Evaluation of positive displacement blowers and control strategies for the compressive heating of air.

摘要

This study evaluates the use of positive displacement blowers and related control strategies to compressively heat air. This multi-recompression heating (MRH) technique is well suited to heat air to a sufficient temperature to sterilize airborne pathogens (application for patent submitted by SUNY at Buffalo, number 10/765,807, filed in Feb. 2004---see Bibliography).; This thesis considers how varying the blower speed while simultaneously throttling the inlet valve can be utilized to control the blower's flow rate, pressure ratio, and temperature ratio in a multi-recompression heating application.; This thesis also reviews the thermodynamic performance of a 3-lobe versus a 2-lobe positive displacement blower, as to whether or not they can be adapted to multi-recompression heating applications. The two blowers tested were a 2-lobe Dresser-Roots Whispair RAM 404 blower and a 3-lobe BOC Edwards/Hibon SNH/V 804 MA blower. In order to make a rational evaluation of two different blowers, the power requirements were divided by the mass flow rate. This allows graphs to be constructed showing total energy used per unit mass air for the motor, the total energy used per unit mass air to heat the air, and total energy lost due to heat transfer per unit mass air, all as a function of temperature ratio. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)