Experimental study on stepless capacity regulation for reciprocating compressor based on novel rotary control valve

• A capacity-regulation system based on a novel rotary control valve for reciprocating compressor is designed.
• The parameters for the design and control of the rotary control valve are theoretically analyzed.
• Continuous stepless capacity regulation for the compressor is realized.
• Power consumption decreases correspondingly with the capacity reduction.

A capacity-regulation system based on a novel rotary control valve for reciprocating refrigeration compressor is proposed and designed for the first time. The regulation system is mainly composed of a rotary control valve and an adaptive regulation system. The structure and working principle of the rotary control valve is described in detail, and the control process of the adaptive regulation system for the valve is studied together with the program design. In addition, the parameters for the design and control of the rotary control valve are theoretically determined. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system, a three-cylinder reciprocating compressor was adopted as a test device. Experimental results showed that the technology was able to realize continuous stepless capacity regulation for the compressor within the range of (0)10–100%, and power consumption decreased correspondingly with the load reduction.