Learning Objective: Describe the basic design

features and functions of various marine

auxiliary machinery

Machinery: Air Compressor

Specific Objectives:
• Recognize the various names and locations of
auxiliary machinery found on board

• Describe the basic operation of the machinery

• Identify the main parts of the machinery

• Sketch and label the main parts

AIR COMPRESSOR
 Introduction

 Air compressor is a thermal machine used for repeated

compression of gas known as atmospheric air to produce
high-pressure air
 Air Composition: mainly 23% oxygen and 76% nitrogen by
mass (small quantities of other gases such as carbon
dioxide, argon, helium, neon and water vapor)

 A mixture of them will behave as a perfect gas, following

Boyle and Charles law.
 When air is compressed, its temperature and pressure
increase as its volume is reduced.
 Uses of Compressed Air

Air compressors of various designs are

widely used in numerous applications
including the operation of equipment and
portable tools.
Ship board compressed air usage may
divided as follows:
Starting operation
Control & Instrumentation
General Service/ Utilities
 Compressed air is used onboard ship for a number of
purposes and at varying pressures depending on that
purpose.
 - High-pressure air – 25 to 40 bar – for starting
and reversing of diesel engines (two or three stage-
reciprocating units)
 - Medium pressure air – 7 bar – for general service air, deck air
pneumatic systems, power positioners, servo mechanisms and air
puff soot blowers (single/two stage reciprocating units & rotary
units)
 - Medium/low pressure air – 4 and 5 bar – Utilities- ‘pneu-press’
and ‘grinell sprinkler’ by single/two stage-reciprocating units or by
rotary units.
 - Low-pressure air – 2 bar – Control & Instrumentation pneumatic
control systems by single stage or rotary units
 Starting operation
(average 25 to 40 Bar)
Starting the compression ignition diesel engine
require normally 30 Bar or related with total capacity
of the air bottle
On generators, starting air system is normally
connected to emergency air compressor driven by
small engine or manually operated
Prior to starting, engine is blown through with air to
remove any condensate or residue in cylinder
 Control & Instrumentation
(1.4 to 7 Bar)
Pneumatically controlled instruments for
pressure, temperature, level, speed, flow etc.,
with working pressure in the range of 1.4 to 7
Bar.

The range of pressure is obtained by using a

small reducing valve or solenoid valve to
supply air at the correct value
 General Service
(4 to 7 Bar)
 Service air is used for kind of tools (considered as pneumatic tools)
which are operated by compressed air (e.g., drilling machine,
impact wrenches, hand grinder, lifting gear etc.,)
 Used on auxiliary or deck machinery operated by compressed air
 (e.g., Wilden pump, lifeboat davit, de-mucking winches etc.,)
 Pneumatic wrenches for even tightening of studs
 Fuel injector testing
 Water Pressure Test
 Used for cleaning purposes. Dust cleaning/clearing at narrow
spaces where brush and finger tips cannot reach
 Cleaning any dust from the electrical machinery e.g. alternator,
motor etc.,
 A I R C O M P R E S S O R

I N T E R M I T T E N T C O N T I N U
F L O W F L O W

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M e c h a n S i cl i da i l n p g i cs v et ao n n t re i f uM g i xa e l d f Al o x w i a l
L i q u id r i n g
h e l i c a l s c r e w
s t r a i g h t l o b e
 Classification
Compressors can be classified based on operational
principle of compression as follows:
Positive displacement compressors
Dynamic compressors
Specially designed compressors used for specific
purpose are further defined by:
The number of compression stages
Method of cooling (air, water, oil)
Drive method (motor, engine, steam, other)
How they are lubricated (oil, oil-free)
Packaged or custom-built
 Multi stage compressors
 They are used for three reasons:

By cooling between stages:

 the air is kept in a moderate temperature range,
 less work is required to compress a given quantity
of air to a required pressure (closer to isothermal)
 Lubrication difficulties minimized (low air
temperatures)
The capacity of an air compressor is
measured by the number of cubic metres of
free air discharged per minute (FAD).

Air Receivers (Air Bottles) are provided as
per Regulations. Safety features include
Fusible plugs and Relief valves
The Volumetric Efficiency of an air
compressor is measured by the number of
cubic metres of free air discharged (FAD)
per minute compared with the displacement
of the LP piston in cubic metres per minute.

Modern air compressors have a Volumetric
Efficiency of 80 to 90%.
 Summary

Uses of Compressed Air onboard.

Compressor Types
Operation of Single and Multi-stage Air
Compressor
Components of Air Compressor
Safety features an Air Compressor and Air
Reservoir.