Hydraulic and Pneumatic

Systems

Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems 1

2
Learning Objectives

1. Explain what fluid power is.

2. Differentiate between the term hydraulics and pneumatics.

3. Understand the difference between fluid power systems and fluid transport systems

4. Analyze the performance of Fluid power Systems

5. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of fluid power.

6. Describe key applications of fluid power.

7. Specify the basic components of fluid power systems.

8. Appreciate the size and scope of the fluid power industry.

9. Identify the categories of personnel who are employed in the fluid power
industry.
WEEK 1: What is Fluid Power?
•What is Fluid Power?
•Hydraulics and Pneumatics
•Fluid Power Compared to Other Transmission Technologies
•Fundamentals of Fluid Power via the Cylinder
WEEK 2: Components and Concepts: Part 1
•Schematic Diagrams
•Fluid Power Conduits
WEEK 3: Components and Concepts: Part 2
•The Valve
•Pumps
WEEK 4: Predicting Performance through Simulation
•Simulation
WEEK 5: Fluid Properties
•Introduction to Hydraulic Fluids
•Compressibility
•Inertia
WEEK 6: Advanced Components and Systems
•Acculumlator
•Servovalves
•Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles
2005/2006 I. Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems 4
Week 7:-9 Pneumatic Control
Week 10-11 Cascade Control
Week 12: Performance of Hydraulic Systems
Week 13: Control of Fluid Power Systems
 Introduction to Pneumatic and Hydraulic Drives

What is Pneumatic (from the Greek pneumn for wind or breath).?

Pneumatics is the discipline that deals with mechanical properties of gases such
as pressure and density, and applies the principles to use compressed gas as a
source of power to solve Engineering problems.

What is Hydraulic (from the Greek words hydra for water and aulos for a pipe)?

Hydraulics is the discipline that deals with the mechanical properties of liquids,
and applies the principles to solve engineering problems.

Fluid Power is the technology that deals with the generation,

control, and transmission of power, using pressurized fluids. Fluid
power is called hydraulics when the fluid is a liquid and is called
pneumatics when the fluid is a gas.
Hydraulic systems use liquids such as petroleum oils, synthetic oils,
and water. Pneumatic systems use air as the gas medium because
air is very abundant and can be readily exhausted into the
atmosphere after completing its assigned task.
Differences between hydraulic & pneumatic systems
COMPONENTS OF A FLUID POWER SYSTEM:
A pump to force the oil through the system.
An electric motor or other power source to drive the pump.
Valves to control oil direction, pressure, and flow rate.
An actuator to convert the pressure of the oil into mechanical force.
Piping.
Pneumatic Systems 11
APPLICATIONS OF FLUID POWER:
1) Agriculture: Tractors and farm equipment like ploughs, movers, chemical sprayers, fertilizer
spreaders.
2) Aviation: landing wheels on airplane and helicopter, aircraft trolleys, aircraft engine test beds.
3) Building Industry: For metering and mixing of concrete ingredients from hopper.
4) Construction Equipment: Earthmoving equipment like excavators, bucket loaders, dozers,
crawlers, and road graders.
5) Defense: Missile-launch systems and Navigation controls
6) Entertainment: Amusement park entertainment rides like roller coasters
7) Fabrication Industry: Hand tools like pneumatic drills, grinders, bores, riveting machines,
nut runners
8) Food and Beverage: All types of food processing equipment, wrapping, bottling

9) Foundry: Full and semi-automatic molding machines, tilting of furnaces, die casting
machines

10) Material Handling: Jacks, Hosts, Cranes, Forklift, Conveyor system

Spacecraft launcher

Applications include landing gear, brakes,

flight controls, motor controls and cargo
loading equipment.

Steering and braking in automobiles

Harvests
crop

Hydraulic cylinders connected in

parallel
 Hydraulic Chain Saw
Dental teeth drill
Food industry
Pneumatic Chain Hoist
2005/2006 I. Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems 18
2005/2006 I. Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems 19
Advantages of a fluid power system are as follows:
1) Fluid power systems are simple, easy to operate and can be controlled accurately: Using
fluid power, we can start, stop, accelerate, decelerate, reverse or position large
forces/components with great accuracy using simple levers and push buttons.

2) Multiplication and variation of forces: Linear or rotary force can be multiplied by a

fraction of a kilogram to several hundreds of tons.

3) Multifunction control: A single hydraulic pump or air compressor can provide power and
control for numerous machines using valve manifolds and distribution systems.
4) Low-speed torque: Unlike electric motors, air or hydraulic motors can produce a large
amount of torque while operating at low speeds.
5) Constant force or torque: Fluid power systems can deliver constant torque or force
regardless of speed changes.
6) Economical:
7) Low weight to power ratio: The hydraulic system has a low weight to power ratio
compared to electromechanical systems.
8) Fluid power systems can be used where safety is of vital importance: Safety is of vital
importance in air and space travel, in the production and operation of motor vehicles, in
mining and manufacture of delicate products.
20
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HYDRAULIC FLUIDS

1) Water: The least expensive hydraulic fluid is water. Water is treated with chemicals before
being used in a fluid power system. This treatment removes undesirable contaminates.

2) Petroleum Oils: These are the most common among the hydraulic fluids which are used in a
wide range of hydraulic applications. The characteristic of petroleum based hydraulic oils are
controlled by the type of crude oil used.

3) Water Glycols: These are solutions contains 35 to 55% water, glycol and water soluble
thickener to improve viscosity. Additives are also added to improve anticorrosion, anti-wear and
lubricity properties.

4) Water Oil Emulsions: These are water-oil mixtures. They are of two types’ oil-in-water
emulsions or water-in-oil emulsions. The oil-in-water emulsion has water as the continuous base
and the oil is present in lesser amounts as the dispersed media. In the water-in-oil emulsion, the
oil is in continuous phase and water is the dispersed media.

5) Phosphate Ester: It results from the incorporation of phosphorus into organic molecules. They
have high thermal stability. They serve an excellent detergent and prevent building up of sludge.
PROPERTIES OF HYDRAULIC FLUIDS:
1) Viscosity: It is a measure of the fluid’s internal resistance offered to flow.

2) Viscosity Index: This value shows how temperature affects the viscosity of oil. The viscosity
of the oil decreases with increase in temperature and vice versa. The rate of change of viscosity
with temperature is indicated on an arbitrary scale called viscosity index.

3) Oxidation Stability: The most important property of hydraulic oil is its oxidation stability‫ز‬
Oxidation is caused by a chemical reaction between the oxygen of the dissolved air and the oil.
The oxidation of the oil creates impurities like sludge, insoluble gum and soluble acidic
products.

4)Demulsibility: The ability of a hydraulic fluid to separate rapidly from moisture and
successfully resist emulsification is known as Demulsibility.
5) Lubricity: The ability of the hydraulic fluid to lubricate the moving parts efficiently is called
Lubricity.

6) Rust Prevention: The moisture entering into the hydraulic system with air causes the parts
made of ferrous materials to rust. This rust if passed through the precision made pumps and
valves may scratch the nicely polished surfaces. So inhibitors are added to the oil to keep the
moisture away from the surface.

7) Pour Point: The temperature at which oil will clot is referred to as the pour point i.e. the
lowest temperature at which the oil is able to flow easily.