Issues with pressure drop in air compressor systems: Proper configuration of air compressors helps to control pressure drops and reduce waste

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This post was last edited by Bao’s Purification on 2022-7-26 at 13:39. The pressure drop in a compressed air system is usually caused by the resistance inherent in the piping system itself, as well as by insufficient supply of air due to an increased demand for it; the latter is referred to as systematic pressure drop. Since people tend to focus only on the former and overlook the fact that most of the pressure drop in compressed air is caused by systematic pressure losses, we can use the schematic diagram below to gain a better understanding of these systematic pressure losses: https://pic.ouryao.com/data/attachment/forum/202207/26/103717oalck46l9f9naeas.png.thumb.jpg. As can be seen from Figures 3 and 4, when the air consumption at the end of the system is within the range corresponding to the compressor’s rated output flow rate, the system’s pressure drop is low. However, if the air consumption at the end is too high, exceeding the compressor’s rated output flow rate, the overall system pressure drop becomes relatively large. This pressure drop is not entirely caused by the frictional resistance of the piping system; the greater reason is a systematic pressure drop. Since the adsorption cylinder of an adsorption dryer is a small-sized container, its pressure directly reflects the pressure in the pipelines near its end. In the section ahead of the adsorption dryer, the pipe diameter limits cause the pressure to remain close to that of the exhaust air from the air compressor at the front end; as a result, a very large pressure difference exists between the inlet and outlet of the adsorption dryer. People often mistake this for being caused by the device itself, but this is incorrect. Therefore, it is only possible to measure the pressure drop of the adsorption dryer itself under standard operating conditions, which ensures scientific and accurate results. In compressed air systems, pressure drop is one of the factors that consume energy and increase costs for businesses. If the system pressure drops below the operating pressure required by pneumatic tools and automated equipment, production efficiency will decline sharply, resulting in significant cost losses for the company. The main reason for the significant system pressure loss is that the compressor’s discharge volume is too low, resulting in an air supply that cannot meet the demand. Furthermore, the excessive use of pneumatic tools and automated equipment that require compressed air, or too many leaks in the air supply pipelines, can also cause pressure losses in the system. A hidden cause of pressure loss is the frictional resistance exerted by the compressed air against the inner walls of the gas delivery pipes. The larger the diameter of the trachea, the more air accumulates at its center, resulting in less frictional resistance within the tube. The compressed air pressure drop or pressure loss is also related to factors such as gas flow rate matching, initial pressure, type of piping, length of the pipelines, and the number of valves, fittings, and bends in the system. Therefore, it is very important to properly select air compressors, air quality equipment (commonly known as post-treatment equipment), piping systems, etc., and to have an appropriate amount of system redundancy in order to avoid unreasonable systemic pressure drops.