A Simplified Procedure for Designing Hermetic Compressors

Research on the various aspects of hermetic compressor design and development has been going on for a long period of time. As old questions get answered, new ones keep coming up. So much work has been done that a beginner in the compressor design field could easily get confused, and might not even know where to start. The purpose of this paper is to present a consolidated and simplified design approach that could be used as a guideline to get started with the very complex task of designing a hermetic compressor. Ideas that have proven successful over the years have been discussed. Particular attention has been given to design for performance. Critical problem areas and issues that influence the design tremendously have been discussed. INTRODUCTION Designing a compressor -is it an art or a science? Most of us have wondered at one time or the other about the answer to this question. Volumes of research work done in the past decades [3, 6, 7] indicate that there is alot to be learned, investigated, and understood. And yet, as any experienced compressor designer would tell us, there are subtle mysteries involved in compressor designing that would require an experienced hand to unravel. Perhaps, one would have to admit that designing a compressor is both an art and a science. Indeed one could very well say that science itself becomes art when it is well understood and well practiced.