Air Supply Equipment - Honeywell AUTOMATIC CONTROL Engineering Manual

construction (Fig. 10) and are used to amplify, reverse, average,
select, and switch controller outputs before being sent to valve
and damper actuators.
COMMON
PORT
P
PILOT
PORT
Fig. 10. Typical Switching Relay.

AIR SUPPLY EQUIPMENT

GENERAL
A pneumatic control system requires a supply of clean, dry,
compressed air. The air source must be continuous because
many pneumatic sensors, controllers, relays, and other devices
bleed air. A typical air supply system includes a compressor,
an air dryer, an air filter, a pressure reducing valve, and air
tubing to the control system (Fig. 11).
The following paragraphs describe the compressor, filter,
pressure reducing valves, and air drying techniques. For
information on determining the moisture content of compressed
air, refer to the General Engineering Data section.
INTAKE FILTER
COMPRESSOR
PRESSURE SWITCH
STORAGE
TANK
NORMALLY OPEN
SERVICE/TEST VALVE
NORMALLY CLOSED
SERVICE/TEST VALVE
SPRING
O
NORMALLY
CONNECTED PORT
X
NORMALLY
DISCONNECTED PORT
CONTROL
CHAMBER
C2608
HIGH PRESSURE SAFETY RELIEF VALVE
DRIVE BELT
MOTOR
AIR DRYER
AUTO TRAP
TEST COCK
Fig. 11. Typical Air Supply.
PNEUMATIC CONTROL FUNDAMENTALS
The controlling pressure is connected at the pilot port (P),
and pressures to be switched are connected at the normally
connected port (O) or the normally disconnected port (X).
The operating point of the relay is set by adjusting the spring
pressure at the top of the relay.
When the pressure at the pilot port reaches the relay
operating point, it pushes up on the diaphragm in the control
chamber and connects pressure on the normally
disconnected port (X) to the common port as shown. If the
pilot pressure falls below the relay setpoint, the diaphragm
moves down, blocks the normally disconnected (X) port,
and connects the normally connected port (O) to the common
port.
AIR COMPRESSOR
The air compressor provides the power needed to operate
all control devices in the system. The compressor maintains
pressure in the storage tank well above the maximum required
in the control system. When the tank pressure goes below a
minimum setting (usually 70 to 90 psi), a pressure switch starts
the compressor motor. When the tank pressure reaches a high-
limit setting, the pressure switch stops the motor. A standard
tank is typically large enough so that the motor and compressor
operate no more than 50 percent of the time, with up to twelve
motor starts per hour.
Some applications require two compressors or a dual
compressor. In a dual compressor, two compressors operate
SERVICE
BYPASS
VALVE
HIGH-PRESSURE
GAGE
AUTO
SEPARATOR
FILTER/TRAP
DRAIN
COCK
TEST COCK
PIPED TO DRAIN
65
ENGINEERING MANUAL OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL
PRESSURE
REDUCING
VALVE
SAFETY REFIEF VALVE
MAIN AIR
TO SYSTEM
LOW-PRESSURE GAGE
SUBMICRON
FILTER
C2617-2