... This book is suitable for a single semester course in fluid power aimed at senior mechanical engineering students. Books on fluid mechanics will teach you how fluids move and the forces on them, but there is nothing about system design. This book shows you how to take the components you studied in fluid mechanics - pumps, valves, actuators - and build a system. In this book, each concept is presented along with a circuit diagram of an application at the time that the concept is introduced. As each component is discussed, it is placed in a circuit and some analysis of circuit performance is done as part of the discussion. This approach allows the reader to immediately apply what is being taught and encourages the reader to think about the component's operational characteristics in terms of the rest of the circuit. There are 14 laboratories that go along with the chapters to add to the applied nature of the book.
Chapter one is an overview, which is typical for such textbooks. Chapter 2 reviews the basic concepts learned in fluid mechanics - which is a prerequisite to understanding this book. Since the two key variables in a fluid power system are pressure and flow, chapter 3 discusses the various methods for controlling pressure in a circuit, and chapter 4 discusses the creation and control of flow. Chapter 5 discusses rotary actuators with a great deal of emphasis on motors. Hydrostatic transmission is covered in chapter 6, building on the material on pumps and motors in chapters 4 and 5, respectively. Chapter 7 presents an analysis of linear actuators and completes the presentation of key elements of a fluid power system. Chapter 8 is about temperature and contamination control. Characteristics of auxiliary components such as hoses, tubings, fittings, and reservoirs are covered in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 is the only chapter on pneumatics. It focuses on the difference in power transmission when using liquid versus gas. Servo valves are covered in Chapter 11 followed by a discussion of proportional valves in Chapter 12. Although chapters 11 and 12 do not require a background in control theory, you'll get more out of them if you have had a course in the subject.
This is a very good college book for the student that wants to split the difference between a shop manual and a terse academic tome. It has numeric examples throughout as well as example designs and listings of steps to take as part of the design process in order to make things ultra clear to the student. The book is also very well illustrated. I highly recommend it. ...
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