Fundamentals of Fluid Power

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/fluid-power

Introduction

**Course Review: Fundamentals of Fluid Power on Coursera** **Overview** If you're looking to deepen your understanding of fluid power systems and their applications, the "Fundamentals of Fluid Power" course offered on Coursera is an excellent choice. With its comprehensive curriculum, this course provides a strong foundation in the principles of hydraulics and pneumatics. Designed for engineering students, professionals, and enthusiasts alike, it delves into the advantages and limitations of fluid power technologies while equipping you with the analytical skills necessary for the design and simulation of fluid power circuits. **Course Structure and Syllabus** The course spans six weeks and is structured to progressively build your knowledge. - **Week 1: Fundamentals of Fluid Power** The course kicks off with a detailed overview of hydraulics and pneumatics, introducing fundamental concepts through the lens of a cylinder. This week lays the groundwork for the more complex topics that will follow. - **Week 2: Components and Concepts: Part 1** As you dive deeper, you'll explore circuit diagrams—the essential language of fluid power. Understanding fluid flow through conduits is crucial, and here you will examine hydraulic circuits in practical applications, such as mowing machines. - **Week 3: Components and Concepts: Part 2** This week focuses on the core components, namely valves and pumps. You will learn how to calculate pressure drops and gain insight into the function of basic valves and positive displacement pumps, which are key players in fluid power systems. Real-world circuit applications are discussed, enhancing the learning experience. - **Week 4: Predicting Performance Through Simulation** A highlight of the course is the segment on Simscape Fluids (formerly SimHydraulics). You will gain hands-on experience in using this fluid power simulation software to create and run simulations based on real-world examples. This week encourages creativity, enabling learners to explore and analyze fluid power systems independently. - **Week 5: Fluid Properties** You will analyze hydraulic fluids and how their properties influence circuit operations. Exploring concepts such as the water hammer effect, this week allows you to conduct virtual experiments using your newly acquired knowledge of fluid behavior. - **Week 6: Advanced Components and Systems and Course Summary** The final week introduces advanced components like accumulators and servo valves. You will synthesize learning from previous weeks to explore servo hydraulic systems and their applications in hydraulic hybrid vehicles, using simulations to observe and analyze system behavior. **Learning Outcomes** Upon completing the course, participants will have a thorough understanding of: - The fundamental principles of fluid power and their applications. - The ability to analyze fluid power components and circuits. - Hands-on experience with Simscape Fluids for system simulation. - Insight into advanced fluid power systems and their operational principles. **Recommendation** I highly recommend the "Fundamentals of Fluid Power" course for anyone interested in engineering, mechanical design, or fluid dynamics. The course strikes a great balance between theory and practical application, making it suitable for both newcomers and those looking to refresh their knowledge. The weekly structure keeps you engaged, while the emphasis on simulation fosters problem-solving skills in dynamic environments. Whether you're aiming to enhance your career opportunities in industries that rely on fluid power systems or simply have an academic interest in the subject, this course is a valuable investment in your education. Enroll today and harness the power of fluid dynamics!

Syllabus

Week 1: Fundamentals of Fluid Power

This week: An overview of the course, introduction to hydraulics and pneumatics, and introduction to fundamental concepts of fluid power through the cylinder.

This week: circuit diagrams, the written language of fluid power, and how fluid flows through conduits. We hope that you find the hydraulic circuits on the mowing machine as interesting as we did.

This will be a busy week diving into valves and pumps. We will discuss how basic valves function, how to use them in hydraulic circuits, and how to calculate pressure drop for a given flow rate, or vice versa. The videos will directly address the discussion on the forum about seeing hydraulic components working in real world circuits. In our discussion of pumps we will look at many different positive displacement pumps, exploring flow ripple and pump efficiency, look at the supporting components that form a hydraulic power supply, and see how we can make a transmission with a hydraulic pump and a motor. We are now into the heart of this course; we hope you enjoy seeing the components come together into useful circuits.

This week is entirely devoted to you learning how to use Simscape Fluids (formerly SimHydraulics), the fluid power simulation application that we use in the course. The lecture provides an introduction to computer-based, object-oriented simulation, and goes through a demo of using Simscape Fluids. The homework assignment contains the real work because this is where you will learn to use Simscape Fluids. The homework ends with an open-ended problem that encourages you to branch out on your own and create and run simulations based on examples listed in the course Simscape Fluids resource page or on any other fluid power system that interests you. We will be monitoring the discussion boards to help you with any technical problems with Simscape Fluids. *NOTE: The lecture videos were created using an earlier version of SimHydraulics; some small difference exist with the most recent version of Simscape Fluids, but the general approach is the same. *THERE IS NO QUIZ THIS WEEK as we recognize that a few of you may not be able to get Simscape Fluids running on your computer. Happy simulating!

This week we will take a dive into hydraulic fluids (no pun intended) and how their properties and behavior influence the circuit operation. In the lectures, you will see the water hammer effect and explore the assumption of fluid incompressibility. We encourage you to use your new knowledge of fluid behavior and simulation to create virtual experiments that explore how fluid properties influence the behavior of a circuit. Share your observations on the discussion forum.

This week you will learn about two new components, the accumulator, which stores hydraulic energy, and the servo valve, which provides fast and precise flow control. We will then be pulling together topics from throughout the course to look at servo hydraulic systems and hydraulic hybrid vehicles. You will get a chance to use simulation to explore how these advanced systems function and how the behavior of individual components influences the system operation.