How Does an Air Compressor Work?

From the beginning of time, air compressors have been one of the most resourceful and essential requisites for any factory or workshop. Latterly, they were modified to be compact and more user-friendly. Air compressors are exceedingly severable machines that power air tools.

Primarily, air compressors are considered much more useful and efficient than regular tools. They don’t need their bulky motors. They are low maintenance. They only require a little bit of oiling.

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Talking about their versatility, they don’t draw their boundaries at the workbench for drills or sanders; air compressors come in handy when you have a deflated tire or even a clogged-up sink.

Air compressors are all-rounded. Therefore it is vital to understand their mechanism. So that you can choose an air compressor that fits well with your project.

How Does Air Compressor Work?

Typical Air Compressor

Air compressors operate by forcing air into a container. Then it exerts pressure on the concealed air, which forces the air against an opening in the tank. This is where pressure builds up. The air is used as energy when it is released.

Air compressor engines convert electrical energy into kinetic energy. The pressurized air is the real deal here. It can be used to power several electrical pieces of equipment. Examples include nailers, wrenches, sanders, etc.

There are various kinds of air compressors, and each is entitled to its advantages and differences. Typically the features do not vary much. It mainly comes down to how each air compressor confronts the air displacement situation.

How Each Type of Air Compressor Works?

Taking a deeper look into the mechanism of air compressors, there are two ways by which air compression is achieved. They are positive displacement and dynamic displacement. The methods are different even though the ultimate result is the same.

The method that is used by the compressors for air displacement depends on the mechanics of the air compressor. For instance, piston-based air compressors are a kind of compressor that has uses one of two types of compression cycles. They are single-stage and two-stage.

As the name suggests, the single-stage compressor pressurizes the air in one stroke. The mechanism is simple. The stroke is a 360-degree rotation of the crankshaft driving the piston.

Whereas, the two-stage piston first pressurizes the air before forcing the air into a smaller chamber, where the air is further compressed. The mechanism produces higher power and therefore generates greater energy. And heat is generated.

Most two-stage air compressors also contain a cooling chamber for preventing the air from overheating.

How Does an Air Compressor Regulator Work?

An air compressor regulator gives prominence to the air tank. It has a variable nob and an indicator for pressure. The nob is used to increase or decrease the air pressure by restricting and releasing the airflow in and out of the chamber.

Methods of Air Displacement

Positive Displacement

These compressors use volume to increase the pressure of the air. Air is forced into a chamber, and the volume is decreased. This forces the pressure of the air to increase until the maximum pressure is reached. Finally, the air is discharged into the outlet system.

Dynamic Displacement

These kinds of air compressors come with two other compressors. Among which are centrifugal compressor and axial compressor. They include a rotating component, which converts kinetic energy into pressure energy.

The spinning impeller accelerates and then decelerates the captured air. This generates a centrifugal force which in turn pressurizes the air.

Cooling

To prevent overheating, the air compressors require some kind of cooling mechanism. Atmospheric changes of the air, the inlet temperature, ambient temperature, and the area of applications are taken into account during the process of cooling.

Compressor Power

The motor horsepower and the amount of air the compressor can deliver at a specific power are vital to determine the compressor power. All of these are linked and must be monitored carefully while deciding on a compressor power.