The ideal variable displacement pump for a displacement control circuit is efficient across a wide operating range and readily mounted on a common shaft with multiple pumps. This paper presents a novel variable displacement pump architecture for displacement control circuits that uses the concept of alternating flow (AF) between piston pairs that share a common cylinder. The displacement is adjusted by varying the phase angle between the piston pairs. When the pistons are in phase, the pump displacement is at a maximum and when the pairs of pistons are out of phase, fluid is shuttled between the pistons and the pump produces no net flow. A prototype of the AF pump was constructed from two inline triplex pumps that were modified so that three piston pairs were created. The crankshafts of the two pumps were connected via a sprocket-and-chain transmission. The sprockets allow for accurate measurement of the phase angle, which is adjusted, in this early phase prototype, by disassembling the chain and shifting the sprockets. The prototype AF pump was then mounted to the test stand and experiments were conducted to map the AF pump efficiency and cylinder pressure dynamics across a range of operating pressure, speed, and displacement. The AF pump’s efficiency was measured for 8 diferent phase angles with an efficiency of near 90% at full flow and 65% at 36% displacement. The experimental results were compared to simulation results, presented in a companion paper at this conference.
High power density and good controllability are the most appealing characteristics that make hydraulic systems the best choice for many applications. Current state of the art hydraulic variable displacement pumps show high efficiency at high displacement while they have poor efficiencies at low displacement. This paper proposes a novel alternating flow (AF) variable displacement hydraulic pump to 1) eliminate metering losses by acting as a high-bandwidth pump for displacement control, 2) achieve high efficiency across a wide range of operating conditions and displacements, and 3) allow multiple units to be easily common-shaft mounted for a compact multi-actuator displacement control system from a single prime-mover. A dynamic model using first principles describes the cylinder pressure, flows between pairs of cylinders, and net inlet and outlet flows as a function of the pump’s phase shift angle. The model captures hydraulic check valve dynamics, the effective bulk modulus, leakage flows, and viscous friction. Piston kinematics and dynamics are discussed and energy loss models are presented and used to guide the design for a first prototype of the AF hydraulic pump. The paper presents simulation results from the model that offer an initial evaluation of this novel pump concept and potential applications.
Although current state of the art hydraulic variable displacement pumps are highly efficiently at high displacement, they have poor efficiency at low displacement. Besides, different operating speed and load pressure conditions also strongly affect their performance. This paper proposed a novel alternating flow (AF) hydraulic variable displacement pump to 1) eliminate throttling loss by acting as a high-bandwidth pump for displacement control, 2) achieve high efficiency across a wide range of operating conditions and displacements, and 3) allow multiple units to be easily common-shaft mounted for a compact multi-actuator displacement control system from a single prime-mover. This paper presents a simple closed form model for the AF hydraulic pump and shows the model validation with a first generation prototype. The simple closed form model captures input motor energy, output fluid energy and associated energy losses. With the closed form model validated, it can then be used to drive optimal design for future generation prototypes using a dimensionless group method.
Pressure ripple can be purposely used to transmit information within a hydraulic system. For example, introducing ripple at specific frequencies into a fluid line can activate a valve, eliminating electrical wires. A key element of this system is the hydraulic resonator that activates the valve when a specific frequency pressure ripple is present in the line. This paper presents a linear and nonlinear model of the hydraulic resonator with experimental validation. The hydraulic resonator consists of an inertance tube, a series capacitor, made up of a deforming elastic membrane, and an orifice. For system validation, displacement of a valve, the capacitor, and system pressure are measured. The model was effective at predicting the natural frequency of the system and the narrowness of the resonant peak. Different effects were also shown experimentally by changing the fluid’s viscosity and system parameters.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.