DESCRIPTION

Technical Description

Compressed air for industry and businesses that use compressed air as an energy source is generated by means of so-called compressed air generation systems. A key component of these systems is the compressor. It converts the supplied mechanical energy into a higher air pressure. Compressed air generation systems are used to drive machines in mining, for pneumatic control systems in assembly plants or tyre inflation systems at petrol stations.

ET 500 includes a complete compressed air generation system with a two-stage compressor and an additional pressure vessel as intercooler. The trainer enables the recording of compressor characteristics and representing the compression process in a p-V diagram.

The air is sucked into the intake vessel and calmed there before it is compressed in two stages. The additional pressure vessel for intercooling is located between the first and second stage. After the second stage, the compressed air is pressed into another pressure vessel through a cooling tube. To achieve a steady state, the compressed air can be released through a blow-off valve with silencer. Safety valves and a pressure switch complete the system.

Sensors measure the pressures and temperatures in both stages as well as the electric power consumption. A nozzle at the intake vessel serves to determine the intake volumetric flow rate. The measured values can be read on digital displays. At the same time, the measured values can also be transmitted directly to a PC via USB. The data acquisition software is included.

The well-structured instructional material sets out the fundamentals and provides a step-by-step guide through the experiments.

Learning Objectives / Experiments
- design and function of a two-stage compressor
- measurement of relevant pressures and temperatures
- determination of the intake volumetric air flow rate
- compression process on a p-V diagram
- determination of the efficiency