3-Dimensional Simulation for Obtaining the Heat Transfer Correlations of a Thermal Network Calculation for a Hermetic Reciprocating Compressor

Abstract

A 3-dimensional simulation of the hermetic reciprocating compressor is still limited by the computer capacity. The 1-dimensional simulation provides a useful result as long as the thermal boundary conditions are well-known. This is the reason to apply a thermal simulation of the whole compressor, which can be done by using a Thermal Network (TNW) calculation. One problem for the TNW is the deduction of the heat transfer correlations between the individual masses. In this paper the heat transfer correlations for the piston-cylinder section are elaborated. The investigation comprises a comparison of a full 3-dimensional simulation with a TNW calculation. The spatial resolution in a TNW depends on the number of mass elements. A method is proposed which divides the domain in non–overlapping geometrically well-defined volumes. Using the results from the 3-dimensional simulation the heat fluxes between these mass elements have been evaluated. Then the heat transfer functions ()