A Simplified dynamic model for vane type air motor

Air motors are widely used in different industrial applications. Uncertainty in their modeling and nonlinearity as a result of friction and air compressibility are the main concerns in developing proper control strategy for pneumatic actuators. In this study an air motor is employed to convert the stored compressed air energy into mechanical energy to provide the required power for a small scale compressed air energy storage system. The operational characteristics of the air motor are presented in this paper. Simplified linear transfer functions representing the steady state and dynamic models of the air motor are developed. The simplified models are verified through practical laboratory tests. It is shown that the models reduce the complexity of the system and provide reasonable approximation to the steady state and dynamic behavior of the air motor.