By attending this course the student will get: Basic theory of fluid mechanics; Knowledge of main pneumatic and electro-pneumatic components and their application to automatic machines; Knowledge about operating principle of pneumatic and electro-pneumatics schemes and circuits; Knowledge and ability about methods for pneumatic and electro-pneumatic circuit design; Ability in wiring pneumatic and electro-pneumatic circuits and in preparing ladder programs for sequential circuits; Basic knowledge on programmable logic control.

Basics of Mathematical Analysis, Physics and Applied Mechanics.

Introduction to the course. Basic principle of automatic/pneumatic systems. Organization of a pneumatic system. Pneumatic actuators: cylinders, specialized cylinders, regulation. Valves (directional, control, auxiliary, ...). Basic pneumatic schemes. Logic elements (pneumatic, contact-relay and logic schemes). Digital techniques for pneumatic applications. Functional and operative diagrams (step-displacement, grafcet, …). Wired logic control. Pneumatic circuit design methods: pulse limiters, auxiliary memories, sequencer. Contact-relay diagram and electro-pneumatic circuits (auxiliary memories, batch technique). Ladder diagram. Notes on programmable logic control: general features, operating principle and programming. Complementary elements and interfaces. Sensors and transducers in fluid automation. Fluid properties. Measuring instruments. Behaviour of pneumatic valves, flow coefficients. Dynamic behaviour of pneumatic systems. Notes on modelling and simulations of pneumatic systems. Compressed air plant, air treatment. Reliability, energetic and safety aspects.

Lectures and tutorials are not rigidly separated. Tutorials cover exercises on the developed theory as well as the development of more practical parts of the program. There is no division in groups for activities in class. Laboratory and practice experiences will be carried out. Students will be divided into groups in order to develop different kind of experimental tests. Practical knowledge and skills will be given even with the use of simulations software (virtual labs). Missing of the labs will be considered as a penalty to the final mark.

Lectures and Tutorials: the subject is fully treated in notes and slides provided by the teacher. Laboratory experiences: texts of experiences will be provided by the tutor. All materials will be made available on the course website, in the "materials" section. Reference textbooks. Joji P., Pneumatic control, Wiley (reprint 2018) Peter Beater, Pneumatic drives – System design, Modelling and Control, Springer, Berlin, 2007 G. Belforte, Manuale di Pneumatica, II Edizione, Tecniche Nuove, Milano, 2005. Additional material will be provided during the lessons/laboratories (even through the educational portal).

Exam: Written test; Practical lab skills test;

Examination consists in a written exam and in the evaluation of the labs (group performance). In particular: 1- The written exam consists of an individual exam dealing with all topics (lectures and labs). 2- Group performance consists in evaluating the abilities and skills of each "students group" to perform all the given tasks during the labs practices. Each contribution to the exam will be marked out of 30Lode. The final mark will be the arithmetic average of the contributions above.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.

Exam: Computer-based written test using the PoliTo platform; Group project;

The final exam aims to verify the acquisition of knowledge and objective teaching skills (described in the field "Expected learning outcomes") through a written exam and an evaluation of the labs (labs practical performance, labs projects and reports). In particular: 1- The written exam consists of an individual exam dealing with all topics illustrated during lectures and labs. It includes 6 open-ended questions, relating to all the topics performed at lessons and labs (theory, applications and practical exercises) . The evaluation is expressed in 30L and is done considering a) the correctness of the answers, b) the relevance of the information provided, c) the ability to respond clearly, precisely and rationally, adequately motivating the arguments produced. Written test also includes to solve one or two problems to verify the ability to analyze practical situations and apply knowledge in particular contexts of use. 2- Virtual Labs exam consists in evaluating the abilities and skills of the students to perform all the given tasks during the virtual labs practises. To this aim projects will be assigned and reports from students teams are required and evaluated. The projects constitute an element to evaluate the student's skills in solving problems in new and wider contexts with respect to the specific cases analyzed during the course, and to verify their autonomy in learning the new necessary knowledge. Each contribution to the exam (written test and reports evaluation) will be marked out of 30Lode. The final mark will be the arithmetic average of the contributions above. At least 18/30 must be reached in each of the two contributions to get the final mark. The written test lasts 1.5 hours. During the written test it will not be possible to consult texts, lecture notes and forms. Furthermore, it is not allowed to bring multimedia devices with web access to the classroom (for example, smartphones, smartwatches and tablets). The use of the calculator is allowed. The test result will be communicated to students through a notice on the teaching portal, typically within four / five days from the date of the written test. Students will be able to view the written assessment during a general meeting whose date will be fixed from time to time. The date of the meeting will be communicated to the students through a notice on the teaching portal in conjunction with the publication of the results of the written test. Written exam (remotely). In particular, as regards the remote examination method, option c) has been chosen. As shown in the "Lines_Guide_for_organisation_of_exams_on_line.pdf" option c) refers to: open-ended written exams via PC using the “university exam platform” integrated with proctoring tools (Respondus).

Exam: Written test; Computer-based written test using the PoliTo platform; Group project;

The final exam aims to verify the acquisition of knowledge and objective teaching skills (described in the field "Expected learning outcomes") through a written exam and an evaluation of the labs (labs projects and reports). In particular: 1- The written exam consists of an individual exam dealing with all topics illustrated during lectures and labs. It includes 10 open-ended questions, relating to all the topics performed at lessons and labs (theory, applications and practical exercises) . The evaluation is expressed in 30L and is done considering a) the correctness of the answers, b) the relevance of the information provided, c) the ability to respond clearly, precisely and rationally, adequately motivating the arguments produced. Written test also includes to solve one or two problems to verify the ability to analyze practical situations and apply knowledge in particular contexts of use. 2- Onsite labs evaluation: it consists in evaluating the performance, skill and knowledge of the student (team performance) on the base of his/her practical abilities in the onsite labs. 3- Virtual Labs exam consists in evaluating the abilities and skills of the students to perform all the given tasks during the labs practises. To this aim projects will be assigned and reports from students groups are required and evaluated. The projects constitute an element to evaluate the student's skills in solving problems in new and wider contexts with respect to the specific cases analyzed during the course, and to verify their autonomy in learning the new necessary knowledge. Each contribution to the exam (written test and reports evaluation) will be marked out of 30Lode. The final mark will be the arithmetic average of the contributions above. At least 18/30 must be reached in each of the two contributions to get the final mark. The written test lasts 1.5 hours (90 minutes. During the written test it will not be possible to consult texts, lecture notes and forms. Furthermore, it is not allowed to bring multimedia devices with web access to the classroom (for example, smartphones, smartwatches and tablets). The use of the calculator is allowed. The test result will be communicated to students through a notice on the teaching portal, typically within four / five days from the date of the written test. Students will be able to view the written assessment during a general meeting whose date will be fixed from time to time. The date of the meeting will be communicated to the students through a notice on the teaching portal in conjunction with the publication of the results of the written test. Written exam (in presence and remotely). In particular, as regards the remote examination method, option c) has been chosen. As shown in the "Lines_Guide_for_organisation_of_exams_on_line.pdf" option c) refers to: open-ended written exams via PC using the “university exam platform” integrated with proctoring tools (Respondus).