ANALYSIS AND AUTOMATED TESTING OF A MINIATURE PNEUMATIC VALVE FOR HOSPITAL PATIENT SUPPORT EQUIPMENT

Authors

  • Richard Montague Marine Current Turbines Ltd, The Court, The Green, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8PD, UK
  • John Watton Cardiff University, Division of Mechanical Engineering, Queen's Buildings/The Parade, Cardiff CF 24 3TA, Wales, UK

Keywords:

miniature pneumatic valve, automated testsystem, valve characteristics

Abstract

The steady state and dynamic performance of a miniature pneumatic valve is studied and an automated, computercontrolled test procedure is developed to determine unwanted leakage. A novel testing approach is developed using the valve dynamic leakage characteristic, and a substantially reduced test time has been achieved. A National Instruments LabVIEW hardware approach is utilised for both data acquisition and real time control and the test procedure has been put into commercial use.

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Author Biographies

Richard Montague, Marine Current Turbines Ltd, The Court, The Green, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8PD, UK

Richard Montague obtained his Engineering Doctorate from Cardiff University for his work in camber measurement and modelling at steel group Corus. He then worked as a research engineer for Dyson before starting in his current position as a design engineer with tidal renewables company, Marine Current Turbines. The work described in this paper was performed as part of a short-term research contract prior to starting his Doctorate.

John Watton, Cardiff University, Division of Mechanical Engineering, Queen's Buildings/The Parade, Cardiff CF 24 3TA, Wales, UK

John Watton is Professor of Fluid Power and has been continually active in this area since 1970 following industrial experience, BSc and PhD studies at Cardiff University and further industrial experience. Fluid power R&D has covered a broad spectrum ranging from fundamental theory and experiment to steel plant condition monitoring and mobile machine design and manufacture. Prof Watton acts as a Consultant and Expert Witness to industry, has written over 160 papers and text books, and was awarded his DSc in 1996 and the IMechE Bramah medal in 1999. He is a Fellow of the IMechE and a Chartered Engineer.

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Published

2005-08-01

How to Cite

Montague, R., & Watton, J. (2005). ANALYSIS AND AUTOMATED TESTING OF A MINIATURE PNEUMATIC VALVE FOR HOSPITAL PATIENT SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. International Journal of Fluid Power, 6(2), 57–64. Retrieved from https://journals.riverpublishers.com/index.php/IJFP/article/view/572

Issue

2005: Vol 06 Iss 2

Section

Original Article