions made about suction superheat and liquid subcooling, compressor B

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appears to be better than A; however, if both compressors were operated in the same cycle
this might not really he the case. In order to he sure, it is necessary to eliminate the impact
of the assumptions and calculate the compressor shaft energy efficiency for both machines.
A COP comparison is only valid if cycle assumptions are the same for the machines
being compared.

4.4 Calculating Compressor Shaft Energy Efficiency

Figs 10 and 11 show two lines representing the compression process. The solid line between
point 1 and point 2 is the real compression process. The dotted line between point 1 and
point 2s is following a line of constant entropy. Hence it represents ideal, lossless
compression.

In Section 3.6, compressor shaft energy efficiency was defined as:

ideal power consumption

= actual shaft power absorbed

From Figs 10 and 11 it can he seen that:

In order to calculate qs, values for hl, b2 and hZs must first be calculated. This can be
done by making reference to thermodynamic data tables in conjunction with the
manufacturers data book. An example calculation is shown in Appendix 1.

If the absorbed powers quoted in Table 4 are assumed to refer to shaft power, the analysis
for the two machines shows that the compressor shaft energy efficiency of A is 71.4%
whereas that of compressor B is 70.5% .

4.5 Shaft or Motor Power?

Manufacturers data books publish figures for absorbed power, as discussed above. I S 0
9309 requires that manufacturers use shaft power for open compressors, and electric power
to motor terminals for semi-hermetic and hermetic compressors. Hence, when comparing
compressors with the same enclosure type the data should he equivalent. However, cycle
assumptions and power definitions in the data book should always be confirmed.

If the calculation procedure described above is applied to shaft power data then qs, the
compressor shaft energy efficiency, is calculated. If the calculations are based on electric
power, the efficiency calculation will include drive and motor losses. When making
comparisons between machines this is a critical issue.

If the data in Table 4 for compressor B were shaft power, whereas the data for compressor
A were electric power, then B is even less efficient than it originally appeared. For
compressor B to operate, it must he connected to a motor through a drive chain. If an
efficiency of, say, 90% is assumed for the motor-drive combination, then the electrical
power absorbed is 5UO.9 = 56.7 kW. Recalculating using the procedures given in Appendix 1
the results in terms of overall compressor energy efficiency are:

Compressor A qo = 71.4%

Compressor B = 63.5%

When this example was introduced, it appeared that B was 6% more efficient than A (see
Section 4.2). In fact it is 18% less efficient!

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4.6 Compressor Comparison Summary

Compressors should be compared on the basis of overall compressor energy efficiency,
which must be calculated using the procedure described in Appendix 1, rather than by
comparing COP which is simply calculated by dividing the compressor duty by its power
requirement. To calculate compressor energy efficiency, the evaporating and condensing
temperatures, compressor duty and absorbed power must he known, together with the
following:
suction superheat (useful and non-useful);

liquid subcooling.
The meaning of the absorbed power figure should be understood. If it is the shaft power
then compressor shaft energy efficiency is calculated; this must then be multiplied by the
drive efficiency and electrical efficiency to obtain the overall compressor energy efficiency.
If absorbed electrical power is used then the overall compressor energy efficiency is
calculated directly. In each case the effect of auxiliaries must be considered in calculating
overall compressor energy efficiency.

4.7 Adjustment for Suction Temperature

It must be appreciated that significant changes in suction temperature will affect the physical
properties of the gas inlet to the compressor. These changes may affect compressor capacity
and efficiency and should be corrected for. The correction should be made on the basis of
the curves and equations which can be obtained from compressor manufacturers, or from a
computer-based catalogue. It is not valid to calculate the efficiency of a compressor at a
particular suction condition and then to use this efficiency value at a significantly different
suction temperature.

4.8 Engineering Units

The example above illustrates how important it is to compare compressors properly, using
calculated efficiencies. This process is even more important when the different engineering
units used by manufacturers are taken into account. Try comparing the compressors
illustrated in Table 5 with compressors A and B.

Table 5 Example compressor performance data

IF--- I Compressor c 1 compressor^ 1

Cooling capacity 200,000 kcalhr 65 TR
Absorbed power 50 kW 68 HP

1
Evaporating temperature 0C 30F
Condensing temperature 40C 100F

For compressor C, different units are used for cooling capacity (kcal/hr), so it is first
necessary to convert these to kW to carry out the necessary calculations. The situation for
compressor D i s much more awkward. Both the cooling capacity and absorbed powers are
given in different units (TR and HP) and they are tabulated for Fahrenheit values of
evaporating and condensing temperature which do not exactly correspond to the Celsius
values used for compressors A, B and C. Because the cycle performance is highly sensitive
to temperature, it is necessary to interpolate values of cooling capacity and power for
temperatures that exactly correspond to the Celsius values.

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4.9 Efficiency Contours

The influence of compressor energy efficiency on the power required by a compressor to
perform a given cooling duty has been discussed. It has also been demonstrated how the
compressor energy efficiency for a particular operating point (evaporating and condensing
temperature) can be calculated from the manufacturers data, and therefore how to compare
equivalent compressors on a common basis.

However, it is important to realise that compressors rarely run under design conditions. It
is common for the evaporating and condensing temperatures between which a compressor
works to vary according to variations in load and ambient conditions. It is therefore
necessary to analyse compressor energy efficiency not just for the design point of the
machine, but also at all commonly occurring operating points.

Fig 12 shows an example efficiency contour plot for a twin-screw compressor using R22
refrigerant.

Evaporating Temperature (Deg C )

Fig 12 Twin-screw contour plot using R22 refrigerant

Presentation of compressor energy efficiency data in the form of acontour map is useful for
the following reasons:

the maximum and minimum compressor energy efficiencies and the efficiency when
working in the proposed temperature range may be easily identified;
the sensitivity of compressor energy efficiency to changing operating conditions
may be easily observed.
Some of these characteristics will now be described with reference to the contour plots
shown in Figs 13 to 15, which have been drawn for commercially available compressors to
show differences when operating off the design point.

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51
4(

0 5 10
Evaporating Temperature (Deg C)

Fig 13 Rotary vane 3: 1 Vi

Evaporating Temperature (Deg C)

Fig 14 Reciprocating machine

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Evaporating Temperature peg C)

Fig 15 Rotary vane 5: 1 Vi

Figs 13 and 14 show rotary vahe and reciprocating compressors of approximately equal
capacity, both using R22 refrigerant. Both machines can operate in a condensing temperature
range of 30C to 60C. The vane machine can operate over a greater range of evaporating
temperatures. However, at low evaporating temperatures efficiencies become low. The
maximum efficiency of the rotary machine is around 69%, which occurs at 5C evaporating
and 60C condensing. At these temperatures the reciprocating machine has an efficiency
of between 80% and 81%. The reciprocating machine's efficiency is greater than 80% for
most of its operating range and peaks at over 83%. If these machines were operated at 2C
evaporating and 40C condensing temperature to produce chilled water, the reciprocating
machine would have an efficiency of 81.2%, and the vane an efficiency of 63.5%. Use of
the inefficient machine would increase running costs by 27%.

Fig 15 shows another rotary vane compressor capable of similar duties. It may be seen that
the peak efficiency of 81% occurs at -15C evaporating and 50C condensing, and at these
conditions the efficiency is greater than the reciprocating machine's 79.5% (Fig 14).
However, if the condensing temperature were to fall to 40C (e.g. if ambient temperatures
fell from their design point) then the efficiency of the vane machine falls to 67% whereas
that of the reciprocator increases to 82%. Consideration of the design point efficiency only
might point towards selection of the vane machine, but the very small range of very high
efficiency operation compared with the large high-efficiency range of the reciprocator would
probably favour the reciprocating machine. At -1 5"C1+4O0C the reciprocating machine's
power consumption will be only 81% of that of the vane machine.

Compressor contours of this type are an ideal way to compare compressors. To prepare
them by hand is a time-consuming task. It requires the compressor efficiency to be
calculated using the procedure outlined in Appendix 1 for each evaporating/condensing
temperature grid point, and then contours must be drawn by eye according to efficiencies
marked at grid points. Computer software is available which considerably speeds this task.
If compressor manufacturers were to provide machine data in this form then machine
comparison would be greatly simplified. It is advisable that end users request this
information.

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5. SELECTING COMPRESSORS TO MINIMISE RUNNING COSTS

In Sections 3 and 4 an explanation of the definition of overall compressor energy efficiency

was given together with details of how to calculate it. Now it is necessary to consider how
this information can be used to help refrigeration system designers and operators minimise
the electricity consumption of a plant.

Many refrigeration systems are specified with only one operating condition in mind. The
design point of a refrigeration system is normally the one with:
the maximum cooling duty;

the warmest ambient conditions;

the coldest process conditions.

By specifying the design point in this way the plant designer can he certain that the system
will have enough capacity to supply all cooling requirements.

However, in practice most plants operate at their design points for less than 100 hours/year.
The more common requirement is for operation at a reduced cooling duty under less severe
ambient conditions. If a refrigeration plant is to operate efficiently it is vital that careful
consideration is given to off-design operating conditions. Whilst this applies to all
components in a refrigeration system, it is particularly critical for compressors.
Refrigeration compressors can perform very badly under certain off-design conditions.

In order to select compressors that will lead to a plant design with minimum running costs,
it is necessary to:

identify common operating conditions;

choose appropriate compressor sizes to avoid low part-load operation of individual

compressors;

select compressors with high full-load overall compressor energy efficiency across
the full range of common operating conditions.

5.1 Common Operating Conditions

The first part of the design process is to identify the common operating conditions. This is
hest illustrated with two examples.

Example A

Example A is a food processing factory. The design point of the plant is a cooling duty of
1,500 kW with an evaporating temperature of -15C and a condensing temperature of 40C.
In order to establish the full range of operating conditions it is necessary to consider how
these parameters vary. Discussions with the factory production managers established the
following:

a) Cooling duty is dominated by process loads (800 kW) that occur 10 hourdday on
weekdays, and a chill store held at 4C (400 kW). A series of minor loads comprise
the remainder of the 1,500 kW peak load. The chill store load is sensitive to ambient
conditions and is at its maximum for a design ambient of 28C.

These two dominant loads can only coincide for 10 honrs/day (the duration of the
process loads) on the hottest days of the year, because when ambient conditions are
less severe the chill store load is reduced. In winter the chill store load will typically
be in the region of 150 kW, and auxiliary loads are reduced; hence the night-time
winter load will be less than 20% of the design point load.

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h) The evaporating temperature of -15C is only required when one particular product
is being cooled. This product only represents 20% of production output. At all
other times, the evaporating temperature can he raised to -4C.

It is interesting to note the importance of these data. Process cooling at -15C is

only required for 20% of production hours, which are only 10 hourslday, 5 days/
week. This implies that only 500 h o u d y ear of operation is required at -15C.
Clearly the design must maximise efficiency at -4"C, which will he the evaporating
temperature for 90% of the year, while still maintaining capacity to operate at -15C.

C) The condensing temperature can float with ambient weather conditions and conden-
ser load. The design condensing temperature of 40C is for an ambient dry bulb
temperature of 28C and a full-load cooling duty of 1,500 kW.

Again it is important to note that the condensing temperature will be well helow 40C for
most of the year. The average dry hulh temperature in the UK is about 10C. From (a)
above it has been established that average loads are well helow 1,500 kW. For much of the
year the condensing temperature will be between 15C and 25C for this plant.

These descriptions show that there is an enormous range of operating conditions. These
should he simplified by the designer into a table of representative conditions such as Table 6.
Note that the final column in this table is an estimate of the hourdyear for each load
condition: this gives a vital indication of the relative importance of each condition,

-:/
Table 6 Common operating conditions, Example A

I Conditions

Design point
Cooling load
kW
1,500
"C
Tc Hourdyear

500
2 Summer production 1,400 500
3 Autumn/Spring production 1,200 1,000
4 Winter production 1,000 ~

500
5 Summer non-production 700 1,500
6 Autnmn/Spring non-production 500 -4 3,000
7 Winter non-production 300 -4 1,500

Example B

This degree of variation is not always found. In Example B, a chemical plant, the design
point is the same as Example A . However, interviews with production staff establish:

a) production is 24 hours/day, 365 daydyeat at a steady full-load output;

b) the evaporating temperature of -15C must be maintained all year.

In this example, the only variable parameter is the condensing temperature, which can float
with ambient temperature. However, as the cooling duty never falls below 1,500 kW,
condensing temperature cannot float as low as in Example A. Table 7 shows the table of
typical operating conditions for Example B.

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Table 7 Common operating conditions, Example B

Conditions Cooling load Te Te Hourslyear

kW "C "C
1I 1 Design point 1,500 -15 40 500
I 2 Summer 1,500 -15 38 2,000
3 Autumn/Spriug 1,500 4,000
4 Winter 1,500 -15 2,000

5.2 Appropriate Compressor Size

The next step in the design process is to identify appropriate compressor sizes. In theory,
Examples A and B could each he satisfied by a single compressor of 1,500 kW. In practice,
this will he totally inappropriate for Example A and it may be inappropriate for Example B.

It is usually good design practice to select several smaller compressors for two reasons:

to provide diversity against compressor failure;

to improve efficiency of part-load operation

The first point is important although it has no impact on energy efficiency. Assuming a
single 1,500 kW machine is selected, then all cooling will be lost if it fails. If, say, 3 x
500 kW machines are selected then a compressor failure only leads to a 33% loss of capacity.
Whilst this argument is undoubtedly correct, some would argue that three compressors
require more maintenance than one and that the capital cost will he higher. As with most
engineering design issues, nothing is totally clear cut.

The energy efficiency issue is slightly less contentious. When a refrigeration compressor
runs at part load it is less efficient than at full load. The drop in efficiency depends on the
type of compressor unloading mechanism, but efficiency is usually poor at low-load
conditions.

A more detailed discussion of part-load operation is given in Section 6 . At this point it is

reasonable to apply a rule of thumb that it is desirable to avoid compressors operating below
50% of their capacity. It is also important to remember that the capacity of a compressor
changes if evaporating or condensing temperatures change. If a compressor has a capacity
of 500 kW at Te = -15C and Tc = 40C it would have a much higher capacity of 850 kW
at Te = -4C and Tc = 20C. Manufacturers' data tables show how capacity varies with
evaporating and condensing temperatures.

Referring to Table 7, it is fairly easy to select appropriate compressor sizes for Example B.
To avoid part-load conditions, 1 x 1,500 kW or 2 x 750 kW or 3 x 500 kW would all be
suitable; hence the selection can be made purely on practical considerations related to
diversity and standby.

Example A is much more sensitive to part-load operation. For 6,000 hourdyear the load is
below 700 kW, and during these hours Te is higher than the Design Point evaporating
temperature and Tc is lower than the Design Point condensing temperature. In these
circumstances, it is often appropriate to have a range of sizes available. For Example A it
is reasonable to have one large compressor, of say 700 kW, and several smaller ones. The
large compressor would always operate at full load during production hours. The other
machines would be used during non-production hours and to trim the load during production.
Hence the whole plant could have 1 x 700 kW, 2 x 250 kW and 2 x 150 kW machines. The
control system should then he configured to only run the largest machine at full load.

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5.3 Optimising Full-Load Efficiency

Having chosen the appropriate sizes it is then necessary to select actual compressors that
will carry out cooling in the most efficient way. Data from several manufacturers must be
compared, using the methods discussed in Section 6.

When making a choice on energy consumption grounds between alternative compressors,

any of which are able to perform the required cooling duty, the following points should be
considered for full-load operation of the machine:
overall compressor energy efficiency at the design point;
overall compressor energy efficiency at common off-design points:

the selection of the appropriate volume ratio, for screw machines.

These points are illustrated by the following examples

5.3.1 Design Point and Off-Design Conditions

The efficiency contour discussion (Section 4.9) gave an example, for a chilling application,
where consideration of compressor energy efficiency at the design conditions only would
have lead to the selection of a rotary vane compressor (Fig 15) which had much lower
efficiency at the more common off-design conditions than an alternative reciprocating
machine (Fig 14).

This example of a very small operating range at peak efficiency is not uncommon, and
illustrates how vital it is to examine the compressor energy efficiency at all common
operating points.

5.3.2 Volume Ratio

A twin-screw machine was considered for a brewery refrigeration system. Design

evaporating and condensing temperatures were -10C and 3 5 T , and the refrigerant was
ammonia. A suitable machine model was identified. For the design point the 3.7 volume
ratio (Vi) version is the most appropriate choice. However, as condensing temperature falls,
the Vk2.6 version becomes more appropriate, and at 20C condensing the Vi=2.2 machine
is most efficient. Comparative efficiencies are shown in Table 8. It is evident that the
penalties for overcompression (the 3.7 Vi machine at 20C condensing) are more severe
than those associated with nndercompression (the 2.2 Vi machine at 35C condensing).
Inappropriate volume ratio does not affect the capacity of the compressor; it does, however,
influence the power requirement.

Table 8 The effect of volume ratio

Condensing Compressor energy efficiency

1 temperature ("C)
Vi = 2.2 Vi = 2.6 Vi = 3.7
~~

35 70.69 73.94 I 74.70

30 72.59 74.74 I 72.93
25 73.57 74.3 1 69.82
20 73.21 72.38 65.21

Basis: -10C evaporating temperature

Figs 13 and 15 show contour maps for two otherwise identical rotary vane compressors of
volume ratio 3:1 and 5:l. The penalties for inappropriate volume ratios are clear.

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6. PART-LOAD OPERATION

Part-load operation is of critical importance to refrigeration plant design and deserves

detailed comments.

The load on a refrigeration system will almost never match the capacity exactly. Some form
of capacity control is therefore required. Many types of compressor unloading mechanisms
are used. The most common of these are discussed in this section.

6.1 Compressor Unloading Systems

On/Off control is a commonly adopted technique that can he very efficient, since the
compressor always runs at full load. On/off control can be used in one of two circumstances:
when the system has several compressors, with each compressor acting as one
unloading step;
when temperature control is not critical, especially in situations with a high thermal
inertia (cold stores, systems with large volumes of secondary refrigerants, ice
storage systems etc).
Cylinder unloading is used with reciprocating compressors. This is achieved in one of two
ways.

Holding open suction valves. Gas continues to flow through the inlet valves,
although it is not compressed.

Blocking the suction flow to designated cylinders. Gas trapped within the cylinder
is compressed and re-expanded. Fluid losses are almost eliminated. Blocked
suction control is limited to relatively small machines.
Fig 16 shows typical unloading characteristics for these two mechanisms

~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ ~

c Suction valve open

- 80
go
+ Blocked suction
~

U
- 70 ~

-
7 60
~

10
A
~

1 I
O
50 75 100
Capacity (%)
~~~~~ ~

Fig 16 Part-load performance of reciprocating compressors

Slide valves are used in screw compressors effectively to shorten the rotor length. This
system allows stepless 2apacity control from 100% to around 10-30% of load. Losses
depend upon the pressure ratio through which the machine operates and are greater for high
pressure ratios. Pressure ratio is usually expressed in terms of the built-in volume ratio and
refrigerant, as shown by Fig 17. Typically. a screw compressor will absorb 40.60% of
full-load power at 20% of full-load capacity.

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Single-Screw Compressor Single-Screw Compressor

Part-load Performance. Ammonia
100

90

80

-m
D
70
0
-
J 60
3
U
50

5
0
40

Vi = 2.2 a 30

.
Vi = 2.2
+ Vi = 2.6
20
+ Vi = 2.6
G Vi = 3.5 o Vi = 3.5
Vl = 4.9 Vi = 4.9
10

- 0
10 30 50 70 90 10 30 50 70 90
Capacity (%) Capacity (%)

Twin~ScrewCompressor Twin -Screw Compressor

Part-load Performance, R22 Part-load Performance; Ammonia
100 100

90 90

80 80

-
n
m
70 -
n
m
70
0 0
A
- 60 1
- 60
3 3

-s 50
s
I
50

40 40
2
(L 30 a 30
VI = 4.8 0 Vl = 4.8
20
+ Vi = 3.7
20 + Vi = 3.7
o Vi = 2.6 o VI = 2.6
Vi = 2.2 Vi = 2.2
10 10

O'iO ' io $0 do ' lb,

Capacity ("I.) Capacity (%)

Fig 17 Part-load performance of twin- and single-screw compressors

Variable inlet guide vanes are used with centrifugal compressors to impart swirl to the
refrigerant gas in the direction of the impellor rotation. This reduces the relative velocity
of the vapour with respect to the impellor, and consequently the volume flow. Stepless
control down to 10% can be achieved, and losses are similar to those associated with slide
valves.

Suction throttling effectively reduces the evaporating temperature. This has the
simultaneous effect of reducing refrigerant density, and hence mass flow, which severely
reduces capacity. It also increases the temperature lift through which the compressor must
operate, which has an adverse effect on capacity. This control strategy is very wasteful and
should be avoided if at all possible.

Hot gas bypass involves the direct bypass of discharge gas, via valves to the compressor
suction. The mass flow of gas from the evaporator and the cooling capacity are reduced;
compressor power is largely unaffected. Again this capacity control method should be
avoided wherever possible.
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Variable speed drives are an option available on some compressors, through the use of
either frequency inverters or multi-pole motors with different speed settings. Inverter drives
give infinitely variable speed settings, whereas multi-pole motors offer two or three
different speeds. Variable speed operation is reasonably efficient above 30% of full-load
capacity, although low-load conditions are still quite inefficient. Great care must be taken
when applying inverter drives to compressors, especially reciprocators. Oil lubrication is
sometimes carried out using a pump connected to a compressor crankshaft, but if the speed
is too low then lubrication will he insufficient. At certain speeds reciprocating compressors
might resonate, and these speeds must be avoided if physical damage is to be prevented. In
no circumstances should variable speed operation be considered without advice from the
compressor manufacturer.

6.2 Auxiliaries
The discussion in Section 6.1 is limited to the effect of part-load operation on compressor
shaft energy efficiency only. Cost penalties to the system user for part-load operation can
often be magnified by system auxiliaries. In addition to using power in the gas compression
process, a compressor is quite likely to have a dedicated oil pump, and, if the compressor
installation is of a modular nature, evaporator and condenser pumps and/or fans will also
he dedicated to the compressor. All these auxiliaries will have an essentially constant power
consumption, irrespective of compressor load, and clearly become significant at conditions
of low compressor loading.

Example
Table 9 shows an example of poor part-load performance seen in a food factory. Three water
chillers were operating in parallel each at one-third load. Simple changes to the chiller
sequence controller reduced the power requirement of the plant hv 52%. Almost half of the
savings came from reduced auxiliary loads.

Table 9 Water chiller sequencing

1
~~

Parallel Sequencing Step Control

Load Power Load Power

%
~
kW
~~ ~
- ~
%
~~
kW

Compressors 1 33 90 100 I50

i 33 90 0 0
3 33 90 0 0

Chilled water
Pumps 1 100 25 100 25
2 100 25 0 0
3 100 25 0 0

Condenser
Pumps 1 100 20 100 20
2 100 20 0 0
3 100 20 0 0
~ ~

Total 405 - 195

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6.3 Integrated or Modular Designs

In considering part-load operation it is often important to distinguish between integrated
and modular designs. These are illustrated in Figs 18 and 19.

To Condenser

I From Evaporator

Fig 18 Integrated compressors

Fig 19 Modular compressor packages

In an integrated design the compressors are piped together with common suction and
discharge pipes. The operation of the compressors can be considered independently from
the rest of the system, and it will always be worth minimising part-load operation of
compressors whenever possible.

A modular design consists of separate refrigeration packages. Each compressor is dedicated

to a particular evaporator and condenser, which are only used if the compressor is running.
The auxiliaries example described above was a modular design, and showed particularly
poor part-load operation because of the high auxiliary load.

In the case of modular designs, part-load operation can sometimes be quite efficient,
particularly in the 50.75% load range. This is because the head pressure of a modular plant
can float under part-load conditions, and reduced temperature lift can compensate for
reduced compressor efficiency.

6.4 Integrated and Modular Plant Part-Load Response

The use of compressor unloading devices introduces losses into gas compression, with the
result that compressor shaft energy efficiency always falls when a compressor is partly
loaded. Fig 20 shows this fall for a twin-screw compressor; it also shows that, for constant
compressor evaporating and condensing temperatures, the COP also falls, as compressors
are unloaded shadowing the fall in compressor shaft energy efficiency.

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Screw Compressor Part~loadEfiiciency

Fixed Condensing Temperature

W
50
0
uj +Vi=2.6
?? 40
a

0 30 20 40 60 ao ioc
Load (%)
Screw Compressor Part~loadEfficiency
Fixed Condensing Temperature

+ Vi ~ 2.6

1.4 I l l I
20 40 60 80 100
Load (%)

Fig 20 Screw compressor part-load COP

If the cooling load is less than design conditions, it follows that the load on the condenser
is also reduced, and consequently the condensing temperature will fall. In refrigeration
systems in which the condensing temperature is permitted to float in this way, the reduced
temperature lift between evaporating and condensing conditions can outweigh the reduced
part-load compressor shaft energy efficiency, to the extent that part-load COP can be greater
than full-load COP when unloading is small. When compressors operate at very low loads
(less than 50%), COP falls rapidly.

Example

The differences between integrated and modular plants can be illustrated by two plants, each
with three of the compressors with the efficiencies shown in Fig 20; one plant is integrated
and the other is modular. Assume that the plant is running at 66% load.

In an integrated plant the condensing temperature will fall, irrespective of which compressor
combination is chosen. Under these circumstances. it is best to supply 66% capacity by
running two compressors at 100% load and leaving the third compressor off.

However, this is not necessarily the case for a modular plant. If two modules are run at
100% load then the condensing temperature will not fall, so no beneficial increase in COP
occurs. If all three modules are run at 66% load then the condensing temperature will fall
in the same way as for an integrated plant, but now the system suffers some inefficiency for
compressor part-load operation. The correct operating regime is not clear. The influence
of auxiliaries will be crucial in determining the most efficient way in which to operate.

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6.5 Avoiding Part-Load Operation

It is vital that tables such as Table 6 (see page 24) are drawn up, and careful consideration
given to opportunities to avoid part-load operation. Table 6 shows seasonal variations in
operating conditions. It is also important to consider short-term variations in load. The
presence of short peaks in refrigeration demand implies the need for a large plant to satisfy
peak demands, whilst for the majority of the time the plant will run on low load. If the load
profile is peaky in nature (either on a daily or seasonal basis) then part-load avoidance
strategies are especially important. The techniques that can be employed include use of
appropriate compressor sizes, installation of sufficient compressors and thermal storage.

Many refrigeration systems incorporate some degree of thermal storage, as an intentional

feature (e.g. an ice storage chilled water system used in a dairy), as a result of secondary
refrigerant circuits or as an inherent feature of the cooling load (e.g. a cold storage facility
which has a high thermal inertia). If thermal storage is practical then it is possible to
eliminate short-term peaks and to run compressors fully-loaded for longer periods.
However, thermal storage systems can be quite expensive and should only be considered
after compressor sizing issues have been addressed. If peaks are very short (e.g. less than
one hour), thermal storage is likely to be worthy of consideration. Longer peaks (greater
than three hours) might require very large volumes of storage medium, which will prove
costly.

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7. MINIMISING RUNNING COSTS OF EXISTING PLANT

The discussions in Sections 5 and 6 have highlighted the design considerations to be

addressed if minimum running cost is to be achieved. However, many readers of this Guide
will have an existing plant and will wish to use their compressors in the most efficient way.

In general terms, many of the issues already discussed apply to an existing plant. The only
constraint is that if inefficient compressors are installed it is unlikely to be cost effective to
replace them. The user must identify which compressors are most appropriate under
different load conditions.

7.1 Use of Existing Compressors

A typical industrial refrigeration plant room will contain several compressors quite possibly
of different model, manufacture, type and size. It is also possible that operation of each
compressor will necessitate the operation of dedicated auxiliaries such as condenser pumps,
fans and evaporator pumps. A number of compressors may be required to meet a given
refrigeration load, and it is clear that several combinations of compressors running under
different load conditions could meet the refrigeration demand. Each of these combinations
will have different power requirements, so an optimum combination of compressors exists
to meet the load. The purpose of compressor sequencing is to ensure that the optimum
compressor combination is selected for all load conditions.

Ideally the user should have a good automatic sequencing system that carries out such an
optimisation. However, most sequence controllers do not intelligently select which
compressors to run, so it may he necessary to modify the users existing sequence control
methodology. An ideal sequence control system must appraise the load level at any given
time and then find which combination of fully-loaded or partly-loaded compressors is most
efficient. It is vital to take into account factors such as the evaporating temperature and
condensing temperature, because the compressor energy efficiency can vary considerably
across the operating range.

To assess sequencing in a manual way, it is first necessary to draw up a table of common

operating conditions as shown in Table 6 (see page 24). In order to determine the optimum
combination of compressors to meet any expected refrigeration load, the following information
is required:

whether or not it is necessary to match the cooling load exactly;

cooling capacity and power input of all compressors at full load, at the relevant
evaporating and condensing conditions:

unloading characteristics of all compressors;

0 power consumption of any auxiliaries dedicated to individual compressors.

Different compressor combinations that will meet the load must then be identified and the
power consumption of each (including auxiliary power) should be compared. One word of
warning: an exhaustive comparison of all possible combinations can be time consuming. If
there are five compressors, each with four steps of unloading, there are 625 different
combinations. Clearly this type of analysis should be done by computer.

The example on the following pages illustrates the value of compressor sequencing

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E.Kampk

A brewery refrigeration system distributes cooling via calcium chloride brine, and contains
two large screw compressors plus three smaller reciprocating machines, all arranged as
modular plant. Compressor data, together with dedicated auxiliaries (evaporator pumps and
condenser fans) are listed in Table 10. Refrigeration loads had changed as the brewery
developed, and were often much less than the installed refrigeration capacity. Loads peaked
at 2,400 kW, hut were often less at 1,200 kW during the day, 650 kW at night and 400 kW
at weekends

Table 10 Brewing compressor sequencing

Compressor capacities +
Screw Reciprocator

Full load output (kW) 1,602 677

Shaft power (kW) I 425 187

Dedicated auxiliaries (kW) 30 25

~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~ ~ ~. ~~~ ~~~

Compressor Unloading Characteristics

Screw Reciprocator

Load Power Load Power

(%) (%) (%)

100 100 100 100

90 94 I5 78
80 86 50 55
70 79 25 30
60 70
50 62 I
40 53 I
30 45
20 38
10 32

It was the habit to control compressor sequencing such that a one-screw compressor was the
lead machine, with the second screw as the second machine, in the knowledge that these two
machines could meet any system load. More efficient operation would he to maximise use
of reciprocating machines to meet small system loads. Through a fault in the sequencing
system it was sometimes found that both screws operated together at 20% load. Again,
alternative arrangements are more efficient. Table 11 compares power requirements of
various compressor combinations to meet differing system loads.

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Table 1 1 Brewery compressor sequencing options

I
Load Compressor Summary
(kW)
2,400 1 Screw @ 100% 749
1 Screw @ 50%

Both Screws @ 75% 762

Recip @ 100% 770

Recip @ 25%
Screw @ 97%

1,200 Screw @ 75% 38 1

Recip @ 100%
Recip @ 75 - 100% 387

650 Recip @ 75 - 100% 193

Screw @ 40% 255

Screws @ 20% 383

400 Screw @ 25% 206

Recip @ 50 - 75% 144

7.2 New Compressors

If an analysis of existing compressors showy very poor compressor efficiency or excesqive
part-load operation, it may be worth considering the purchase of a new compressor. The
most likely option to he cost-effective would he in a situation where all existing compressors
are very large in relation to some common low-load conditions. It is then possible to
purchase a much smaller machine that can be used during low-load periods.

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8. COMPRESSOR MAINTENANCE

A refrigeration system is a complex plant item and as such is susceptible to the development
of faults. It is useful to categorise faults in two ways:

catastrophic faults, causing the immediate breakdown of the refrigeration system:

non-catastrophic faults, which often occur gradually causing loss of refrigeration

system efficiency and capacity, but do not cause plant breakdown.
A refrigeration system is usually designed to meet a high peak load occurring during a time
of peak production and exceptionally hot weather. Standby capacity is often added to this
peak design load. This design philosophy means that a significant loss of plant capacity
caused by a non-catastrophic fault will not compromise the ability of the refrigeration
system to meet plant loadings, and may well remain undetected for long periods of time.
During this time plant efficiency is reduced and so energy consumption is increased.

Power consumption of a refrigeration compressor is influenced by the efficiency of the

compressor and by the conditions under which the compressor operates. Many common
refrigeration system faults have the effect of increasing the temperature range through which
the compressor must operate. Some examples of this type of fault are given below.

Increasing Condensing Pressure:

- Non-condensable gas in condenser;
- Condenser fouled;
- Inadequate condenser air or water flow:
- Poor cooling tower performance.
Decreasing Evaporating Pressure:
- Lack of refrigerant charge:
- Liquid line blockage:
- Faulty expansion valve.
Identification of this type of fault is beyond the scope of this Guide, hut is discussed in Good
Practice Guide No. 42 - Industrial Refrigeration Plant Operation and Maintenance.

8.1 Identifying Compressor Faults

Compressor fault diagnosis is one of the more difficult areas of refrigeration trouble-
shooting. Different approaches are required for different machine types, but some general
guidance is given below. Compressor faults are usually identified by comparing key
indicators of performance, such as gas discharge temperature, compressor duty, compressor
current, absorbed power, noise and vibration, with values expected under normal operation.
The implications of changes in these indicators are now discussed.

Discharge Superheat. Analysis of a pressure enthalpy chart, (e.g. Figs 10 and 11) for the
simple refrigeration cycle will show that when compressor energy efficiency falls, the
compressor discharge gases become more superheated. Hence many compressor faults are
associated with excessive discharge superheat. In order to identify whether the superheat
is excessive, it is necessary to measure the discharge temperature (using a thermometer
pocket in the discharge line or a contact thermocouple on the pipe surface) and compare this
to an expected value.

However, it is important to note that the expected value will vary quite considerably as the
evaporating and condensing temperature vary. The expected value can he calculated using
manufacturers data and the methodology given in Appendix 1. This process is again hest
suited to computers. It may be possible to ask your compressor supplier to give you a table
of expected discharge temperatures for a range of evaporating and condensing temperatures.
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Screw machines are injected with oil which cools the discharge gas and tends to mask
problems; however, higher discharge temperatures together with higher oil temperatures can
indicate compressor faults.

High Suction Pressure and Low Discharge Pressure. If the evaporating pressure is higher
than would be expected (from a thermal analysis of the evaporator), the compressor may not
be pumping sufficient refrigerant. This would normally he accompanied by a lower than
expected discharge pressure.
Low Cooling Duty. If the cooling duty is lower than expected (for the measured Te and
Tc), a compressor fault may be present. The expected cooling duty can he obtained from
manufacturers tables. The actual cooling duty must be measured at the evaporator (e.g.
mass flow x temperature difference x specific heat for a water chiller). This is not a
straightforward procedure since mass flow and temperature difference can he difficult to
measure accurately. In the case of many evaporators (e.g. air coolers), mass flow is almost
impossible to measure to within 20% without specialised instrumentation.
Low Heat Rejection. It is possible to measure heat rejected in the condenser in a similar
way to cooling duty. If this is lower than expected, a compressor fault may be present. As
with evaporators, this measurement is not easy and is only practical on water-cooled
condensers.

Unexpected Compressor Motor Current. The current absorbed by the compressor motor
can be compared with the expected value for the measured Te and Tc (calculated from
manufacturers tables). If this is much higher or lower than expected there may be a
compressor fault.
Poor Suction Capability. Ineffective gas pumping can sometimes be identified by shutting
the compressor suction valve and establishing the degree of vacuum that the compressor can
hold. Before such a test is carried out you must contact your manufacturer to establish if
such a test is permissible, and to identify the expected vacuum pressure level.

NoiseNihration. Excessive noise and vibration can indicate a serious compressor fault
Oil Analysis. The presence of metals in the lubricating oil can indicate a serious fault such
as wear in bearings or cylinder linings. Moreover, the incorrect oil viscosity, or the presence
of excess moisture or acids, can indicate serious problems within the refrigeration system
which will directly affect the compressor.

NOTE: Take care in the interpretation of test results if the compressor is not at
full-load. Skinufacturers tahles give full-load data and an approximate eslimate of

8.2 Resolving Faults

The above techniques can identify the possibility of a fault. Curing faults will require
servicing of the compressor by experts who can correct problems. Some common faults
include:

a) damaged reciprocating compressor discharge valves (high discharge superheat, high

Te, low Tc, low cooling duty):

h) damaged reciprocating compressor suction valves (high discharge superheat, high

Te, low Tc, low compressor amps, low cooling duty):

C) damaged tip seals on screw compressors (as (a), but high superheat masked by oil);

d) blocked (contaminated) suction strainer (as (b));

fractured bursting disk caused by contaminant interference or overpressure (as (b)).
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9. CONCLUSIONS CHECKLIST

In order to examine the energy running cost of a compressor, the points listed helow must
he considered.

For a compressor operating between fixed evaporating and condensing temperatures,

the overall compressor energy efficiency is the major influence on energy
consumption and must be used when making comparisons between compressors.
It is NOT sufficient to compare compressor COPS, unless operating conditions are
identical.

To calculate the overall compressor energy efficiency, the following data must be
known:
- evaporating temperature and suction superheat (useful and non-useful):
- condensing temperature and liquid subcooling;
- duty and power absorbed for the compressor;
- definition of power absorbed, shaftlelectrical;
- absorbed power of any essential compressor auxiliaries;
- drive system and efficiency;
- electrical efficiency;
- the refrigerant.

It is NOT enough to consider the design point alone. All other operating conditions
should he defined in terms of load, evaporating temperature, condensing temperature
and duration. It may be appropriate to compromise efficiency at the design point
in order to enhance efficiency at a much more commonly occurring condition. This
is of particular relevance when selecting the volume ratio of screw compressors.

Very low loading of compressors should be avoided. As a rule of thumb, compressors

should not operate helow 50% of their full load.

A variety of compressor unloading systems, each with different losses, is available.

Hot gas bypass and suction throttling are particularly wasteful and should not be
used.

In an integrated refrigeration system or a system with head pressure control,

part-load compressor operation should be avoided whenever possible.

In modular plants, COP can increase at part load, since the benefits of reduced
temperature lift can more than outweigh compressor inefficiencies caused by
unloading.

Uncontrolled system auxiliaries often cause poor system COP at low loads.

If a plant room contains a number of different compressors, there exists an

optimum combination to meet any load. This optimum should be used wherever
possible,

If existing compressors regularly operate at very low loads (for example at week-
ends) then the installation of a much smaller machine to meet these loads can be
cost effective.
Compressors should be monitored regularly in order to identify abnormal operational trends
which could signify the presence of faults.

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APPENDIX 1

CALCULATION OF COMPRESSOR SHAFT ENERGY EFFICIENCY

To calculate the efficiency of a compressor from manufacturers data it is necessary to model

the thermodynamic cycle using refrigerant property data. The general layout of a single-
stage refrigeration cycle is shown in Fig 21. The thermodynamic cycle is usually represented
in a pressure enthalpy diagram (also called a Mollier Diagram) as shown in Fig 22.

Q, = heat rejected in the

condenser

Expansion
Valve
- ps
Ps = shaft power absorbed by
the compressor

QE = cooling duty
Evaporator
4 t 1

Fig 21 Single-stage refrigeration cycle

Pressure P
1

P, = condenser pressure

PE = evaporator pressure

Specific Enthalpy h

Fig 22 Pressure enthalpy diagram

The compressor shaft energy efficiency is defined as:

ideal compression work

vs = actual compression work

Referring to Fig 2 2 , this is equivalent to:

where h is the specific enthalpy of the refrigerant. In order to calculate Ils one must utilise:

0 the manufacturers data on compressor performance;

thermodynamic data of refrigerant properties under the cycle conditions defined

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This is illustrated by the following example.

Example

The manufacturer's data for a reciprocating compressor were as follows:

Refrigerant R22
Cooling duty 42.9 kW
Shaft power 12.3 kW
Evaporating temperature -5C
Condensing temperature 45C
Suction superheat 10 deg C
Liquid subcooling 5 deg C
To assess the efficiency the following operations are carried out:
Look up enthalpy and entropy conditions (from tables or a Mollier Chart) at
compressor suction in superheat tables for R22 at 3.20 har(g) pressure (the pressure
equivalent to a saturation temperature of -5C) and +5"C.

hi = 310.5 kJ/kg
S I = 1.782 kJ/kgK

For a saturated discharge temperature of 45C. identify point 2s by searching for a

state point where SzS= S I . Find the enthalpy hZs at the point.

Hence hZs = 348.0 kJ/kg

Look up enthalpy at point 3 in the saturation tables for liquid at 40C (45C minus
5C of liquid subcooling).

h3 = 149.7 kJ/kg
Because the expansion valve involves no exchange of energy

h4 = h3 = 149.7 kJ/kg
The cooling duty, q, for unit mass of refrigerant is given by:

=hl-h4
= 310.5 - 149.7
= 160.8 kJ/kg

The actual cooling duty, QE, is given by:

QE = q fin
where m is the mass flow of refrigerant in kg/s.
Hence m =42.9/160.8
= 0.267 kg/s

The actual compressor power, Ps, is given by:

PS = (h2 - hl) m
Hence hz-h, = Ps/m
= 12.310.267
= 46.07 kJ/kg

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h) The compressor shaft energy efficiency can now be calculated:

hzs-hl
rls = x 100
h2 - hl

- 348.0-310.5 x 100
46.07

= 81.3%

The value calculated for q s of 81.3% is only for the specific conditions defined in
this example. If the same compressor was operated with a different P,, PE or
refrigerant, q s could exhibit a very different value.

0 To find the temperature of the compressor discharge gases, first use tables or a
Mollier diagram find the condensing pressure (the saturation pressure at 45C).
Hence condensing pressure is 16.3 bar(g).

The specific enthalpy of compressor discharge, h2, has already been calculated as
356.6 !d/kg. Now search in superheated property tables (or the superheated region
of a Mollier chart) for the point at which pressure is 16.3 bar(g) and specific
enthalpy is 356.6 kJlkg, and note that temperature. This is the discharge gas
temperature, and in this example is 87.9"C.

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