🔍 Key Concepts

• Two-stage reciprocating air compressor design and purpose • Relationship between pressure, volume, and cylinder size (Boyle’s Law: P₁V₁ = P₂V₂) • How low-pressure (LP) and high-pressure (HP) cylinders share the work in stages

💭 Think About

• In a two-stage compressor, which cylinder handles the air first, and at what pressure and volume? How does that affect its required diameter? • As pressure increases from the first stage to the second, what happens to the air volume, and how should the cylinder size change to handle that new volume? • Think about heat and mechanical stress: would the higher-pressure stage typically use a larger or smaller cylinder to safely compress already-compressed air?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify clearly which cylinder (LP or HP) deals with the larger volume / lower pressure air. • Recall that higher pressure air occupies less volume, so consider how that affects the required cylinder diameter. • Check whether any option suggests a condition that would defeat the purpose of staging the compression (splitting work between a large-volume stage and a small-volume stage).