Compression design procedure

The fundamental characteristics of compression are the same for centrifugal and reciprocating compressors. The manner in which these fundamentals are interpreted must be adapted to the particular machine type and operating characteristics, and this accounts for the difference in design procedures. 

The next step in the design procedure is to select the materials. The considerations are the physical properties, tensile and compressive strength, impact properties, temperature resistance, differential expansion environmental resistance, stiffness, and the dynamic properties. In this example, the only factor of major concern is the long-term stiffness since this is a statically loaded product with minimum heat and environmental exposure. While some degree of impact strength is desirable to take occasional abuse, it is not really subjected to any significant impacts. 

According to the American practice, the resistance to permanent deformation, or resistance to rutting as it is called, of the bituminous mixtures is determined with the recently introduced flow number test. The test is a uniaxial repeated (dynamic or cyclic) compression test executed with a test device specially developed for Superpave mix design procedure. The test device is known as AMPT, which is also capable of determining the dynamic modulus of the mixture. The test is carried out at an elevated temperature determined from the average 7-day maximum pavement temperature 20 mm below the surface (see Section 7.6.23). The test is carried out in accordance to AASHTO TP 79 (2013). 

Compressed tablets that are composed of several layers require specially adapted presses designed with several fed hoppers. For a two-layer tablet, one granulation is first fed to a die and partially compressed into a soft tablet. The second granulation is added, and the total die components then are compressed fiiUy. Such procedures are used when the tablet ingredients may be incompatible, which requires separate granulations. If needed, a layer of inert ingredient, eg, lactose, is inserted between the two. 

The hot mixes are designed by using a standard laboratory compaction procedure to develop a composition reflecting estabUshed criteria for volume percent air voids, total volume percent voids between aggregate particles, flow and stabdity, or compressive strength. Tests such as the Marshall, Unconfined Compression, Hubbard-Field, Triaxial Procedure, or the Hveem stabdometer method are used (109). 

The gas compression in practically all commercial machines is polytropic. That is, it is not adiabatic or isothermal, but some form peculiar to the gas properties and the hydraulic design of the compressor. Actual machines may be rated on adiabatic performance and then related to polytropic conditions by the polytropic efficiency. Other performance rating procedures handle the calculations as polytropic. For reference, both methods are presented. 

Adiabatic calorimeters have also been used for direct-reaction calorimetry. Kubaschewski and Walter (1939) designed a calorimeter to study intermetallic compoimds up to 700°C. The procedure involved dropping compressed powders of two metals into the calorimeter and maintaining an equal temperature between the main calorimetric block and a surrounding jacket of refractory alloy. Any rise in temperature due to the reaction of the metal powders in the calorimeter was compensated by electrically heating the surrounding jacket so that its temperature remained the same as the calorimeter. The heat of reaction was then directly a function of the electrical energy needed to maintain the jacket at the same temperature as the calorimeter. One of the main problems with this calorimeter was the low thermal conductivity of the refractory alloy which meant that it was very difficult to maintain true adiabatic conditions. 

---