Purpose of Compressors

Purpose of Compressors Points : purpose of compressors A machine providing gas at high pressure is called a compressor and work be done upon the gas be external agency. A refrigerant compressor takes in refrigerant gas at low pressure evaporator pressure, compresses it and delivers the high pressure gas to condenser. Since the process of compressing the gas requires that work should be done upon it, it will be clear that compressor must be driven by some form of prime mover.

Shows schematically the general arrangement of compressor set. Of the energy receive a by the compressor from the prime mover, some will be absorbed in work done against friction (this reappears as heat) some will be lost to radiation and any coolant employed to cool the compressor, and the rest will be maintained within the delivered gas, at high pressure. The prime mover converts only a fraction of the heat it receives from the source into work, and so far as compressor alone in concerned, the energy which it received is that which is available at the shaft of the prime mover.

A compressor is the heart of vapour compression system. It pumps and circulates refrigerant through the system just as the heart pumps and circulates blood through the body4 In general, a compressor performs the following functions:
(i) It removes low temperature and low pressure vapours from the cooling coil through the line called suction line.
(ii) It compresses these vapours by increasing the pressure and temperature resulting in an increase of boiling point of the refrigerant.
(iii) It discharges the vapours in high temperature and pressure form to condenser through the line called discharge line.