Prime Movers

Practically every industrial process requires objects

to be moved, manipulated, held, or subjected to
Introduction to Hydraulic and some type of force.

Pneumatic Systems The three most commonly employed methods for

producing the required forces/motions are:

Lecture 3
Electrical – motors, solenoids

Engineering 475 Air – Pneumatics

Automated Production Systems Liquids - Hydraulics

Source of Words Pneumatic Systems

Pneumatic systems are

Hydraulics – Hydra (Greek for water) widely used in industrial
aulos (Greek for pipe) automation systems.

Pneumatic - Pneumn (Greek for wind or breath) Common Applications

Push-pull
Pick-n-place
Lifting
Holding
Air-driven hand tools

www.opusautomation.com

Air Distribution Systems Raising a Weight Pneumatically

Air Compressor
Dryers
Distribution
Regulators
Control Valves
Filters
Cylinders
Air tools

www.knowpressure.org

1
 Air Compressors Control Valves
Industrial air compressors are the primary There are three principal types of control valves
source of compressed air in industrial plants. used in pneumatic systems.

Industrial air
compressors come in Direction Control – used to control the flow direction
many different sizes. Usually solenoid driven

The air compressors Flow Control – used to control the flow rate
supporting major
industrial plants can be
Pressure Control – Regulates ∆P across valve
quite large and are a
critical piece of capital
equipment. We will look at control valves in detail during Class 4.
www.aircompressorworks.com

Anatomy of a
Anatomy
Hydraulic/Pneumatic (Continued)
Cylinder

Piston Seals

Seals O-Rings
Leakage from a hydraulic or pneumatic
system can be a major problem. O-rings are one of the most versatile seals that are used in
many different applications.
Loss of efficiency
Compressive
Increased power usage Sealing Force
Loss of load capacity
Environmental Damage
Safety Hazard
Sloppy/dirty equipment

O-ring Seal U-seal Non-pressurized O-ring Installation

2
 O-ring Deformation Under Load O-ring Failure

The sealing force acting Failure of the O-ring fails

on an O-ring increases as if excessive pressure is
the pressure is increased. applied.

The rated pressure of an O-ring installation can be significantly

If the pressure is increased increased through the use of anti-extrusion rings.
too high, the O-ring will
extrude into the gap
between the surfaces being
sealed.
No Anti-Extrusion Ring Anti-Extrusion Ring

O-ring Glands U-Seals

Tables are available in handbooks that make gland
design straight forward.

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
Parker O-ring Handbook

Pressure Regulators Pressure Regulators

Relief Valves Non-
Non-relieving
Relief Valves are used to
ensure that the receiver tank
or line pressure do not
exceed predetermined
values.

Pressure drop across the valve is used to control

downstream pressure. An increase in downstream
pressure causes the poppet to restrict the opening which
Simple Balanced Piston causes in increase pressure drop.
Parr, Fig. 2.6

3
 Filters Filter/Regulator
Water vapor will turn into liquid water
when compressed.
This filter/regulator combination unit
How much water is created depends on is used in the UTM Lab.
the humidity in the air and the inlet and
compressed air pressures. G particle filtration down to 5 µm.
G water separation
Filters are used to remove liquid water G relieving type pressure regulator
from the compressed air. G regulating range, 8-125 psi
G maximum supply pressure, 220 psi
Filters can be found between the
compressor and the storage tank or at
Example of filter located at
the inlet to a particular piece of inlet to equipment
equipment.
www.aircompressorworks.com

Lubricators Service Units

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 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.