2D DIGITAL SIMPLIFIED FLOW VALVE

The 2D digital simplified flow valve is composed of a pilot-operated valvedesigned with both rotary and linear motions of a single spool, and a stepper motor under continualcontrol. How the structural parameters affect the static and dynamic characteristics of the valve isfirst clarified and a criterion for stability is presented. Experiments are designed to test theperformance of the valve. It is necessary to establish a balance between the static and dynamiccharacteristics in deciding the structural parameters. Nevertheless, it is possible to maintain thedynamic response at a fairly high level, while keeping the leakage of the pilot stage at anacceptable level. One of the features of the digital valve is stage control. In stage control thenonlinearities, such as electromagnetic saturation and hysteresis, are greatly reduced. To a largeextent the dynamic response of the valve is decided by the executing cycle of the control algorithm.

New Dead⁃zone Compensation Approach for Proportional Flow Valve

To solve the dead⁃zone in the output flow curve of the proportional flow valve without displacement sensor,a dead⁃zone compensation approach is proposed in this paper.Instead of detection and feedback of the valve spool position,the proposed approach adopted the pressure drop across the valve metering orifice to accomplish the dead⁃zone compensation.The first step was to test and get the_(max)imum output flow,Q_(max),at a preset reference pressure drop,such asΔP_(0).The next step was to construct the target compensation flow curve,which is a line through(0,0)and(ΔP_(0),Q_(max)).Then a compensation law was designed to approach the target curve.However,the research results show that the above strategy caused over⁃compensation once the actual pressure drop deviated fromΔP_(0).Thus a correction coefficient,β,was presented to correct the initial compensation law as the pressure drop deviated fromΔP_(0).For example,the test results indicate that the corrected compensation approach could reduce the dead⁃zone from 53.9%to 3.5%at a pressure drop of 1 MPa;as the pressure drop was increased to 5 MPa,the dead⁃zone was reduced from 51.7%to 3.5%.Therefore,the following conclusions can be drawn:the proposed compensation approach is feasible,which can effectively reduce the dead⁃zone and improve the output flow static performance of the proportional flow valve without spool displacement feedback.

RESEARCH ON THE PERFORMANCE OF NEW TYPE OF PROPORTIONAL PESSURE AND FLOW CONTROL VALVE

A new closed loop flow controlling principle through correcting the valve'sopening area while load pressure is changing is carried out. Further more a principle using only oneproportional valve to compound control pressure and flow is suggested. By using very simpleproportional throttle valve in structure, the functions that five kinds of proportional valves orany two of them combined possess can be complimented. After analyzing, comparing, and testing thedynamic and static characteristics of valve with different controlling principles and main valvestructure styles, the optimized structure styles and control methods are achieved.

DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LARGE FLOW RATING ELECTROHYDRAULIC PROPORTIONAL CARTRIDGE VALVE

A kind of cartridge servo proportional valve is discussed, which can be used for controlling large flow rate with high performance. By analyzing the structure principle of the valve, the transfer fimction of the valve is derived. With the transfer function, some structure elements that may affect its performance are investigated. Through the numerical simulation and test study, some principles of optimality and effective methods for improving the dynamic performance of the valve are proposed. The test results conform to the results of the theoretical analysis and simulation, which proves the correctness of the study and simulation works. The paper provides theoretical basis for engineering applications and series expanding design works

Development of a Novel Parallel-spool Pilot Operated High-pressure Solenoid Valve with High Flow Rate and High Speed

High-pressure solenoid valve with high flow rate and high speed is a key component in an underwater driving system.However,traditional single spool pilot operated valve cannot meet the demands of both high flow rate and high speed simultaneously.A new structure for a high pressure solenoid valve is needed to meet the demand of the underwater driving system.A novel parallel-spool pilot operated high-pressure solenoid valve is proposed to overcome the drawback of the current single spool design.Mathematical models of the opening process and flow rate of the valve are established.Opening response time of the valve is subdivided into 4 parts to analyze the properties of the opening response.Corresponding formulas to solve 4 parts of the response time are derived.Key factors that influence the opening response time are analyzed.According to the mathematical model of the valve,a simulation of the opening process is carried out by MATLAB.Parameters are chosen based on theoretical analysis to design the test prototype of the new type of valve.Opening response time of the designed valve is tested by verifying response of the current in the coil and displacement of the main valve spool.The experimental results are in agreement with the simulated results,therefore the validity of the theoretical analysis is verified.Experimental opening response time of the valve is 48.3 ms at working pressure of 10 MPa.The flow capacity test shows that the largest effective area is 126 mm2 and the largest air flow rate is 2320 L/s.According to the result of the load driving test,the valve can meet the demands of the driving system.The proposed valve with parallel spools provides a new method for the design of a high-pressure valve with fast response and large flow rate.

COMPUTATIONAL FLOW RATE FEEDBACK AND CONTROL METHOD IN HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS

The computational flow rate feedback and control method, which can be used in proportional valve controlled hydraulic elevators, is discussed and analyzed. In a hydraulic elevator with this method, microprocessor receives pressure information from the pressure transducers and computes the flow rate through the proportional valve based on pressure-flow conversion real time algorithm. This hydraulic elevator is of lower cost and energy consumption than the conventional closed loop control hydraulic elevator whose flow rate is measured by a flow meter. Experiments arc carried out on a test rig which could simulate the load of hydraulic elevator. According to the experiment results, the means to modify the pressure-flow conversion algorithm are pointed out.

A rotary pneumatic actuator for the actuation of the exoskeleton knee joint

Rotary pneumatic actuators that are made out of linear one are always best suited for exoskeleton joint actuation due to its inherent power to weight ratio. This work is a modified version of knee actuation system that has already been developed and major modifications are made in order to make it more suitable for human wearing and also to reduce its bulkiness and complexity. The considered actuator system is a rotary actuator where a pulley converts the linear motion of the standard pneumatic piston into the rotary motion. To prove the capability of the actuator, its performance characteristics such as torque and power produced are compared to the required torque and power at the knee joint of the exoskeleton in swing phase and are found to be excellent. The two-way analysis of variance（ANOVA）is performed to find the effect of the throat area valve on knee angle. The ANOVA shows the significant effect of the throat area variation on the knee angle flexion made by the proposed actuator. A relationship between the throat area of flow control valve, that is connected to the exit port of the direction control valve, and angular displacement of the knee joint has been formulated. This relationship can be used to design a control system to regulate the mass flow rate of air at the exit and hence the angular velocity of the knee joint can be controlled.