| Summary: | The Coupled Vane Compressor (CVC) is a new type of rotary compressor that is probably the world’s most compact rotary compressor. This unique design is relatively new and have yet to go through many studies and design optimisations to improve its efficiency. The irreversibility of the suction, compression and discharge processes have been identified as the main culprits for energy loses. Since the CVC has a unique discharge chamber that has three discharge ports with a reed valve covering each port, it is of interest to investigate the flow phenomenon in that region. In this study, a 2D transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study on single port reed valve was conducted to identify the critical flow regions and establish the foundation for future multi-port reed valve study. It was found that effects of pressure ratio and maximum valve opening angle possess a linear relationship with the mass flow rate through the discharge chamber. On the other hand, varying the diameter of the discharge port displayed little to no correlation. An empirical model was developed to relate the mass flow rate with pressure ratio and valve maximum opening angle simultaneously. This model has yielded predictions with errors up to 8.21%. Although the results were promising, further validation of the results through 3D study, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis and physical experiments are still required.
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