Application of a hydraulic gas bladder suppressor for pressure ripple reduction in gear pumps

Abstract

Gear pumps are widely employed in hydraulic circuit but they carry the major drawback represented by the pulsating flow they produce. To improve the capability of the pump to produce a clean and smooth flow rate, many methods have been investigated over time: from the optimization of pump features itself to the introduction of additional systems on the pump delivery side. One system that has demonstrated to be particularly effective is the in-line bladder hydraulic pulsation suppressor, which is part of the passive systems category. This device consists of a bladder gas accumulator with a particularly clever geometry and is the focus of many studies. The study illustrated in this paper has the aim of proposing a lumped parameter model capable of predicting the hydraulic suppressor ripple reduction performance. To test the actual performance of the suppressor and validate the lumped parameter model, an experimental study was conducted, which demonstrated the good effectiveness of device, while a good agreement between modeling results and experimental data was obtained.