Fluid Power

PREFACE

Fluid power system is used extensively in a wide variety of industries. It not only drives machinery but also provides plant automations. Many industrial processes may not have been possible or cannot function efficiently without this technology.

For many years, it seems that the objective in Engineering Education has been to teach courses and topics to graduate in Engineering. The emphasis has been on theoretical topics with practical applications playing only minor part. However, in the real world the majority of engineering graduates would end up as practising engineers on site.

For the fresh graduates this book serves as a starter kit and ground the elementary of fluid power system. For all the others who wish as a reference guide whether they are work related, first timer or newbie who wanted to know more about this subject. This book serves the basic platform.

The objective of this book attempts to introduce the very basic elements of hydraulic and pneumatic equipment, recognise their symbols use for each basic equipment and read simple circuit diagrams.

It covers practical examples and solutions, sizing, estimation and calculations. This book is a bridging course to the understanding of fluid power for those who are projects or works related. Knowledge of basic Fluid Mechanics concept will be an advantage but not necessary as the contents of all chapters are carefully planned for anyone to jump start.

Nevertheless, this book is compressed and compiled by drawing on the many years of practical experience of fluid power system for light as well as heavy industries.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1

Pascal’s Principle

Viscosity

Continuity Formula

Laminar and Turbulent Flow

Pressure Loss

Flow Characteristic In Restricted Condition

Choke Restriction

Chapter 2

Basic Hydraulic Symbols

Fluid Power Element Equipment

Hydraulic Pumps

Vane Pumps

- Fixed Displacement Pump (Single-stage)

- Double pumps

- Combination pump (Two-stage)

- Variable Displacement Pumps

Gear Pumps (External & Internal)

Piston Pumps (Axial & Radial)

Hand Pumps

Pump Performances

Types of Pump comparison

Pump Selection Criteria

Practical Situation on Site

Chapter 3

Control Valves

Check Valves (Non return & pilot operated)

Pressure Control Valves

Pressure Relief Valves

Pressure Reducing Valves

Unloading Valves

Sequencing Valves

Counterbalance Valves

Brake Valves

Directional Control Valves

Classification of Valves by Spool Design

Three-way & Four-way Valves

Solenoid Directional Control Valves

Sequence of spool action and oil flow of DCV

Manual Directional Control Valves

Servo Control Valves

Flow Control Valve (Meter-in & Meter-out)

Shuttle Valves

Flow Divider valves

Stackable Valves System (CETOP/NFPA)

On/Off Valves

Manifolds

Chapter 4

Actuator

Hydraulic cylinders

- Tie-rod & welded end design

Single Acting Cylinder

Double Acting Cylinder

Hydraulic Jack

Hydraulic Motors

- vane, gear, piston & oscillating types

Chapter 5

Oil Filters and Tank Filters

Oil heater/Cooler

Measuring Instruments

Accumulators and applications

- Weight-Loaded

- Bladder

- Diaphragm

- Piston

Hydraulic Oil

Selection Criteria of Hydraulic Fluid

Viscosity of Hydraulic Fluid

Tank size and Tank Accessories

Electric Motors and Selection

Steel Piping and Fluid Power Transmission

Pipe Schedules and Codes

Steel Tubing and Flexible Hoses

Chapter 6

Pneumatic Systems

Introduction

Industrial Applications

Compressed Air System

Main Components of Compressed Air Systems

Properties of Compressible Fluids

Static Properties

Gas Laws

Boyle's Law

Dynamic Properties

Chapter 7

Fundamentals of Pneumatics

Compressor

Receivers

Pressure Switch

Pneumatic Operating Systems

Fluid Conditioning

Fluid Transmission

Pressure Rating

Sizing

Materials Selection

Pneumatic Symbols

Pneumatic Actuators

Cylinders

Rotary Actuators

Air Motors

Controlling Pneumatic Power

Compressed Air piping Layout and Design

Chapter 8

Electrical Principles and Electronic Devices

Electrical Power

Power Generation System

Basic Electricity

Power Supply

- AC and DC power supply

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

Battery Cells

Automation and Control System

- Open Loop & Closed Loop

Relays

Contactors

- NEMA Ratings For Contactors

Solenoid

Importance of Position/Pressure Indication and Control

Types of Control Devices

Pressure Switches

Pressure Sensor and Transducers

Temperature Switches and Sensors

Servo transducers

Appendices

Appendix I - Important information and charts

I.1. Conversion Factors

Table I.1 - Pressure & Liquid Head

Table I.2 - Pressure/Force of Standard Cylinders

I.2. General Formulae

I.3. Allowable Stress - Factor of Safety

Table I.3 - Factor of Safety

Table I.4 - Typical Mechanical Properties of Selected Engineering Materials

I.4. SI Units

Appendix II

Fastener, Seals and Gasket

Table II.1 - O-rings material

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank all my ex-colleagues, for their encouragement to write this e-book and their invaluable feedbacks that shape the contents for this book. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Dr. Andrew for his comments and suggestions.

Introduction

Utilization of fluid power is important because it is one of the three available means of transmitting power. Other methods of transmitting power are by utilizing mechanical means and by applying electrical energy. To demonstrate this we will consider that we have a prime mover such as a diesel engine on one side of the room and a mechanical contrivance on the

other. The objective is to see how, in a generic sense, power can be used by the methods quoted above to perform the necessary mechanical work.

For mechanical power transmission, the prime mover is connected to the device and, by use of gearboxes, pulleys, belts and clutches, the necessary work can be performed. With the electrical method, an electrical generator is used. The current developed can be carried through electrical cable to operate electrical motors, linear or rotary, modulation being provided by variable resistance or solid state devices in the circuits. For fluid power utilization, an oil pump is connected to the engine and instead of electrical cables, high pressure hose is used to convey pressurized fluid to motors (again linear or rotary), pressure and flow modulation now being provided within the motors or by means of hydraulic valves. Any of the three methods described may be used however, if an engineering system

requires:

1. Minimum weight and volume

2. Large forces and low speeds

3. Instant reversibility

4. Remote control

then the fluid power technique will often have significant competitive advantages. It is indeed unfortunate that design of fluid power systems is seldom taught at main stream schools at the same time as formal teaching of power transmission systems involving mechanical and electrical systems. Such comprehensive design teaching would demonstrate adequately the advantages of such systems. In some instances hydraulics power transmission is the only technique that can be used. The most spectacular example is that of extending an aircraft’s control surface into a high velocity airstream where the only technique available is that of using fluid power actuators because of their high power to weight and volume to weight advantages.

Fluid Power Applications, Present and Future

Current activity in fluid power technology includes its use to perform transmission and control functions. The growing field of robotics is giving the engineer the opportunity to perform sophisticated design studies for equipment used in many productive sectors such as aerospace, agriculture, automated

manufacture, construction, defense, transportation and energy. The above gives an indication of present and future career opportunities for those with skills and experience in fluid power technology.

With their increasing use, it is predicted that fluid power components will become less expensive, thereby further improving the competitive advantages of utilizing fluid power as a power transmission medium. With regard to fluid power components, considerable improvements have been made in the design of seals, fluids, valves, conductors, pumps and motors. The most significant advances in hydraulic system design, however, are seen in the area of controls. Electro-mechanical controls have diversified considerably and have led to many new hydraulic applications.

More recent developments have included the use of programmable controllers in conjunction with hydraulic systems. These controllers contain digitally operated electronic components and have programmable memory

with instructions to implement functions such as logic, sequencing, timing, and counting. Such modules may control many different types of machines or processes. It is pleasing to note that fluid power applications are being extended and should increasingly improve our quality of life by, among

other things, reducing the need for manual work to be performed.

Dependability has been improved by the development of easily serviced cartridge-type control valves with very long service life and minimum maintenance. Due in part to greater demand, the above systems have been reduced in cost, high pressure piping has been minimized, performance has

been improved, and there has been a simplification of maintenance procedures.

As will be demonstrated in this text, the improvements in physical equipment have been accompanied by an enhanced ability to analyze the performance of fluid power systems. Much of this development can be attributed to the dramatic improvement in computing power available to the engineer. More comprehensive analysis will provide a new level of performance for power transmission systems for machines of today and for the future.

Chapter 1

Fundamental Of Oil-Hydraulics

Fluids

A liquid is a fluid, which for a given mass will have a definite volume independent of the shape of its container. This implies that the liquid will fill only that part of the container whose volume equals the volume of the liquid.

Unlike gases, liquids are hardly compressible and that is the reason why their volume does not vary with change in pressure. Though this is not completely true as the changes in volume are significant small or negligible.

Gases on the other hand are compressible fluids and greatly influenced by pressure. An increase in pressure causes the volume of the gas to decrease and vice versa. Air is the only gas commonly used in hydraulic systems because it is inexpensive and readily available.

Mass and Weight

Apparent weight problems usually are encountered in the discussion of force. Though relatively easy, they cause problems for some people.

One of the first points to get straight is the difference between mass and weight. Mass is that property that makes different objects accelerate differently when equal forces are applied. Operationally mass is the m in the equation of

where Mass is measured in kilograms or slugs.

Weight in equation form is

and is the force something exerts. Weight is measured in Newtons or pounds.

The first step in keeping this all straight is to remember that weight is force. Tension in a rope is a force.

Example 1

A person of 80 kg mass standing on the surface of the earth is subject to the force of gravity that acts between the 80Kg person and the mass of the earth.

The force is expressed as an acceleration due to gravity. On earth, this acceleration is 9.8 m/s². The force on the person also known as weight is

= 784 N

Volume

A volume is the amount of space occupied by a body. The standard unit for volume is the cubic metre (m³), but as one cubic metre is rather too large for many objects, cubic centimetre (cm³) are often used instead.

The volume of a liquid is normally expressed in litres.

Heat

As heat is a form of energy it is measured in Joules. The temperature of a body is defined in terms of the rate at which it gains or losses heat, and this in turn is an expression of the kinetic energy.

The temperature scale used for scientific purposes is the Kelvin scale, named after Lord Kelvin (1824-1907).

On this scale the zero point (0 K) is the lowest temperature theoretically attainable, while 273.15 K and 373.15 are the freezing and boiling points respectively of pure water (at an atmospheric pressure of 1 atmosphere or 1.0135 x 10⁵ Pascals (Pa). Note that on the Kelvin scale K is used on its own, that is without degrees.

The Celsius scale, name after the Swiss scientist who proposed it in the mid-eighteen century, is a very practical one because the freezing and the boiling points of pure water are set at 0 C and 100 C respectively. The Fahrenheit scale is still in use, especially in US.

Note that C = (F -32)/1.8 where C and F are degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit respectively.

Density

The density (D) of a substance or body is its mass (m) per unit volume (V) ie D = m/V. Different substances have different densities but, in addition, the density of a substance may change according to external conditions. The change in the density of water in response to a change in temperature is a prime example.

Velocity

Velocity is the time-rate of change of distance and is expressed as distance divided by time, that is feet per second, miles per hour, centimeters per second, meters per second, etc.

Acceleration

Acceleration is defined as the time-rate of change of velocity and is expressed as velocity divided by time or a sdistance divided by time squared, that is in feet per second, per second or feet per second squared; inches per second squared; centimeters per second squared. The metric SI unit is the meter per second squared.

Force and Weight

A force may be defined simply as a push or a pull; the push or pull may result from the force of contact between bodies or from a force, such as magnetism or gravitation, in which no direct contact takes place.

Weight is explained together with mass in the above section.

Work

Work, in mechanics is the product of force times distance and is expressed by a combination of units of force and distance, as foot-pounds, inch-pounds, meter-kilograms, etc.

The metric SI unit of work is the Joule, which is the work done when the point of application of a force of one Newton is displaced through a distance of one meter in the direction of the force.

Torque or Moment

Torque or moment of a force is a measure of the tendency of the force to rotate the body upon which it acts about an axis. The magnitude of the moment due to a force acting in a plane perpendicular to some axis is obtained by multiplying the for by the perpendicular distance from the axis to the line of action of the force.

If the axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the plane of the force, then the components of the force in plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation are used to find the resultant moment of the force by finding the moment of each component and adding these component moments algebraically.

Moment