pneumatics Circuit Design

lecture-8

by
ELIAS DAMITE
11/21/2019
 Pneumatics circuit design
By the end of this lecture, student should be able to:

 Design and analyze basic pneumatic circuit for single and

double acting cylinder
 Understand Pneumatic System Development
 OR and AND Logic

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 Pneumatics circuit design
 Pneumatic control systems can be designed in the form of
pneumatic circuits.
 A pneumatic circuit is formed by various pneumatic
components, such as
 Cylinders
 directional control valves
 flow control valves, etc.
 Pneumatic circuits have the following functions:
1. To control the injection and release of compressed air in
the cylinders.
2. To use one valve to control another valve.11/21/2019
 The setting of circuit diagrams
 When drawing a complete circuit diagram, one should place the pneumatic
components on different levels and positions, so the relations between the
components can be expressed clearly.
 This is called the setting of circuit diagrams.
 A circuit diagram is usually divided into three levels:
 power level,
 logic level and
 signal input level

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 Different kinds of basic circuits
A basic circuit is a pneumatic circuit
designed to perform basic tasks, such as
1. flow amplification,
2. signal inversion,
3. memory,
4. delay,
5. single acting cylinder control,
6. double acting cylinder control, etc.
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 1. Flow amplification
 Cylinders with a large capacity require a larger flow of air, which can be
hazardous to users.
 It is unsafe to manually operate pneumatic directional control valves with large
flow capacity.
 Instead we should first operate manually a small control valve and use it to
operate the pneumatic control system with large flow capacity.
 This is called flow amplification, which can greatly ensure the safety of the
operators.
 During operation, valves with large
flow capacity should be placed near
the cylinder, while valves with smaller
flow capacity should be placed on
control boards some distances away.
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 2. Signal inversion
 When operating control valve 1, control valve 2 will stop
producing pressure output.
 When control valve 1 ceases operation and is restored to its
original position, control valve 2 will resume its output.
 Therefore, at any given time, the pressure output of control
valve 1 is the exact opposite of that of control valve 2.

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 3. Memory Function
 Memory is a common basic function.
 It can keep a component at a certain state permanently until there is a
change of signals.
 When control valve 1 is operated momentarily (that is, pressed for a short
time), the output signal of the 5/2 directional control valve 3 will be set
to ON.
 The signal will stay that way until control valve 2 is operated momentarily
and generates another signal to replace it, causing it to stay permanently
at OFF.

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 4. Delay function
 A pneumatic delay circuit can delay the operating time of the next
control valve. Its principle of operation involves the use of an orifice
to slow down the flow of air and control the time of pneumatic
operation.
 Delay functions can be divided into two classes:
A. ON-signal delay and
B. OFF-signal delay.
A. ON-signal delay circuit, which delays the output of the next
control valve. When control valve 1 is operated, the one way flow
control valve will slow down the flow of air, thus delaying the signal
output of the outlet of control valve 2 (A), resulting in a persistent ON-
signal. The time when control valve 2 will be restored to its original
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position is not affected.

 B. OFF-signal Delay
an OFF-signal delay circuit, which delays the output of the next
control valve. This circuit is similar to an ON-signal delay circuit.
The only difference is that the one way flow control valve is
connected in the opposite direction. Therefore, when control
valve 1 is operated, the outlet of control valve 2(A) will continue
to output signals. However, when control valve 2 is restored to its
original position, the release of air is slowed down by the one way
flow control valve, resulting in a persistent OFF-signal.
ON DELAY OFF DELAY

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 5. Single acting cylinder control
 Single acting cylinders can be controlled manually.
However, they can also be controlled by two or more
valves.
 This is called logic control.
 Examples of logic control include
 ‘OR’ function,
 ‘AND’ function,
I. Direct control and speed control: If a single acting
cylinder is connected to a manual 3/2 directional
control valve, when the control valve is operated, it
will cause the cylinder to work. Therefore, the circuit
allows the cylinder to be controlled manually.
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 Cont…
 The only way to change the extension speed of the piston of a
single acting cylinder is to restrict the flow of air at the inlet
and use the spring to determine the speed of retraction.
 Therefore, a one way flow control valve is placed in the circuit
to control the speed.

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 II. OR Function
 It can be operated by two different circuits. Examples include manual
operation and relying on automatic circuit signals, that is, when either control
valve 1 or control valve 2 is operated, the cylinder will work.
 Therefore, the circuit in possesses the OR function. However, if the output of
two 3/2 directional control valves are connected through the port of a triode,
the air current from control valve 1 will be released through the exhaust of
control valve 2, and so the cylinder will not work.
 This problem can be solved by connecting a shuttle valve to the port of the
triode.

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 III. AND Function
 Another name for an AND function is interlock control.
 This means control is possible only when two conditions are satisfied.
 A classic example is a pneumatic system that works only when its safety
door is closed and its manual control valve is operated. The flow passage
will open only when both control valves are operated.
 The cylinder will work only when both valve and are operated.

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 Double acting cylinder
I. Direct control
The only difference between a single acting cylinder and a double acting
cylinder is that a
double acting cylinder uses a 5/2 directional control valve instead of a 3/2
directional control valve. Usually, when a double acting cylinder is not operated,
outlet ‘B’ and inlet ‘P’ will be connected.
In this circuit, whenever the operation button is pushed manually, the double
acting cylinder will move back and forth once.

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II. Single control of double acting cylinder
 A cylinder always has to maintain its position in a lot of situations, even
after the operational signal has disappeared. This can be achieved by the
use of a circuit that possesses the memory function.
 The extension path of a double acting cylinder is activated by control valve
1 , while retraction is governed by control valve 2. Control valve 3, on the
other hand, maintains the position of the cylinder by maintaining its own
position. Control valve 3 will be changed only when one of the manual
control valves is pushed.
 If both control valves 1and 2 are
operated at the same time, control
valve 3 will be subject to the same
pressure and will remain in its original position.
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 Pneumatics circuit design
The design of pneumatic circuits depends on standard tables. These tables allow selecting actuators
and valves where needed depend on force required and pressure allows.
Theoretical Force (Push or Extend) for a given cylinder is computed from the following expression:

where F is force in N, D is bore diameter in mm and P is air pressure in MPa. Knowing the pressure
at a compressor of 11 bar (1.1MPa), maximum pressure in the cylinder of 10 bar (1MPa), diameter of
bore of 20 mm (Aa= 314), the computed theoretical force was 314 N.
Theoretical Force (Rull or Retract) for a given cylinder is computed from the following expression:

where F is force in N, D is bore diameter in mm, dis piston rod diameter in mm and P is pressure
in bar. Knowing the pressure at a compressor of 11 bar (1.1MPa), maximum pressure in the
cylinder of 10 bar (1 MPa), bore diameter of 20 mm, rod diameter of 8 mm (Ab=263.89), the
computed theoretical force was 263.89 N. The compressed air consumption for a given cylinders
computed from the following expression:
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where Qn is compressed air consumption in L/min, Aa is piston area of in m𝑚2 , Ab is piston
area of B in m𝑚2 , L is stroke of cylinder in mm, P is air pressure in MPa,and n is cycle of
operation in cycle/min. Knowing the maximum pressure in the cylinder of 10 bar (1 MPa),
diameter of bore of 20 mm (Aa=314), bore diameter of 20 mm, rod diameter of 8 mm
(Ab=263.76), cylinder stroke of 250mm,
operation cycle of 2.5 cycle/min, the computed compressed air consumption was 0.719 L/min.
Pneumatic valve direct the air to actuator, they may be used in combination to provide
logic function for control systems. Valves are available in different types, sizes and
configuration. The flow capability of a valve is determine by using flow coefficient, Cv. Cv is
USA measurement and is based on an equivalent flow of water through the valve in US
gallons/minute with a pressure drop of one psi. There are several Cv formulas in use but the
one used is based on the NFPA recommendation. The formula below has limited accuracy for
pressure drops greater than 15% of the inlet pressure. Correction is made for
compressibility of air and temperature of 200 C. The air flow (L/s) for the valve is
computed using the following expression:
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 and

where
P2 is downstream pressure in bar,
dP is pressure drop across valve in bar, and
Q is standard air flow in L/s.
The Kv value is similar to Cv but it corresponds to the flow of
water in L/min with a 1bar pressure drop.
The formula is also restricted in its use to pressure drops less than
15% of the inlet pressure.
The air flow (L/s) for the valve in term of Kv is computed using the
following expression. Design 11/21/2019