High-Pressure Pumping, Hydraulic, and Pneumatic Systems
This course prepares technicians to maintain, troubleshoot, and overhaul high-pressure fluid delivery and fluid power drive systems in commercial wash installations. Students begin with fundamental fluid mechanics, exploring flow velocity, pressure drops, and power calculations represented by $P = Q \times \Delta p$. The curriculum progresses through the mechanical architecture and servicing of positive displacement triplex ceramic plunger pumps, unloader valves, pulsation dampeners, and pressure regulation manifolds. Students then examine industrial pneumatic circuits, including compressor maintenance, coalescing filtration, directional control valves, and linear cylinder actuators that control vehicle wash arches and retract mechanisms. The final phase covers hydraulic power units, proportional valves, hydraulic motors, and fluid contamination control. Emphasizing safety, systematic diagnostics, and preventive maintenance routines, this coursework equips technicians to isolate mechanical and fluid power faults efficiently, rebuild critical components, and optimize operational uptime across diverse automated wash configurations.
InstructorJacob CalhounPrerequisites
Course outline
Lectures, virtual labs, and graded assignments — completed in your browser.
Syllabus
["Week 1: Lesson 1: Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, Pressure, and Flow Dynamics", "Week 2: Lesson 2: Positive Displacement Triplex Plunger Pump Mechanics and Design", "Week 3: Lesson 3: Pressure Regulation, Trapped-Pressure Unloaders, and Dampeners", "Week 4: Hands-on Lab: Triplex Plunger Pump Wet-End Teardown, Inspection, and Seal Rebuild", "Week 5: Lesson 5: High-Pressure Manifolds, Plumbing, Hoses, and Nozzle Sizing", "Week 6: Lesson 6: Compressed Air Generation, Air Treatment, and Distribution", "Week 7: Lesson 7: Pneumatic Directional Control Valves, Regulators, and Actuators", "Week 8: Hands-on Lab: Pneumatic Circuit Troubleshooting and Retract Cylinder Calibration", "Week 9: Lesson 9: Hydraulic Power Units, Reservoirs, Filtration, and Fluids", "Week 10: Lesson 10: Hydraulic Actuators, Motors, and Directional Control Valves", "Week 11: Hands-on Lab: Hydraulic Flow Testing, Pressure Relief Setup, and Diagnostics", "Week 12: Lesson 12: Electro-Fluid Interfaces, Solenoid Coils, and Pilot Actuation", "Week 13: Lesson 13: Preventive Maintenance, Contamination Control, and Condition Monitoring", "Week 14: Capstone Service Project: Integrated High-Pressure and Fluid Power Diagnostic Rebuild"]