Rotary screw compressor with atomized oil injection
AssigneeIngersoll-Rand Company
InventorsDaniel R. Crum, Ryan Patrick Coleman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a screw compressor system having a compressor housing with a pair of screw rotors rotatably supported within a compression chamber. A lubricant port is in fluid communication with the compression chamber. A nozzle insert having a longitudinal body extending between a first end and a second end can be positioned within the lubricant port. A swirl chamber formed by the nozzle insert or tangential flow into an offset lubricant port is configured to generate an atomized lubricant flow and discharge the atomized lubricant into the compression chamber.
Claims22
A compressor comprising:
- a compressor housing;
- a compression chamber positioned within the compressor housing;
- male and female screw rotors rotatably meshed together within the compression chamber, the screw rotors operable for compressing a working fluid;
- a lubricant port in fluid communication with the compression chamber;
- a nozzle insert having a longitudinal body extending between a first end and a second end being positioned within the lubricant port;
- and
- a swirl chamber formed by the nozzle insert within the lubricant port, the nozzle insert configured to generate an angular flow velocity within the swirl chamber and discharge atomized lubricant into the compressor chamber.
A screw compressor comprising:
- a compressor housing having a compression chamber with a pair of screw rotors rotatably supported therein;
- a lubricant port in fluid communication with the compression chamber;
- a nozzle insert having a longitudinal body extending between a first end and a second end positioned within the lubricant port;
- discharge orifice formed in the nozzle insert;
- and
- an angled wall extending from the nozzle insert downstream of the discharge orifice.
A method for injecting lubricant into a compression chamber of a screw compressor, the method comprising:
- flowing a lubricant through a passageway;
- atomizing the lubricant with a nozzle insert positioned in the passageway;
- injecting the atomized lubricant into the compression chamber;
- impinging a dispersed atomized flow of lubricant onto a screw rotor;
- and
- dispersing the atomized flow throughout a compressed working fluid within the compression chamber.
A compressor comprising:
- a compressor housing;
- a compression chamber positioned within the compressor housing;
- male and female screw rotors rotatably meshed together within the compression chamber, the screw rotors operable for compressing a working fluid;
- a lubricant passageway having a centerline flow axis extending through a wall of the compressor housing;
- a lubricant port in fluid communication with the lubricant passageway and the compression chamber, wherein a centerline axis of the lubricant port is offset from the centerline axis of the lubricant passageway;
- and
- a swirl chamber formed by a tangential flow of lubricant into the offset lubricant port, the swirl chamber configured to generate an angular lubricant flow velocity and discharge an atomized lubricant flow into the compression chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.