Introduction to Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems
Lecture 3 Engineering 475 Automated Production Systems
Prime Movers
Practically every industrial process requires objects to be moved, manipulated, held, or subjected to some type of force. The three most commonly employed methods for producing the required forces/motions are:
Electrical motors, solenoids Air Pneumatics Liquids - Hydraulics
Source of Words
Hydraulics Hydra (Greek for water) aulos (Greek for pipe) Pneumatic - Pneumn (Greek for wind or breath)
Pneumatic Systems
Pneumatic systems are widely used in industrial automation systems. Common Applications Push-pull Pick-n-place Lifting Holding Air-driven hand tools
www.opusautomation.com
Air Distribution Systems
Air Compressor Dryers Distribution Regulators Control Valves Filters Cylinders Air tools
www.knowpressure.org
Raising a Weight Pneumatically
Air Compressors
Industrial air compressors are the primary source of compressed air in industrial plants. Industrial air compressors come in many different sizes. The air compressors supporting major industrial plants can be quite large and are a critical piece of capital equipment.
www.aircompressorworks.com
Control Valves
There are three principal types of control valves used in pneumatic systems.
Direction Control used to control the flow direction Usually solenoid driven Flow Control used to control the flow rate
Pressure Control Regulates P across valve We will look at control valves in detail during Class 4.
Anatomy of a Hydraulic/Pneumatic Cylinder
Anatomy
(Continued)
Piston Seals
Seals
Leakage from a hydraulic or pneumatic system can be a major problem. Loss of efficiency Increased power usage Loss of load capacity Environmental Damage Safety Hazard Sloppy/dirty equipment
O-ring Seal
U-seal
O-Rings
O-rings are one of the most versatile seals that are used in many different applications.
Compressive Sealing Force
Non-pressurized O-ring Installation
O-ring Deformation Under Load
The sealing force acting on an O-ring increases as the pressure is increased.
If the pressure is increased too high, the O-ring will extrude into the gap between the surfaces being sealed.
O-ring Failure
Failure of the O-ring fails if excessive pressure is applied.
The rated pressure of an O-ring installation can be significantly increased through the use of anti-extrusion rings.
No Anti-Extrusion Ring
Anti-Extrusion Ring
O-ring Glands
Tables are available in handbooks that make gland design straight forward.
Parker O-ring Handbook
U-Seals
U-seals are frequently used in pneumatic cylinders Pressure acting on the inside of the lips force the outside of the lips against the surfaces to be sealed. Composite seal used to increase the pressure rating of a U-seal
Pressure Regulators
Relief Valves Relief Valves are used to ensure that the receiver tank or line pressure do not exceed predetermined values.
Simple
Balanced Piston
Parr, Fig. 2.6
Pressure Regulators
Non-relieving
Pressure drop across the valve is used to control downstream pressure. An increase in downstream pressure causes the poppet to restrict the opening which causes in increase pressure drop.
Filters
Water vapor will turn into liquid water when compressed. How much water is created depends on the humidity in the air and the inlet and compressed air pressures. Filters are used to remove liquid water from the compressed air. Filters can be found between the compressor and the storage tank or at the inlet to a particular piece of equipment.
Example of filter located at inlet to equipment
www.aircompressorworks.com
Filter/Regulator
This filter/regulator combination unit is used in the UTM Lab. G particle filtration down to 5 m. G water separation G relieving type pressure regulator G regulating range, 8-125 psi G maximum supply pressure, 220 psi
Lubricators
Some pneumatic equipment requires that a small amount of oil be added to the supply air to lubricate moving parts (i.e. air tools).
Service Units
Service Units are a combination of a moisture separator, a pressure regulator, a pressure indicator, a lubricator, and a filter. These combination units are frequently used at workstations that use pneumatic tools.
