Pneumatic System

Lecture 01

Dr. Sajal Kumar Das

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechatronics Engineering
Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology
Rajshahi-6204
Email: [email protected]

©2016, Dept. of MTE, RUET 1 November 11, 2023

 What is Pneumatic System
Pneumatic technology deals with the study of behavior and applications of
compressed air in our daily life in general and manufacturing automation in
particular. Pneumatic systems use air as the medium which is abundantly
available and can be exhausted into the atmosphere after completion of the
assigned task.

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 What is Pneumatic System

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 What is Compressor?
It is a mechanical device which converts mechanical energy into fluid
energy. The compressor increases the air pressure by reducing its
volume which also increases the temperature of the compressed air. The
compressor is selected based on the pressure it needs to operate and the
delivery volume.

The compressor can be classified into two main types

a. Positive displacement compressors and
b. Dynamic displacement compressor

Positive displacement compressors include piston type, vane

type, diaphragm type and screw type.

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 Piston Compressor

Piston compressors are commonly used in pneumatic systems. The

simplest form is single cylinder compressor. It produces one pulse of air
per piston stroke. As the piston moves down during the inlet stroke the
inlet valve opens and air is drawn into the cylinder. As the piston moves
up the inlet valve closes and the exhaust valve opens which allows the
air to be expelled. The valves are spring loaded. The single cylinder
compressor gives significant amount of pressure pulses at the outlet
port. The pressure developed is about 3-40 bar.

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 Double Acting Compressor

The pulsation of air can be reduced by using double acting compressor

as shown in above figure. It has two sets of valves and a crosshead. As
the piston moves, the air is compressed on one side whilst on the other
side of the piston, the air is sucked in. Due to the reciprocating action of
the piston, the air is compressed and delivered twice in one piston
stroke. Pressure higher than 30bar can be produced.

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 Multistage Compressor

As the pressure of the air increases, its temperature rises. It is essential

to reduce the air temperature to avoid damage of compressor and other
mechanical elements. The multistage compressor with intercooler in-
between is shown in above figure. It is used to reduce the temperature of
compressed air during the compression stages. The inter-cooling reduces
the volume of air which used to increase due to heat. The compressed
air from the first stage enters the intercooler where it is cooled. This air
is given as input to the second stage where it is compressed again. The
multistage compressor can develop a pressure of around 50bar.
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 Combined Two Stage Compressor

In this type, two-stage compression is carried out by using the same

piston. Initially when the piston moves down, air is sucked in through
the inlet valve. During the compression process, the air moves out of the
exhaust valve into the intercooler. As the piston moves further the
stepped head provided on the piston moves into the cavity thus causing
the compression of air. Then, this is let out by the exhaust port.

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 Diaphragm Compressor

These are small capacity compressors. In piston compressors the lubricating oil
from the pistons walls may contaminate the compressed air. The contamination
is undesirable in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. For such
applications diaphragm type compressor can be used. Figure 6.2.1 shows the
construction of Diaphragm compressor. The piston reciprocates by a motor
driven crankshaft. As the piston moves down it pulls the hydraulic fluid down
causing the diaphragm to move along and the air is sucked in. When the piston
moves up the fluid pushes the diaphragm up causing the ejection of air from the
outlet port. Since the flexible diaphragm is placed in between the piston and the
air no contamination takes place.
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 Screw Compressor

Piston compressors are used when high pressures and relatively low volume of
air is needed. The system is complex as it has many moving parts. For medium
flow and pressure applications, screw compressor can be used. It is simple in
construction with less number of moving parts. The air delivered is steady with
no pressure pulsation. It has two meshing screws. The air from the inlet is
trapped between the meshing screws and is compressed. The contact between
the two meshing surface is minimum, hence no cooling is required. These
systems are quite in operation compared to piston type. The screws are
synchronized by using external timing gears.

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 Rotary Vane Compressors

The principle of operation of vane compressor is similar to the hydraulic vane

pump. Figure 6.2.3 shows the working principle of Rotary vane compressor. The
unbalanced vane compressor consists of spring loaded vanes seating in the slots
of the rotor. The pumping action occurs due to movement of the vanes along a
cam ring. The rotor is eccentric to the cam ring. As the rotor rotates, the vanes
follow the inner surface of the cam ring. The space between the vanes decreases
near the outlet due to the eccentricity. This causes compression of the air. These
compressors are free from pulsation. If the eccentricity is zero no flow takes
place.

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 Liquid Ring Compressor

Liquid ring vane compressor is a variation of vane compressors. Figure 6.2.4

shows the construction of Liquid ring compressor. The casing is filled with liquid
up to rotor center. The air enters the compressor through the distributor fixed to
the compressor. During the impeller rotation, the liquid will be centrifuged along
the inner ring of the casing to form the liquid ring. There are two suction and
discharge ports provided in the distributor. During the first quarter of cycle, the air
is sucked in both suction chambers of the casing and during the second quarter of
the cycle, the air is compressed and pushed out through the two discharge ports.
During the third and fourth quarters of the cycle, the process is repeated. This type
of compressor has no leakage and has minimal friction. For smooth operation, the
rotation speed should be about 3000 rpm. The delivery pressure is low (about 5
bar).
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 Lobe Compressor

The lobe compressor is used when high delivery volume but low pressure is
needed. It consists of two lobes with one being driven and the other driving.
Figure 6.2.5 shows the construction and working of Lobe compressor. It is similar
to the Lobe pump used in hydraulic systems. The operating pressure is limited by
leakage between rotors and housing. As the wear increases during the operation,
the efficiency falls rapidly.

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 Dynamic Compressors

When very large volume of compressed air is required in applications such as

ventilators, combustion system and pneumatic powder blower conveyors, the
dynamic compressor can be used. The pressure needed is very low in such
applications. Figure 6.2.6 shows a typical Centrifugal type blower. The impeller
rotates at a high speed. Large volume of low pressure air can be provided by
blowers. The blowers draw the air in and the impeller flings it out due to
centrifugal force. Positive displacement compressors need oil to lubricate the
moving parts, whereas the dynamic compressors have no such need. The
efficiency of these compressors is better than that of reciprocating types.
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 What is Receiver Tank?

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 What is Receiver Tank?

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