Thermodynamic Losses in a Gas Spring: Comparison of Experimental and Numerical Results

Reciprocating-piston devices can be used as high-efficiency compressors and/or expanders. With an optimal valve design and by carefully adjusting valve timing, pressure losses during intake and exhaust can be largely reduced. The main loss mechanism in reciprocating devices is then the thermal irreversibility due to the unsteady heat transfer between the compressed/expanded gas and the surrounding cylinder walls. In this paper, pressure, volume and temperature measurements in a piston-cylinder crankshaft driven gas spring are compared to numerical results. The experimental apparatus experiences mass leakage while the CFD code predicts heat transfer in an ideal closed gas spring. Comparison of experimental and numerical results allows one to better understand the loss mechanisms in play. Heat and mass losses in the experiment are decoupled and the system losses are calculated over a range of frequencies. As expected, compression and expansion approach adiabatic processes for higher frequencies, resulting in higher efficiency. The objective of this study is to observe and explain the discrepancies obtained between the computational and experimental results and to propose further steps to improve the analysis of the loss mechanisms