Compressors water jacket

The propellant was simply pent-up water and steam pressure. The destructive pressure buildup occurred as the compressor operated for over five hours with no cooling water flow. Cooling water was trapped in the water jacket on the compression head as the compressor piston continued operating. The team concluded that the fragmentation of the compressor water jacket was a consequence of the operating condition, and a metal failure analysis of the compressor head was not necessary. The damage was immediate and limited, there was no release of gas, and the incident did not require the attention of the available on-site emergency squad. Fortunately, there were no personnel injuries due to this incident. 

One summer evening, the lead operator, accompanied by two operator trainees, started the No. 1 and No. 3 compressors to supply a feedstock to a unit that had been shut down during most of the day shift. The second step of the start-up procedure was to put water on the compressor water jacket. That step was inadvertently omitted in the start-up of the No. 1 compressor, and the temperature must have risen slowly. (Typically the water valves are not operated during brief shutdowns, so it may not have been checked.)... 

Figure 9.3 Close-up of the ruptured reciprocating compressor water jacket head.

Another feature necessary to the reciprocating compressor is cylinder cooling. Most process compressors are furnished with water jackets as an integral part of the cylinder. Alternatively, particularly in the smaller size compressors, the cylinder can be designed for air cooling. 

Traditional compressor cylinder designs require cooling water jackets to promote uniform distribution of heat created by gas compression and friction. Some of the perceived advantages of water-cooled cylinders are reduced suction gas preheat, better cylinder lubrication, prolonged parts life, and reduced maintenance. 

Most installations use water-cooled compressor cylinder jackets however, some use air cooling (usually small horsepower units), and a few use no cooling. For water cooling of the cylinder ... 

Figure 12-17A. Combined indicator cards from a two-stage compressor showing how cylinder water jackets and intercooler help bring compression line nearer to isothermal. (Used and adapted by permission Miller, H. H. Power, 1944. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York. All rights reserved.)...

Ventilation around a compressor is vital. On a motor-driven, air-cooled unit, the heat radiated to the surrounding air is at least 65 per cent of the power input. On a water-jacketed unit with an aftercooler and outside receiver, the heat radiated to the surrounding air may be 15 to 25 per cent of the total energy input, which is still a substantial amount of heat. Positive outside ventilation is recommended for any compressor room where the ambient temperature may exceed 104°F. 

Figure 7-1 Reciprocating compressor with ruptured water jacket.

Figure 7-2 Close-up of ruptured water jacket on compressor.

Figure 1 is a schematic of one of the two supercritical flow reactors used in this work. The system is first brought up to the operating pressure by an air compressor. An HPLC pump forces the reactant solution through the reactor, the ten-port valve and dual-loop sampling system, and into the product accumulator, where the flow of products displaces air through a back-pressure regulator. The reactant inflow is rapidly heated to reaction temperature by an electric entry heater/water jacket combination, and maintained at isothermal conditions by a Transtemp Infrared furnace and an exit electric heater/water jacket combination. 

Actual Values of Efficiencies.—Tests of piston compressors show extreme variations of mechanical efficiency from 76 to 97 per cent, with approximate averages for the more common sizes of 85 per cent. The true volumetric efficiency of piston air compressors will vary from 80 to 97 per cent, and the cylinder efficiency for water-jacketed compressors from 80 to 85 per cent. This will result in efficiencies of compression varying from 64 to 82 per cent. 

The measuring cell, which is equipped with a water jacket for temperature control, simultaneously holds the measuring capillary and two platinum electrodes, one of which is immersed in the liquid under study while the second is situated exactly opposite to the capillary and controls the size of the bubble. The electric signals from the gas flow sensor PSj and pressure transducer PS2, the microphone and the electrodes, as well as the compressor, are connected to a personal computer which operates the apparatus and acquires the data. 

In the early hours of the morning, a compressor head water jacket violently raptured and blew apart. A hand-sized fragment of metal was propelled about 50 yards. This chunk of metal flew across an in-plant road and an open area before striking a storage... 

As in most jacket-cooled compressors, the cooling acts as a heat sink to stabilize the cylinder dimensionally. The jacket outlet temperature should be around 115 F and be controlled by an automatic temperature regulator if the load or the water inlet temperature are prone to change. 

Note that when intercoolers are not used, the compressor jacket water should be 10-15°F greater than the interstage dew point. This will require warm jacket water through the preceding stage. See the paragraph following. 

Compressor Jacket Cooling. The compressor jacket cooling water does not have to be as warm as does the gas engine... 

Figure 15.29 The layout of a typical diesel generator engine room. 1 Diesel generator set 2 jacket water header tank 3 lubricating oil service tank 4 air receiver 5 diesel-driven compressor 6 batteries and charger 7 engine control panel 8 pneumatic control panel 9 fuel oil control panel 10 engine exhaust silencer 11 charge air filter 12 daily service fuel oil tank 13 three-section radiator...

Figure 7.18. Heavy-duty centrifugal, axial, and reciprocating compressors, (a) Section of a three-stage compressor provided with steam-sealed packing boxes (DeLaval Steam Turbine Co.), (b) An axial compressor (Clark Brothers Co.), (c) Double-acting, two-stage reciprocating compressor with water-cooled jacket and intercooler (Ingersoll-Rand Co.).

A two-stage double-acting compressor with water cooled cylinder jackets and intercooler is shown in Figure 7.18(c). Selected dimensional and performance data are in Table 7.7. Drives may be with steam cylinders, turbines, gas engines or electrical motors. A specification form is included in Appendix B. Efficiency data are discussed in Section 7.6, Theory and Calculations of Gas Compression Temperature Rise, Compression Ratio, Volumetric Efficiency. 

The reciprocating compressor was one of three identical units mounted side-by-side under a covered shed in an open-air chemical plant. These compressors were capable of compressing about 50 tons per day of acidic gases from 25 psig to 175 psig. The compressor operated at 300 RPM and was driven by a 150-horsepower electrical motor. This 30-year-old compressor was initially designed with a well water cooling flow on the jacket. Initially a 3/4-inch valve supplied well water. The water flowed out of the compressor jacket and into a funnel, so the operator had a visual indication of flow and no provisions to block the water. [3]... 

---