Electronic Pressure Control for Dual Pump Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dual pump hydraulic systems experience instability due to competition between primary and secondary pumps when both operate concurrently, leading to significant pressure drops and increased wear on components, as existing mechanical control methods require a wide separation between cracking pressures of check valves.
Innovation Solution
Implementing electronic pressure control with separate setpoints for primary and secondary pumps, allowing for dynamic adjustment and optimization using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers and artificial intelligence, enabling more precise control and reducing the need for significant pressure drops to trigger the secondary pump.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a second pump is added to supplement the main pump during system excursions, then the system can handle higher flow demands, but competition between the pumps leads to instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical control methods (check valves with cracking pressures) with electronic pressure control systems. Each pump is equipped with an electronic pressure sensor and controller that independently regulates pump operation based on real-time pressure feedback, eliminating the mechanical competition that caused instability while maintaining the ability to handle high flow demands.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements electronic feedback control where pressure sensors continuously monitor system pressure and transmit signals to controllers that adjust pump operation accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows both pumps to operate concurrently without competition, as each pump's controller responds to actual system pressure conditions, ensuring stable operation while providing supplemental flow capacity.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical control methods with check valves are used, then pump operation is controlled, but a wide separation between cracking pressures is required which limits control precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical check valve control with electronic pressure sensors and controllers. The electronic system can detect and respond to much smaller pressure variations, allowing for precise pressure control without requiring wide separation between operating thresholds. The controller adjusts pump operation based on precise electronic pressure measurements rather than mechanical valve cracking pressures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the control parameter from mechanical cracking pressure (which requires wide separation) to electronic pressure feedback (which can detect and respond to small pressure differences). This parameter change enables precise pressure control by allowing the electronic sensors and controllers to operate with much finer resolution than mechanical check valves can provide.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for electronic pressure control of pumps in a dual pump system. The system may include a controller, a primary pump operated by the controller to maintain a system pressure in a flow path at a first pressure setpoint; a pressure transducer reading the system pressure and providing the system pressure to the controller; and a secondary pump operated by the controller to maintain the system pressure at a second pressure setpoint, the second pressure setpoint being less that the first pressure setpoint.