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Lubrication Free Screw

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Lubrication free screw compressor The first screw compressors had a

symetric profile and did not use liquid in the compression chamber, so-
called oil-free or dry screw compressors. At the end of the 1960s a high
speed, oil-free screw compressor was introduced with an asymetric screw
profile. The new rotor profile resulted in significantly improved efficiency,
due to reduced internal leakage. An external gear is used in dry screw
compressors to synchronise the counter rotating rotors. As the rotors
neither come into contact with each other nor with the compressor
housing, no particular lubrication is required in the compression chamber.
Consequently the compressed air is completely oil-free. The rotors and
housing are manufactured with great precision to minimise leakage from
the pressure side to the inlet. The integrated pressure ratio is limited by the
temperature difference between the intake and the discharge. This is why
oil-free screw compressors are frequently built with several stages.

Oilfree screw compressor principle

Oil Injected Screw

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Oil injected screw compressors

An oil injected screw compressor is cooled and

lubricated by oil that is injected to the
compression chamber and often to the
compressor bearings. Its function is to cool and
lubricate the compressor element and to
reduce the return leakage to the intake.

Today oil is the most common liquid due to its

good lubricating properties, however, other
liquids are also used, for example, water.
Liquid injected screw compressor elements can
be manufactured for high pressure ratio, which
why one compression stage is usually sufficient
for pressure up to 13 bar. The elements low
return leakage also means that relatively small
screw compressors are efficient.
1. Air enters the compressor through
the intake air filter . The air intake filter is
there to protect the compressor from
airborne contamination, its size and filtration
medium quality will affect both the reliability
and energy efficiency of the compressor.

Reliability: Airborne contamination can:

contaminate the oil in the compressor
reducing its lubricating quality resulting in
scoring on the compression element, bearing
failure, and wear on gear drive compressors.
Block the separator causing increased
pressure drop and the premature failure of
the element, causing the oil to enter the
compressed air system, the resulting low oil
level will cause overheating of the
compressor. Block the oil filter element
reducing oil flow and causing overheating of
the compressor.

Energy efficiency: When airborne

contamination blocks the air intake filter,
Pressure drop increases, resulting in
increased power Consumption of the
compressor. For every 0.5 bar pressure
drop, power consumption is increased by 3%
Airborne contamination can also block the oil
separator and oil filter causing pressure drop
within the compressor further increasing
power consumption.

2. The Intake valve allows air to enter the

compression element, On load / off load
control , the valve is fully open or fully
closed. The vale is set to open at a minimum
pressure setting and closes at a preset
maximum pressure setting Modulating
control system. The valve gradually opens
and closes to maintain a preset pressure
within the compressed air system

3. Air and oil are drawn into

the compression elementsimultaneously,
The oil provides three vital tasks, Cooling of
the element, a seal between the rotors, and
lubrication. Oil quality is vital for maintaining
the efficient operation of the oil injected
rotary screw compressor. The incorrect
viscosity or low quality oil can increase
power consumption and cause premature
wear on internal components

4. The air oil mixture enters the oil

separator vessel , and the air is separated
by mechanical impact within the separator,
centrifugal action, by weight and finally by
the oil separator cartridge. The quality of the
filter medium is essential to reducing oil
carryover into the compressed air network.
 5. When sufficient pressure is
generated within the separation
chamber, the minimum pressure
valve opens and air is delivered to the
air net

6. Air passes through the after-

cooler and is cooled to 10 C above
ambient causing moisture to
condense into water droplets

7. The moisture droplets in the air are

separated by centrifugal action within
the moisture separator .
Compressed air now enters the
customers

8. Oil that has collected in the

separator vessel is forced by the
pressure in the vessel to enter the oil
cooler

9. The oil is cooled by cold air being

forced across theradiator , or in the
case of water cooled machines by an
oil/water heat exchanger

10. The oil temperature is controlled

by means of a thermal bypass
valve , Prior to re-injection to the
rotary screw element the oil is filtered
to remove any harmful contaminants

Introduction
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Screw compressors

The principle for a rotating displacement compressor a screw was developed

during the 1930s, when a rotating compressor with a high capacity and stable
flow in varying conditions was required.

The screw element's main parts are the male and female rotors, which move
towards each other while the volume between them and the housing
decreases. Each screw element has a fixed, integrated pressure ratio that is
dependent on its length, the pitch of the screw and the form of the discharge
port. To attain the best efficiency the pressure ratio must be adapted to the
required working pressure.

This is an example on how air is compressed in a screw compressor. In figure

1 air fills te space between the rotors, but for each turn the space does
decreases more and more...
The screw compressor is not equipped with valves and has no mechanical
forces that cause unbalance. This means it can work at a high shaft speed and
combine a large flow rate with small exterior dimensions. An axial acting force,
dependent on the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet, must be
taken up by the bearings.

The screw, which originally was symmetrical, has now been developed in
different asymetrical helical profiles.

This is an example of an oil lubricated screw compressor

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