Intelligent modeling and control of a pneumatic motor

Pneumatic drives have been an interesting area of study for the past decade. There are two main reasons that motivate this kind of study: the response of pneumatic drives is slow, which leads to an inability to attain set points due to high hysteresis; the dynamic model of the system is highly nonlinear, which greatly complicates controller design and development. As a result, two streams of research efforts have evolved: using conventional methods to develop a modeling control strategy; adopting a strategy that does not require a mathematical model of the system. The paper presents an investigation into the modeling and control of the low speed of an air motor incorporating a pneumatic equivalent of the electric H-bridge. The pneumatic H-bridge has been devised for speed and direction control of the motor. The system is divided into three main regions of low, medium and high speed. The system is highly nonlinear in the low speed region and hence a controller with an ability of intelligence, such as a neuro model and controller, is proposed.