Air Receiver Sizing

This calculation uses the air consumption rate of the instruments and determines the size of an air receiver based on the time required to meet a minimum pressure. The minimum pressure is generally the low pressure set point of a compressor. The initial pressure is the design pressure the receiver. The calculation is displayed symbolically as:

If the compressor only runs when the low level pressure is met, then the Flow_in would equal zero.

 

Air Receiver Sizing Formula
\(\large{ AR =  \frac{ p_{atm} \: t \; \left(Q_{out} \;-\; Q_{in} \right)  }{p_i \;-\; p_f }  }\)
Symbol	English	Metric
\(\large{ AR }\) = air receiver size	\(\large{gal}\)	\(\large{L}\)
\(\large{ Q_{in} }\) = flow in	\(\large{\frac{ft^3}{sec}}\)	\(\large{\frac{m^3}{s}}\)
\(\large{ Q_{out} }\) = flow out	\(\large{\frac{ft^3}{sec}}\)	\(\large{\frac{m^3}{s}}\)
\(\large{ p_{atm} }\) = atmospheric pressure	\(\large{\frac{lbf}{in^2}}\)	\(\large{Pa}\)
\(\large{ p_f }\) = final pressure	\(\large{\frac{lbf}{in^2}}\)	\(\large{Pa}\)
\(\large{ p_i }\) = initial pressure	\(\large{\frac{lbf}{in^2}}\)	\(\large{Pa}\)
\(\large{ t }\) = time	\(\large{sec}\)	\(\large{s}\)