Pressure Pulsation and Pipeline Vibration Damping with the Use of 3D Printed Nozzles

Abstract

Manifold vibrations in volumetric compressors systems are often the result of pressure pulsations and flow characteristics as well as compressor-generated mechanical vibrations. Standard methods of damping pressure pulsations in compressor installations using Helmholtz resonators focus on damping the main pulsation frequency resulting from compressor operation. Currently, in both refrigeration and industrial compressors, continuous operation with variable rotational speed of the compressor drive shaft is becoming a standard. As a result, the compressor, while working, generates pressure pulsations with different frequency values, which cannot be effectively suppressed using the standard method. In the works published in recent years, there are informations that shaped nozzles, introduced into the discharge manifold of compressor, can significantly affect the damping of pressure pulsations in a wide range of their frequencies. The production of damping nozzles using 3D printing techniques allows us to design unprecedented shapes. The article presents the effect of nozzles with complex shapes (impossible or difficult to produce using conventional methods) on the damping of pressure pulsations and pipeline vibrations.