Characterization of wire mesh structure for coalescing oil separation

Jiu Xu, Pega Hrnjak

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Oil separation is commonly needed in air conditioning or refrigeration systems to reduce the oil circulation rate and keep the oil inside the compressor. For compactness, the oil separation structure integrated into the compressor is more and more popular than traditional external oil separator. This paper presents coalescence, one of the basic mechanisms of droplet separation, studied by quantitative flow visualization and measurements. The misty oil flow through separator is visualized by a high-speed camera and analyzed quantitatively. Oil droplet size and its distribution are determined by video processing. Important flow details are revealed, including oil droplet collision, oil droplet coalescence, oil film breakup and re-entrainment. Separation efficiency is determined as the ratio between drained and incoming oil mass flow rate. Pressure drop is also measured since it is a cost due to separation structures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number012037
JournalIOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Volume604
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 3 2019
Event11th International Conference on Compressors and Their Systems 2019 - London, United Kingdom
Duration: Sep 9 2019Sep 11 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Engineering(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Characterization of wire mesh structure for coalescing oil separation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this