Cavitation has important effects on the performances and lifespan of water hydraulic control valve, such as degrading efficiency, intense noise, and severe vibration. Two-stage throttle valve is a practicable configuration to mitigate cavitation, which is extensively used in water hydraulic pressure relief valves and throttle valves. The pressure distribution inside a medium chamber located between two throttles of a two-stage throttle valve is investigated through numerical simulations. The effects of the passage area ratio of the two throttles and the inlet and outlet pressures on the pressure inside the medium chamber are examined. The simulation results indicate that (a) the pressure inside the medium chamber is not constant, (b) the locations of maximum and minimum pressures inside the medium chamber are both fixed, which will not vary with the passage area ratio or the inlet and outlet pressures, and (c) the ratio of the pressure drop across the front throttle to the total pressure drop across the two-stage throttle valve is nearly constant. The critical cavitation index of the two-stage throttle valve is then established. A semiempirical design criterion is obtained for the water hydraulic two-stage throttle valve. The correlation between the critical cavitation index and the passage area ratio of the two throttles is investigated. Relevant validation experiments are conducted at a custom-manufactured testing apparatus. The experimental results are consistent with the simulated ones. Further analyses indicate that (a) the large backpressure can improve not only the anti-cavitation capability but also the total load rigidity of the water hydraulic twostage throttle valve, (b) an appropriate passage area ratio will be beneficial for improving the anti-cavitation capability of the water hydraulic two-stage throttle valve, and (c) the water hydraulic two-stage throttle valve with a passage area ratio of 0.6 would have the best anticavitation performance with the lowest risk of cavitation.
This paper is focussed on the modelling and control of a hydraulically-driven biologically-inspired robotic leg. The study is part of a larger project aiming at the development of an autonomous quadruped robot (hyQ) for outdoor operations. The leg has two hydraulically-actuated degrees of freedom (DOF), the hip and knee joints. The actuation system is composed of proportional valves and asymmetric cylinders. After a brief description of the prototype leg, the paper shows the development of a comprehensive model of the leg where critical parameters have been experimentally identified. Subsequently the leg control design is presented. The core of this work is the experimental assessment of the pros and cons of single-input single-output (SISO) vs. multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and linear vs. nonlinear control algorithms in this application (the leg is a coupled multivariable system driven by nonlinear actuators). The control schemes developed are a conventional PID (linear SISO), a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller (linear MIMO) and a Feedback Linearisation (FL) controller (nonlinear MIMO).LQR performs well at low frequency but its behaviour worsens at higher frequencies. FL produces the fastest response in simulation, but when implemented is sensitive to parameters uncertainty and needs to be properly modified to achieve equally good performance also in the practical implementation.
This paper is concerned with the application of fluid power in autonomous robotics where high power density and energy efficiency are key requirements. A hydraulic drive for a bioinspired quadruped robot leg is studied. The performance of a classical valve-controlled (“resistive-type”) and of an energy saving (“switching-control mode”) hydraulic actuation system are compared. After describing the bio-inspired leg design and prototyping, models for both drives are developed and energy efficiency assessments are carried out. It is shown through simulation that the switching-control mode hydraulic actuation can meet the challenge of legged robotic locomotion in terms of energy efficiency with respect to improving robot power-autonomy. An energy saving of about 75% is achieved. Limitations of the current system are identified and suggestions for improvements are outlined.
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