WEEK 16:

TOPIC: PNEUMATIC CONTROL

EQUIPMENT

Prepared by:
Engr. Emiliano P. Heraña Jr.

Faculty CME, ME, MAED

BASIC OF PNEUMATICS AND PNEUMATIC SYSTEMS

Pneumatics has long since played an important role as a technology in the

performance of mechanical work. It is also being used in the development of
automation solutions. Pneumatic systems are similar to hydraulic systems but in
these systems compressed air is used in place of hydraulic fluid.

A pneumatic system is a system that uses compressed air to transmit and control
energy. Pneumatic systems are used extensively in various industries. Most
pneumatic systems rely on a constant supply of compressed air to make them
work. This is provided by an air compressor. The compressor sucks in air from the
atmosphere and stores it in a high pressure tank called a receiver/air tank. This
compressed air is then supplied to the system through a series of pipes and
valves. 4
The word ‘Pneuma’ means air. Pneumatics is all about using compressed air to
do the work. Compressed air is the air from the atmosphere which is reduced in
volume by compression thus increasing its pressure. It is used as a working
medium normally at a pressure of 6 kg/mm2 to 8 kg/mm2. For using pneumatic
systems, maximum force up to 50 kN can be developed. Actuation of the
controls can be manual, pneumatic or electrical actuation. Compressed air is
mainly used to do work by acting on a piston or vane. This energy is used in
many areas of the steel industry.
Advantages of pneumatic systems
Pneumatic systems are widely used in different industries for the driving of automatic
machines. Pneumatic systems have a lot of advantages.
• High effectiveness – There is an unlimited supply of air in the atmosphere to produce
compressed air. Also there is the possibility of easy storage in large volumes. The use of
compressed air is not restricted by distance, as it can easily be transported through pipes.
2
After use, compressed air can be released directly into the atmosphere without
the need of processing.
• High durability and reliability – Pneumatic system components are
extremely durable and cannot be damaged easily. Compared to electromotive
components, pneumatic components are more durable and reliable.
• Simple design – The designs of pneumatic system components are
relatively simple. They are thus more suitable for use in simple automatic
control systems. There is choice of movement such as linear movement or
angular rotational movement with simple and continuously variable operational
speeds.
• High adaptability to harsh environment – Compared to the elements of
other systems, compressed air is less affected by high temperature, dust, and
corrosive environment, etc. Hence they are more suitable for harsh
environment.
• Safety aspects – Pneumatic systems are safer than electromotive
systems because they can work in inflammable environment without causing
fire or explosion. Apart from that, overloading in pneumatic system only leads
to sliding or cessation of operation. Unlike components of electromotive
system, pneumatic system components do not burn or get overheated when
overloaded.
• Easy selection of speed and pressure – The speeds of rectilinear and
oscillating movement of pneumatic systems are easy to adjust and subject to
few limitations. The pressure and the volume of the compressed air can easily
be adjusted by a pressure regulator.
• Environmental friendly – The operation of pneumatic systems do not
produce pollutants. Pneumatic systems are environmentally clean and with
proper exhaust air treatment can be installed to clean room standards.
Therefore, pneumatic systems can work in environments that demand high
level of cleanliness. One example is the production lines of integrated circuits.
•Economical – As the pneumatic system components are not expensive, the
costs of pneumatic systems are quite low. Moreover, as pneumatic systems are
very durable, the cost of maintenance is significantly lower than that of other
systems.

A pneumatic system is a collection of interconnected components

using compressed air to do work for automated equipment. ... The
compressed air or pressurized gas is usually filtered and dried to protect
the cylinders, actuators, tools and bladders performing the work.
Limitations of pneumatic systems
Although pneumatic systems possess a lot of advantages, they are also subject
to several limitations. These limitations are given below.
•Relatively low accuracy – As pneumatic systems are powered by the force
provided by compressed air, their operation is subject to the volume of the
compressed air. As the volume of air may change when compressed or heated,
the supply of air to the system may not be accurate, causing a decrease in the
overall accuracy of the system.
•Low loading – As the cylinders used in pneumatic systems are not very large,
a pneumatic system cannot drive loads that are too heavy.
•Processing required before use – Compressed air must be processed before
use to ensure the absence of water vapour or dust. Otherwise, the moving
parts of the pneumatic components may wear out quickly due to friction.
•Uneven moving speed – As air can easily be compressed, the moving speeds
of the pistons are relatively uneven.
•Noise – Noise is usually produced when the compressed air is released from
the pneumatic components.
Components of pneumatic systems

Pneumatic cylinders, rotary actuators and air motors provide the force and
movement for the most of pneumatic systems, for holding, moving, forming,
and processing of materials. To operate and control these actuators, other
pneumatic components are needed such as air service units for the
preparation of the compressed air and valves for the control of the pressure,
flow and direction of movement of the actuators. A basic pneumatic system
consists of the following two main sections.

• Compressed air production, transportation, and distribution system

• Compressed air consuming system

The main components of the compressed air production, transportation, and
distribution system consist of air compressor, electric motor and motor control
centre, pressure switch, check valve, storage tank, pressure gauge, auto drain,
air dryer, filters, air lubricator, pipelines, and different types of valves.

The main components of air consuming system consist of intake filter,

compressor, air take off valve, auto drain, air service unit, directional valve,
actuators, and speed controllers.

Basic components of the pneumatic system are shown in Fig 1.

13
10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 24
Intake filter also known as air filter is used to filter out the contaminants from
the air.
Air compressor converts the mechanical energy of an electric or combustion
motor into the potential energy of compressed air. There are several types of
compressors which are used in the compressed air systems. Compressors used
for generation of compressed air is selected on the basis of desired maximum
delivery pressure and the required flow rate of the air
The types of compressors in the compressed air systems are
(ii) piston or reciprocating compressors,
(ii) rotary compressors,
(iii) centrifugal compressors, and
(iv) axial flow compressors.
Reciprocating compressors are:
(i) single stage or double stage piston compressor, and
(ii) diaphragm compressor.
Rotary compressors are
(ii) sliding vane compressor, and
(iii) (ii) screw compressor.

Electric motor transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy. It is used to

drive the air compressor.
The compressed air coming from the compressor is stored in the air receiver/air
tank. The purpose of air receiver/air tank is to smooth the pulsating flow from
the compressor. It also helps the air to cool and condense the moisture present.
The air receiver is to be large enough to hold all the air delivered by the
compressor. The pressure in the receiver is held higher than the system
operating pressure to compensate pressure loss in the pipes. Also the large
surface area of the receiver helps in dissipating the heat from the compressed
air. For satisfactory operation of the pneumatic system the compressed air
needs to be cleaned and dried. Atmospheric air is contaminated with dust,
smoke and is humid. These particles can cause wear of the system components
and presence of moisture may cause corrosion. Hence it is essential to treat the
air to get rid of these impurities. Further during compression operation, air
temperature increases. Therefore cooler is used to reduce the temperature of
the compressed air. The water vapour or moisture in the air is separated from
the air by using a separator or air dryer.
The air treatment can be divided into three stages.
In the first stage, the large sized particles are prevented from entering the air
compressor by an intake filter. The air leaving the compressor may be humid
and may be at high temperature.
The compressed air from the compressor is treated in the second stage. In
this stage temperature of the compressed air is lowered using a cooler and
the air is dried using a dryer.
Air drying system can be adsorption type, absorption type, refrigeration type,
or the type that uses semi permeable membranes. Also an inline filter is
provided to remove any contaminant particles present. This treatment is
called primary air treatment. In the third stage which is the secondary air
treatment process, further filtering is carried out.
Lubrication of moving parts of cylinder and valves is very essential in pneumatic
system. For this purpose compressed air lubricators are used ahead of
pneumatic equipment. Lubricator introduces a fine mist of oil into the
compressed air. This helps in lubrication of the moving components of the
system to which the compressed air is applied. Correct grade of lubricating oil
usually are with kinematic viscosity around 20- 50 centistokes.
Control valves are used to regulate, control and monitor for control of direction
flow, pressure etc. The main function of the control valve is to maintain
constant downstream pressure in the air line, irrespective of variation of
upstream pressure. Due to the high velocity of the compressed air flow, there is
flow-dependent pressure drop between the receiver and load (application).
Hence the pressure in the receiver is always kept higher than the system
pressure. At the application site, the pressure is regulated to keep it constant.
There are three ways to control the local pressures which are given below.
•In the first method, load vents the air into atmosphere continuously. The
pressure regulator restricts the air flow to the load, thus controlling the air
pressure. In this type of pressure regulation, some minimum flow is required to
operate the regulator. If the load is a dead end type which draws no air, the
pressure in the receiver rises to the manifold pressure. These type of regulators
are called as ‘non-relieving regulators’, since the air must pass through the load.
•In the second type, load is a dead end load. However the regulator vents the
air into atmosphere to reduce the pressure. This type of regulator is called as
‘relieving regulator’.
•The third type of regulator has a very large load. Hence its requirement of air
volume is very high and cannot be fulfilled by using a simple regulator. In such
cases, a control loop comprising of pressure transducer, controller and vent
valve is used. Due to large load the system pressure may rise above its critical
value. It is detected by a transducer. 19
Then the signal is processed by the controller which directs the valve to be
opened to vent out the air. This technique is also used when it is difficult to
mount the pressure regulating valve close to the point where pressure
regulation is needed.
12
Air cylinders and motors are the actuators which are used to obtain the
required movements of mechanical elements of pneumatic system. Actuators
are output devices which convert energy from compressed air into the required
type of action or motion. In general, pneumatic systems are used for gripping
and/or moving operations in various industries. These operations are carried
out by using actuators.
Actuators can be classified into three types which are (i) linear actuators which
convert pneumatic energy into linear motion, (ii) rotary actuators which
convert pneumatic energy into rotary motion, and (iii) actuators to operate
flow control valves- these are used to control the flow and pressure of fluids
such as gases, steam or liquids. The construction of hydraulic and pneumatic
linear actuators is similar. However they differ at their operating pressure
ranges. Typical pressure of hydraulic cylinders is about 100 kg/mm2 and that of
pneumatic cylinders is around 10 kg/mm2
Distribution of compressed air
Proper distribution of compressed air is very important for achieving good
performance. Some important requirements which are to be ensured are as
follows.
•Piping lay out (open or closed loop) with suitable number of drain valves at
diagonally opposite corners
•Piping design has important parameters like diameter of pipe for given flow,
pressure drop, number and type of fitting and absolute pressure
•Slope of the main horizontal header from compressor which is normally 1:20
•Take off branches from the top of horizontal headers are with U or at 45 deg
•Provision of accumulator with drain cock at the bottom of all vertical headers
•Air service unit connected at right angles to vertical headers
All main pneumatic components can be represented by simple pneumatic
symbols. Each symbol shows only the function of the component it represents,
but not its structure. Pneumatic symbols can be combined to form pneumatic
diagrams. A pneumatic diagram describes the relations between each
pneumatic component, that is, the design of the system. A typical diagram of a
pneumatic system is shown in Fig 2.
PNEUMATIC SYMBOLS

24
Figure 2: Typical
Layout of Pneumatic
System

22 12
Fig 2 Typical diagram of a pneumatic system
When analyzing or designing a pneumatic circuit, the following four important
considerations must be taken into account
•Safety of operation
•Performance of desired functions
•Efficiency of operation

Application of pneumatic systems

There are several applications for pneumatic systems. Some of them are
pneumatic presses, pneumatic drills, operation of system valves for air, water or
chemicals, unloading of hoppers and bins, machine tools, pneumatic rammers,
lifting and moving of objects, spray painting, holding in jigs and fixtures, holding
for brazing or welding, forming operations, riveting, operation of process
equipment etc.
END OF SLIDES

THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING