A Power Recovery Type Pressure Reducer in the High Pressure Pneumatic System

Pressure reducing devices are the essential and critical components of a pneumatic system. But the energy lose due to the pressure reducing process is considerably huge when there is a high pressure difference. Aiming at this issue, firstly, the mechanism and quantification method of the energy loss in the throttling reducing process is analyzed based on pneumatic power theory. Then, a power recovery type (PRT) pressure reducer which can output shaft power during the reducing operation is proposed. The basic mechanical structure and the working principle of the PRT reducer are described. For evaluating the feasibility of the design, a thermodynamic model of the PRT reducer is established. And under specific parameter settings, simulations on the PRT reducer’s power output characteristics and the pressure regulating ability are carried out. On this basis, the principle structure of an energy recycling high pressure pneumatic system is proposed. This research is the theoretical foundation of the prototype design of a PRT high pressure reducing device.