Analysis of 3D Transient Flow in a High-Speed Scroll Refrigeration Compressor

In mobile devices such as aircraft and electric vehicles, due to limited space, there are strict requirements on the volume and weight of the compressor mounted on the vehicle. Therefore, high-speed scroll compressors have attracted more and more attention because of their small size and light weight. In this paper, the numerical calculations and analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) transient flows in a high-speed scroll refrigeration compressor were established and validated. Circumferential gas intake was used in the simulation. According to the actual compressor size, the mesh generation accurately considers clearances. The radial and the axial clearances were both set as 0.01 mm. A dynamic and high-quality hexahedral structured mesh was generated for the working chamber, and the problem of insufficient grid density in radial clearance was solved. When the rotational speed was set as 3000 rpm, 6000 rpm, and 9000 rpm alternatively, the difference in the volume efficiency of the simulation and the experiment results was below 6.3%. The results show that the higher rotational speed contributed to the greater pressure fluctuation in the compression chamber and the discharge process, and the over-compression phenomenon was more obvious. The maximum leakage velocity was 160 m/s, and the tangential leakage velocity was higher than the radial leakage velocity. Meanwhile, radial leakage velocity will increase significantly in high-speed operation mode. With the increasing rotational speed, the position of the maximum axial and tangential leakage velocity was closer to the start of the scroll. Therefore, the seal of the scroll starting part is very important in the design of a high-speed scroll compressor.

Automated summary

In this study, numerical calculations and analysis were conducted on a high-speed scroll refrigeration compressor to investigate the influence of rotational speed on its performance. The results showed that higher rotational speed led to increased pressure fluctuation and over-compression. The importance of the seal at the start of the scroll in the design of high-speed scroll compressors was emphasized.