Published Paper Details:

Pneumatic actuators are used for converting pressure energy of compressed air into the mechanical energy to rotate the valves. In other words, Actuators created the displacement of pistons due to force exerted by compressed air leading to conversion of linear motion into rotary motion. The pressurized air from storage is supplied to pneumatic actuator to do work. The air cylinder is a simple and efficient device for providing linear thrust or straight line motions with a rapid speed of response. Friction losses are low, seldom exceeds 5 % with a cylinder in good condition, and cylinders are particularly suitable for single purpose applications and /or where rapid movement is required. The elastic nature of the compressed air is the chief limitation that makes them unsuitable for powering movement where steady forces or motions are required applied against a fluctuating load, or where extreme accuracy of feed is necessary. The air cylinder is also inherently limited in thrust output by the relatively low supply pressure so that production of high output forces can only be achieved by a large size of the cylinders. The objective is to focus the design, analysis and optimization of critical components of pneumatic actuator to achieve the improved yield or output in terms of torque. This dissertation gives detailed study of different mechanism and optimization of pneumatic actuators. Generally, selection of materials, modifications in mechanism and controlling the variable parameters is the point of focus for the improvement in actuators.