What Is a Scroll Compressor?
A scroll compressor is a device that produces compressed air by rotating a spiral-shaped rotating plate (scroll).
Compressed air is used in our daily lives in everyday objects such as bicycles and car tires. The role of a compressor is to produce this compressed air.
There are three main types of compressors: scroll, reciprocating, and screw.
Uses for Scroll Compressors
A familiar use for scroll compressors is in the outdoor units of household air conditioners. Scroll compressors are relatively small compressors with high efficiency and low noise.
Being oil-free compressors, they are widely used in the general household, food, refrigeration, and transportation industries.
Principle of Scroll Compressors
A compressor is a device that compresses air existing in a certain space.
A scroll compressor is a device that compresses air. In order to compress air, a scroll compressor combines two scrolls that are made up of involute curves. An involute curve is the curve drawn by the tip of a thread when the thread is wound around a cylinder and then unwound without loosening.
Involute curves are also widely used in the tooth profiles of gears used for power transmission. In a scroll compressor, two scrolls with involute curve shapes are meshed with each other with a 180° displacement. The scroll compressor compresses air by utilizing the change in volume of the space between the two scrolls that is created when one scroll is fixed and the other scroll is moved.
Structure of a Scroll Compressor
The moving part of a scroll compressor consists of two scrolls. One is a fixed scroll and the other is a swirling scroll.
When gas enters through the inlet port, the swirling scroll rotates to move the air. When a certain amount of air accumulates in the gap between the fixed scroll and the swirling scroll, compressed air is pushed out through the discharge port in the center of the scroll.
The repetition of this cycle is the mechanism of a scroll compressor, which continuously delivers compressed air.
Characteristics of Scroll Compressors
Scroll compressors have the following features
1. Oil-Free Air
The compressed air produced by scroll compressors is oil-free air. When a compressor is used to produce compressed air, there is a method in which oil is added to the equipment to make the lathe or piston move smoothly, and this method is widely used for operating air for general factory machinery.
Scroll type compressors do not use oil and are oilless, making them suitable for food, painting, medical, and other applications where oil is not recommended.
2. Low Noise and Low Vibration Operation
Scroll compressors generate much less noise and vibration than other types of compressors. Therefore, noise can be kept to a minimum even when working in close proximity.
3. Small Class and High Efficiency
Scroll compressors are the most efficient method in the small class of compressors. However, screw compressors offer higher efficiency in medium-sized compressors, such as for factory air.
Other Information on Scroll Compressors
Cautions for Use
As you continue to use a compressor, water will accumulate due to condensation. Caution is required because continued neglect of the accumulated water will lead to rust, and the air tank will no longer serve as a tank.
Furthermore, as rust progresses, it can lead to failure of the compressor itself. Therefore, regular cleaning is important when operating a compressor.
It is also affected by the ambient temperature. Placing the compressor under extremely low or high temperatures can shorten its service life, so proper temperature control is necessary.