Design of a Miniature Pressure Regulator for
use with a Pneumatically Actuated
Artificial Arm
Suzanne Lochert a1078416
Supervisors: Frank WornleGeorge Osborne
Overview
• Introduction• Aims of the Project• Current Limitations of Regulators• The Design• Benefits of the Design• Matlab Simulations• Future Work • Conclusions
Introduction
• A pressure regulator is used for Pneumatic applications
• A regulator reduces pressure and also regulates it
• For this application the pressure entering the Air Muscle needs to be controlled
• Wide Variety of Pressure Regulators– Spring or Weight Loaded– Single or Multiple Diaphragms– Pilot operated pressure regulator
Gas and Fuel corporation of Victoria (GFCV), 1976Popeck, 2001
Aims of the Project
• Create a miniature pressure regulator• This regulator is to be used with the Air Muscle
to allow applications to be autonomous• This requires
– a portable air supply – a small and lightweight regulator
The Air Muscle developed at the University of Adelaide, photo Suzanne Lochert, 2005
Current Limitations of Pressure Regulators
• Size of Regulators• Inability to
– Vary outlet pressure– Handle large pressures – Reduce the pressure sufficiently
• Hence current regulators do not meet specifications for project
Photo Suzanne Lochert 2005, Regulator courtesy of Mick Irvine, Office of the Technical Regulator
The Design
Benefits of the Design
• Spring Loaded*
• Single diaphragm• Safety pressure
relief*
• Valve positioning system
• Ease of Assembly
*Gas and Fuel corporation of Victoria (GFCV), 1976
Matlab Simulations
• A static model of the system was created using an m-file and simulink to determine system parameters
• A dynamic simulation of the system was then created using information from the static model and modelled in Simulink
Dynamic model of Regulator with no disturbance Dynamic model of Regulator with a disturbance
Future Work
• The regulator once manufactured will be tested
• These tests will be based on tests from Australian Standards
• The regulator will then be utilised for applications using the Air Muscle
Conclusions
• The Miniature Pressure Regulator has been designed by combining aspects of available regulators to be the optimal design for this application
• The simulations performed using Matlab helped to optimise the design of the pressure regulator
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