In-Line Sphere Arrays as Pressure Pulsation and Pipeline Vibration Dampers in Reciprocating Compressor Manifold

Pressure pulsations and pipeline vibrations are unfavorable phenomena generated by the periodic operation of the volumetric compressors. The variable speed of the compressor shaft generates pulsations and vibrations of different frequencies, which means that Helmholtz resonators and tuned mass dampers are not the most effective devices to reduce these phenomena. One of the possibilities to dampen pulsations in a wide range of frequencies, is to place shaped nozzles in the compressor discharge manifold. However, the nozzles significantly affect the compression power by restricting the flow from the wall to the centre of the pipe. Therefore, the influence of elements placed on the axis of the pipeline with spherical shapes was investigated. In this research, 3D-printed nozzles with a different numbers of spheres were tested. Research shows how a number of spheres in the array influence the damping of pressure pulsation and pipeline vibration.