Drivetrain
Technical classification of mechanically driven compressors
Compressors are classified according to their operating principle into positive displacement compressors and dynamic compressors. Positive displacement compressors convey the medium in enclosed working chambers and generate pressure by reducing the volume. This design can be further divided into systems without internal compression, in which the pressure build-up only takes place in the downstream system, and systems with internal compression, in which the pressure increase already takes place within the working chamber. Typical examples are Roots blowers and screw and piston compressors.
Turbo compressors operate on a fundamentally different principle. They convey the medium continuously without enclosed conveying chambers. The pressure is generated by accelerating the medium and then converting the kinetic energy into static pressure. This design is usually used in the form of radial or axial compressors and is extremely rare in the field of mechanically driven chargers, as flow compressors are usually designed as exhaust gas turbochargers in practice.
The ASA compressor is a mechanically driven turbo compressor and thus differs fundamentally in design from classic Roots or screw systems. It combines the characteristic advantages of a flow compressor—continuous flow rate, high speed capability, and favorable efficiency at higher pressure ratios—with a direct mechanical drive concept, making it a technically exceptional solution in the field of mechanical supercharging.
How it works
The compressor is usually driven by a belt pulley. A helical gear transmits the input speed to the output speed. The compressor shaft, which is guided by roller bearings, reaches speeds of up to 110,000 rpm in the standard version and up to 130,000 rpm in special versions. The compressor wheel mounted on the shaft sucks in the fluid and accelerates it. In the compressor housing, the speed of the fluid is converted into pressure.
Operational behavior
Depending on the speed of the compressor wheel, an air mass flow and pressure ratio can be assigned in the corresponding compressor map. The maximum air mass and the maximum pressure ratio are limited by the dimensions of the compressor. Each operating point is assigned an efficiency.
Thanks to its unique sealing technology, the ASA TurboMex can be throttled on the suction side. A throttle before the compressor ensures that only the amount of air required by the consumer is compressed. The ASA TurboMex is designed for the resulting negative pressure. The possibility of suction throttling leads to an increase in the efficiency of the overall system in partial load operation of the motor (or compressed air consumer in general), as no loss-prone bypass air flow is required.
The ASA radial compressor combines:
- Enormous power density: High compressor performance (mass flow and pressure ratio) with low component weight and small installation volume.
- High efficiency across a wide operating range, with optimum efficiency at the design point.
- Contact-free seal: no wear-prone sealing elements, no friction loss.
- Throttle before inlet => no bypass control required.
- Gearing type guarantees vibration-free, quiet operation.
- Pulsation-free charge air.
Its transmission is characterized by:
- Silent running due to helical gearing and decades of optimization of the gear geometry
- Compact installation space
- Large transmission ratio of i= 1:15 (T1) and 1:7 (T6)
- High efficiency
As the first, and still only, high-speed mechanically driven radial turbo-compressor with gearing, our technology has proven itself reliably in practice many times over since 1995, undergoing continuous optimization.
The ASA range includes various direct drives and couplings for our compressors. These are
- Various pulleys with different offset and diameters
- Centrifugal clutches in 3 sizes (Ko5, K05+, and K07) for different torques with adjustable engagement speed and torque amplification
- Adapter shafts for drive without clutch
- RS-HTS hydraulic vibration damper for smooth idling even with engines with high rotational vibration
