Dynamic Motion of a Vane in Six Degrees of Freedom and Its Effect on Wear in a Rotary-Vane Compressor Considering Fluid Lubrication

Abstract

Vanes are critical components of a rotary-vane compressor. If the vanes do not achieve sufficient contact with the inner wall of the cylinder, the compression chambers do not form completely. However, excessive contact between the vane and the cylinder wall can produce wear on both, also decreasing the lifespan of the compressor. We applied the Poisson equation and the Reynolds equation to calculate the gas force and fluid-reaction force acting on the vane. We solved the equations for the motion of the rigid vane in six degrees of freedom to determine the dynamic motion of the vane. We operated the rotary-vane compressor for 800 h under the same simulation conditions and measured the wear patterns of the vane, the bottom thrust bearing, and the cylinder wall. Finally, we validated the proposed method by confirming that the simulated contact force matches well with the measured wear patterns on the vane and the inner wall of the cylinder. The proposed method overcomes the limitations of the previous three-degrees-of-freedom analyses of the vane and will contribute to developing a robust and efficient rotary-vane compressor.