Numerical Study of the Effect of Cooling Air on Low-Pressure Air Cooler in a Two-Stage Reciprocating Compressor

Verry Mardiananta Arsana*, Sutardi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Starting compressor is the main equipment in the Gas Engine Power Plant (GEPP) that works to produce compressed air needed to start the gas engine. The starting compressor used is a reciprocating type that consists of two levels of compression: the low-pressure (LP) side and the high-pressure (HP) side. In the starting compressor at Arun GEPP, there is a frequent problem regarding the excessive deposit growth rate that clogs tubing in the HP air cooler and compressed air delivery line, thus decreasing equipment reliability. This excessive deposit growth rate is derived from burned lubricants in the HP side compression chamber, which is necessary to increase the cooling capacity of the LP air cooler. Increasing the cooling air velocity is one way to solve the problem. A numerical study is used to determine the effect of variations in cooling air velocity on compressed air temperature in the LP air cooler. Then, it is used to calculate the working pressure limit on the starting compressor to avoid an excessive growth rate of deposit. The results of this study indicate that increasing in cooling air velocity up to 218% was able to reduce the compressed air temperature by 3.57 ℃ and increase the delivery pressure limit of the reciprocating compressor by 1.82 bar.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRecent Advances in Renewable Energy Systems - Select Proceedings of ICOME 2021
EditorsMohan Kolhe, Aziz Muhammad, Abdel El Kharbachi, Tri Yogi Yuwono
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages197-204
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9789811915802
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Event5th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, ICOME 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: 25 Aug 202126 Aug 2021

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Electrical Engineering
Volume876
ISSN (Print)1876-1100
ISSN (Electronic)1876-1119

Conference

Conference5th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, ICOME 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period25/08/2126/08/21

Keywords

  • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
  • Cooling air
  • Deposit
  • LP air cooler
  • Reciprocating compressor

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