Nondestructive testing methods are increasingly in use. With these methods it is possible to obtain the desired information about the system, without altering or damaging it in any way. This paper examines the possibilities of applying these methods in the quantification of losses incurred by leaking of compressed air from the system in the terms of increasing energy efficiency of the system. The emphasis is on the application of ultrasound detector and IR (infrared) thermographic camera. The potentials and limitations of these technologies are analyzed for leakage quantification on a steel pipe in compressed air systems, as well as the reliability and accuracy of the results thus obtained.

Since pneumatic systems are widely used in various branches of industry, the need to find ways to reduce energy consumption in these systems has become very pressing. The reduction in energy consumption in these systems is reflected in the reduction of compressed air consumption. The paper presents a cylinder control system with a piston rod on one side, in which the reduction in energy consumption is ensured by using different levels of supply pressure in the working and the return stroke, and by holding the cylinder piston rod in its final positions with a clamping cartridge. Clamping and holding the piston rod in its final position further affects the reduction in energy consumption. Experimental data show that the application of the proposed control leads to a decrease in compressed air consumption of 25.54% to 32.97%, depending on the compressed air pressure used in the return stroke. The cost-effectiveness of the proposed cylinder control with different levels of compressed air pressure and holding the final position by clamping cartridge is presented.

During pneumatic control system design, the critical value for choosing the appropriate pneumatic actuator is the weight of the workpiece. In the case of flexible production systems, which are the core part of the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concept, the weight of the workpieces is often variable, since the crucial feature of this kind of production is its ability to deal with variable parts. Therefore, in order to deal with the variable weight of parts, a pneumatic actuator is chosen according to the heaviest part. However, according to another I4.0 principle, energy efficient operation of machines, the previous criteria for choosing a pneumatic actuator is energy efficient only when handling the heaviest part. In all other cases, operation of the pneumatic actuator is suboptimal in terms of energy efficiency. Aiming to solve this problem, this paper considers the possibility of using a new pressure regulator instead of traditional manually adjusted pressure regulators. This regulator provides operating pressure modification in real-time in accordance with the weight of the workpieces. In this way, the optimal compressed air consumption is ensured for each workpiece. Implementation of this device has yielded significant energy savings; however, the value is variable and depends on working task characteristics.

The need for energy savings is on the rise. Pneumatic systems, as essential parts of any branch of industry, are large consumers. The opportunities for saving energy in these systems are great. The paper presents a structure of pneumatic systems while a special emphasis is put on the saving of energy in the execution part with semi-rotary actuator by a method of restoring energy via by-pass valve. The realized energy savings are average 41.48% for conventional systems and 31.42% for servo systems for nominal operating value of pressure supply of 600 kPa. Cost effectiveness of proposed method is also presented.