Industrial Applications of Fluid Power - Assignment Example

Industrial applications of fluid power Introduction Over many years, fluid power has been used to do various kinds of works in industrial applications. Various fluids have been found to be necessary for industrial use. Among the most commonly used fluid forms are water (used in hydraulics), air and oil. The fluids are used in their pure forms in order to avoid corrosion and wearing down of the various machine components. Fluid power has been defined by several peoples in different ways. The most common definition for fluid power, however, has been defined by (Normann, Houghtalen, & Johnston, 2005). He asserts that fluid power is the energy form that is propagated and controlled by the use of fluids under great pressure. These fluids can be in liquid of gaseous forms. Hydraulics is a form of fluid power that uses liquids such as oil or water under pressure to do the work. Pneumatics on the other hand uses the same mechanisms as hydraulics but differ in components. As opposed to hydraulics, pneumatics utilizes the use of air or other gases in their neutral forms under great pressure to do the work. This paper discusses the uses and application of pneumatics as opposed to fluid power in various industrial and technological applications. I have described the various components of the pneumatics and illustrate their functions at different levels. Over a period of time, pneumatic technology has been used considerably to carry out some of the simplest mechanical tasks in industries and machines parts. Pneumatics has been widely used in various industrial applications owing to its various advantages over other fluid powers. The choice for this kind of technological application is determined by various properties of air that makes it appropriate for its mechanical function. Air is lighter than other fluids such as oil and air hence, more convenient for the application (Schall, Richardson, & Morris, 2008). Besides, air can be used in its natural state without intensive attempts to purify it. This fact is based on the argument that air has little impurities compared to water and oils. Today, pneumatics plays a very important role in the automation and development of various sophisticated technological applications. Pneumatics is basically the use of gas under great pressure to aid in performing certain industrial and technological applications. According to Schall, Richardson & Moris, (2008) pneumatics is merely the propagation and control of forces as well as movements of mechanical parts by means of compressed air. Pneumatics, in simply terms, uses compressed air to do the mechanical work required in various industrial applications. It is easier to acquire air compared to other fluids such as oils used in fluid power making it one of the cheapest sources of fluid power. The various components of a pneumatic have been described in the following sketch. Some systems use both pneumatic and hydraulic power systems while others make use of only pneumatic or fluid power systems. Some of the systems that use both hydraulic and pneumatic power systems include: open loops systems, fluid logic control systems, electrical control systems, electronic control systems. Other systems that utilize both pneumatic and hydraulic power systems are hydrostatic as and hydrodynamic systems. The use of fluid power systems stem from their many advantages over other systems that perform similar functions. To begin with, fluid power systems are simple and easy to operate hence their application in various systems. Besides, these fluid systems can be accurate to control when used in various technological applications hence appropriate for the work. They give flexibility to various equipments in which they are used hence require very little complex mechanisms to use and operate. The machine components using fluid systems can be easy and convenient to start, accelerate, stop decelerate, reverse as well as allow the positioning of large components or forces with great accuracy. Such accuracies can be ensured by just pushing simple levers and control buttons hence making fluid systems and machine components easy and convenient to use. Safety of use for fluid power systems is what makes them most preferred for various machine components. The hydraulic components for instance are very safe for use in landing; take offs and flight of both airplanes as well as aircrafts. The modern advances in mining and tunneling are as a result of the extensive application of the modern hydraulic as well as pneumatic systems. Most of the systems that employ the use of fluid systems such as hydraulics and pneumatics use simple technical applications. Operational technicalities involve mainly regulating the efficiency and effectiveness of the machines using regulatory valves and buttons. For instance, the mining and tunneling machines are controlled by regulating the amount of fluid passing through the pump in relation to the materials being worked on (Federal Highway Administration, 2001). It is due to this ease of use and low costs of operation and acquisition that fluid systems are found to be commercially viable for use in various applications. The following diagram is a simple sketch of a pneumatics used with hand held pneumatic tools within small or medium sized workshops. The functions of its components are discussed hereon. The pump: this component is used to force out the fluid from the reservoirs and sets it in motion through the rest of the circuit. During this process, the fluid is converted from mechanical energy form to pneumatic energy ready for operation. The pneumatic actuator: is the component whose role is to convert pneumatic power into mechanical power for useful application. The actuator is fitted in various forms, for instance, linear or rotational motions depending on the required functions. Valves: are used to regulate the pressure and flow rate of the air through the tubes. The valves also control the direction in which the fluid is flowing through the fluid. Reservoir: the reservoir is used to hold the fluid, in this case, the gas used to run the entire system. External power supply: also called the motor system. This component is used to drive the pump and make it operational. The compressor: this component is required to maintain the required level of pressure suitable for operating the entire system. Installation process Do not try to carry out any installation process before reading and fully understanding the safety requirements. Confirm the proper mounting of the system. Check the conditions of the piping systems to ensure that the pipes are not crushed or disconnected. Inspect the connection of the compressed air supply source to the product on which the system is to be mounted and perform the leakage or appropriate functioning process to see if the fluid is mounted properly. Ensure that the information printed on the products are not erased or covered during the installation process as this information may be important for other purposes. Finally, contact the manufacturers, in case the paints need to be reapplied. Do not replace the paint without consulting the manufacturers as this may have adverse effects on the system due to paint solvents etc. Basic safety and maintenance requirements Various safety and maintenance measures have to be taken into account during the use of fluid systems. These measures are aimed at improving the health of the workers using the system in line with the Health and Safety Legislations. The installation processes require that one takes into consideration all safety measures. For instance, one has to make sure that the installation of the pneumatic system must be done only by qualified personnel. In order to ensure safety, the person carrying out the installation process must ensure that the power supply is turned off as well as turn off the pressure supply. These measures are taken into consideration in order to ensure that the air is not released to the atmosphere as these gases may cause great health harms to the individuals. The Health and safety regulations require that the possible hazards during the operation of any machine be identified and mitigated upfront. According to the Health and Safety Legislations of 2014, part 3, section 35, sub- article a and b, a duty holder is required to predict, and eliminate any possible risks so far as reasonably practicable. If such identified risks cannot be eliminated by any means, sub article b of the same section requires the duty holders to minimize the impacts of such risks by taking any necessary precautionary measures. All safety measures that may lead to explosion, bodily harm and exposure to any kind of danger will be potentially eliminated or minimized as per the H&S Legislations. Conclusion To conclude, the fluid power systems have been widely used in various parts of the world to perform various technical and mechanical tasks. Different forms of fluid systems have been in use in different sectors depending on various needs and applicability. Among the most commonly used fluid systems are pneumatic and hydraulic fluid power systems. The type of fluids used in fluid systems includes gases, oil and water. Of these types, pneumatic fluid systems are the most common owing to their ease of use, ease in portability and neutral characteristic which makes it suitable compared to the other fluids. References Federal Highway Administration. (2001). Highway Storm Water Pump Station Design Hydraulic Engineering Circular . Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Transportation. Normann, J., Houghtalen, R., & Johnston, W. (2005). Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts. Hydraulic Design Series , 5 (FHWA-NHI-01-020). Schall, J., Richardson, E., & and Morris, J. (2008). Introduction to Highway Hydraulics. Hydraulic Design Series , 4 ( FHWA-NHI-08-090,). Read More