Experimental Investigation of the Dynamics of Self-acting Valve in a Reciprocating Compressor for Transcritical CO₂ Refrigeration

19^th International Compressor Engineering Conference at Purdue

The self-acting valve has a significant influence on the efficiency and reliability of the reciprocating compressor. The large density and high pressure difference through the valve cause serious bending and impact stresses in the valve and herby great challenges for the valve design. Experimental investigation of the valve dynamics are required to design a self-acting valve with high efficiency and long life span for the transcritical CO₂ compressor. A semi-hermetic reciprocating compressor was developed for CO₂ refrigeration application, and a test system was incorporated into the compressor performance test rig, focusing on investigating the dynamics of the discharge valves. With the experimental results, the movement of the valve is described in detail for transcritical CO₂ compressor, based on which the thermodynamic performance of compressor is studied.