Piston compressor and method of operating the same

Abstract

The piston compressor comprises a cylinder as well as a piston arranged therein, a carrier housing with a crosshead mounted in the carrier housing, a spacer which connects the cylinder to the carrier housing, as well as a piston rod extending in a longitudinal direction (L) which connects the crosshead to the piston, wherein the spacer comprises a plurality of support arms, wherein the support arms are connected to and support the cylinder.

1 . Piston compressor comprising a cylinder and a piston arranged therein, a carrier housing with a crosshead mounted in the carrier housing, a spacer which connects the cylinder to the carrier housing, and a piston rod extending in a longitudinal direction (L), which connects the crosshead to the piston, the spacer comprising a plurality of support arms extending in the longitudinal direction (L), wherein the support arms are each individually connected to the cylinder towards the cylinder. 
     
     
         2 . Piston compressor according to  claim 1 , wherein the cylinder has a plurality of attachment points, and wherein one support arm is attached to one attachment point in each case. 
     
     
         3 . Piston compressor according to  claim 2 , wherein the attachment points are mutually symmetrically arranged with respect to the longitudinal direction (L). 
     
     
         4 . Piston compressor according to  claim 3 , wherein the cylinder has a plane of symmetry (S) extending in the longitudinal direction (L) along the piston rod, and wherein the attachment points and the support arms are arranged symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry (S). 
     
     
         5 . Piston compressor according to  claim 1 , wherein the spacer is U-shaped, with two support arms extending in the longitudinal direction (L), and the cylinder has two attachment points to which the support arms are fastened. 
     
     
         6 . Piston compressor according to  claim 2 , wherein each attachment point has a width (C) in the circumferential direction of the cylinder in the range between 10° and 30°. 
     
     
         7 . Piston compressor according to  claim 4 , wherein the cylinder comprises an inlet valve and an outlet valve, and the inlet valve and the outlet valve are mutually symmetrical with respect to the plane of symmetry (S). 
     
     
         8 . Piston compressor according to  claim 7 , wherein the cylinder comprises a first cylinder cover as well as a second cylinder cover, and wherein both the first and the second cylinder cover comprise an inlet valve as well as an outlet valve, so that the cylinder and the piston are double-acting. 
     
     
         9 . Piston compressor according to  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of cylinders with pistons arranged therein are arranged mutually spaced apart on the carrier housing and are each connected to the carrier housing via a separate spacer. 
     
     
         10 . Piston compressor according to  claim 9 , wherein a piston rod is assigned to each piston, wherein the carrier housing is designed as a monoblock, and wherein the monoblock has a number of bores corresponding to the number of piston rods, in each of which bores a crosshead is displaceably mounted, each piston being connected to an assigned crosshead via a piston rod. 
     
     
         11 . Piston compressor according to  claim 10 , wherein the carrier housing and the crosshead are made of a metal having a thermal conductivity in the range between 100 and 300 (W/m·K). 
     
     
         12 . Piston compressor according to  claim 11 , wherein the carrier housing and the crosshead are made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. 
     
     
         13 . Piston compressor according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the cylinder and the piston consists of a metal with a thermal conductivity in the range between 100 and 300 (W/m·K). 
     
     
         14 . Piston compressor according to  claim 13 , wherein the cylinder and the piston are made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. 
     
     
         15 . A method of operating a reciprocating compressor comprising a cylinder and a piston disposed therein, a carrier housing having a crosshead mounted in the carrier housing, a spacer connecting the cylinder to the carrier housing, and a piston rod extending in a longitudinal direction (L) and connecting the crosshead to the piston, wherein the spacer comprises a plurality of support arms extending in the longitudinal direction, wherein the support arms are each connected individually to the cylinder towards the cylinder via attachment points, so that thermal energy, due to a thermal difference between the attachment points, is not exchanged directly in the circumferential direction relative to the longitudinal direction (L) between the attachment points, but via the support arms extending in the longitudinal direction (L). 
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 15 , wherein an inlet fluid (F E ) is supplied to the cylinder via an inlet valve, and wherein the fluid located in the cylinder is expelled from the cylinder as an outlet fluid (F A ) via an outlet valve, wherein the inlet valve and the outlet valve are arranged symmetrically with respect to a symmetry plane (S) extending along the longitudinal direction (L) of the piston rod, so that the cylinder is heated during the conveyance of the fluid in the region of the plane of symmetry (S) to an average temperature which lies between the temperature of the inlet fluid (F E ) and the outlet fluid (F A ), and wherein the support arms are connected to the cylinder in the region of the plane of symmetry (S) via attachment points. 
     
     
         17 . Method according to  claim 16 , wherein the inlet fluid (F E ) is supplied at a temperature in the range between −162° C. and −40° C., and wherein the outlet fluid (F A ) is heated by compression by a temperature difference in the range between 100° C. and 150° C. 
     
     
         18 . Method according to  claim 16 , wherein the attachment points each have a center point S 3  in the region of the plane of symmetry (S), which are tempered to essentially the same temperature during the conveying of the fluid. 
     
     
         19 . Method according to  claim 15 , wherein the spacer is U-shaped, with a support section and two support arms extending in the longitudinal direction (L), wherein thermal energy is exchanged between the cylinder and the carrier housing via the support arms and the support section. 
     
     
         20 . Method according to  claim 18 , wherein each attachment point has a width (C) in the circumferential direction of the cylinder in the range between 10° and 30°, wherein each attachment point is arranged symmetrically with respect to the center point S 3 , and wherein thermal energy is transmitted in the circumferential direction from the respective support arm along the attachment point. 
     
     
         21 . Method according to  claim 16 , wherein the piston rod extends in the region of the plane of symmetry (S) and is tempered to substantially the same temperature as the attachment points while the fluid is conveyed.