An automatic testing system for a damper actuator

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of air valve actuator automatic test system, including actuator test bench, automatic control cabinet and host computer. The test bench includes actuator mounting panel, rotary encoder, torque sensor, planetary gear transmission, hysteresis brake and elastic coupling, for realizing the fixed installation of air valve actuator, angle acquisition and load simulation. PLC, constant-current power supply and internet gateway are equipped in automatic control cabinet, for controlling actuator angle and hysteresis brake torque, and collecting each component feedback signal. Host computer communicates with control cabinet, sets test parameter and receives data. The system supports two modes of fatigue test and control precision test, can realize the automation, structured detection of air valve actuator life and control performance, with the advantages of high integration, high test precision, strong universality etc.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of valve actuator testing equipment, specifically to an automatic testing system for valve actuators used for structured testing of the angle control performance and output torque response of valve actuators. Background Technology

[0002] As a crucial mechanism in HVAC systems used to drive the opening and closing of damper blades, the mechanical performance and output stability of damper actuators directly affect the accuracy of airflow regulation and the operational efficiency of the ventilation system. Especially in applications requiring high precision in airflow, such as large buildings, industrial plants, and clean environments, the performance stability and mechanical reliability of actuators are paramount.

[0003] Currently, the industry mostly uses simple test fixtures or manual methods to control the testing process for the performance testing of damper actuators. These test devices have defects such as low structural integration, poor component coordination, and single measurement parameters, making it difficult to fully reflect the actuator's real working condition response capability.

[0004] Specifically, existing testing equipment typically only has a limited number of angle detection elements and lacks an effective load simulation structure, making it impossible to simulate and evaluate the response characteristics of actuators under different torque conditions. Some equipment does not integrate standardized installation interfaces and axial alignment mechanisms, resulting in complex installation and adjustment of the actuators under test and poor repeatability. In terms of load adjustment, it also relies heavily on mechanical resistance structures, resulting in a narrow adjustment range and unstable torque response.

[0005] In addition, some existing test benches do not form a complete integrated control loop. The actuator angle output, load torque change and feedback signal acquisition cannot be coordinated and linked, which cannot meet the closed-loop test requirements at the structural level and affects the comparability and stability of test data.

[0006] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an automatic testing system for damper actuators that integrates high structural integration, strong test component coordination capabilities, and functions of installation, measurement, adjustment, and feedback. This system should achieve unified design in terms of mechanical assembly, electrical interface, angle measurement, and load application, thereby improving the standardization and efficiency of actuator structural testing. Utility Model Content

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic testing system for damper actuators that is structurally integrated, has complete testing functions, and is easy to install and adjust. This system solves the problems of weak load simulation capability, low angle detection accuracy, and imperfect automatic control structure of existing testing devices, and realizes the automated testing of the angle control performance and fatigue life of damper actuators.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution: An automatic testing system for damper actuators comprises three parts: an actuator test bench, an automatic control cabinet, and a host computer. The actuator test bench includes an actuator mounting panel, a rotary encoder, a torque sensor, a planetary gearbox, a hysteresis brake, a constant current power supply, and a flexible coupling. The actuator mounting panel features elongated holes and a locking mechanism for easy and quick installation and positioning of different types of damper actuators. The encoder and torque sensor are respectively located at both ends of the actuator output shaft, connected and coaxially mounted via the coupling, and used to detect angle and torque data. The hysteresis brake is connected to the rear of the torque sensor and to the main shaft via the gearbox, serving as an adjustable load device controlled by the constant current power supply to change the static torque.

[0009] The automatic control cabinet, equipped with a PLC, analog and digital input modules, a touch screen, a power supply module, and an IoT gateway, forms the control center for actuator control, torque regulation, signal acquisition, and command issuance. The PLC controls the actuator output angle and the load intensity of the hysteresis brake through analog signals, communicates with the encoder and torque sensor via serial port, and transmits relevant test parameters to the host computer.

[0010] The host computer is an industrial PC or terminal device with a human-machine interface, used to set test conditions, receive test data, and generate reports. It can be configured with two test modes: one is a fatigue test mode, used to evaluate the maximum number of actions of the actuator under a set load; the other is a control accuracy and hysteresis test mode, which measures the control accuracy and forward and reverse hysteresis of the actuator at different angles by comparing the angle setting and feedback.

[0011] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The structural design is reasonable, the various test functional units are integrated compactly, and the test bench is easy to install and operate. A hysteresis brake, in conjunction with a constant current power supply, can construct a controllable load structure that can simulate various load conditions. The control system enables automatic setting of angle and torque, signal acquisition and feedback linkage, thereby improving the level of test automation. It supports both fatigue and precision testing modes to meet various testing needs and improve testing efficiency and consistency. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is the automatic control logic diagram of the actuator automatic testing system of this utility model.

[0013] Figure 2 This invention relates to an automatic testing system for actuators.

[0014] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the actuator mounting panel structure of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, this utility model relates to an automatic testing system for a damper actuator, which consists of three parts: a damper actuator test bench, an automatic control cabinet, and a host computer.

[0017] The damper actuator test bench is used to achieve fixed installation of the actuator under test, load simulation, and acquisition of operating parameters, specifically including: Actuator mounting panel (202): Used to mount and fix the actuator (2) of the tested air valve. It is provided with an elongated hole, which is positioned in conjunction with the slot (203) at the tail of the actuator. The sliding pin (204) is inserted into the slot and the nut is tightened to achieve quick clamping. The front end of the panel is provided with a shaft hole for mounting the actuator output shaft (201).

[0018] Rotary encoder (1): Located at the left end of the main shaft, it is connected to the actuator output shaft via a flexible coupling (7). This encoder is a 9000ppr incremental type, and the output angle signal is input to the PLC in a digital manner. It can achieve an angle resolution of up to 0.01° by setting the frequency by 4 times internally, and is used for actuator angle measurement and accuracy analysis.

[0019] Torque sensor (3): Located on the right side of the main shaft, installed between the actuator output shaft and the hysteresis brake, used to measure the actuator output torque. The sensor signal is input to the PLC via an RS485 interface.

[0020] Planetary gearbox (4): Located between the torque sensor and the hysteresis brake, it has coaxial transmission and speed change functions. By increasing the rotational speed to reduce the required output torque, a low-torque hysteresis brake can be selected to reduce costs.

[0021] Hysteresis brake (5): As an adjustable load device of the system, its torque is linearly adjusted by controlling the input current of the constant current power supply (6). The load shaft (501) of the hysteresis brake is connected to the output shaft of the gearbox to form a simulated load structure.

[0022] Flexible coupling (7): used to connect rotating parts such as actuator output shaft, encoder, torque sensor, hysteresis brake, etc., to ensure that the coaxiality of each shaft is consistent and to reduce the transmission of mechanical errors.

[0023] All of the above devices are installed on a unified test bench platform, with a compact structure that facilitates replacement and maintenance.

[0024] The automatic control cabinet (8) includes the following modules: PLC control unit: adopts Siemens S7-200 SMART series PLC, configured with analog input module and digital input module; power supply module and fuse for providing stable power supply; constant current power supply for controlling the input current of hysteresis brake to realize static torque adjustment; touch screen for setting on-site parameters and displaying information; IoT gateway for data exchange and remote communication with the host computer. The PLC is responsible for collecting feedback data from rotary encoder, potentiometer, and torque sensor, and controlling the actuator angle, hysteresis brake load torque, and other operations. Through the IoT gateway, the PLC uploads test data to the IoT platform according to the MQTT protocol, and can also receive various control parameters and test instructions issued by the host computer.

[0025] The host computer (9) is a computer terminal with a human-machine interface, used to remotely set test parameters, start / stop test processes, receive collected data, and perform real-time recording and automatic report generation. Supported functions include: setting parameters such as actuator angle, load torque, number of actions, test interval, and alarm error; receiving encoder angle values, potentiometer feedback values, and torque values ​​in real time; automatically generating test data curves and reports; and managing test mode switching and data analysis output. It should be noted that the host computer (9) is a common human-machine interface device in the prior art, which can realize parameter setting, data reception, display, and report output functions based on existing industrial computers. Its structure and working principle are known to those skilled in the art and are not the innovation of this utility model, nor are they limited to the scope of protection.

[0026] IV. Test Procedure Description Actuator Fatigue Test: Used to detect the service life of actuators under specified loads. Initialization: The actuator completes one full-open-full-close cycle, and the maximum and minimum feedback angles are recorded as the test action boundaries. Setting Parameters: Set the load torque, number of test actions, alarm error range, and action interval (action time + 5s). Test Procedure: The PLC controls the actuator to switch from fully closed to fully open, waits for 5 seconds; after setting the hysteresis brake with reverse load, the actuator switches from fully open to fully closed, waits for another 5 seconds; before each action, the hysteresis brake switches the load in the corresponding direction. Data Acquisition and Upload During the Test: Angle setpoint, potentiometer feedback value, encoder value, torque value, current number of actions. Stop Condition: If the feedback angle error exceeds the set alarm value during a certain execution; or the cumulative number of actions reaches the preset upper limit, the test will automatically stop and an alarm will be issued. This test mode can set static or dynamic loads, such as constant torque, sinusoidal load, stepped load, etc., to improve the fit between the test and actual working conditions.

[0027] Control accuracy and hysteresis test: Used to measure the actuator's control angle accuracy and forward / reverse hysteresis. Initialization: The actuator runs one revolution, and the maximum / minimum angle feedback values ​​are recorded. Test procedure: Starting from the minimum angle setpoint, the actuator moves towards the maximum angle in 1° increments each time; after reaching the maximum angle, a reverse load is set, and the actuator returns to the minimum angle in 1° increments; this forward and reverse movement is repeated 10 times. After each movement, the PLC records and uploads: angle setpoint, potentiometer feedback value, and encoder feedback value. Analysis content: The error between the angle setpoint and the potentiometer / encoder feedback value is compared to calculate the control accuracy; the encoder feedback difference when forward and reverse rotation reach the same setpoint is used to calculate the hysteresis. Accuracy tests can be performed intermittently, such as before fatigue testing, during testing (100,000 cycles, 200,000 cycles, etc.), and after testing, to form a life-accuracy evolution analysis.

Claims

1. An automatic testing system for a damper actuator, characterized in that, include: An actuator test bench is provided, in sequence, with an actuator mounting panel for mounting the damper actuator, a rotary encoder connected to the actuator output shaft, a torque sensor, a planetary gearbox, and a hysteresis brake. All components are connected via flexible couplings and arranged coaxially, used to achieve angle measurement and load simulation of the damper actuator. An automatic control cabinet is provided, equipped with a PLC, a constant current power supply, and an IoT gateway. The PLC is electrically connected to the rotary encoder, torque sensor, and hysteresis brake, used to control the damper actuator's movement, apply load, and collect feedback data. A host computer is connected to the IoT gateway, used to set test conditions, receive test data, and generate reports.

2. The automatic testing system for damper actuators according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuator mounting panel is provided with elongated holes and sliding pins for positioning and fixing in conjunction with the actuator tail slot.

3. The automatic testing system for damper actuators according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotary encoder is a 9000ppr incremental type, and the output angle signal is input to the PLC in a digital manner.

4. The automatic testing system for damper actuators according to claim 1, characterized in that: The torque sensor is connected to the PLC via RS485 serial communication to collect torque data of the actuator output shaft in real time.

5. The automatic testing system for damper actuators according to claim 1, characterized in that: The planetary gearbox is positioned between the torque sensor and the hysteresis brake to achieve coaxial speed change transmission.

6. The automatic testing system for damper actuators according to claim 1, characterized in that: The input current of the hysteresis brake is regulated by the constant current power supply to change the magnitude and direction of its output torque.

7. The automatic testing system for damper actuators according to claim 1, characterized in that: The host computer and the PLC communicate via the IoT gateway using the MQTT protocol, and the host computer can also receive various control parameters and test commands issued by the host computer.

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