DECODING THE DUTY CYCLE OF PISTON COMPRESSORS

A detailed look at how piston compressor functions and are completely different from others in context to air compressor duty cycle and its efficiency. It also touches upon the need for an optimum duty cycle, and ideal operating duty cycle for piston compressor.

- Mahalakshmi. G

Choosing the right compressor for an application is crucial. Apart from air quality, pressure and flow are vital factors in selecting the compressor technology (Piston, rotary, centrifugal, etc.) for any given application. Each compressor technology has an optimal flow output for a set pressure.

Unlike rotary compressors that are designed to run continuously without wear or damage due to overheating, piston compressors cannot run continuously for extended periods as their cooling and lubrication system is basic, and their design has a lot of moving parts. Piston compressors thus have a fixed running time without causing any damage to the compressor.

UNDERSTANDING THE AIR COMPRESSOR DUTY CYCLE

To understand the air compressor duty cycle, it is important first to know what cycle time means. When it comes to piston compressors – they run on a start/ stop cycle, which means that when the desired maximum pressure is reached, the compressor stops and starts back only when it reaches a set minimum level. The total cycle time is the time between one stop and one start.

Usually, the duty cycle is represented as a percentage. It is the time duration a compressor’s top block runs to provide pressurized air at a defined flow rate relative to the compressor’s cycle time.