Air compressors are among the effortless machines that are used for multiple purposes, but one slight negligence from setting it up to using the compressor can lead to complications and money loss.
So, is the duty cycle that is quite important in a compressor, a minor inconvenience can result in an increase in operating current that can result in conditions like explosion etc. That’s why air compressors are so dependent on the duty cycle and this is what makes it an important variable.
Considering such complexities, it is necessary to calculate the correct duty cycle of an air compressor. In this article, we have talked about how to calculate the duty cycle alongside multiple examples to make it easy to understand.
How to calculate the duty cycle of an air compressor?
Let me first get into what it actually is? Duty cycle is known as the run time vs the rest time of the air compressor. This is calculated by taking the total amount of time that the compressor was working/operating.
Now this operating period includes its starting time, its working period and the time it stops. More commonly, it is the amount of time that a compressor will spend cycling on and off while operating at a constant pressure and CFM. The amount of time it takes to empty the tank and then refill it is regarded to be one complete cycle.
Calculating the Duty Cycle of an Air Compressor
As mentioned above, for the calculation it will take place by dividing the total run time of the compressor.
Compressor run time divided by (run time plus rest time) equals duty cycle %.
For further explanation, we will take an example here, by considering an air compressor with a duty cycle of 20 minutes, and which needs to run for 5 minutes. By using the duty cycle formula, the computation is carried out as follows:
We will divide 5 minutes by 20 minutes is 0.25, which is equivalent to a duty cycle of 50 percent. This calculation reveals that the compressor is only capable of providing pressured air for a total of 5 minutes before it needs to be turned off for a period of about three minutes before you can use it again.
Now just by giving one example it must be clear how much importance the duty cycle calculation holds in itself for the proper and normal functioning of an air compressor.
It would be no wrong to say that duty cycle is the main calculation on which the whole game of air compressor relies. On the other side, there are some compressors that are designed with thermal protection that are constructed with duty cycle completion built in features.
Due to this, the compressor will shut them down automatically, but despite all this it is still your job to ensure that the compressor does not become overworked by turning it off for the appropriate period of time.
Explanation of calculating duty cycle:
So far, we have discussed the air compressor duty cycle with its run time, as earlier that when it will start, work and stops but there is another scenario too. In most cases, the duty cycle is calculated by dividing the amount of time that the compressor was really running by the total amount of time that the cycle was active.
R = D x T
Just like the mathematical derivatives, the R is the run time, where D is the duty cycle and T is the total time period. Let’s make a calculation, with the help of another example where we will take an air compressor with a total duty cycle time of 5 minutes and assume that your compressor is continuously working for a minute.
With these statistics, we will divide both of these values and will get the calculation of 0.2 which is the duty cycle of the compressor, which is 20%.
In this instance, this indicates that the compressor will supply pressurized air for a period of sixty seconds, after which you will be required to wait sixty seconds before receiving additional compressed air to utilize.
Why this happens is because it is an essential measurement tool for determining the appropriate size of an air compressor.
Importance of calculating the duty cycle:
As far as the working of the compressor is concerned with the duty cycle, there is a lot more than this what duty cycle is used for. It is mainly important for how an air compressor works on a mechanism of on and off cycling.
After that, it also helps you when you determine the size of your air compressor.
This ratio helps you understand how the compressor will operate and whether or not it will meet your air requirements.
Conclusion:
Besides being a necessary reading or calculation for an air compressor, there is not enough information on the internet regarding the importance and calculation of the duty cycle of an air compressor. I hope by reading this article you now have enough knowledge about the duty cycle which we have explained by using different examples for better practical knowledge.
For more, we have more articles based on this topic, if you want to have a deep understanding and knowledge about the duty cycle you can take a look at those.
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