What is the general flow rate of factory air compressors
Technical note on flow setting of plant air compressor
The flow setting of air compressor in factory should be comprehensively evaluated in combination with production process, equipment configuration and gas consumption law, and its value range varies significantly due to industry characteristics and process requirements. The basic principles, influencing factors and typical application scenarios of flow setting are described as follows:
I. Core principles of flow setting
- Dynamic matching mechanism：
- Establish a ledger of gas equipment, count the gas consumption of single equipment (such as pneumatic wrench 0.2- 0.5 m ³/min, sandblasting machine 3-5m³/min), and superimpose and calculate the total demand.
- Equipped with an intelligent flow adjustment system to automatically adjust the gas supply amount based on real-time gas consumption to avoid energy waste caused by “big horse-drawn cars”.
- Redundant design specification：
- New projects need to reserve a flow margin of 20%-30% to cope with future production capacity expansion or increased equipment demand.
- It is recommended to configure a dual-circuit air supply system for key process links (such as engine assembly lines), which can be automatically switched to a spare pipeline when a single circuit fails.
- Energy saving optimization strategy：
- Using frequency conversion drive technology, the flow adjustment range reaches 20%-100%, and the operation can be reduced to the lowest flow during no-load periods.
- Equipped with energy storage air compressors, using the peak-valley electricity price difference to achieve off-peak air supply, the measured energy saving rate can reach 25%-35%.
2. Analysis of key influencing factors
- Characteristics of gas equipment：
- Instantaneous large-flow equipment (such as pulse dust collectors) requires a separate air storage tank to buffer pressure fluctuations.
- Continuously operating equipment (such as pneumatic conveying systems) needs to be equipped with a pressure stabilizing device to ensure flow stability ≤±5%.
- Process accuracy requirements：
- Precision processing scenarios (such as chip packaging) need to control flow fluctuations within ±2% to avoid vibration affecting processing accuracy.
- Ordinary machining scenarios can accept a flow fluctuation range of ±10%, and stable gas supply is achieved through pipeline buffering.
- System leak management：
- Regularly conduct pipeline pressure maintenance tests. When the leakage rate exceeds 5%, pipe network testing is required.
- An ultrasonic leak detector is used to locate leak points, and the response time for repair of leak points in pipelines below DN20 is ≤4 hours.
3. Reference for typical industry traffic range
| industry type | Typical flow rate of single equipment (m³/min) | Method for estimating whole plant flow | special requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| machining | 0.2-0.5(CNC machine tools) | Equipment quantity × single unit traffic ×1.2(redundancy factor) | Dryer is required for precision processing |
| automobile manufacturing | 0.8-1.5(robot welding line) | Calculate peak flow based on production line beat | Spraying workshop requires explosion-proof design |
| textile printing and dyeing | 0.6-1.0(air-jet loom) | Number of looms × single machine flow × simultaneous utilization factor (0.8) | Oil removal filter required |
| food packaging | 0.3-0.7(Pneumatic conveying system) | Calculate air consumption per unit time based on production line speed | Compressed air needs to meet sterility standards |
| electronics manufacturing | 0.1-0.3(SMT mounter) | Critical equipment traffic superposition +30% system loss | Activated carbon adsorption device is required |
4. Suggestions for system configuration optimization
- Pipe network design code：
- The main pipeline adopts an annular pipe network layout to reduce the pressure drop during long-distance transportation. The actual measurement can reduce the pressure loss by 15%-20%.
- The branch pipeline is designed at an economic flow rate of 8m/s, and the elbow adopts a large-radius arc transition with R>5D.
- Gas storage device configuration：
- The volume of the main air storage tank shall be selected according to 30% of the maximum air consumption, and the buffer time shall be ≥30 seconds.
- The front end of key equipment is equipped with 0.1-0.5m³ small gas storage tank to eliminate the impact of pulse gas consumption.
- intelligent monitoring system：
- Install electromagnetic flowmeter to monitor the gas consumption of each section in real time, and the data acquisition frequency shall be ≥1 time/s.
- Equipped with a pressure-flow linkage control system to automatically start and stop the air compressor unit according to air consumption rules.
It is recommended that enterprises establish an energy efficiency evaluation system for compressed air systems and monitor specific power (kW/m³/min) indicators in real time by installing smart meters and flow meters. For continuous operation systems, a waste heat recovery device can be configured to use air compressor exhaust heat to prepare 60℃ process hot water, and the measured energy saving rate can reach 15%-20%. At the same time, it is recommended to conduct pipe network leakage testing every quarter and entrust a third-party testing agency to issue a full quality report every year to ensure the continuous and efficient operation of the system.
