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 Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical
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Engineering Science
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The twin helical screw compressor Part 2: A mathematical model of the working process
J S Fleming, Y Tang and G Cook
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 1998 212:
369
DOI: 10.1243/0954406981521295

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 369

The twin helical screw compressor

Part 2: a mathematical model of the working process

J S Fleming1, Y Tang2 and G Cook3

1Division of Dynamics and Control, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
2IMW Industries Limited, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
3Operations Division, Howden Compressors Limited, Glasgow, Scotland

Abstract: Part 1 of this paper describes the physical characteristics, applications and analytical
procedures currently relevant to the twin helical screw compressor. Part 2, presented here, describes
a mathematical model of the working process of the machine. Use is made of a geometric model
developed by Tang [2] which describes all the essential features as functions of the male rotor angle
of rotation. The following effects are taken into account: internal leakage through six paths, gasoil
heat transfer, injected liquid refrigerant flashing in the compression cavity, dissolved refrigerant
flashing from the oil injected into the compression cavity, dissolved refrigerant flashing in the end
casings from oil supplied to the bearings and the draining of flashed refrigerant gas from the end
casings to the low-pressure regions of the main casing. Internal friction at the principal rubbing
surfaces is taken to cause heating of the oil and is modelled by making use of extensive measured
data and manufacturers information. The hotter oil influences the compression process via a changed
gasoil heat transfer rate. The gasoil heat transfer coefficient and the internal leakage coefficients
are determined from measured data for mid-range conditions and applied over a range of conditions.
The model output is compared with measured data; its current accuracy and possible improvement
are commented upon.

Keywords: twin screw, compressor, refrigeration, modelling, model validation

NOTATION T flash time for dissolved or liquid refrigerant (s)

U internal energy (J )
A area of flow or heat transfer (m2) v specific volume (m3/kg)
c specific heat (J/kg K ) V compression cavity volume (m3)
C empirical coefficient for flow and friction W fluid flow velocity at minimum area (m/s)
D rotor diameter (m) W rotational speed of male rotor (r/min)
1
h specific enthalpy (J/kg) z number of lobes on male rotor
H enthalpy (J )
i integer, designating one of six leakage flow Greek characters
paths
L length or displacement work at the control a heat transfer coefficient gas to oil ( W/m2 K )
volume boundary (m or J ) g efficiency
m mass, refrigerant gas or liquid, oil (kg) j mass ratio of dissolved refrigerant to total mass
p absolute pressure (N/m2) of mixture
P power ( W ) p 3.1412
Q heat transfer between gas and oil in the control r density (kg/m3)
volume or mass flowrate (J or kg/s) Q male rotor angle of rotation (rad)
R refrigerant flashing rate (kg/s) v male rotor angular velocity (rad/s)
s specific entropy (J/kg)
t temperature (C ) Subscripts

The MS was received on 10 March 1997 and was accepted for publication FG flash gas
on 15 December 1997. i an integer 16 designating leakage flow paths
C01897 IMechE 1998 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
370 J S FLEMING, Y TANG AND G COOK
LRI liquid refrigerant injection
OD oil drain from end casings to main casing
OD oil drain from suction end casing to main casing
1 length, diameter and wrap angle for the rotors and basic
OD oil drain from discharge end casing to main
2 port positions are chosen, the determination of the major
casing
OI oil injection to main casing
r rotor
s isentropic
SF superfeed (gaseous refrigerant)
SV slide valve
1,2 inlet and outlet states
1,2,3 explained in the text for flow coefficients
1 INTRODUCTION
The twin screw compressor as an engineering component
has been discussed in detail in Part 1 of this paper. Part 2,
presented here, develops a mathematical model of the
working process. It is comprehensive in that it is based
on an accurate description of compressor geometric fea-
tures as functions of the male rotor angle, combined with
all the running conditions encountered in refrigeration
plant, i.e. oil injected directly into the bores and drained
from the bearings, the flashing of refrigerant injected
directly into the compression cavity as neat liquid and
dissolved in the lubricating oil, the flashing of dissolved
refrigerant from the oil in the end casings and the effects
of friction heating at the bearings, seals and rotor tips.
Measured data derived from compressor tests were
employed to determine leakage and friction coefficients
for mid-range conditions and the predictions of the
model over a range of conditions are compared with
measured data with comments. The generality of appli-
cation of the model and the degree of dependence on
measured data is commented upon.
2 THE COMPRESSOR AS A THERMOFLUID
SYSTEM
2.1 The working process
The working process has three parts, suction, com-
pression and discharge, which are represented by equa-
tions in the mathematical model.
2.2 Geometry
2.2.1 Lobe profiles and clearances
Basic lobe profiles having zero clearance are described
in mathematical terms. They are then altered in accord-
ance with a clearance scheme [1] to give practical profiles
with a working clearance at rest.
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
2.2.2 Compressor geometry
Given profiles with working clearances, if values for
geometric characteristics of the compressor as functions
of the (male) rotor angle of rotation becomes possible
[2], i.e. cavity volume, port areas including slide valve
bypass port area (also as a function of position and stop
size), port areas for the injection of liquid and gaseous
refrigerant and oil, and all at-rest clearance areas (con-
tact line, rotor tips, cusp blow hole, compression start
blow hole, rotor end faces).
2.3 The working fluid
A truly comprehensive compressor model must be cap-
able of handling a wide range of working fluids (com-
pression media). Mixtures of gases and vapours are
important today in the natural gas and petrochemical
industry, while in the refrigeration industry three-com-
ponent refrigerants have been introduced as environ-
mentally benign alternatives to the now banned CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons). The authors program has been
written in modular form, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the
thermodynamic state properties of the working fluid are
calculated in a subroutine which currently contains the
equations and information relating to air, R12, R134a,
R22 and R717 and a wide range of gases, singly or as
multicomponent mixtures, via the source code of the
REFPROP program Version 5.10 [3].
2.4 The range of operating conditions
The refrigeration variant of the twin screw compressor
is required, as explained in Part 1 [4] of this paper, to
run efficiently and reliably over a very wide range of
operating conditions, and the authors program has been
written to accommodate this. Capacity control achieved
by speed and/or slide valveslide stop variation, the
injection of oil, liquid refrigerant and gaseous refrigerant
are all menu-driven choices.
2.5 The influence of operating conditions
The rotors, their bearings and the housing all deform in
response to the pressures and temperatures of operation.
As a consequence, the internal clearances change, and
with them, the leakage mass flow and, quite importantly,
its distribution among the six leakage paths [5]. The
present model takes the effect of load into account by
making use of leakage flow coefficients derived from test
data for mid-range conditions. Coefficients that quantify
the viscous friction at the wiping surfaces are determined
in a similar manner [2].
C01897 IMechE 1998
 THE TWIN HELICAL SCREW COMPRESSOR. PART 2 371

3 A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE Suction process:

WORKING PROCESS

K
dU dH
gas = inlet-gas + 6 dHleak-in-gas
It is evident from Section 2 that a wet refrigeration com- dQ dQ dQ
i=1 i
pressor making use of liquid and/or gaseous direct injec- dH dH dQ dL
tion is a very complex system indeed, made more so if + oil: flash-gas + drained-gas + (1)
dQ dQ dQ dQ
the refrigerant is a non-azeotropic blend of (say) three
fluids, as is now the case in practice. An azeotropic blend Compression process:
may be treated as a single fluid in the model with useful

K K
accuracy, given the availability of certain measured data dU 6 dHleak-in-gas
gas = 6 dHleak-out-gas

upon which the calculation of the thermophysical dQ dQ dQ
properties depends [3]. i=1 i i=1 i
dH dH dH
+ SF + LRI: flash-gas SV: bypass-gas
dQ dQ dQ
3.1 Four major features
dH dH dQ dL
+ oil: flash-gas + drained-gas + (2)
The following features are basic to the model pre- dQ dQ dQ dQ
sented here:
Discharge process:
1. Constant pressures in the suction and discharge

K
plenums, and upstream of the injection ports for oil, dU dH 6 dHleak-out-gas
gas = outlet-gas
liquid refrigerant and gaseous refrigerant. dQ dQ dQ
2. Gas flow through all ports is taken to be isentropic, i=1 i
modified as indicated by empirical coefficients. Flow dH dH dQ dL
+ LRI: flash-gas + oil: flash-gas +
in the leakage paths from the inlet to the minimum dQ dQ dQ dQ
cross-sectional area is treated as being both reversible (3)
and adiabatic for the purpose of calculating the maxi-
mum leakage flow velocity, the limit being the sonic Applying the condition requiring conservation of mass
velocity in many cases. This velocity is used to deter- results in three corresponding equations:
mine the mass flowrate. However, in the energy calcu-
lations for the contents of the cavities and regions Suction process:
connected by leakage paths the leakage flow is treated
K
dm dm 6 dmleak-in-gas
as being isenthalpic. Flow in the suction and bypass gas = inlet-gas +
ports is taken to be incompressible since the velocity dQ dQ dQ
i=1 i
is well below the sonic velocity. Flow in the leakage dm dm
paths and in the discharge port is treated as compress- + oil: flash-gas + drained-gas (4)
dQ dQ
ible since velocities are high; for some conditions for
the leakage paths, the local sonic velocity is equalled. Compression process:
3. Refrigerant gas, refrigerant liquid and lubricating oil

K K
are treated as separate fluids which exchange heat dm 6 dmleak-in-gas
gas = 6 dmleak-out-gas

with each other during the working process. Only dQ dQ dQ
refrigerant gas is taken to leak into or out of the i=1 i i=1 i
cavity through the leakage paths; i.e. leakage causes dm dm dm
+ SF + LRI: flash-gas SV: bypass-gas
an insignificant change to the oil and liquid refriger- dQ dQ dQ
ant present in the compression cavity. dm dm
4. The working process is adiabatic; i.e. heat transfer + oil: flash-gas + drained-gas (5)
between the working fluid and the compressor parts dQ dQ
is taken to be negligible. Discharge process:

K
dm dm
gas = outlet-gas 6 dmleak-out-gas
3.2 Basic equations for the cavity (control ) volume dQ dQ dQ
i=1 i
Noting that six paths exist through which refrigerant gas dm dm
can leak [4, 5] and that the start and stop angles and + LRI: flash-gas + oil: flash-gas (6)
dQ dQ
leakage area functions are all unique to each path as
determined by program III (see Fig. 1), the steady flow Equations (1) to (6) are the basic equations of the math-
energy equation may be written as follows if the com- ematical model which may be used to calculate pressure,
pressor speed is taken to be constant: temperature and other thermodynamic properties.
C01897 IMechE 1998 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
372 J S FLEMING, Y TANG AND G COOK

3.3 Flow through the suction and slide valve bypass 1.00 and the area normal to the flow is calculated from
ports the following equation:

A B A B
Since the Mach number is small in these ports the flow D D
A =A cos arctan +A sin arctan
is treated as incompressible: flow axial L radial L
r r
dp (12)
W dW + =0 (7)
r
Projecting the port area on to a plane normal to the
The mass flowrate is determined from the continuity diagonal is reasonable but the same value of C may
speed
equation: not be appropriate for all slide valve positions.
The energy transfer rate dH /dQ in equation (3)
dm WA outlet-gas
inlet-gas =C C r flow (8) may be calculated from the following equations:
dQ area speed v

G
1 d(m h )
C accounts for the difference between the nominal outlet-gas 1 , W>0
area dQ
and effective areas of flow, details of which are given by dH
Tang [1]. C is an empirical constant which takes outlet-gas = 0, W=0 (13)
speed dQ
account of irreversibilities in the flow and for these ports d(m h )
is usually set equal to 1.00. In the program A is given outlet-gas 2 , W<0
flow dQ
by the compressor geometry program as a unique func-
tion of the rotor angle of rotation. Depending on the
pressure difference between the cavity and the suction
3.5 Gas flow through leakage paths
plenum, flow may be into the cavity W>0, out of the
cavity W<0 or zero W=0, in which case the energy In the model presented here the gas leakage flow through
transfer rate dH /dQ in equation (1) is given by the internal clearances is calculated from the following
inlet-gas

G
d(m h ) one-dimensional isentropic, compressible flow energy
inlet-gas 1 , W>0 equation:
dQ
dH W dW+dh=0 (14)
inlet-gas = 0, W=0 (9)
dQ
d(m h ) The speed W is modified by an empirical coefficient C ,
inlet-gas gas , 1
W<0 which accounts for flow irreversibilities, C , which
dQ 2
accounts for the presence of oil, and C , which accounts
3
for clearance changes caused by load. The mass flowrate
3.4 Flow through the discharge port equations for leakage flow into and out of the cavity
may be stated:
Depending on running conditions, the pressure in the
K
dm WA
control volume during the discharge process may be leak-in-gas =C C C r
dQ 1 2 3 v
equal to, considerably higher than or considerably lower i=16 (15)
than the discharge pressure. When the pressure differ-
K
dm WA
ence is high the Mach number will be high and the flow leak-out-gas =C C C r
dQ 1 2 3 v
must be treated as compressible if serious error is to be i=16
avoided. The following isentropic one-dimensional flow in which A is the leakage flow area when the machine is
energy equation is used: unpressurized, at rest and at a uniform ambient tempera-
W dW+dh=0 (10) ture. For paths 1, 2, 5 and 6, A is given by

and modified in the same manner as for the other ports A=dL (Q) (16)
sealing
to obtain the mass flowrate: in which d is the average at rest clearance and L (Q)
sealing
dm WA is the sealing line length which, for paths 1, 2, 5 and 6
outlet-gas =C C r flow (11) (see Part 1, Fig. 4), is a function of rotor angle deter-
dQ area speed v
1 mined by the basic profile and rotor geometry. The flow
Also, as before, positive and negative values of W indi- areas for paths 3 and 4, the cusp and compression start
cate forward and reverse flows. blow holes respectively, are determined by profile
Axial and radial discharge ports exist, the size of the geometry and are not significantly affected by load;
radial port being dependent on the slide valve position hence C =1.00 for these paths. A for paths 3 and 4 is
3
in addition to the rotor angle. In this model the discharge a function of Q, but for a large part of the range of Q
flow is taken to be along the rotor diagonal, which is for which A has a value it is constant.
believed to be close to reality for large radial port settings For all leakage paths the pressure difference driving
but less close for smaller settings. C is set equal to the flow is a function of rotor angle and for many states
area
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C C01897 IMechE 1998
 THE TWIN HELICAL SCREW COMPRESSOR. PART 2 373

exceeds the critical value. Hence in equation (15) the mass and energy rate equations may be stated as follows:
maximum flow velocity is limited to the sonic value
dm dm dm dm dm
determined as follows: oil = OD + OI oil: outlet port oil: flash-gas
dQ dQ dQ dQ dQ

SA B qp (19)
W = (17)
sound qr dU dm dm
s oil =c t OD +c t OI
dQ oil OD dQ oil OI dQ
The energy transfer rate through any leakage path may
be calculated by making use of the following equations: dm dQ
c t oil: outlet port + oil<gas (20)
oil oil dQ dQ

K K
dH d(m h )
leak-in-gas = leak-in-gas upstream
dQ dQ Suitably modified, equations (19) and (20) may be
i=16 i=16 (18) applied to the suction, compression and discharge

K K
dH d(m h ) processes.
leak-out-gas = leak-out-gas gas
dQ dQ The friction heating term for the main casing does not
i=16 i=16
appear in equation (20) but is accounted for in the pre-
for use in equations (1), (2) and (3). In the model sent model by an increased oil temperature in the dis-
described here the product C C C is evaluated as a charge line, determined by a simple energy balance
1 2 2
single constant. equation which makes use of a calculation for the fric-
tion power in the main casing, P .
main casing
The oil drain rate from the end casings is given by
3.6 Oil in the compressor housing and control volume dm Q Q A (Q)+A (Q)
OD = OD end casing OD1 OD2 (21)
dQ v A +A
In lubricated machines ports are provided to permit the OD1max OD2max
oil supplied to the bearings to drain from the end casings and when the average oil flow injection rate to the main
into the low-pressure regions of the main housing, where casing Q is known from tests, the instantaneous value
OI
it provides lubrication for the rotor-to-rotor drive con- is calculated as follows:
tact, sealing for the clearances and cooling for the gas
dm Q A (Q)
in the control volume. This oil supply is augmented in OI = OI OI (22)
some machines by the direct injection of oil into the dQ v A
OImax
compression cavity through special ports in the housing An alternative is to make use of a flow coefficient for
bores and/or an array of small ports in the slide valve the injection ports C in the following equation:
to promote atomization and dispersion. Commonly, the OI
compressor pressure difference is employed to drive both dm WA
OI =C r OI (23)
oil supplies. dQ OI oil v
Refrigeration systems, as explained in reference [4],
in which the flow speed W is calculated from equa-
require good oilrefrigerant miscibility, which means
tion (10). Both methods rely on measured data but use
that the oil supplied to the compressor carries with it a
them in different ways.
significant mass of dissolved refrigerant; typically 30 per
The instantaneous value of the oil mass flowrate pass-
cent of the total oil mass could be refrigerant, which will
ing through the discharge port is taken to be directly
flash wholly or partially to gas in the end casing or in
proportional to the instantaneous value of the refriger-
the control (compression cavity) volume. The residence
ant gas mass flowrate in the discharge port as follows:
time in the end casings is considerably longer than in
the compression cavity. This, considered together with dm m dm
oil: outlet port = oil outlet-gas (24)
the flashing times suggested by the manufacturer [6 ] dQ m dQ
led the authors to propose a model in which complete gas
flashing occurs in the end casings but only partial flash- As a first approximation, the rate at which dissolved
ing (from directly injected oil ) occurs in the compression refrigerant flashes from oil is taken to be the same as
cavity, with the result that flashing of dissolved refriger- that for liquid refrigerant injected directly into the cavity.
ant from the oil continues in the discharge line. Based on a flash time T for a given mass of
LRI: flash
In the model it is accepted that all of the viscous fric- refrigerant, the flash rate from oil may be expressed as
tion at the tips, flanks, seals, etc., heats the oil directly, follows:
which seems reasonable physically. However, the latent dm m
heat required to flash the refrigerant out of the oil is oil: flash-gas = LR (25)
dQ vT
taken to be supplied by the compression gas alone, which LRI: flash
seems at first sight to be less reasonable but is taken to where m is the mass of refrigerant dissolved in the oil
LR
be justified by the predictive success of the model. The directly injected into the main casing and ready to flash
C01897 IMechE 1998 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
374 J S FLEMING, Y TANG AND G COOK

and may be expressed as follows: manufacturer [6 ] and work on mist flow in an evapor-
ator [8] which suggested a total flash time of 20 ms.

P A B P
Q dj Q dm
m = m dQ oil: flash-gas dQ Medium-sized compressors are likely to have tip speeds
LR oil dQ dQ in the range 1540 m/s, indicating a compression time
0 0
(26) of 315 ms and, as a consequence, incomplete flashing
The energy transfer rate due to refrigerant flashing from of the injected liquid refrigerant, so that some of its mass
the oil is needed in equations (1), (2) and (3) and may is still flashing in the discharge line as it is carried along
be expressed as follows for the oil injected directly into by the refrigerant gas/oil stream. If the flashing rate as
the main casing: determined above is R kg/s the flash rate per radian of
rotor rotation is given by
dH dm
oil: flash-gas =h oil: flash-gas (27) dm R
dQ LR dQ LRI: flash-gas = (31)
dQ v
where h is the latent heat for liquid to gas for the
LR Where the mass flowrate of the injected liquid refrigerant
refrigerant at the cavity pressure and temperature appro-
priate to Q. is taken to be constant at Q kg/s, the mass flowrate
LRI
The mass transfer rate from the end casings to the through the port is given in terms of the rotor angle by
main casing due to refrigerant gas flashed from oil in dm Q A (Q)
the end casings draining into the main casing is given by LRI: port = LRI LRI (32)
dQ v A
LRImax
dm Q A (Q)+A (Q)
drained-gas = FG: end casing OD1 OD2 (28) This is an approximation since Q is not constant due
dQ v A +A LRI
OD1max OD2max to the pressure across the injection nozzle varying with
which gives the associated energy transfer rate needed the cavity pressure variation. An alternative method of
in equations (1), (2) and (3) as follows: carrying out this calculation is to make use of an empiri-
cally determined coefficient C for the injection nozzle
dH dm LRI
drained-gas =h drained-gas (29) as follows:
dQ OD dQ
dm WA
The sensible heat transfer between the gas and the oil LRI: port =C r LRI (33)
dQ LRI v
in the control volume, i.e. that due to convection, is
given by where W is determined by equation (7). The liquid
refrigerant mass in the cavity volume may now be
dQ A a(t t )
= oil<gas gas oil (30) expressed as
dQ v

P P
Q dm Q dm
The oil in this model is assumed to be in the form of a m = LRI: port dQ LRI: flash-gas dQ
LRI dQ dQ
large number of small spherical droplets all having the 0 0
(34)
same diameter, chosen as in reference [7]. Then a is
determined by an iterative procedure in which the pro- The energy transfer rate due to the flashing liquid
gram is run with trial values of a until a match is refrigerant in the compression cavity needed in equations
obtained between measured and calculated values of the (2) and (3) may now be expressed as
gas discharge temperature.
dH dm
LRI: flash-gas =h LRI: flash-gas (35)
dQ LRI: before port dQ
3.7 Injection of liquid refrigerant into the control volume Since the total mass of liquid refrigerant injected into
Liquid refrigerant injected directly into the compression the cavity is small, the sensible heat transfer rate between
cavity during the compression process will flash to gas the liquid refrigerant particles and the gas in the cavity
at a rate determined by: due to convection is taken to be negligible and, as a
consequence, is set to zero in the model.
(a) the atomization of the incoming liquid,
(b) the dispersion of the atomized particles,
(c) the velocity of the atomized particles, 3.8 Injection of gaseous refrigerant into the compression
(d ) the pressure and temperature of the cavity gas, cavity
(e) the temperature of the incoming liquid.
Where the average mass flowrate Q kg/s is known the
An analytical solution for the flashed mass as a function SF
mass flowrate may be calculated as a function of the
of rotor angle is likely to be wildly inaccurate due to the rotor angle as follows:
absence of quantitative information on items (a), (b)
and (c). This induced the authors to choose a model dm Q A (Q)
SF = SF SF (36)
which is based on information supplied by the refrigerant dQ v A
SFmax
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C C01897 IMechE 1998
 THE TWIN HELICAL SCREW COMPRESSOR. PART 2 375

This is an approximation since Q is not constant due delivery. Early in the compression process when the cavity
SF
to the pressure across the injection nozzle varying with volume is at a maximum the volume occupied by the oil
the cavity pressure variation. In many real plants Q is so small that it may be neglected. Towards the end the
SF
will not be known due to lack of instrumentation. A influence becomes larger; for a built-in volume ratio of 5,
useful alternative is to make use of an empirically deter- for example, up to 5 per cent of the cavity volume at the
mined coefficient C for the injection nozzle as follows: beginning of discharge will be taken up by oil.
SF
In a compressor operating with the injection of liquid
dm WA
SF =C r SF (37) refrigerant on duty, unflashed liquid refrigerant will also
dQ SF v be present in the cavity but the quantity is much smaller
where W is determined by equation (10). than that of the oil so its effect is taken to be negligible.
The energy transfer rate due to the injection of The volume taken up by oil is calculated from its mass
refrigerant gas at discharge pressure directly into the and density. The specific volume of the gas in the cavity
cavity may now be expressed for use in equation (2) as is then given by
follows: VV
v = liquid (39)
dH dm gas m
SF =h SF (38) gas
dQ SF dQ and is used to calculate the pressure appropriate to each
rotor angle in the chosen sequence for which the geo-
metric cavity volume V is, of course, uniquely known
3.9 Work exchanged by the gas at the boundary of the from the compressor geometry program ( Fig. 1).
cavity volume The work exchange rate for the gas is given by
The oil volumetric flowrate through a refrigeration com- dL d(VV )
=p liquid (40)
pressor is typically 0.251.00 per cent of the volumetric dQ dQ

Fig. 1 Twin screw compressor program chart

C01897 IMechE 1998 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
376 J S FLEMING, Y TANG AND G COOK

3.10 Friction power calculations
Viscous friction losses occur due to oil shearing in the
main casing at the rotor tips, end faces and lobe meshing
line, and in the end casings at the shaft seals, balance
pistons, thrust bearings and radial bearings. Friction
losses due to the presence of the gas are considerably
less since the viscosity of the gas is much smaller than
that of the oil. Friction losses in the model have an
obtained is likely to differ little from that deriving from
the calculation of different oil drain temperatures fol-
lowed by a mixing calculation in the main casing.
In the main casing the oil shearing rates are much
higher than in the end casings. As a consequence, every
surface contributing shear may be considered to be dissi-
pating power in proportion to the square of the rotor
tip speed [2]:

A B
indirect effect on thermodynamic performance because pD W 2
P =C C 1out 1 (44)
they are taken to heat the oil only. The hotter oil then main casing main1 main2 6104
influences the gas present via a changed heat transfer
which gives a different gas temperature. Finally, the C is a coefficient which is a function of the viscosity
main1
energy needed to flash refrigerant, injected as liquid and of the oil, the viscosity of the gas, the main casing clear-
dissolved in oil, is provided by the gas alone in the model; ances and compressor geometry. It was determined by
hence the final gas temperature is different from that making use of compressor test data for clearances, oil
which would result if friction heating of the oil had not type, measured power consumption and isentropic
been included in the model. efficiency for constant oil supply rates. The friction was
The authors have made extensive use of data and found to be very sensitive to the oil flowrate through the
charts supplied by the manufacturers of seals etc., oils main casing. A curve fitting and matching procedure
and refrigerants [6 ] in calculating friction power. For making use of data for a range of oil supply rates led to
example, the following equations have been derived by a relationship between C and flowrate.
main2
fitting curves to data supplied by the seal manufacturers
and used in the calculation of the losses in the balanced
3.11 Property relations for gases and gas mixtures
shaft seal:
60102 The following equations are needed:
P =(Ap2 +Bp +C ) v (41)
shaft seal oil oil 2p Equation of liquid density:
For p in bar the constants have the values given in r = f (t)
oil LR
Table 1 for different shaft diameters.
Equation of vapour pressure:
Using a similar relationship for the balance piston and
the manufacturers information for the rolling element p = f (t)
vapour
bearings, the combined friction power losses in the suc- Equation of state:
tion and discharge end casings may be expressed as
r= f (t, v )
P =P +P +P (42) gas
end casing bearing piston shaft seal Equation of latent heat of vaporization:
Assuming the end casings to be adiabatic enclosures, an
energy balance gives the temperature of the oil entering DH = f (t, r , v )
lat LR gas
the drain ports as Equation of vapour enthalpy:
P Q (h h ) h = f (t, v )
t =t + end casing FG: end casing OD OI (43) gas gas
OD OI (Q Q )c
OD FG: end casing oil Equation of vapour entropy:
In the interests of simplicity a single combined calcu-
s = f (t, v )
lation is done for the oil drain temperature, despite the gas gas
fact that in reality the difference between the conditions The specific internal energy for a refrigerant is given as
in the suction and discharge end casings must give follows:
different oil temperatures. It is believed that the result
u =h pv = f (t, v ) (45)
gas gas gas gas
The specific volume of the cavity gas is given by equa-
Table 1 Constants for different shaft
diameters
tion (39) while the specific internal energy is obtained
by integrating equations (1) to (6). This result may then
D
shaft
(mm) A B C be used in equation (44) to determine gas temperature,
which when substituted into the gas equation of state
40 1.43 354 4670
60 1.88 436 9460 yields the cavity pressure. The thermodynamic property
80 3.22 749 15200 equations are, of course, unique to each working fluid
100 4.30 1260 19000 and may be derived from equations in the open literature
120 13.30 2180 37200
or a specialized program such as REFPROP [3].
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C C01897 IMechE 1998
 THE TWIN HELICAL SCREW COMPRESSOR. PART 2 377

3.12 Compressor performance calculations

The indicated and total power are calculated as follows:

Q
v
P =z p dV (46)
ind 2p
P =P +P +P (47)
input ind end casing main casing
where P and P are calculated as indi-
end casing main casing
cated in Section 3.10.
The volumetric, indicated, total and mechanical
efficiencies of the compressor are defined as follows:
2pQ v
g = mass 1 100%
vol zvV
r
P
g = isentropic 100%
ind P
ind (48)
P
g = isentropic 100%
total P
input
P
g = ind 100%
mechanical P
input
The calculations for the gas torques on the male and
female rotors, the contact force between the rotors and
the radial and axial bearing forces, all as functions of the
male rotor angle of rotation, have been addressed by
You et al. [9]. Furthermore, a study of the influence of
the leakage paths, path by path, on the indicated and
volumetric efficiencies has also been reported by Fleming
and Tang [5].

4 MODEL OUTPUT COMPARED WITH

TEST DATA

Measured data derived from standard compressor tests

was available to the authors as follows:
The compressor. Clearances at rest and at ambient
temperature.
The working fluid. Pressure and temperature at suction
and discharge, condensing and evaporating tempera-
tures and mass flowrate.
Oil supply. Delivery pressure and temperature, mass
flowrate, mass fraction of dissolved refrigerant.
Refrigerant injected as liquid. Delivery pressure and
temperature, mass flowrate.
Refrigerant injected as gas. Delivery pressure and
temperature, mass flowrate.
Running conditions. A range of pressure ratios, condens-
ing temperatures, suction superheat degrees for full
and part load settings of the slide valve with the Fig. 2 (a) Measured and computed efficiencies. (b) Measured
compressor running at speeds in the range 1500 and computed shaft power input. (c) Differences
4000 r/min. between computed and measured values
Figure 1 shows the programs derived from the math-
ematical model developed here and their interdepen-
dence. Volumetric and total efficiency were derived from
C01897 IMechE 1998 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
378 J S FLEMING, Y TANG AND G COOK

Fig. 4 Measured and computed volumetric efficiency versus

capacity

the test data and plotted against pressure ratio, speed

and load fraction (slide valve setting) for ease of com-
parison with values calculated using the model, as shown
in Figs 2, 3, 4 and 5. The deviation of the calculated
values from the measured values is displayed in Figs 2c,
4c and 5c. In all cases the same working fluid (R22) and
oil were in use. The graphs shown are typical of those
obtained for a number of compressors for which the
leakage coefficient and gas/oil heat transfer coefficient
were determined for mid-range conditions and used as
constants throughout the range. As expected, calculated
values farthest from the mid-range tend, in general, to
show the poorest agreement with measured values. When
the coefficients determined for one compressor are used
in the model for a compressor of a different size, the
deviations of the model result from the measured data
increase generally but do so without an obvious pattern.
Figure 4 shows comparisons for a compressor running
on part load. This behaviour is typical of a number of
machines running at a variety of conditions. All the data
shown in Figs 2, 3 and 4 are for compressors running
without the injection of liquid and/or gaseous refriger-
ant. The data shown in Fig. 5 were collected to test the
model when the injection of liquid refrigerant directly
into the cavity was on duty. The agreement is poorer for
volumetric efficiency than that achieved for the cases
without liquid refrigerant injection, but the scatter on
the experimental measurements is greater, which is prob-
ably due to the unflashed liquid refrigerant in the dis-
charge stream causing uncertainties in the orifice plate
mass flow measurement used in the calculation of volu-
metric efficiency. Indeed, with the injection of liquid
refrigerant on duty the definition of volumetric efficiency
requires to be re-examined.

Fig. 3 (a) Measured and computed efficiencies. (b) Measured

5 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
and computed shaft torque. (c) Differences between
computed and measured values
The predictive accuracy of the model shown in Figs 2,
3, 4 and 5 is adequate for design and applications calcu-
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C C01897 IMechE 1998
 THE TWIN HELICAL SCREW COMPRESSOR. PART 2 379

lations. However, the model would have greater value if

it had greater generality. The limitation to its generality
is due to the fact that the dominant coefficients, i.e. for
leakage and gasoil heat transfer, must be determined
for every compressorrefrigerantoil combination if the
predictive capacity of the model is to be maintained at
around 23 per cent. Furthermore, the accuracy of the
refrigerant flashing model is not known at present.
Several man-years of highly trained scientific manpower
were required to bring the model to its present stage.
Several more may be needed to achieve significant
improvements to the generality of application of the
model due to the inherently difficult nature of the prob-
lems to be solved; in particular, the behaviour of the
refrigerantoil mixture in the leakage clearances and the
gasoil heat transfer in the cavity are extremely difficult
to treat analytically due to the unknown distribution of
oil and its unsteady behaviour. An improvement that
could be made with comparative ease would be to make
use of the gas forcerotor deflection program to deter-
mine leakage clearances that are functions of the gas
pressure. Unfortunately, the improvement might not be
very great since the deformations caused to the rotors
and the housing by the temperature effects of load are
considerable and very difficult to calculate. A major
study is required, as demonstrated recently by Kauder
et al. [10].

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Howden

Compressors Limited in the preparation of this paper,
and thank the management of Howden for permission
to publish the paper. Thanks are also due to the follow-
ing organizations who over a number of years have
given financial support to refrigeration and compressor
research at Strathclyde: Howden Compressors Limited,
Star Refrigeration Limited, The Carnegie Trust for the
Universities of Scotland, the Royal Society, The British
Council, the University of Strathclyde and the Division
of Dynamics and Control at Strathclyde.

REFERENCES

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of helical screw compressors: their determination, optimiz-
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1994, 208(E2), 155163.
2 Tang, Y. Computer aided design of twin screw compressors.
PhD thesis, University of Strathclyde, Scotland, 1995.
3 REFPROP Version 5.10, 1996 (The National Institute of
Fig. 5 (a) Measured and computed efficiencies. (b) Measured
Standards and Technology, Gaithesburg, Maryland ).
and computed shaft power input. (c) Differences
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screw compressor. Part 1: development, applications and
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