Candidate: Vinícius VigoloDissertação_Vigolo_2018

Program: UFSC / POSMEC

Date: February, 2018

Advisor: Victor Juliano De Negri

Abstract: With the growing demand for low-carbon technologies, energy consumption reduction and environmental protection awareness, improvement of manufacturing processes’ energy efficiency has been widely adopted as a strategy for reduction of energy consumption and pollutants emission. Pneumatic systems, on its turn, are widely used in industrial production as they are very versatile, agile, have low initial and maintenance costs, and high power density. However, they are characterized by its low energy efficiency. Within this context, it is believed that the correct design of the pneumatic actuation system is one of the best and more efficient ways for improving the energy performance of these systems. Thus, the work presented in this dissertation is focused on tools that help the designer to understand the relationship between the diameter of the pneumatic actuator and sonic conductance of the directional valve with the dynamic behavior of the system, thereby enabling the correct sizing of these parameters, providing a system with maximum dynamic and operational performance. To support this work, a mathematical model was developed in MATLAB / Simulink® capable to represent the detailed dynamic behavior of a pneumatic actuation system. Sensitivity tests were held to understand the effects that the main parameters of a pneumatic actuation system exert on itself, and, with help of equations that relate the pressure ratios in the chambers of a pneumatic actuator in steady state, it was identified an optimal operation area, which represents the operational points that will result in the maximum dynamic and operational efficiency. Analytical equations were developed and validated experimentally, these equations may help the designer to identify this optimal operation area, demonstrating the applicability of the proposed equations during the design and dimensioning of a pneumatic actuation system.

Key-words: Sizing of pneumatic systems, Dynamic simulation. Sensitivity analysis. Energy efficiency.

Reference: VIGOLO, V. Estudo teórico-experimental para auxílio no dimensionamento de sistemas de atuação pneumáticos.  2018. 170 p. Dissertação (Mestrado em Engenharia Mecânica). Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis.

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