Observation of Oil Flow Characteristics in Rolling Piston Rotary Compressor for Reducing Oil Circulation Rate

Abstract

The oil circulation rate (OCR) of the rolling piston rotary compressor is a significant factor which affects the performance of refrigeration system. The increase of oil discharge causes decreasing of the heat transfer efficiency in the heat exchanger, pressure drop and lack of oil in lubricate part in compressor. In this study, the internal flow of compressor was visualized to figure out the oil droplet flow characteristics. The experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted in various frequency of compressor to observe the effect of operation frequency on oil droplet flow characteristics for reducing OCR. In situ, measurement of oil droplet diameter and velocity were conducted by using high speed image visualization and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The flow paths were dominated by copper wire parts driving the motor which was inserted in compressor. In order to verify the reliability of CFD simulation, the tendency of oil flow characteristics in each flow path and the compressor operating conditions were applied in CFD simulation. For reducing OCR, the structure such as vane, disk and ring is installed in the compressor to restrict the main flow path of oil particle. The effect of additional structure for reducing OCR was evaluated using CFD simulation and the results were discussed in detail.