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Citation: Jiang, B. and Fitzgerald, B., “Development of an Optimized Rotary Screw Air Compressor for the Electrical Vehicle Air Brake
Systems/Suspension Systems on Trucks and Buses,” SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility 4(3):936-942, 2022, doi:10.4271/2021-01-1281.
This article was presented at the Brake Colloquium & Exhibition, October 17-20, 2021.
Abstract
“VMAC” has 35 years’ experience developing, manufac-
A
ir brake systems and their reciprocating air compres- turing, and supporting their rotary screw technology on
sors are incumbent, legislated, and mature technolo- mobile platforms globally. “VMAC” has taken on the chal-
gies integral to commercial trucks and especially the lenge of developing an EV screw compressor solution for the
Class 8 Diesel Semi-Truck industry. The introduction of the electric-semi and bus application.
Class 8 Electric-Semi Truck (electric-semi) will displace diesel Based upon potential commercial electric-semi manu-
driven trucks over time. The air brake systems and the require- facturer demands the author analyzes the inherent advantages
ment for an air compressor will not be displaced for the fore- and disadvantages of different compressor technologies, their
seeable future and the requirements will be inherited by the working boundary conditions and creates the basic tech-
new electric-semi industry. The industry shall have to work nology specifications to meet the air deliver rate and discharge
hard to optimize the air compressor for this new electric pressure requirements. Screw compressor technology has a
platform that demands high energy density, high efficiency, reputation of high reliability, high energy efficiency and it is
low mass, excellent NVH management, small space claim, suited for extreme climatic conditions. It will be one potential
high levels of durability and reliability, low and easy mainte- candidate for electric-semi air brake systems. The primary
nance over a life of 20 years. As with all systems on an electric- design output requirements are considered to be 354 LPM
semi truck the benefits must be delivered with the best-in-class (liter per minutes) or 12.5 CFM (cube feet per minutes) with
total cost of ownership to ensure fleet customers’ switching discharge pressure range 1.02~1.36 MPa or 150~200 PSI. This
costs are low and their investment has a rapid payback. broad air and pressure range is possible due to the character-
Reciprocating compressors traditionally used in this istic of the screw compressor air deliver/RPM curve being flat.
market are not optimized for these new requirements. This paper describes the unique approach “VMAC” has
Alternative compressor technologies will be adopted, such as taken to optimize rotary screw compressor technology to deliver
rotary screw, scroll, rotary vane, or possibly other technologies the performance required by electric-semi’s and electric buses.
may replace piston compressor technology completely as part This development introduces a single stage rotary screw tech-
of the electrification of semi-trucks. Successful compressors nology into the mini-compressor world for a high air pressure
in the electric-semi market can be expected to deliver solu- application. The product is currently being prepared for low -
tions to the electric bus markets too if they have the capability medium volume production with high volume production poten-
of being highly reliable at very high duty cycles. tial in 2022. The performance and unique technology features as
Each of the compressor technologies weak points must they pertain to the electric-semi market are described in this
be addressed to the extent possible and must be designed paper. “VMAC” has verified that dramatically decreasing the size
specifically for the application by the technology specialists of the rotary screw technology addresses the high efficiency, size,
in order to compete in this market. mass, space claim, and reliability for this new application.
Key Word
Screw Compressor, Electrical vehicle air brake, Screw rotor
profile, Energy efficiency
T
he air compressor is a mature machine technology, continually developed and optimized existing technologies
which is widely used in air conditioning equipment, to satisfy the growing demand for performance and reli-
for engine superchargers, and in air suspension as abilit y in the vehicle market. Rotar y compressor
© 2021 VMAC Global Technology Inc. Published by SAE International. This Open Access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author(s) and the source are credited.
936
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Jiang and Fitzgerald / SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022 937
938 Jiang and Fitzgerald / SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022
compressed air power density to enable a compact compressor TABLE 1 Comparison of rotor profile of Alpha and Beta
to provide high pressure air to allow for smaller receiver tanks. compressor
The screw’s rotor profile is a key design element, and it Alpha screw Beta screw
effects all aspects of compressor behaviors. The most common Items compressor rotor compressor rotor
size of male rotor in commercial products is between 75 Male rotor outer 68.0 mm 48.0 mm
~620 mm [9] and the smallest one in screw compressor products
Jiang and Fitzgerald / SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022 939
3. Verified Test and Data FIGURE 5 Air Delivery and Shaft Power of Alpha and Beta
compressor curve.
Analysis
An EC10 encapsulated compressor test system and test bench
has been built for prototype testing to verify the compressor’s
preformance. Fig.3 is a simplified schematic diagram of the
compressor installed in the test set up that allows simulation
of a working air brake system on a semi-truck.
In Fig 3, Item 1 is a power drive unit, which is an AC
motor with belt and pulley components for Alpha prototype,
940 Jiang and Fitzgerald / SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022
power, and volume efficiency at 6.8~13.6 Bar (100~200 PSI) FIGURE 8 EC 10 encapsulated compressor typical
discharge pressure with an air deliver rate of 140~650 LPM simulation cycle and measurement data.
(liter per minute).
A comparison of the Alpha and Beta compressors’
measured performance data demonstrates that the energy and
volume efficiency of the Beta unit is higher than the Alpha
unit between 150-650 LPM and a discharge pressure range of
6.8-13.6 bar. The Beta compressor’s efficiency improvement
matches our numerical analysis of the new J-rotor profile
design because the new profile significantly reduces the
internal leak losses between the high pressure chamber to the
Jiang and Fitzgerald / SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022 941
be allowed to occur within the compressor lubrication system FIGURE 9 Water content burn-off rate test result at typical
as it directly impacts the lubrication mechanism causing operating conditions
bearings to rapidly fail and any other parts requiring lubrica-
tion as part their function will prematurely fail. By selecting
appropriate compressor oil plus suitable oil change interval,
the emulsion water portion is well controlled by compressor
manufacturers. The dissolved water portion slightly affects
the viscosity of the overall lubricant, which leads to a boundary
condition change in the oil film such as pressure and thickness
942 Jiang and Fitzgerald / SAE Int. J. Advances & Curr. Prac. in Mobility, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022
the electric-semi application. The result is a larger, heavier, 4. Sen, S., “Numerical Simulation of Oil Separator of an
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Acknowledgments
Electrical Compressor in EV,” SAE Technical Paper 2011-28- The project has been received funding from The National
0063 (2011). https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-28-0063. Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance
3. Jaybhay, S., Nagarhalli, P., Tadigadapa, S., and Hari Kapoor, S., Program. The opinions in this document are reflected by
“Energy Efficient Air Conditioned Buses,” SAE Technical Paper author. The National Research Council of Canada is not liable
2015-26-0044 (2015). https://doi.org/10.4271/2015-26-0044. for any use that may be made of information.
© 2021 VMAC Global Technology Inc. Published by SAE International. This Open Access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author(s) and the
source are credited.
Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of SAE International. Responsibility for the content of the work lies
solely with the author(s).
e-ISSN 2641-9645