Comprehensive Study of Energy-Saving Strategies Through Combined Throttling

In the field of pneumatic automation, downstream throttled pneumatic drives are widely adopted for motion tasks, valued for their cost-effectiveness, durability, and high-power density. However, this switching scheme is often regarded as being inefficient. Consequently, many researchers have focused on developing more efficient control strategies. In this paper a novel combined throttling scheme aimed at reducing air consumption is investigated. The paper offers a comprehensive overview of the design methodology and simulative analysis. A subsequent prototypical realization demonstrates the feasibility and function of the novel system with two distinct shut-off variants. In this way, the theoretical design methodology was validated by experimental results. The presented compressed air savings are adjusted to changes in cycle time, providing an objective evaluation in comparison to state-of-the-art system. The findings show a significant reduction in normalized air consumption with the novel circuit for selected load cases. The main characteristics and potential of the combined throttling approach are highlighted, thus facilitating the assessment of its viability in practical applications through a deeper understanding of the system.