The Frequency Response of Pneymatfc Lines

With Branching 1
SHI W • 1 &at 6.19
¥. K. RAVINDRAW AND J„ R. MANNING'

Some experimental results are presented for amplitude and

pfmse of small signal frequency response of pneumatic lines in 6.19 h -
configurations with branching. The recent data of Franke,
Malanowski, and Martin [i] 8 is extended in two areas: h^25A2-
1 Phase as well as amplitude measurements were made.
2 Stepped and conical branches were studied as well as
constant area branches. 1.1
Agreement is good with theoretical predictions based on the 0
Iberall-Nichols-Brown model [2,8,4] a-nd a simple continuity
o
model for branch junctions. Three-dimensional effects at junc-
tions are apparently not significant for the small amplitudes I 1.0 0
0

J
(less than 0.1 psi) and range of frequencies (100 to 1000 Hz) 0
studied.
1

Introduction 100 500 900

Hz
(ONTiNuiNG research at Stanford University has been focused
on methods for synthesis of fluidic systems. In current work we
are developing techniques for analytical design of signal shaping 0

networks for fluidic analog systems, with particular emphasis on 0

distributed parameter effects and their possible deliberate use
deg. 0
in filter synthesis. Since we have limited our attention to sys- _1 0
i

tems for which linear models are valid, the appropriate model
for pneumatic lines is the Iberall-Nichols-Brown (INB) model [2
3, 4] which has for simple line configurations been thoroughly
validated by experiment [5, 6, 7]. The synthesis methods we
are studying involve the use of cascaded lengths of different
section areas and of open and closed ended stub branches of
various geometries.
We needed to know whether the INB model was valid for
line configurations with abrupt area change and branching and
therefore undertook the modest experimental program reported
in this technical brief. The excellent recent paper of Franke,
Malanowski, and Martin [1] has become available in the interim.
Our results extend theirs in two important aspects:
1 We made phase as well as amplitude measurements.
2 We tested stepped and conical as well as constant area
branches.
In addition, we performed a few exploratory experiments with
abrupt area change configurations made up of sections of similar
length, rather than of one long and several very much shorter
sections as in [1]. Results in this case were suggestive rather than
conclusive and hence are discussed only briefly in the following
without graphical data presentation; full details are given in [8].
Theory
Since we were primarily interested in frequency dependent
signal shaping applications, we were concerned with the frequency
domain version of the INB model for fluidic lines. We therefore
conducted our tests by driving various geometric configurations
of interest with sinusoidal pressure signals of small amplitude
and varying frequency. At two different stations, a and /3, we
measured magnitude and phase (as a function of frequency) of
the complex pressure amplitudes A and B, i.e., those complex
numbers A and B which when substituted in the following ex-
! transducers. These filters also helped restrict the noise spectrum.
Graduate Student, Electrical Engineering Department, Stanford Uni-
versity, Stanford, Calif.
'Assistant Professor, Design Division, Mechanical Engineering Depart-
ment, Stanford University. Mem. ASME.
'Numbers in brackets designate References at end of Note.
Contributed by the Fluidica Committee to the Automatic Control Division
for publication in the JOURNAL OP DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, MEASUREMENT, AND
CONTROL. Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters, August 3, 1972.
Downloaded From: https://dynamicsystems.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org on 07/01/2019 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use
194 / J U N E 19 7 3
Copyright © 1973 by ASME
I 0
Fig. 1 Magnitude and phass of PAR for 0,249 i n . dla branched lint
configuration no. 1
pressions gave the pressure histories at the measurement stations
when the driving pressure was pa(t) — P cos (at — Uc(/'e''"|:
pa(t) = Re {Ae>°»\
= \A\ cos (ait + / A)
P0(t) = \B\ cos (w« + Z B)
We define the complex ratio A/B as the pressure nmplUud'
ratio (P A R), a quantity having both magnitude and phase n
functions, of frequency. Derivation of theoretical P A 11 based
on the INB model for particular measurement station location'1
in particular geometries is straightforward (see [8]) and will no*
be given here. Theoretical P A R values indicated on thefigure>
of this brief were obtained using the INB model for constant
area line sections, a simple continuity model for section junction*
(i.e., equal perturbation pressure and mass flow to either side of
the junction) and Nichols' expansions [3] for the series impedance
and shunt admittance per unit length. The latter are vali'l
when driving frequency w » wi-; in our case of a 0.24!) in. dia
line, UT « 3Hz while our lowest measurement frequency ww
100 Hz.
Experimental Apparatus and Procedure
The arrangement used for measurement of pressure iimplitude
ratios is described in detail in [8]. Obtaining a pure -=inusoid»|
pressure waveform to drive the system was very difficult ami
we therefore used band pass filters to isolate the fundamental
frequency component of the signal output from the proline
The a-c signal generated by the transducers for 0.1 psi procure
amplitude input was about 100 microvolts RMS. However, v«
made no effort to calibrate pressure signals because we are in-
terested only in ratios, which can be obtained without calib»«"
tion. To measure PAR = A/B as earlier defined, we measure
first the magnitude and angle of A and B with transducer 1 »•
location a and transducer 2 at location /3, yielding \A\i, *• Ah
Transactions of tho ASM&
 1.75 3.00

I—-18.5 — 4 ° 6 . 5 6 * T » 5 . 9 4 H -7.25 7.12 — — M & 0 0 * -

&«""«S,"^.VB*' Ph3Se
" Pm f
°r " 4 S ,n
" dta b
","ch- '»- i f ^ S S l ^ ™ " P«»" °f ™ « * « • » in. dl. branched „ M

Fig. 4 Magnitude of PAR for various stub configurations

\B\i, /.. Hi, We then reverse the locations of the transducers
and measure | 4 k Z A2, \B\,, Z Bi.
From these data, we compute the magnitude of the PAR as
PAR = X to cases when one of the signals measured is very low relative to
\B[,
and angle of the PAR as
PAR = i/s [ ^ 4 i + Z i , - Z B2
This technique eliminates the need for (1) calibration of trans-
ducers at every frequency, and (2) calibration of signal condition-
ln
S network at the measuring frequency.
The main noise source in this system was 60 cycle pick-up.
fie effect became more predominant for low frequencies. We
therefore restricted our measurements to frequencies above 100
Hz.
A minimum signal-to-noise ratio of about 20 db or better was
maintained in all the accepted data records. This applied usually
the other. Our predictions are that the measurements are ac-
curate within 10 percent in the worst case and 5 percent in the
usual situations.
Z Bi]
Experimental Results and Comparison With Theory
Fig. 1 shows the configuration used and results for the first
branched transmission line experiment. Since lengths and
terminations were identical, the PAR should ideally have unity
magnitude and zero phase angle.

Downloaded From: https://dynamicsystems.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org on 07/01/2019 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use

Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control JUNE 1 9 7 3 / 195
 Configurations used, experimental data and theoretical pre-
dictions are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for the second branched line
experiment. Magnitude agreement is good for both the 1.75 and
3 in. stubs. Phase agreement is excellent for the 1.75 in., good
for the 3 in. stub.
The stubs shown in Fig. 4 were introduced into the configura-
tion shown in Fig. 3. The PAR was compared near resonant
points for possible shifts in center frequency and bandwidth.
Fig. 4 indicates the results of these experiments, which may be
summarized as follows:
Frequency of 3db
Stub type resonance, Hz Bandwidth, Hz
Plain 745 55
Small stepped 755 60
Large stepped 785 60
Conical 800 60
We conclude that frequency of resonance may be conveniently
moved by changing the geometry of the stub, though we have
not been able to demonstrate any significant improvement or
deterioration in resonant quality for any of the configurations
over the plain stub.
A few experiments with abrupt area change configurations
were also made, as mentioned previously. Two configurations
were tested, both involving a 0.249 in. dia section followed by a
0.438 in. section and then another 0.249 in. section; section
lengths were about 6, 10, 6 in., and 1, 10, 12 in., respectively;
one of the a and /3 measurement stations was in each case lo-
cated on each of the smaller diameter sections. The limited ex-
perimental data and theoretical predictions are in good agree-
ment. Although only a few data were taken by us, our good
agreement and the corroborating results of Franke, et al. [1] are
probably sufficient to establish the validity of the INB model for
configurations of this sort.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Exploratory experimental data for magnitude and phase of
small signal frequency response were obtained for several pneu-
matic line configurations with branching or abrupt area change.
The Iberall-Nichols-Brown model for line sections coupled by
simple continuity junction models was thus provisionally veri-
fied for small amplitude, 100 to 1000 Hz signals in these complex
geometries; magnitude agreement of measurement and theoretical
predictions was uniformly good, while phase agreement was
good to occasionally fair.
More data should be taken at more closely spaced measurement
frequencies, with particular attention to the effect on phase of
stub length in branched configurations. It would also be in-
teresting to know whether errors due to insufficiently small
amplitude for linear theory validity occur at smaller signal am-
plitudes for complex than for simple line configurations.
References
1 Franke, M. E., Malanowski, A. M., and Martin, P. S.,
"Effects of Temperature End-Conditions, Flow, and Branch-
ing on the Frequency Response of Pneumatic Lines," JOURNAL
OP DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, MEASUREMENT, AND CONTROL, TRANS.
ASME, Series G, Vol. 94, No. 1, Mar. 1972, pp. 15-20.
2 Iberall, A. S., "Attenuation of Oscillatory Pressures in
Instrument Lines," Journal of Research, National Bureau of
Standards, Vol. 45, 1950, pp. 85-108.
3 Nichols, N. B., "The Linear Properties of Pneumatic
Transmission Lines," Transactions of the Instrument Society of
America, Vol. 1, 1962, pp. 5-14.
4 Brown, F. T., "The Transient Response of Fluid Lines,"
Journal of Basic Engineering, TRANS. ASME, Series D, Vol. 84,
No. 3, Sept. 1962, pp. 547-553.
5 Watts, G. P., "An Experimental Verification of a Com-
puter Program for the Calculation of Oscillatory Pressure At-
tenuation in Pneumatic Transmission Lines," Report No.
LA-3199-MS, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, New Mexico,
1964.
196 / J U N E 1973
Downloaded From: https://dynamicsystems.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org
on 07/01/2019 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/terms-of-use
6 Karam, J. T., Jr., and Franke, M. E., "The Fr.>0„
Response
response ofot Pneumatic
rneumatic Lines,"
Lines, Journal of Basic Enq'tu•
Ena<»2 • •> *
TRANS. ASME, Series D, Vol. 89, No. 2, June 1967, pr. w ! ! 5 » .
7 Krishnaiyer, R., and Lechner, T. J., "An Experirn. r
Evaluation of Fluidic Transmission Line Theorv" AJ!T " tal
in Fluidics, Brown, F. T., ed., ASME, New York; 19fi7 "*<
8 Ravindran, V. K., and Manning, J. R., "Lumped re-
tributed Synthesis of Fluidic Systems: A Progress RwJ. .'"l"
Report No. DD7101, Design Division, Mechanical E W ^ - ' '
Dept., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., Apr. lflfi. n,, <!
A Flueric Gas-To-Liquid Interface Amplifier
ROBERT L WOODS'
In certain applications it is necessary to control tfieflou,w-
liquid by means of pneumatic signal. This paper discusses \r •
design and operation of a flueric amplifier that accompli^,
this control without moving parts or diaphragms awl with ^
intermixing of fluids. The amplifier operates with pneumatic
pressure-field deflection of a slightly turbulent liquid power ??|
The amplifier has "infinite" input impedance since thin » ) l 0
measurable steady-state control flow over a large rangf. of inp>,i
pressures. Single-stage pressure gains of 25 and exlrcmdi
high power gains have been achieved. The amplifier hat a
minimum dynamic range of 25 and a bandwidth suitable far
many applications.
Nomenclature
G = gaseous fluid
L = liquid fluid
Pc = control pressure
Po •= output pressure (either POL or Pom)
POL = output pressure in left leg
PUB = output pressure in right leg
APo = differential output pressure (POB — POL)
P, = supply pressure to power jet
Pjmax = supply pressure at operating point
Qc = control flow
Qo = output flow (either leg)
Qs — supply flow to power jet
Qamax = supply flow at operating point
S( = Strouhal number
V, = liquid- power jet velocity
w = width of power nozzle
We = Weber number
a = angle between power jet and control channel
y = surface tension of liquid
p = liquid density
cooo = frequency at which 90 deg phase shift occurs
Introduction
IN specialized control applications there is the need to »eiwe »
pneumatic pressure signal that is below ambient pressure and »•
convert it to a liquid fluidic signal. In such applications, it n
necessary to provide an interface with no flow of liquid into ttt*
subambient control port and preferably with no entrainmont u.
air bubbles into the liquid signal over the range of operation
(null to saturation). The condition of no flow in either direction
'Meohaaioal Engineer, Fluidio Systems Research Branoh, Harry Dtam*"
Laboratories, Washington, D. C. Assoc. Mem. ASME.
Contributed by the Fluidics Committee to the Automatic Control DivWo^
and presented at the Winter Annual Meeting, New York, N. Y.. NorJe5M7d
26-30, 1972, of THE AMBBIOAN SOCIETY OP MECHANICAL ESOIMEBBS- K " ^
manuscript received at ASME Headquarters March 16, 1973. Paper
72-WA/Flcs-ll.
Transactions
of the ASME