A variety of applications in several fields make use of compressed air and one of the most common application is high pressure storage in tanks up to 500 bar for breathing air systems. The compression can be performed in four or five stages, depending on the final pressure required, using lubricated or oil-free compressors with variable rotation speed up to 1800rpm.
Other applications such as air propulsion circuits, motion compensation for semi-submersible rigs, underwater hammering or underwater survey activities use high pressure compressed air (usually between 200 and 450bar) for the operation of special equipment.
Underwater survey activity (seismic application), for example, is one of the main activities performed by Oil &Gas companies in order to locate interest areas for the extraction of oil and natural gas. Using airguns to create underwater sound waves and applying seismology, the companies are able to find oilfields for offshore extraction beneath the Earth’s crust.
Valve design for each specific application has to take into account a wide range of parameters including variable compressor speed and high discharge temperatures, always providing the highest reliability.
