29/09/2015

ME 453 Hydraulics & Pneumatics

Dr.Yesuenyeagbe A.K. Fiagbe

Department of Mechanical Engineering
KNUST, Kumasi

Hydraulic and Pneumatic Actuators

Power Supply Control System Work Actuator

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Actuators

Linear actuators, (hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders).

Rotary actuators, (hydraulic and pneumatic motors),
either uni-directional or bi-directional providing
torque for rotary movement.

fixed rotary actuators that give a set motion of 90 deg.
to 180 deg. rotation in back and forth motions.

Rack and Pinion type where there are opposing
cylinders moving back and forth across a rack and
pinion which in turn produces a rotating motion output
at a preset rotational movement.

The critical part of applying any actuator is
understanding first what you want it to do, how much
power you will need to accomplish the task and how
to functionally create the circuit needed to control it.
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HYDRAULIC AND PNEUMATIC

CYLINDERS

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Hydraulic Cylinders

Cylinders are linear actuators which convert fluid power into
mechanical power (JACKS or RAMS).

Hydraulic cylinders are used at high pressures and produce
large forces and precise movement.

Constructed of strong materials such as steel

Designed to withstand large forces.

Pneumatic Cylinders

Pneumatic cylinders are limited
to about 10 bar pressure (low
pressure).

constructed from lighter
materials such as aluminium and
brass.

Because gas is a compressible
substance, the motion of a
pneumatic cylinder is hard to
control precisely

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Hydraulic / Pneumatic Cylinders

Properties:

The cylinders have to be good quality steel with close
tolerances.

There have to be good sealing both at the piston rod
and at the cylinder.

With time dirt may come in and damage the surfaces.
This has to be possibly reduced.

In this case, the leakage will increase all the time.

Cylinder types
Single acting
work can be done only in one direction
Plunger

Piston

Fast moving
Telescopic

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Cylinder types
Double acting piston
Work is done in both directions

Piston rod on
both sides

Tandem
Fast moving
Telescopic

Typical Double Acting Cylinder

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FORCE

The fluid pushes against the face of the piston and produces a
force.
F = pA

p is the pressure in N/m2 and

A is the area the pressure acts on in m2 .

This assumes that the pressure on the other side of the piston
is negligible.

For double acting cylinder the pressure on the other side is
usually atmospheric so if p is a gauge pressure we need not
worry about the atmospheric pressure.

Force in cylinders

Fcmax = FLmax + FF + F1 FCmax ≈ FLmax + FF

maximum load friction forces inertial forces
slow motion, can
be often neglected

Outward: FC 0 = A1 p1 − A2 p2 A1 A2

p2 vB
Backward: FCB = A2 p2 − A1 p1
p1
v0

Slide-12

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SPEED

The speed of the piston and rod depends upon the flow rate
of fluid.

The volume per second entering the cylinder must be the
change in volume per second inside.
Q m3 /s = A x velocity (full side)
Q m3/s = (A-a) x velocity (rod side)
A1 A2
Q Q p2 vB
v0 = vB = p1
A1 A2 v0

POWER

Mechanical power is defined as Force x velocity.

P=Fv Watts

The fluid power supplied is more than the mechanical power

output because of friction between the sliding parts.

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SEALS AND BEARINGS

Piston seals to prevent leakage from
one side to the other.

Rod seal to prevent leakage from the
rod end.

Static seals to prevent leakage from
joints between the barrel and end
caps.

Wiper seal to stop dirt being drawn
inside with the rod.

SEALS AND BEARINGS

The rod end bearing made of brass
or bronze.

This takes the side loads on the rod and
ensures lubrication and reduced wear.

It also prevents the seal distorting and
leaking.

The pistons bearing takes the
sideways forces and reduce wear.

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BUCKLING

Buckling occurs when the rod bends or bows out sideways
under load.

Longer and thinner the rod, the more likely it is for buckling
to occur.

Maximum permissible force: 2
1π 
Fmax L =   ⋅ E ⋅ I1
n  lk 
n: safety factor: 1-3,5
lk: buckling length
I1: moment of inertia of the piston rod
E: elasticity modulus of the rod material

Hydraulic cylinder buckling mode

1. Case 2. Case 3. Case 4. Case
Euler’s
cases One end free Two ends pivoted and One end guided and Two ends fixed and
One end fixed guided pivoted, other end guided
Or trunnion at end fixed

Picture

Free buckling
length
mounting style mounting style mounting style mounting style
Manner of
end fixing

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CUSHIONING

Cushioning is to slow down the piston as it reached the end

The needle valve is adjusted so that the piston is slowed up
over the last part of its stroke by a pressure build up in the
fluid escaping past the needle valve.

WORKED EXAMPLE
A double acting hydraulic cylinder has a bore of 100 mm. The
rod is 40 mm diameter and the stroke is 120 mm. It must
produce a pushing force of 12 kN.The flow rate available in
both directions is 12 dm3 /min.
Calculate:
The system pressure needed.
ii. The force with which it pulls given the same pressure.
iii. The speed on the outward stroke.
iv. The speed of retraction.
The power used on the outstroke. Assume ideal conditions
throughout.

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SOLUTION

A = πD2/4 = π x 0.12 /4 = 7.854 x 10-3 m2

p = F/A = 12000/ 7.854 x 10-3 = 1.528 x 106
N/m2 = or 1.528 MPa

a = pd2/4 = p x 0.042 /4 = 1.257 x 10-3 m2

Pulling force = p(A-a) = 1.528 x 106 x (7.854 x
10-3 - 1.257 x 10-3 ) = 10008 N

SOLUTION

Flow rate Q = 0.012/60 = 20 x 10-3 m3 /s

Speed on the outward stroke = Q/A = 20 x 10-3 /
7.854 x 10-3 = 0.025 m/s or 25 mm/s

Speed of retraction = Q/(A-a) = 20 x 10-3 /(
7.854 x 10-3 - 5.027 x 10-3 ) = 0.03 m/s or 30
mm/s

Power = pQ = 1.528 x 106 x 20 x 10-3 = 305.6
Watts

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ROTARY MOTORS

The purpose of a rotary motor is to convert fluid
power into shaft power by forcing the shaft to
rotate.

Pressure is converted into torque

Flow rate is converted into speed.

POWER AND EFFICIENCY

FLUID POWER is given as
F.P. = Q ∆p

Q is the flow rate in m3 /s and

∆p is the difference between the inlet and outlet pressure in
N/m2 .

The output power is the shaft power given by
S.P. = 2πNT = ωT

N is the shaft speed in rev/s.

T is the shaft torque in Nm and

ω is the shaft speed in radian/s.

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POWER AND EFFICIENCY

The output power is reduced because of friction and
internal slippage of fluid. This induced inefficiency for
the motor

Overall Efficiency
ηo = Output/Input
ηo = Shaft Power/Fluid Power

It must be remembered that in the case of gas as the
working fluid, the volume depends upon the pressure.

POWER AND EFFICIENCY

If the motor is 100% efficient, the shaft power is equal to
the fluid power so equating:
2πNT = Q ∆p
T = (Q/N) ∆p/2π
T = kq ∆p/2π

∆p is the difference in pressure between the inlet and outlet
of the motor.

Kq is displacement in m3 /s.

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SPEED-
SPEED-FLOW RELATIONSHIP

The basic relationship between flow rate and speed is
Flow Rate, Q = Kq x Speed

Kq is the nominal displacement of the motor usually

expressed in units of cm3/rev.

VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY

It is possible for hydraulic fluid to slip forward from the high
pressure port to the low pressure port through the clearance
gaps around the working elements without doing anything to
rotate the shaft. This is called internal slippage and it results
in a flow rate larger than the theoretical.

Actual flow rate = Ideal Flow rate + Slippage

The volumetric efficiency of the motor is defined as:

ηv = Ideal Flow rate/Actual flow rate

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Motors Relations

For the ideal Machine (motor) with no leakage, the
displacement of the machine and flow rate determine the
speed.
Q
ω=
D

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Torque and Pressure Relation

For the ideal machine, the fluid Power is entirely converted
to mechanical power

Power = Tω = PQ
PQ
T=
ω
T = PD TαP

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Volumetric Efficiency

The internal flow leakage in motor affects the relationship
between flow and speed
Q
ω = ηv
D

The volumetric efficiency varies with fluid viscosity, pressure
and rotating speed

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Mechanical Efficiency

The presence of friction between moving parts creates
mechanical losses that are represented by the mechanical
efficiency

Output torque:
T = η m PD

The mechanical efficiency varies with fluid viscosity, pressure

and rotating speed

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Power Output

The power output from a motor is
H = η vη m PQ

With total machine efficiency
ηT = η vη m

H = ηT PQ

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ROTARY ACTUATORS

Special motor called a rotary actuator that is designed for
slow rotation of less than one revolution but with a large
torque.

Commonly used on robotic devices.

Pneumatic actuators are used for simple pick and place
operations and for opening and closing pipeline valves.

Hydraulic actuators are typically used to swing the boom on
a mobile excavator from side to side.

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Rotary hydraulic actuators

Swivel vane rotary actuator:

Limited angle in both directions

Maximum angle always smaller than 360°
The same torque in both directions

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Rotary hydraulic actuators

Parallel piston
rotary
Piston rotary actuator: actuator
With rack and gear coupling
Here maximum angle may be larger than 360°

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WORKED EXAMPLE
The pressure difference over a hydraulic motor is 80 bar and it
runs at 400 rev/min. The nominal displacement is 5 cm3
/rev. The overall efficiency is 85% and the volumetric
efficiency is 90%. Calculate the following.
The ideal flow rate.
ii. The actual flow rate.
iii. The fluid power.
iv. The shaft power.
The shaft torque.

SOLUTION

N = 400/60 rev/s kq = 5 x 10-6 m3/rev

Ideal Flow rate = kq x N = 5 x 10-6 x 400/60 = 33.33 x 10-6
m3 /s

Actual Flow Rate = Ideal Flow rate/ηv = 33.33 x 10-6 /0.9 =
37.04 x 10-6 m3/s

Fluid Power Q∆p = 37.04 x 10-6 x 80 x 105 = 296.3 Watt

Shaft Power = Fluid Power x ηo = 296.3 x 0.85 = 251.85 Watt

Torque = SP/2πN = 251.85 /(2π x 400/60) = 6.013 Nm

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Types Of Pneumatic Actuators

All pneumatic actuators can be subdivided into the following

types:
diaphragm pneumatic actuators;
pneumatic power cylinders;

gas-engine pneumatic actuators;

turbine pneumatic actuators;
jet pneumatic actuators;

pneumomuscles;

39 combined pneumatic actuators.

Pneumatic Power Cylinders

Double-acting double-
rod cylinder – double-
acting cylinder with a
piston rod extending
from each end.

The piston rods are connected

with the same piston. Double-
rod cylinders provide equal
force and speed in both
directions.

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Pneumatic Power Cylinders

Tandem cylinders ADVUT

• A maximum of 4 cylinders can be combined.

• The internal distribution of compressed air means
By connecting 2, 3 or 4 cylinders with the
that only 2 connections are required to pressurise all
same piston diameter and stroke in series,
cylinders.
the force in the advance stroke (thrust) can • The force in the return stroke corresponds to that of
be doubled, tripled or quadrupled in
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a single cylinder with corresponding piston diameter.
comparison to a single cylinder.

Diaphragm Pneumatic Actuators

The sylphon pneumatic actuator

The membrane
pneumatic actuator

Slide-42

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Pneumatic Power Cylinders

The pneumomotor with the limited angle of turn

is applied to perform oscillating movements
of the output shaft or its rotation on the
definite angle.

The pneumomotor with the limited angle of

turn:
1 - case; 2 - blade: 3 - target shaft; 4 - compaction; 5, 6 -
43 fittings; 7 - stops

Some More Cylinders

Bellows cylinders

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