Hydraulics and pneumatics

accessories and actuators

Lecture-5
By
Elias D.
 Air treatment stages
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.
The air treatment can
be divided into
three stages.
 Stages of air treatment
1. first stage
the large sized particles are prevented from entering
the compressor by an intake filter.
The air leaving the compressor may be humid and may be at high temperature.
2. second stage
The 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.
Also an inline filter is provided to remove any contaminant particles present.
This treatment is called primary air treatment.
3. Third stage
In the third stage which is the secondary air treatment process, further filtering
is carried out.
A lubricator introduces a fine mist of oil into the compressed air.
 Filters
To prevent any damage to the compressor, the contaminants
present in the air need to be filtered out.
This is done by using inlet filters.
These can be dry or wet filters.
Dry filters use disposable cartridges.
In the wet filter, the incoming air is passed through an oil bath and then
through a fine wire mesh filter.
Dirt particles cling to the oil drops during bubbling and are removed by wire
mesh as they pass through it.
In the dry filter the cartridges are replaced during servicing.
The wet filters are cleaned using detergent solution.
 Cooler
As the air is compressed, the temperature of the air increases.
Therefore the air needs to be cooled.
This is done by using a cooler.
It is a type of heat exchanger.
 There are two types of coolers commonly employed viz.
 air cooled and water cooled.
In the air cooled type, ambient air is used to cool the high temperature
compressed air, whereas in the water cooled type, water is used as
cooling medium.
These are counter flow type coolers where the cooling
medium flows in the direction opposite to the compressed air.
During cooling, the water vapor present will condense which can be
drained away later.
 Air filter and water trap
Air filter and water trap is used to
 prevent any solid contaminants from entering in the
system
 condense and remove water vapor that is present in
the compressed air.
 Refrigerated dryers
It consists of heat exchangers, refrigerant
compressor and a separator.
The dryer chills the air just above 0°C which
condenses the water vapor.
The condensate is collected by the separator.
Efficiency of this system is further increased by
employing a second heat exchanger.
 Refrigerated dryers
This helps in reducing the temperature of moist
air entering in Heat exchanger 1.
Thus, clean and dry air is obtained.
Chemical dryers: When absolute dry air is needed chemical
dryers are used.
These dryers are of two types namely adsorption dryer and
absorption dryer.

A. Adsorption dryer
 In these dryers, the moisture collects on the sharp edges of
the granular material.
The adsorbing materials can be silicon dioxide (silica gel) or
other
materials which exist in hydrated and dehydrated state
(copper sulphate, activated alumina).
 Moisture from the adsorbing material can be released by
heating in the column.
 At a given time, one column will dry the air while
the other column will regenerate the adsorption
material by heating and passing low purge air.
 The column B is dries the air and column C
regenerates.
 The rotary valves are opened using time clock at
regular interval to reverse the process.
 Absorption dryers :
It uses chemical agents like phosphoric Penta
oxide or calcium chloride as drying agents.

The moisture in the compressed air

chemically reacts with the drying agent.
 Lubricators
The compressed air is first filtered and
then passed through a lubricator in order to
form a mist of oil and air to provide
lubrication to the mating components.
 Actuators
hydraulic or pneumatic systems are used for gripping and/or moving
operations in industry.
 These operations are carried out by using actuators.
 Actuators can be classified into three types.

 Linear actuators: These devices convert hydraulic/pneumatic energy into

linear motion.

 Rotary actuators: These devices convert hydraulic/pneumatic energy into

rotary motion.

 Actuators to operate flow control valves: these are used to control the flow
and pressure of fluids such as gases, steam or liquid.

 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 bar and of pneumatic
system is around 10 bar.
 Single acting cylinder
These cylinders produce work in one direction of motion
hence they are named as single acting cylinders.
The compressed air pushes the piston located in the
cylindrical barrel causing the desired motion.
The return stroke takes place by the action of a spring.
Double acting cylinder
 gear rotary actuator
Rotary actuators convert energy of pressurized
fluid into rotary motion.
Rotary actuators are similar to electric motors
but are run on hydraulic or pneumatic power.
 Vane motor: a rotary actuator

 A rotary vane motor consists of a rotor with sliding vanes

in the slots provided on the rotor.
The rotor is placed eccentrically with the housing.
Air enters from the inlet port, rotates the rotor and thus
torque is produced.
Air is then released from the exhaust port (outlet).
 Limited rotation actuators
It consists of a single rotating vane connected to output
shaft.
 It is used for double acting operation and has a
maximum angle of rotation of about 270°.
 These are generally used to actuate dampers in robotics
and
material handling applications.
 Other type of limited rotation actuator is a rack and
pinion type actuator.
 ACCUMULATORS AND
ACCUMULATOR CIRCUITS:
A hydraulic accumulator is a device that stores the
potential energy of an incompressible fluid held under
pressure by an external source against some dynamic
force.
The dynamic force can come three different sources :
Gravity,
Mechanical Springs, and
Compressed gases.
 ACCUMULATORS
The stored potential energy in the accumulator is a quick
secondary source of fluid power capable of doing useful
work as required by the system.
There are three basic types of accumulator used in
hydraulic
system. They are:
Weight – Loaded, or gravity, type
Spring -Loaded type
Gas – Loaded type
 Weight – Loaded Accumulator :
This type consists of a vertical, heavy- wall steel cylinder, which
incorporates a piston with packing to pressure leakage ( Figure
below). A dead weight is attached to the top of the piston.
The force of gravity of the dead weight provides the potential
energy in the accumulator.
This type of accumulator creates a constant fluid pressure
throughout the full volume output of the unit regardless of the
rate and quantity of output.
The main disadvantage of this type of accumulator
is extremely large size and heavy weight which
makes it unsuitable for mobile equipment.
 Spring – Loaded Accumulator
A spring loaded accumulator is similar to the weight – loaded
type except that the piston is preloaded with a spring.
The spring is the source of energy that acts against the
piston, forcing the fluid into the hydraulic system.
The pressure generated by this type of accumulator depends
on the size and pre-loading of the spring.
In addition, the pressure exerted on
the fluid is not a constant.
The spring- loaded accumulator typically
delivers a relatively small volume of oil at
low pressures.
 Gas Loaded Accumulator : Two
main categories:
I. Non separator- Type Accumulator :
 The non separator type of accumulator consists of a fully enclosed shell
containing an
oil port on the bottom and a gas charging valve on the top.
 The gas is confined in the top and the oil at the bottom of the shell.
 There is no physical separator between the gas and oil and thus the gas
pushes directly on oil.
 The main advantage of this type is its ability to handle large volume of oil.
 The main disadvantage is absorption of gas in the oil due to the lack of a
separator.
Absorption of gas in the oil also makes the oil
compressible, resulting in spongy operation
of the hydraulic actuators. This type must be
installed vertically to keep the gas confined at
the top of the shell.
II. Separator – Type Accumulator
The commonly accepted design of gas loaded accumulators is the
separator type.
In this type there is a physical barrier between the gas and the oil.
The three major type of separator accumulator are:
a. Piston type:
The piston type of accumulator consists of a cylinder containing a
freely floating
piston with proper seals. The piston serves as a barrier between
the gas and oil.
The main disadvantage of the piston types
of accumulator are that they are expensive
to manufacture and have practical size limitation.
The principal advantage of the piston accumulator
is its ability to handle very high or low pressure.
 b. Diaphragm Accumulator :
The diaphragm type accumulator consists of a diaphragm, secured
in the shell, which serves as an elastic barrier between the oil and
gas.
A shutoff button, which is secured at the base of the diaphragm,
covers the inlet of the line connection when the diaphragm is fully
stretched.
The primary advantage of this type of
accumulator is its small weight to volume
ratio, which makes it suitable almost
exclusively for mobile applications.
The restriction is on the deflection
of the diaphragm.
 Bladder type Accumulator :
A bladder type- accumulator contains an elastic barrier( bladder)
between the oil and gas.
The bladder is fitted in the accumulator by means of a vulcanized gas-
valve element and can be installed or removed through the shell
opening at the poppet valve.
The poppet valve closes the inlet when the accumulator bladder is fully
expanded.
This prevents the bladder from being pressed
into the opening.
The greatest advantage of this type of accumulator is
the positive sealing between the gas and oil chambers.
Most widely used type of accumulator.
 Accumulator Circuits :
1. Accumulator as a auxiliary power
source :
One of the most common application of accumulator is
as an auxiliary power source.
The purpose of the accumulator in this application is to
store oil delivered by the pump during a
portion of the work cycle.
The accumulator then releases this stored oil on
demand to complete the cycle, thereby serving as a
secondary power source to assist the pump.
 In such a system where intermittent operations are performed, the use

of an accumulator results in being able to use a smaller size pump .

2. Accumulator as an emergency power source :
In some hydraulic system, safety dictates that a
cylinder be retracted even though the normal
supply of oil pressure is lost due to a pump or
electrical power failure.
Such an application requires the use of an
accumulator as an emergency power source.
 3. Accumulator as a hydraulic shock
absorber :
One of the most important industrial application
of accumulator is the elimination or reduction of
high pressure pulsation or hydraulic shock
Hydraulic shock is caused by the sudden
stoppage, sudden impact load, or reversal with
heavy loads.
Hydraulic shock load may be reduced
considerably if the deceleration time of the
flowing fluid mass can be reduced.
 symbols
The symbol used to represent an individual element display the following
characteristics:

 Function
 Actuation and return actuation methods
 Number of connections
 Number of switching positions
 General operating principle
 Simplified representation of the flow path

The symbol does not represent the following characteristics:

 Size or dimensions of the component

 Particular manufacturer, methods of construction or costs
 Operation of the ports
 Any physical details of the elements
 Any unions or connections other than junctions
Graphical symbols of hydraulic / pneumatic
elements and equipment's
Service units
Direction control valves(DCV)
Direction control valve actuation methods
Non return valves(DVC)
Flow control valves
. Pressure control valves
Actuators
Thank you!!