Influence of Lubricating Oil on Chiller of Refrigeration System

Influence of Lubricating Oil on Chiller of Refrigeration System

The lubricating oil system is an indispensable part of the normal operation of all refrigeration system chillers. It provides lubrication and cooling conditions for the components of the equipment. Screw chillers and some piston chillers also need to use lubricating oil to control energy regulation devices or extraction recovery devices.
At present, the piston chiller stores lubricating oil in the crankcase of the compressor, while the screw chiller has an independent lubricating oil system, its own oil storage, and an oil cooler specially used to reduce the oil temperature. Therefore, whether the oil temperature, oil pressure difference and oil level are appropriate or not will have an important impact on the chiller.

1. Oil pressure difference

It is the guarantee for the lubricating oil to overcome the flow resistance when it flows to the various working parts in the oil system pipeline under the drive of the oil pump. Without sufficient oil pressure difference, it is impossible to ensure that the chiller’s lubrication system has sufficient lubricating and cooling oil volume, as well as the power required to drive the energy adjustment device. Therefore, the oil pressure difference of the chiller oil system must be kept within a reasonable range so that the moving parts of the equipment can be fully lubricated and cooled.

2. Oil level height

It refers to the liquid level of lubricating oil in the oil storage container. The oil storage container of the chiller is equipped with an oil level display device. It is generally stipulated that the oil level in the oil storage container should be 5mm above and below the central horizontal line of the sight glass. The purpose of specifying the oil level is to ensure the amount of oil required for oil circulation when the oil pump is working. If the oil level is too low, it will easily cause insufficient oil pump, which will cause operation failure or damage equipment.

3. Oil temperature

The oil temperature refers to the temperature of the lubricating oil when the chiller is working. The oil temperature will have an important impact on the viscosity of lubricating oil. If the oil temperature is too low, the viscosity of the oil will increase, the fluidity will decrease, and it will not be easy to form a uniform oil film, so the expected lubrication effect cannot be achieved, and it will also cause the flow speed of the oil to decrease, reduce the amount of lubrication, and reduce the power consumption of the oil pump. increase. If the oil temperature is too high, the viscosity of the oil will decrease, and the oil film will not reach a certain thickness, making it difficult for the running parts to withstand the necessary working pressure, resulting in deterioration of the lubrication condition, aggravating the wear of the moving parts, and causing the chiller to malfunction.

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