LECTURE NOTES 5 – ACTUATORS

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

After the completion of the chapter, students will be able to:
1. Define actuators as components responsible for moving and controlling mechanisms or systems.
2. Differentiate hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, and electrical actuators.
3. Discuss the working principles of DC and AC motors, stepper motors, and servo motors

ACTUATORS
• Component responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system
• Uses form of power to convert a control signal into mechanical motion
• Actuator requires a control signal and a source of energy
• The control signal is relatively low energy and may be electric voltage or current, pneumatic, or
hydraulic pressure, or even human power.
• When it receives control signal, an actuator responds by converting the source’s energy into
mechanical motion

Functional Diagram

Types of Actuators
1. Hydraulic actuator
2. Pneumatic actuator
3. Mechanical actuator
4. Electrical actuator

HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR
• Converts hydraulic energy into mechanical energy

Parts of Hydraulic Actuator

• Barrel or Hydraulic Actuator Cylinder – part of the actuator where the oil enters and leaves the
hydraulic cylinders
• Hydraulic seals – block the passage of oil from one side of the Piston to the other of the hydraulic
cylinders.
• Stem – chrome bar that allows the transmission of force generated by the oil inlet pressure in the
hydraulic cylinders
 LECTURE NOTES 5 – ACTUATORS

• Piston – inlet or outlet flow inside the barrel pushes the piston or plunger of hydraulic cylinders

Types of Hydraulic Actuator

• Single acting cylinder. Linear movement is carried out in one direction by the action of the hydraulic
pressure. The return movement can be mechanically by an internal spring returned with the external
mechanical force when it stops having hydraulic pressure.

• Double acting cylinder. Linear hydraulic actuators that perform the movement in both directions by
means of hydraulic pressure. The piston stroke in double-acting cylinders is much longer than a
single-acting cylinder.

• Rotary hydraulic actuators. Continuous rotation or rotation by a certain number of degrees, to perform
a small turn of a few degrees or up to 360 degrees, that is, one turn.

PNEUMATIC ACTUATOR
• Converts energy formed by compressed air at high pressure into either linear or rotary motion

Parts of Pneumatic Actuator

 LECTURE NOTES 5 – ACTUATORS

• Initially, in the absence of any supplied air, the control valve remains open and the diaphragm is pulled
upwards by the action of the spring.
• The direction, rate of flow along with the pressure of the fluid, is controlled by a flow control valve.
• The spring unit manages to carry the air from one location to another and provides return stroke to
the piston.
• When the air is drawn from the atmosphere then it is filtered by a filter and is provided to the
compressor. The compressor now compresses the air that causes an increase in the pressure level.
• With the increase in the pressure of supply air, the diaphragm continuously moves in the downward
direction and this completely closes the control valve at a certain point of time.
• While once this supply pressure decreases, then the force that is applied by the spring on the
diaphragm overcomes the force due to supplied pressure. This causes motion in the upward direction
of the diaphragm thereby opening the control valve.

ELECTRICAL ACTUATORS

1. Switching Devices: Mechanical switches to control signal electrical device (e.g. motor, heater,etc.)
e.g. relays, and solid-state switches, e.g. diodes, thyristors, and transistors.
2. Solenoid-type Devices: Current through a solenoid is used to actuate / operate hydraulic / pneumatic
valve to control the flow.
3. Drive Systems: D.C. and A.C. motors (current through motor is used to produce rotation).

Mechanical Switches
• Elements, used as sensors to give input to systems
• Interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another.

Mechanical Switches: Electrical Relay

• Example of a mechanical switch used in control systems as an actuator
• Relays are electrically operand switches
• Consist of a set of input terminals for a single or multiple control signals, and a set of contact terminals
• Switch may have any number of contacts in multiple contact forms, to make contacts or break
contacts.
• Used to control circuit by an independent low power signal, or several circuits must be controlled by
one signal
• Traditional relay uses an electromagnet to close or open the contacts
• A relay has electrical and mechanical components, hence it is an electromechanical device.
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• It consists of three contact terminal known as

o Common (COM)
o Normally Closed (NC)
o Normally Opened (NO)
• In order to control the electric circuit, the relays close and open these contacts.
• An electromechanical relay consists of three terminals namely common (COM), normally closed (NC),
• These can either get opened or closed when the relay is in operation.
• Electromechanical relay works on both AC and DC supply.
• Relays work on the principle of electromagnetic induction.
• Changing a current in one electric circuit, switches current on or off in another circuit

• Current through the solenoid relay produces magnetic field, which attracts iron armature, moves the
push rod.
• Closes the NO switch contacts and opens the NC switch contacts

Mechanical Switches: Electrical Relay – Limitations of Relay

• Relays are inductances, generate a back voltage, when the energizing current is switched off or when
the input switches from a high to low signal, results in a damaging the circuit.
• To overcome this, a diode is connected across the relay.
• When the back e.m.f. occurs, the diode conducts and shorts it out, such a diode is termed a free-
wheeling or flyback diode.

Solenoid-type Devices: Solenoid

• Electromagnetic actuator that converts an electrical signal into a magnetic field
 LECTURE NOTES 5 – ACTUATORS

• Solenoids consist of a coil with an armature

• When a current passes through it, armature is attracted to the coil and produces a magnetic field

• When the current ceases, armature contracts a return spring, which then allows the armature to return
to its original position
• The solenoids can be linear or rotary, on/off or variable positioning and are operated by DC or AC.

Drive Systems: DC motors

• Electric motors, used as control element in positional and speed control systems. Motors classification
are DC and AC motors.
• DC motors are grouped into two: Brush type and Brushless type

Brush type:
o Use brushes to make contact with a commutator ring assembly on the rotor to switch the
current from one rotor winding to another.
o When current flows through the rotor windings, a magnetic field is produced. The commutator,
which is a rotary switch, reverses the direction of the current in the rotor windings as the rotor
turns.
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o This reversal of current ensures that the magnetic field generated by the rotor always repels
the stator's magnetic field, causing the rotor to turn.
o Brushes are used to maintain electrical contact with the rotating commutator.
o They supply electric current to the rotor windings, ensuring continuous rotation.

Brushless type:
o The arrangement is reversed in that the rotor is a permanent magnet and the stator has the
coil winding
o The stator windings are energized in a specific sequence using electronic controllers based
on the rotor's position.
o As the rotor turns, the magnetic fields interact, causing the rotor to follow the rotating magnetic
field and thus turning the motor.
o Unlike brushed motors, brushless motors do not have a physical commutator.
o Commutation is achieved electronically by the controller, which adjusts the current flow in the
stator windings.

Drive Systems: AC motors

• Motor that converts the alternating current into mechanical power by using electromagnetic induction
phenomenon
• The stator and rotor are the two most important parts of the AC motors
• The AC motor may be a single phase or three phase (polyphase)
• In the case of DC motor, a current is passed through the coil, generating a torque on the coil. Typical
components include a stator and a rotor
• The armature of rotor is a magnet and the stator is formed by electromagnetics similar to DC motors

Drive Systems: AC motors limitations

• The main limitation of AC motors over DC motors is speed control is more difficult
• To overcome this limitation, AC motors are equipped with variable frequency drives but the improved
speed control comes together with reduced power quality.

Drive Systems: AC Motors Working Principle

• The AC motor works by applying alternating current to stator windings, which produce a rotating
magnetic field
• The rotor will rotate via the magnetic field and create torque on the drive shaft.
• The speed of rotation varies based on the number of magnetic poles in a stator
• This speed is called synchronous speed.
• Current flowing through conductors energizes the magnets and develops N and S poles.
• The strength of electromagnets depends on the currents.
• First half cycle flows in one direction and in the second half cycle flows in opposite direction.
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Drive Systems: Stepper Motor

• Brushless electromechanical device which converts train of electric pulses applied at their excitation
windings into precisely defined step-by-step mechanical shaft rotation
• The shaft of the motor rotates through a fixed angle for each discrete pulse
• The rotation can be linear or angular

• At the beginning, coil A is energized and the rotor is aligned with the magnetic field it produces.
• When coil B is energized, the rotor rotates clockwise by 60 degrees to align with the new magnetic
field.
• The same happens when coil C is energized.

Drive Systems: Servo Motor

• Servomotors are special electromechanical devices that produce precise degrees of rotation.
• A servo motor is a DC or AC or brushless DC motor combined with a position sensing device.
• Servo motors are called control motors as they are involved in controlling a mechanical system.
• The servo motors are used in a closed-loop servo system.
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• A reference input is sent to the servo amplifier, which controls the speed of servomotor
• A feedback device is mounted on the machine. This device changes mechanical motion into electrical
signals and is used as feedback
• The feedback is sent to the error detector, which compares the actual operation with that of the
reference input.
• If there is an error, that error is fed directly to the amplifier, which will be used to make necessary
corrections in control action.
• In many servo systems, both velocity and position are monitored.
• Servo motors provide accuracy speed, torque, and have ability of direction control.

Integrating Activity
Be prepared for a long exam at the next meeting.