Investigation of the Influence of Working Chamber Design Schemes on the Tribological Characteristics of Nonlubricated Rotary Vane Machines

The article presents results of experimental and theoretical studies to determine the integrated energy characteristics, operational performance and service life of the seals in the working chamber of a nonlubricated rotary vane compressor under various design configurations and friction conditions of the tribological contacts. As a result, a new working chamber design is proposed, incorporating profiled vanes and load‑relieving rolling bearings; its use makes it possible to reduce the sliding speed in the chamber’s tribological contacts by up to ten times. Implementing the new working chamber design in a rotary vane compressor, compared with the conventional configuration, increases the operability of the sealing vanes by 2.5 to 7.5 times depending on environmental conditions and machine speed, and enables a seal service life of up to 20 000 h.