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Showing posts with the label compressed air

Benefits of Compressed Air Tools

The trouble with hand tools is battery life. Good, but unless you have at least two spare batteries in rotation, you are not going to use them effectively or efficiently. The trouble with power tools is safety. On site the plethora of cables is always an issue and at home, many a sturdy DIYer has been taken by surprise at just how powerful a power tool can be. So what else is there? Air tools , that's the answer. Tools that use compressed air as their power source. Tools that do not wrap the site in cables, or pose health hazards through overheating and frayed cables, tools that provide the same level of power and efficiency every time you need them. Safe, compliant, and easy to use, compresses air equipment tools meet all you're on site or at home requirements. And whatever you are doing, there is a compresses air equipment tool that meets your needs. If you need high power for your workshop, then there is a range of industrial lubricated and non-lubricated compresso...

The Use of Compressed Air in Industry

Although it is perhaps not one of the better known 'tools of the trade', it may come as a surprise to many people, how wide the use of the industrial air compressor is in a wide variety of industries. From the health sector to mining, industrial air compressors are playing an increasingly important role in industry. Whilst this may surprise some, there are a good many reasons why this is the case. Compressed air is easy to store and is usually contained in large tanks, taking up little room in a factory or yard. Compressed air can be especially useful, and important, in an environment that is potentially hazardous; a good example of this is in the mining industry, where the use of electrical machinery could ignite explosive gases, causing injury or even loss of life. As they expel only pure compressed air, there are no toxic fumes or other chemicals to be concerned about either, which is one of the more obvious appeals to the health sector. Before buying an industrial ai...

Compressed Air Safety For Employees

To ensure compressed air safety when personnel are handling compressed air cylinders in the workplace (or in fact at home) all components of compressed air systems should be inspected regularly by qualified and trained employees. Operators carrying out the safety tests should individually take note of: the air receivers, the air distributions lines, the pressure regulation devices, the compressor operation and compressed Air Equipment Maintenance. Compressed air safety should be taken very seriously due to the fact that a compressed gas cylinder accident can be fatal for personnel. While it is perfectly safe to work with if the operator knows what they are doing, it can conversely be very dangerous if handled by someone who has not had the correct training or is not furnished with sufficient information. In order to guard against accidents in the workplace and to ensure a happy and healthy working environment, following are typical safety considerations that should be observed: ...

How An Air Compressor Works

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There are many things that you might want to know about how an air compressor works . You will be able to find many interesting pieces of information out about the air compressors, and you should be able to know how they work. This is a very important factor in the overall impression of the air compressors. First of all, the air compressors are going to harness the wind at an amazing rate. This is something that many people have wanted to do because air is something that is very useful. The wind can show us that. There is nothing like being able to sit down on a windy day and know that you are going to be able to get the most out of your air compressors. However, you have to understand how they work, first of all. There are many different types of air compressors. Some are used in building and creating, and some are used in order to convert air to things that we can use, like breathable gas. Most of the time they work in the same way. They work through using a chamber. The cham...

Controlling The Dangers Of Compressed Air

There are two concerns in safety when using compressed air . (Flying objects and the air itself) Horseplay has been a cause of some serious workplace accidents caused by individuals not aware of the hazards of compressed air. Some television shows have shown bad examples on the use of compressed air. Compressed air is extremely forceful. Depending on its pressure, compressed air can dislodge particles. These particles are a danger since they can enter your eyes or possibly the skin. The potential damage would depend on the size, weight, shape, composition, and speed of the particles. There have also been reports of hearing damage caused by the pressure of compressed air and by its sound caused by the nozzle. Compressed air itself is also a serious hazard. On rare occasions, some of the compressed air can enter the blood stream through a break in the skin or through a body opening. An air bubble in the blood stream is known medically as an embolism, a dangerous medical condition in whic...

Tips to Reduce Compressed Air System Pressure Drops

Ask a Question: What causes pressure drops in my compressed air system and how can I reduce them? Answer: Pressure drop can become a compressed air system problem that steals production time and money. What causes pressure drops? Any type of obstruction, restriction, or roughness in the system will cause resistance to air flow and cause pressure drop. In the distribution system, the highest pressure drops usually are found at the points-of-use, including undersized or leaking hoses, tubes, disconnects, filters, regulators and lubricators (FRLs). On the supply side of the system, air/lubricant separators, aftercoolers, moisture separators, dryers and filters can be the main items causing significant pressure drops. The maximum pressure drop from the supply side to the points-of-use will occur when the compressed air flow rate and temperature are highest. Your Compressed Air System components should be selected based upon these conditions and the manufacturer of each component should b...

Energy saving - Using outside air for compressor intake

The power consumed by a compressor is proportional to the specific volume, which is proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas at a given pressure. It is also clear that the compressor work is directly proportional to the inlet temperature of air. Therefore, the lower the inlet temperature of the air, the smaller the compressor work. Then the power reduction factor, which is the fraction of compressor power reduced as a result of taking intake air from the outside, becomes f reduction = (W comp, inside - W comp, outside ) / W comp, inside f reduction = (T inside - T outside ) / T inside f reduction = 1 - (T outside /T inside ) where T inside and T outside are the absolute tempertaure (in K or R) of the ambient air inside and outside the facility, respectively. Thus reducing the absolute inlet temperature by 5%, for example, will reduce the compressor power input by 5%. As a rule of thumb, for a specified amount of compressed air, the power consumption of the compressor ...

Energy saving - Installing high efficiency motor

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The electric power required for the air compressor can be expressed as, We can see that the electric power depends on the efficiency of the electric motor, thus, to install high efficiency motor we can save the energy as shown in the following equations, where: rated power = nominal power of the motor listed on its label (the power the motor delivers at full load) load factor = the fraction of rate power at which the motor normally operates The energy saving by replacing a motor by a high-efficiency motor can be calculated from, Normally, the efficiency of a motor ranges between 70% to 96%. The loss is usually in the form of heat. Load factor also plays an important part in heat generation. Normally, high heat level is generated during part loading of a compressor. Important considerations in the selection of a motor for a compressor Operating profile of a compressor i.e. load vs time Efficiency of the motor at part-load conditions Efficiency of the motor at full-load conditions One i...

Energy saving - Repairing air leaks on compressed air lines

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What is the results of air leaks on compressed air lines? An air compressor works harder An air compressor works longer The above undesireable results make the compressor consumes more energy. Eventhough air leaks is unavoidable, but with good house-keeping factory, the level of air leaks of 10% is acceptable. Most of the factories have air leaks far beyond that what mentioned. Air leaks normally occur at the joints, flange connections, elbows, valves, filters, hoses, etc. as a result of thermal cycling and vibration. How to detect air leaks? Listen for hissing sound -- in some factories, even when in production process, we can still hear this sound if the leakage rate is high Apply soap water at the location where the air leaks may present Using an acoustic leak detector Pressure drop test Mechanical energy wasted caused by air leaks The following equation expresses the actual mechanical energy wasted due to air leaks where: 1 < n < 1.4 (isentropic) and 0.7 < h comp < 0....

Energy saving - How to calculate the cost savings

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The electric motor is usually the prime mover of the air compressors. Therefore, to save the energy of compressed air system is to save the energy consumption of the electric motor. Energy saving of the electric motor can be written as shown in the following formula Thus, Cost savings = Energy savings x Unit cost of energy

Facts about energy saving of compressed air system

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"We are quick to identify energy losses from hot surfaces and to insulate those surfaces. But we are not so sensitive when it comes to saving compressed air, fixing air leask for instance, because most of the people think that the air is free-of-charge, but they don't reallize that to get the air at higher pressure than the atmospheric pressure requires considerable amount of work (energy)" "The cost of electricity to operates the air compressor for one year can exceed the purchase price of the compressor" In the next section we will see the cost of compressed air as well as the amount of energy wasted through the air leaks and so on.