HGRS MASTER - Maintenance

Type of Skill: General Technical Skills

Category : Mechanical
Module: Pneumatics Theory and Application
Unit: Fundamentals 1 of 8
Version: 1.0 05-11-03
Reference: Pneumatics - 01 Fundamentals.ppt

Fundamentals
Purpose: This unit will introduce the fundamentals of pneumatics. To effectively apply pneumatics in the
cement industry, it is necessary and important to understand the basics on air. Knowledge of
air composition, physical properties, and characteristics are presented in this module.
Description: History
 Compressed air is one of the oldest forms of energy known to man and has been applied
to enhance our physical capabilities for thousands of years.
 The first man to whom we know with certainty to have engaged himself with pneumatics
was the Greek KTESIBIOS. More than 2000 years ago he built a compressed air impulse
catapult.
 The term “pneumatics” (the study of air movement and air phenomena) was derived from
the Greek word “pneuma” which which means breath or wind.
 Although the fundamentals of pneumatics rank amongst the earliest perceptions of
mankind, it was not until the last century that the behavior and the fundamentals were
researched systematically.
 The true worldwide introduction of pneumatics in industry came with the need for
automation.
 In spite of initial rejection, mainly due to ignorance and lack of education, the fields of
application continued to increase.
 Today compressed air devices are installed in very wide range of different industries.
 For the cement industry, compressed air or pneumatics is applied:
 To transport materials (e.g. cement to silos)
 To control gates and valves (e.g. dosing gates)
 To clean bags(e.g. jet pulse dust collector)
 To handle components (e.g. cement bagging operation)
 To spray material (e.g. open gear spray system)
 etc.

Advantages of using compressed air :

1. The air is available practically everywhere and in (unlimited) quantity.
2. Air can be easily transported in pipelines over long distances and it is unnecessary to
return compressed air to its source.
3. A compressor need not be in continuous operation. Compressed air can be stored in
and removed from a reservoir. In addition, transportation of the reservoir is possible
(cylinder).
4. Compressed air is insensitive to temperature fluctuations. This ensures reliable
operation, even under extreme conditions of temperature
5. Compressed air offers no risk of explosion or fire hence no additional expensive
explosion-protection equipment is required.
6. Compressed air is clean. If any air escapes through leaking pipes, it does not present
a environmental or housekeeping issue.(It does represent a cost issue)
7. The operating components are simple and inexpensive construction.
8. Compressed air is a very fast working medium. This enables high working speeds to
be attained. (Pneumatics cylinders have a working speed of 1-2 m/sec).
9. With compressed air components, speeds and forces are infinitely variable.
10. Pneumatic tools and operating components can be loaded to the point of stopping and
they are overload safe.

Disadvantages of using compressed air are:

1. Compressed air needs good preparation. Dirt and humidity must not be present.
(Wear of pneumatic components.)
2. It is not possible to achieve uniform and constant piston speeds with compressed air.
3. Compressed air is economical only up to certain force requirement. Under the

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 normally prevailing working pressure of 700 kPa (7 bar (100psi) and dependent on the
travel and speed, the limit is between 20000 and 30000 N (2000-3000 kp).
4. The exhaust air is noisy. This problem has been largely solved due to the
development of sound absorption material.
5. The production of compressed air has a relatively high cost due to electrical energy
consumption.
Standards: Definition
 Air is a mixture of gases.

Composition
 The composition of atmospheric air is ~ 78% Nitrogen, 21%, and 1% other gases
 Other substances found in atmospheric air are dust, soot, sand, moisture, etc.

Atmospheric Air Pressure

 The pressure (force per unit area) exerted by the atmosphere on any surface by virtue of
its weight is equivalent to the weight of a vertical column of air extending above a surface
of unit area to the outer limit of the atmosphere.
 The atmospheric pressure is not felt because it acts in all directions with the same
intensity.
 The actual atmospheric pressure does not have a constant value. It varies depending on
weather conditions and altitude above sea level.
 Atmospheric pressure at normal standard conditions of 0°C and at sea level,is equal to
760 mm Hg = 14.7 psi = 101.3 kPa = 1.013 bar

Gauge Pressure
 Normally in industry, air pressures are expressed in terms of gauge pressure.
 Gauge pressure is the total amount of air pressure in the system minus the atmospheric
air pressure. (See Figure 1.)

Air Moisture- Definitions

 An air sample is saturated if it contains the maximum possible amount of water vapor.
 The actual amount of water vapor present in the sample is called absolute humidity.
 The ratio between absolute humidity and humidity of a saturated sample is known as
relative humidity.
 Dew-point temperature is the temperature air would have to be cooled to in order for
saturation to occur and is a function of the relative humidity and pressure.

Physical Properties
 The relationship of physical properties of air are best explained by the Ideal Gas Law.
P•V=n•R•T
 P: Pressure, the pressure of the air
 V: Volume, the volume of the air
 n: Number of moles, which corresponds to the number of atoms or amount of air
 R: Universal Gas Constant, a constant number used by all air
 T: Temperature, the temperature of the air
 From the Ideal Gas law two other laws are developed to show how different physical
properties of gas influence each other. They are Boyle's Law and Charles' Law.

 Boyle's Law: For a constant amount of gas at a constant temperature, the product of the
pressure and volume of the gas is a constant. P0V0 = P1V1 = constant
 This means that if the pressure of the air increases, the volume will decrease.
Conversely, if the volume increases then the pressure will decrease.

 Charles's Law: For a constant amount of gas at a constant pressure, the volume of the
gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature. V0 / T0 = V1 / T1 = constant
 This means that if the temperature increases, the volume will increase too, and if the
temperature decreases then the volume will decrease.

Air Compression Processes

 Adiabatic Process: no energy in the form of heat is exchanged with the environment.
Consequently the temperature of the air rises.

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  Isothermal Process: the temperature of the air is kept constant through a perfect heat
exchange system.
 Polytropic Process: is the combination of both adiabatic and isothermal processes.

Compression Cycle
 For the example of a piston rod compression cycle there are four different stages.
Beginning, Intake, Compression, and Transfer. (See Figure 2.)
 Beginning: The first condition at which the volume of the system is at the lowest.
 Intake: The intake valve is opened and the piston travels out along the cylinder. This
allows the chamber to fill with air at atmospheric pressure.
 Compression: The intake valve is closed and the piston travels back along the cylinder.
The system is closed and as the volume decreases, the pressure increases.
Transfer. The outlet valve is opened and the compressed air is forced out of the system. The
cycle begins again with the closing of the outlet valve.
Energy Balance
 The energy balance for an actual compression system shows that 5%is transferred to the
air and 95% is converted into heat. (See Figure 3.)
Impact if not  Inability to understand the fundamental of pneumatics and air would reduce the level of
applied: analysis and troubleshooting that can be completed.
Actions:  Train plant personnel on the fundamentals of pneumatics.
 Train plant personnel on the basics of air, including the knowledge of air composition,
physical properties and characteristics.
Unit  Participant can explain the relationship between guage pressure and atmospheric
Completion: pressure.
 Participant can explain the relationships between pressure, volume, and temperature for
both Boyle's Law and Charles's Law.
See site specific unit for additional information, respective corrective actions and applicable safety
instructions.

Figure 1. Air Pressure Relationships

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Figure 2. Compression Cycle for a Piston Compressor System

Figure 3. Energy Balance Diagram

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