March 19, 2021

Hydraulic and Pneumatic: What is difference between?

Suppose there is a bike which travels a long mile but there is one condition, it must have petrol in it. So from here, we got to know that the working medium required in a bike will be "Petrol". It implies that the bike will not start if there is no petrol in it.

Hydraulics and Pneumatic

So the system that works on fluid like oil is called Hydraulics.

Similarly, any system that works on pressurized air is called Pneumatics.



    Introduction

    In Hydraulics, Pressurized oil is the working medium and in Pneumatic Compressed air is the working medium.

    Hydraulics came from the Greek word "Hydraulikos" which means water pipeline 

    Pneumatics came from the Greek word "Pneomatiks" which means Air Pressure.

    History

    Hero of Alexandria was a Roman engineer and mathematician of the century(A.D) who had a big contribution to Hydraulics and Pneumatics.

    He had written many theories like Maths Physics mechanics pneumatics. So we call him the father of Hydraulics and Pneumatics.

    Construction

    Construction | Stages in Pneumatic

    There are three stages to it 

    Stage 1: Input stage  

    [ In the input stage there are devices like push buttons]

    Stage 2: Control and processing stage  

    [In this stage specialized control valves are used like 5/2,3/2,4/2. So that the fluid (working medium) flow can be controlled]

    Stage 3: Output stage

    [In this cylinders are used as an output]

    All the 3 steps are the same for both systems, the difference is the input supply. In hydraulics working medium is oil whereas in the pneumatic working medium is air.

    Difference

    Hydraulic System

    Pneumatic System

    Liquid as a working medium

    Dry air as a working medium

    Used to lift Heavyweight

    Used to lift Small/medium weight

    Sluggish working speed 

    Rapid working speed

    Expensive

    Inexpensive

    Used for a short distance

    Used for long-distance

    Can affect heat temperature

    Cannot affect heat and temperature

    High maintenance

    Low maintenance

    Applications

    For Hydraulics:

    • In cars, the gearing system is an example of Hydraulics
    • Bulldozers, JCB also work under Hydraulics
    • Crane which is used to lift the weight also works under Hydraulics
    • Lifts, press machines, and Jack for the uplifting of the car also work under Hydraulics.

    For Pneumatics:

    • The pressure gauge and the vacuum cleaner is an examples of pneumatic.
    • The air brakes we use in buses and truck works under pneumatics.
    • Tubeless tires also work under pneumatics.
    • A pump is used to fill the air in bicycles.

    Based on Pressure:

    Hydraulic utilizes around 3000 to 5000 psi(up to 10000 psi)
    Pneumatic utilizes around 100 psi (up to 150 psi)

    Pneumatic and hydraulic systems have many similarities both of them are applications of fluid power.

    So what do you think is the more efficient Hydraulic system or the Pneumatic system?

    Project-based on Hydraulic

    To know how the Hydraulic system works a small model is made on Hydraulic Powered Track to understand the basic concept of it.

    To know more about it[Click Here]

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