A Numerical Study of Convective Heat Transfer in the Compression Chambers of Scroll Compressors

Convective heat transfer in the compression chambers of scroll compressors affects important quantities associated with the compression cycle, such as the volumetric efficiency and the discharge gas temperature. In spite of its relevance, heat transfer in scroll compressors has not been sufficiently studied mainly due to difficulties associated with its geometry. This paper presents a numerical model developed to predict the convective heat transfer in the compression chambers of scroll compressors, by applying the finite volume method to solve the conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy. An equation of state for real gas was also considered to complete the system of equations and relate pressure, temperature and density along the compression cycle. Due to the singular geometry of scroll compressors, an algorithm was developed to adapt the computational mesh throughout the simulation. The near wall region plays an important role on heat transfer and hence a low Reynolds turbulence model was adopted in the solution procedure. Results for convective heat transfer coefficient are compared with values returned by correlations commonly adopted in the literature