Key
1127
Conference Year
2012
Keywords
Oil supply system, Oil pumping, Reciprocating compressor, Analytical model, CFD
Abstract
A model is presented for calculating the volume flow rate in an eccentric-tube centrifugal oil pump for reciprocating compressors. The oil pump assembly consists of a pick-up tube with an inclined inlet that is mounted off-center with the crankshaft symmetry axis. The pick-up tube is connected to the shaft channel; a helical groove machined on the crankshaft that facilitates the supply of lubricant to the bearings. The analytical models for the pick-up tube and shaft channel were developed independently and were coupled via a numerical procedure to determine the steadystate volume flow rate in the assembly. The steady-state results were verified against a CFD model, which was also used to evaluate the oil flow in the pump assembly during a start-up transient. A parametric analysis was conducted to quantify the influence of the pump geometric parameters, i.e., the pick-up tube diameter and the shaft eccentricity.