EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FRICTION CHARACTERISTICS OF PNEUMATIC CYLINDER

Abstract

Understanding of friction characteristics of a pneumatic cylinder may contribute to efficient design of a pneumatic cylinder system. However, friction behaviors of a pneumatic cylinder have not completely been elucidated. In this paper, the steady-state and dynamic friction characteristics of three types of pneumatic cylinders are investigated in detail, and the effects of rod and piston packings on friction characteristics are also investigated using two types of lubricants, grease and oil. It is shown that the steady-state friction characteristic of the pneumatic cylinders with a good low speed performance is somewhat complicated compared to that of a standard type cylinder but can be expressed by a usual friction model with two velocity-range dependent parameters. It is also shown that the friction characteristics are dominated by piston packing and are strongly affected by lubricant type.