Pneumatic System Research Articles

THE COMPOSITION OF THE PNEUMATIC SYSTEM FOR LOCAL MULTI-CIRCUIT COOLING ON AUTO TRACTOR DIESEL PARTS JUSTIFICATION

A series of motor bench and non-motorized experiments conducted at the Department of Engines and Hybrid Power Plants of NTU "KhPI" showed the high efficiency of local air cooling of heat-stressed parts of internal combustion engines, in particular, parts of the exhaust valve assembly of the gas distribution mechanism in an automated mode. However, in the tests carried out, a stationary air compressor powered by a ~220 V mains was used with air accumulation in a large-capacity cylinder. The implementation of a local cooling system on power plants, mainly powerful trucks, requires the inclusion in the automatic control system of autonomous cooling, a pneumatic compressor installed on the vehicle with an electric drive, powered by the on-board power supply and accumulating air in a receiver with compact dimensions.
 A review of design solutions and analysis of the component composition of pneumatic systems of autotractor vehicles was carried out. The requirements for the quality and safety of pneumatic systems of vehicles and their elements are considered. The technical characteristics of air compressors are presented. The scheme of the pneumatic system of local multi-circuit cooling on autotractor diesel parts has been chosen. On the example of the selected air compressor with an electric drive Maximum Performance 24V from ARB (Australia), estimates were made of the operating time up to a working pressure in the receiver of 10 bar. The electrical load on the 24 V on-board network of the vehicle was determined in the form of an average current consumption per filling cycle. The maximum current consumption by the compressor is determined, the current consumption per hour is estimated under the condition of a proportional alternation of the cycles of filling the receiver and emptying it.

APPLICATION OF VACUUM SUCTION CASTING OF IRON-CARBON ALLOYS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ENGINE PARTS

The use of vacuum suction casting technology for iron-carbon alloys for the production of internal combustion engine parts will improve their quality and wear resistance, preserve metal, and reduce emissions. The technology is widely used for non-ferrous alloys. At the same time, its implementation for iron-carbon alloys (including cast iron) in modern engine construction requires careful scientific and practical preparation. Problematic tasks arise when improving the pneumatic system of vacuum suction (large volumes of gas release), the stability of the metal pipeline (thermal overload in a high-temperature cast iron melt), and the stabilization of the casting microstructure (high-speed crystallization). The authors suggest using a specialized titanium alloy VT3-1 for the metal pipeline, for which the article calculates thermal loads during cyclic operation in the “Deep – take-out” mode for the use of cast irons of the SCH25 and VCH50-1.5 grades. For reliable operation of the metal pipeline and the absence of solidification of the melt on its inner surface, a thermal calculation method was develop, which allows determining the time of heat removal of overheating of the melt according to the diameter of the metal pipeline. The pneumatic system of the vacuum unit is supplement with a patented gas jet ejector, which, in combination with a powerful shop compressed air system, provides a full gas outlet. Applying the developed law of change in the discharge between atmospheric pressure and pressure in the mold cavity, the authors of the article regulate the rate of crystallization of castings, which makes it possible to form much smaller phases of perlite in the microstructure and reduce the presence of Ferrite. At the Enterprise "Pervomaiskdizelmash" using vacuum casting technology, blanks of guide bushings of engine valves 6CHN25/34 made of cast iron SCH25 and VCH50-1,5, as well as oils of piston rings made of cast iron VCH50-1,5 were obtained. The obtained parts showed an increased service life by 15-30%. Vacuum casting technology is recommend for iron-carbon alloys in the production of engine parts.

Multi-state, three-way, normally open mini valve based on 3D printed flexible magnets using origami-inspired magnetization

Electromagnetic mini valves for controlling pneumatic soft actuators are attracting widespread interest in recent years. However, it is known that the traditional electromagnetic valves on the millimeter scale generally have three or fewer working states, and their moving parts are usually permanent magnets with a special shape that needs expensive manufacturing. To overcome these problems, this study aims to develop a mini valve with four working states based on flexible magnets at a low fabrication cost. We take full advantage of low-cost 3D-printed magnets’ physical and magnetic properties and improve their performance through origami-inspired magnetization. A fixed-beam-structure flexible magnet is proposed to control this valve via deformation so that valve’s two sides can be driven independently, resulting in four working states. Compared with conventional sintered magnets, 3D printing magnets can be manufactured quickly and affordably. Due to the proposed valves’ more operating states than the state-of-art three-way ones, they are proven to reduce the number of small control elements in the pneumatic system. The maximum flow rate of the valve at 5 kPa air pressure was 0.81 l min−1 at the power consumption of 20 W. This mini valve has the potential in controlling multi-degree-of-freedom pneumatic soft actuators.

Design and Verification of an Automated Pressure Mapping System and Modulating Air Cells for Pressure Ulcer Prevention

This research focuses on developing an intelligent air mattress prototype based on commercially available alternating pressure air mattresses to prevent pressure ulcers. Force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) are installed under each air cell to measure interface pressure values occurring at different parts of the body. These collected values are then used to create pressure maps, indicating areas of high overpressure. The prototype incorporates a smart pneumatic control system divided into seven functional areas: head, back, waist, buttocks, thighs, calves, and heels. All operations are performed using LabVIEW software.

A Portable Device for I-V and Arrhenius Plots to Characterize Chemoresistive Gas Sensors: Test on SnO2-Based Sensors.

Chemoresistive nanostructured gas sensors are employed in many diverse applications in the medical, industrial, environmental, etc. fields; therefore, it is crucial to have a device that is able to quickly calibrate and characterize them. To this aim, a portable, user-friendly device designed to easily calibrate a sensor in laboratory and/or on field is introduced here. The device comprises a small hermetically sealed chamber (containing the sensor socket and a temperature/humidity sensor), a pneumatic system, and a custom electronics controlled by a Raspberry Pi 4 developing board, running a custom software (Version 1.0) whose user interface is accessed via a multitouch-screen. This device automatically characterizes the sensor heater in order to precisely set the desired working temperature, it acquires and plots the sensor current-to-voltage and Arrhenius relationships on the touch screen, and it can record the sensor responses to different gases and environments. These tests were performed in dry air on two representative sensors based on widely used SnO2 material. The device demonstrated the independence of the Arrhenius plot from the film applied voltage and the linearity of the I-Vs, which resulted from the voltage step length (1-30 min) and temperature (200-550 °C).

Design of Backstepping Sliding Mode Control for a Polishing Robot Pneumatic System Based on the Extended State Observer

Due to advantages such as a high power-to-weight ratio, a simple structure, and low cost, pneumatic systems are widely applied in automation. However, precise position control of pneumatic actuators is challenging because of factors such as friction, compressibility, and external disturbances. This paper presents a backstepping sliding mode control (BSMC) strategy based on the extended state observer (ESO) for pneumatic cylinder position tracking. A nonlinear model of the pneumatic system is first established, then system states and disturbances are estimated by an ESO, next the BSMC approach is developed using backstepping method and sliding mode control theory, and the stability of the ESO and controller is analyzed using Lyapunov theory. Finally, simulations and experiments on a pneumatic testbed are performed to compare the effectiveness of the proposed approach with PID control. The results show that the proposed strategy improves tracking accuracy and robustness against disturbances, with a 77.04% reduction in root mean square error (RMSE). This research provides a promising control solution for automated pneumatic polishing robots.

Development of a PLC Based Automation Cell for Industry

In recent years there is a considerable growth and development of automation mainly in industrial sectors. This technological revolution is quickly reducing the need of humans to operate machines. To reduce cost and increase the production rate every industry tries to invent new technology. Bringing automation in the industrial sector is one of them. Automation in the industrial sector reduces human effort, makes the system smooth and also increases productivity. For this tendency every industry wants to design an automatic production process with minimal amount of cost (MAC). The main purpose of this paper is to give an idea about automatic shrink packaging of the final product and sorting technique which reduces the overall packaging and sorting time and also increases productivity. In this project a PLC based low-cost automation cell will be developed for industry. This automation cell combines two different types of work in one frame. One is shrinking packaging of final products and another one is sorting which is done by measuring the size of the product. The purpose of combining two different types of work in frame is to reduce the overall production time. Pneumatic system introduced here for sorting purpose. This pneumatic system works faster than an electric pusher which finally reduces the sorting time. This pneumatic system is also safe from fire hazard where there is a high chance of fire hazard in electric pusher. Sorting is done here by using a double acting cylinder acting as a pneumatic pusher and this cylinder is controlled by a 5/2 Solenoid valve. Here Sorting is done after finishing the packaging of the final product. To perform different tasks in one frame it will be helpful for industry because both labor cost and time will be reduced as well as increased the production rate of industry. By using the PLC whose model name is Siemens S7-200 and using the Micro-WIN software for making the ladder diagram, the entire system will be controlled. The experimental findings demonstrate that the system has high sorting accuracy, is reliable, and satisfies the design specifications.

Physical and mechanical studies of the influence of the impact angle on the degree of damage to raw cotton in the pneumatic transport system

The article deals with the physical and mechanical aspects of the transportation of raw cotton in a pneumatic transport system. During transportation the raw cotton collides with the working surfaces of the outlets of the pipelines and the front body of the separator at various angles. A theoretical analysis of the influence of the angle of impact on the degree of damage to raw cotton in the pneumatic transport system was performed. Based on the constructed model of physical and mechanical interaction and the use of an experimental setup an increase in the speed of pneumatic transport of raw cotton, an increase in seed damage, a deterioration in the quality of cotton fibers, and a decrease in their germination during the preparation of raw cotton were studied.

Experimental investigation of the optimal driving pressure for a larger-volume controllable jet injection system.

Jet injection technology has become the alternative drug delivery method of conventional needle-based injection due to its obvious advantages. In order to meet the demand for larger volume injection, the pneumatic jet injection systems have efficiently administrated vaccine up to 1mL in human. Our recent study has also demonstrated that controlling the driving pressure enabled the pneumatic jet injection system to deliver larger volumes of drugs to target sites at desired rates and times. This work continues to explore the optimal two-phase driving pressure combination with better injection efficiency for typical larger-volume (1.0mL) jet injection with controllable pneumatic jet injection system. Under the combination of a first phase driving pressure of 1.00MPa and a second phase driving pressure ranging from 0.25 to 0.90MPa, dynamic characteristics, dispersion characteristics and pharmacokinetic characteristics of this controllable jet injection system were quantitatively analyzed. In all experiments, it was confirmed that the optimal driving pressure combination of 1.0mL ejection volume was close to (1.00-0.50) MPa. That is, the injection velocities of 151.85m/s and 102.01m/s for the first and second phase respectively facilitated better injection performance with a controlled release of 1.0mL ejection volume. This strategy is practical for facilitating the clinical application of large-volume controllable jet injection systems.

Modified Three-Element Modeling and Robust Tracking Control for a Planar Pneumatic Soft Actuator

In pneumatic soft robotics systems, pneumatic soft actuators (PSAs) are the most important components, so it is necessary to study the precise modeling and control over PSAs for application. This paper focuses on a self-designed planar PSA, named pneumatic bellow actuator (PBA), and proposes a modified three-element model (MTEM) and a nonlinear disturbance observer-based sliding mode control (NDO-based SMC) method to achieve the robust tracking control objective of the PBA with multiple uncertainties. Firstly, the dynamic characteristics of the PBA are analyzed based on experimental data obtained from open-loop experiments of the PBA. Then, based on these dynamic characteristics, a semi-phenomenological MTEM is established considering coupling between the dynamics of the PBA and load as well as friction, which can describe the dynamics of the PBA with changing loads in the rough horizontal plane precisely. Model parameters are then identified by Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm. Next, identification errors, device disturbances and external disturbances are regarded as the multiple uncertainties of the PBA, and the NDO-based SMC method is proposed based on the MTEM to realize the robust tracking control objective of the PBA. The stability of the control system is proved. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by experiments.

One-step generation of droplet-filled hydrogel microfibers for 3D cell culture using an all-aqueous microfluidic system

Hydrogel microfibers, which are characterized by flexible mechanical properties, a uniform spatial distribution, large surface areas, and excellent biocompatibility, hold great potential for various biomedical applications. However, the fabrication of heterogeneous hydrogel microfibers with high cell-loading capacity and the ability to carry multiple components via an environmentally friendly method remains challenging. In this study, we developed a novel pneumatic pump-assisted all-aqueous microfluidic system that enables the one-step fabrication of all-aqueous droplet-filled hydrogel microfibers with unique morphologies and adjustable configurations. By designing a pump-valve cycling system and selecting two immiscible fluids with stable water interfaces (dextran and polyethylene glycol), we successfully fabricated alginate microfibers with equidistantly arranged droplets through the ionotropic gelation reaction between sodium alginate and calcium chloride. The droplet size, interdroplet spacing, and microfiber dimensions could be flexibly controlled by adjusting the flow rates of the inner-phase, middle-phase, and outer-phase inlets. The results showed that the system enabled the high-throughput in situ formation of functional three-dimensional cell spheroids. The generated cell spheroids exhibited excellent cell viability and drug-testing functionality, indicating their potential applications in cell cultures. The developed technique offers strong support for future biomedical research and applications, and provides a new approach for the preparation of multifunctional hydrogel microfibers for materials science, tissue engineering, and drug testing.

Digital twin design of pneumatic classifier and its key technology

The design scheme for a digital twin of the pneumatic classifier is proposed, which is associated with the physical entity. The key technologies such as visualization design and data acquisition are analysed in order to realize the digital management of the pneumatic classifier and operating process and monitor flow field characteristics and particle motion based on data analysis according to the digital twin. It aims to realize real-time monitoring, simulation and prediction of the classification performance of the complex pneumatic classification systems, and provide practical guidance for the optimal design of pneumatic classifier.

Pneumatic Brake Control System of a Freight Train

Pneumatic Brake Control System of a Freight Train

Framing responsive architecture with soft robots—the exploratory practice of soft pneumatic robotic architectural system

Inspired by intelligent skin, this research constructs a soft pneumatic robotic architectural system based on the interaction between inflatable material agents and the human body. It aims to provide flexibly changeable scene modes for dynamic inhabiting through responsive spatial performance. From the idea of the Fun Palace and the structure and performance spatial methodology to the proposal of responsive/soft architecture and relevant examples such as Furl and Robot Soft, the literature review provides the foundation and direction for the establishment of research experiments. The research methodology is based on structure and performance, oriented to explore soft material agents, link input information and output modules to realize the manifestation of human-space interaction and spatial performance and assemble the basic configuration of the system. As a result, a synergistic architectural interaction system like a media center that can provide a variety of adaptive space scenes is built, which can realize real-time perception and responsive control of the interactive process, and at the same time provide richness of scene performance beyond established architectural configurations, confirming the possibility of creating a behaviorally responsive architecture by integrating modularly morphing spaces, AI-sensing systems, and interaction technologies. This study explored responsive human settlements by expanding soft pneumatic robots in architecture. It can expand to fields such as machine cognition at the input level, further realize the real-time feedback system at the output level, and can evolve with the information interconnection of urban landscapes and residential communities in terms of spatial interaction. The work gives a convincing vision of architectural intelligence through soft robotics and is expected to continue to develop and bring more inspiring innovations with its integrated methods and connotations.

STAJe−: A Supersonic Flight Program STAJe− 1 Payload Design and System Study

The STAJe− flight program is the latest implementation of a university-based supersonic and hypersonic flight-test program. In the first flight, which is the subject of this study, the focus is on evaluating the suitability of commercial off-the-shelf electronic hardware, additively manufactured internal payload structures, and a long-range communications technique in the challenging environment presented by flight at high supersonic Mach numbers. These items can significantly reduce the cost of a flight experiment, and thus lower the threshold for flight experimentation. The scientific objectives of this flight are to collect pressure and temperature data on the whole trajectory to compare to numerical models, to optically measure the temperature of composite fins mounted on the payload, and to eject the flight module from the rocket assembly and track its location for subsequent recovery. Design calculations for the tracking system are presented alongside experimental results from ground tests demonstrating the suitability of the system. Furthermore, a one-dimensional calculation of the external wall temperatures over the trajectory is presented, which shows that internal systems are sufficiently protected from the harsh environment. Although the materials are shown to be appropriate for the flight, a layer of cork will be added to parts of the payload to further reduce the chance of structural failure. In addition, it is shown that a pneumatic ejection system is suited to overcoming the drag forces on the front of the rocket to initiate separation.

Artificial intelligence in the pre-analytical phase: State-of-the art and future perspectives.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has become widespread in many areas of science and medicine, including laboratory medicine. Although it seems obvious that the analytical and post-analytical phases could be the most important fields of application in laboratory medicine, a kaleidoscope of new opportunities has emerged to extend the benefits of AI to many manual labor-intensive activities belonging to the pre-analytical phase, which are inherently characterized by enhanced vulnerability and higher risk of errors. These potential applications involve increasing the appropriateness of test prescription (with computerized physician order entry or demand management tools), improved specimen collection (using active patient recognition, automated specimen labeling, vein recognition and blood collection assistance, along with automated blood drawing), more efficient sample transportation (facilitated by the use of pneumatic transport systems or drones, and monitored with smart blood tubes or data loggers), systematic evaluation of sample quality (by measuring serum indices, fill volume or for detecting sample clotting), as well as error detection and analysis. Therefore, this opinion paper aims to discuss the state-of-the-art and some future possibilities of AI in the preanalytical phase.

Pembuatan Alat Bantu Kerja Pneumatik Pelepas Rubber Journal Spring Pada Bogie K5

One of the facility maintenance performed on the bogie is removing the rubber journal spring. The removal of the rubber journal spring is still done manually, namely slamming it to the floor using a long bolt of about 10 cm which is inserted into the hole in the rubber journal cap to push the rubber so that it can be released from the hat within 8-10 minutes. This research was conducted to innovate tools with the aim of facilitating the maintenance process, shorter time and guaranteed safety in removing the rubber journal spring. The manufacturer of this release tool uses a pneumatic system with the components used in the form of a cylinder with a diameter of 100 mm × 200 mm in length, a 4/2 pust button valve, an air filter, a manometer, and an 8 mm air hose. From the test results, the rubber journal spring removal tool on bogie K5 using a pneumatic system requires 1.2 minutes with a pressure of 5 bar to release 1 rubber journal spring. This tool has dimensions weighing 40 kg, length 50 cm, width 30 cm, height 90 cm.
 Keyword: rubber journal spring, bogie, pneumatic

Implementing a Precision Pneumatic Plug Tray Seeder with High Seeding Rates for Brassicaceae Seeds via Real-Time Trajectory Tracking Control

In recent years, the aging of the rural population worldwide has become a major concern, necessitating the development of agricultural automation. Pneumatic energy has emerged as a reliable and environmentally friendly option, aiding in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions. The purpose of this study is to reduce the amount of labor required for plug tray seeding by developing an automated seeder that employs a precision pneumatic servo system via the rod-less actuator with real-time trajectory tracking capabilities. The proposed seeder has a simple structure, is easy to maintain, and saves energy. It mainly consists of a rod-less pneumatic cylinder, a needle seeding mechanism, a soil drilling mechanism and a PC-based real-time controller. Mathematical models of the developed precision pneumatic plug tray seeder are analyzed and established, and an adaptive sliding mode controller is proposed. A PC-based real-time control system is developed using MATLAB/SIMULINK via an optical encoder with a sampling frequency of 1 kHz to enable the development of precise pneumatic plug tray seeder. An optical encoder is used to measure the displacement of the rod-less cylinder which represents real-time positions of the plug tray loading platform. Experiments are conducted using Brassicaceae seeds, and the rates of single seeding, multiple seeding, missed seeding and germination are carried out through manual measurement. The results indicate that the seeder exhibits satisfactory performance, with a root mean square error of less than 0.5 mm and a single-seeding rate of more than 97%. Overall, our findings provide new insights for nurseries and could contribute to the reduction in agricultural carbon emissions.

Математична модель пневматичної пускової системи з урахуванням характеристик безпілотного літального апарату, двигуна та повітряного гвинта

Despite significant progress in the development of modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), universal launch systems are not currently used for them. In fact, each UAV project requires its own launcher, which is inefficient in many cases. To evaluate the characteristics of UAV launchers, simple methods are used at the level of analysis of acting forces, but they do not make it possible to correctly select the type and parameters of the catapult for specific tasks. The object of this study was a universal pneumatic launch system for operational-tactical UAVs. The purpose of this study is to select the design scheme and basic parameters of a universal pneumatic catapult for UAVs of the operational-tactical class. The task: to develop and numerically solve a mathematical model of a pneumatic catapult, perform an analysis of characteristics, justify the choice of a design scheme and main parameters of a pneumatic catapult when changing the initial parameters within broad limits. Method of the study. The thermodynamic method was used with the help of which the differential equations of motion of structural elements were compiled and solved for various combinations of parameters. The results. By modeling, the main characteristics of the catapult were obtained and it was shown that for the effective functioning of the launcher, no special pneumatic cylinder piston sealing is required; the air leakage through the gap is controlled due to the short process time even at high operating pressures. In addition, the permissible minimum height of the cable attachment point on the trolley above the block roller was determined below which the loads on the cable and piston increased sharply. Conclusions. The developed model confirmed the versatility of using the pneumatic launcher of the scheme under consideration for operational and operational-tactical UAVs with a take-off weight of 50 to 250 kg, and such a wide range is provided only by regulating the air pressure in the receiver and is not available for other types of systems. At the same time, if the increase in pressure is limited by safety requirements, the possibility of further increasing the takeoff weight of the UAV in the launch scheme under consideration will remain by increasing the diameter of the pneumatic cylinder.

Self-Locking Pneumatic Actuators Formed from Origami Shape-Morphing Sheets.

The art of origami has gained traction in various fields such as architecture, the aerospace industry, and soft robotics, owing to the exceptional versatility of flat sheets to exhibit complex shape transformations. Despite the promise that origami robots hold, their use in high-capacity environments has been limited due to the lack of rigidity. This article introduces novel, origami-inspired, self-locking pneumatic modular actuators (SPMAs), enabling them to operate in such environments. Our innovative approach is based on origami patterns that allow for various types of shape morphing, including linear and rotational motion. We have significantly enhanced the stiffness of the actuators by embedding magnets in composite sheets, thus facilitating their application in real-world scenarios. In addition, the embedded self-adjustable valves facilitate the control of sequential origami actuations, making it possible to simplify the pneumatic system for actuating multimodules. With just one actuation source and one solenoid valve, the valves enable efficient control of our SPMAs. The SPMAs can control robotic arms operating in confined spaces, and the entire system can be modularized to accomplish various tasks. Our results demonstrate the potential of origami-inspired designs to achieve more efficient and reliable robotic systems, thus opening up new avenues for the development of robotic systems for various applications.