Hydraulic System Flow Apportionment for Pressure Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic systems with multiple actuators face pressure fluctuations and inefficiencies due to varying flow demands, leading to unnecessarily high system pressure and reduced efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic system with a controller that determines and apportions pressurized fluid between circuits based on a predetermined assumed available flow rate, greater than the actual flow rate, to manage pressure and flow effectively across multiple actuators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple actuators are connected to a common pump, then the system can serve multiple functions, but pressure fluctuations and inefficiencies occur due to varying flow demands
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic system is divided into multiple independent circuits, each with its own control valve. This segmentation allows each circuit to be controlled independently, preventing pressure fluctuations in one circuit from affecting others, while still serving multiple actuators from a common pump.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a controller that dynamically adjusts valve positions based on real-time flow demands from each circuit. By continuously adapting valve openings to match actual flow requirements, the system maintains stable pressure despite varying demands from multiple actuators.
2Reliability
If valve control is optimized for one actuator, then that actuator receives appropriate pressure, but other actuators experience undesirable pressure or flow conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Each actuator circuit is equipped with its own control valve, creating independent control pathways. This allows the controller to adjust each valve separately to meet the specific pressure and flow requirements of each actuator without interfering with others.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller receives feedback signals from each circuit indicating actual flow and pressure conditions. Based on this feedback, the controller dynamically adjusts each valve's opening to maintain optimal pressure for each actuator while considering the demands of all other circuits.
3Productivity
If the controller assumes a higher available flow rate than actually available, then flow apportionment is optimized, but the actual flow rate limitation causes pressure issues
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is programmed with a predetermined assumed available flow rate that is higher than the actual maximum flow rate. This preliminary assumption allows the controller to optimize flow apportionment across circuits as if more flow were available, improving overall system productivity and utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system operates with a discrepancy between the assumed flow rate parameter and the actual flow rate parameter. The controller uses the higher assumed value for optimization calculations, while the physical system operates at the lower actual value, creating a parameter mismatch that prioritizes flow distribution efficiency over pressure maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic system is disclosed having at least two hydraulic circuits. The disclosed system apportions flow between the two hydraulic circuits based on an assumed flow rate that is held constant in both power-limited and non-power-limited conditions.