Testing of Elements and Assemblies

MMM4035L

Laboratory Handout

Dynamics of Hydraulics Machines and Devices

by Micha Stosiak, PhD, MSc. (Mech. Eng.)

Wrocaw 2009 All rights reserved

1. Introduction Reciprocating plunger pumps are robust, contamination tolerant and capable of efficiently pumping many types of fluids at high delivery pressures. As a consequence, they are widely used in a diverse range of industrial applications, including mining (for powered roof supports), chemical plants, reverse osmosis systems and food processing systems. The most common pump construction consists of a small number of cylinders, usually mounted in-line, each with a reciprocating piston driven by a rotating crank and connecting rod mechanism. During the suction stroke, flow is drawn from the inlet manifold into a cylinder through a selfacting non-return valve; various valve designs are employed although spring-load poppet or disc valves are most frequently adopted. Fluid delivery also takes place through a self-acting non-return valve. It is well known that the pipeline pressure pulsations produced by these pumps are a source of noise and vibration and may have a significant influence on the reliability of a given installation. Consequently, it is highly desirable to be able to predict pressure pulsations at the design stage of an installation so that appropriate steps may be taken to minimize their levels and their influence. Considerable research effort has been devoted to the study of pressure pulsation behavior in delivery lines of fluid power systems employing typically gear, vane or axial piston pumps and to a lesser extent to the suction lines of these systems. However, fluid power pumps typically employ a large number of pumping elements (nine cylinders are commonly used in axial piston machines, for example). As a consequence they create flow pulsations and pressure pulsations with a relatively high frequency content. Basic harmonics is described by the formula: nz f1 = [ Hz ] (1) 60 where: n rotational pump speed [rpm], z number of pistons.
Other spectrum harmonics are described by the formula: n zk fk = [ Hz ] 60 where k number of harmonics.

(2)

Moreover, some dynamic situations (e.g. sudden load increase, sudden system start or stop) can produce dynamic pressure ripples. These pressure ripples lead to system components damage, vibrations and noisiness. However hydraulic systems are the most preferred source of power transmission in most industrial and mobile equipment due to their power density, compactness, flexibility, fast response and efficiency. The area of hydraulics and pneumatics is also known as 'Fluid Power Technology'. Fluid power systems have a wide range of applications which include industrial, off-road vehicles, automotive systems and aircraft. But, one of the main problems with hydraulic systems is the noise generated by them. The health and safety issues relating to noise have been recognized for many years and legislation is now placing clear demands on manufacturers to reduce noise levels. Hence, noise reduction in hydraulic systems demands a lot of attention from industrial as well as academic researchers. The main source of noise in hydraulic systems is the pump which supplies the flow. Most of the pumps used are positive displacement pumps. Among the positive displacement pumps, axial piston swash plate type is mostly preferred due to its controllability and efficiency.

The noise generation in an axial piston pump can be classified under two categories: fluidborne noise and structure-borne noise Fluid-borne noise (FBN). Among the positive displacement pumps, the highest levels of FBN are generated by axial piston pumps and the lowest levels by screw pumps. External gear pump and vane pump lie somewhere in between. An axial piston pump has a fixed number of displacement chambers arranged in a circular pattern separated from each other by an angular pitch equal to = 360 / z where z is the number of displacement chambers. As each chamber discharges a specific volume of fluid, the discharge at the pump outlet is the sum of all the discharge from the individual chambers. The discontinuity in flow between adjacent chambers results in a kinematic flow ripple. The amplitude of the kinematic ripple can be theoretically determined given the size of the pump and the number of displacement chambers. The kinematic ripple is the main cause of fluid-borne noise. The kinematic ripple is a theoretical value. These ripples (also referred to as flow pulsations) generated at the pump are transmitted through the pipe or flexible hose connected to the pump and travel to all parts of the hydraulic circuit. The pump is considered to be an ideal flow source. The pressure in the system will be determined by resistance to the flow or otherwise known as system load. The flow pulsations result in pressure pulsations. The pressure pulsations are superimposed on the mean system pressure. Both the flow and pressure pulsations easily travel to all part of the circuit and affect the performance of the components like control valve and actuators in the system and make the component vibrate, sometimes even resonate. This vibration of system components adds to the noise generated by the flow pulsations. Structure-borne noise (SBN). In swash plate type pumps, the main sources of structure-borne noise are the fluctuating forces and moments of the swash plate. These fluctuating forces arise as a result of the varying pressure inside the displacement chamber. As the displacing elements move from suction stroke to discharge stroke, the pressure varies from a few bars to few hundred bars respectively. This pressure changes are reflected on the displacement elements (in this case, pistons) as forces and these forces are exerted on the swash plate causing the swash plate to vibrate. This vibration of the swash plate is the main cause of structure-borne noise. Vibrations and noise reduction The reduction of the vibrations and noise radiated from the hydraulic system can be approached in two ways. 1. Reduction at Source - which is the reduction of noise at the pump. Reduction in FBN and SBN at the source has a large influence on the Airborne Noise (ABN) that is radiated. Even though, a lot of progress had been made in reducing the FBN and SBN separately, the problem of noise in hydraulic systems is not fully solved and a lot still needs to be done. The amplitude of fluid pulsations can be reduced, at the source, with the use of an hydraulic damper. 2. Reduction at Component level - which focuses on the reduction of noise generated at individual components like hoses, control valves, pump mounts and fixtures. This can be

accomplished by a suitable design modification of the component so that it radiates the least amount of noise. Optimization using computer based models can be one of the ways. The reduction in source flow ripple in hydraulic systems is the most effective method of reducing pump-generated pressure ripple and system noise. Some methods of pressure pulsation and ripples reduction are considered below. CAPACITANCE The hydraulic capacitance (also called the compliance) tells us how hard it is to change the pressure of a fluid stored by adding more of the fluid to the tank. It is the factor relating the rate of change of volume to the rate of change of capacitive pressure (difference). It is equal to the inverse of the elastance. Symbols: CV Relations: dp dV = CV C (3) dt dt dV (4) CV = dpC

Units: m3/Pa, m5/N Many theoretical considerations and experimental tests show that capacitance increase leads to pressure ripple reduction in hydraulic systems. However, capacitance increase leads to system natural frequency decrease. Capacitance increase can be produced in several ways: by bulk modulus decrease (change of pipe material), by the application of an hydraulic accumulator (fig. 1, 2), by increasing the pipes geometrical dimensions.

Fig. 1. Hydraulic accumulator in circuit.

Fig. 2. Pressure ripple reduction due to hydraulic accumulator application. Another effective method to reduce pressure ripples is the application of hydraulic valves controlled in proportional technique. By replacing a typical on/off directional control valve with a proportional directional control valve it is possible to reduce pressure ripples in hydraulic systems. Figure 3 presents the control signal flow in proportional control technique. Figures 4 and 5 present typical valve characteristics and system response respectively. Figures 6 and 7 present typical pressure run in stiff (fig. 6) and flexible (fig. 7) pipe in hydraulic system. In this case pressure ripples are caused by suddenly valve resteering.

Fig. 3. Block diagram of control signal flow in proportional control technique.

Fig. 4. A typical proportional control valve flow output versus current input signal curve.

Fig. 5. Valve operation with two forward and two reverse speeds.

Fig. 6. Pressure run for stiff pipe.

Fig. 7. Pressure run for flexible pipe.

Tasks to execute
1. Build an hydraulic system according to scheme presented on fig. 8.
6 8 7

L1/L2

L1/L2
5 A I B II

9 a P 4 T 3 b

M 1 2

Fig. 8. Scheme of test system: 1 filter, 2 tank, 3 fixed displacement pump, 4 safety valve, 5 4/2 directional control valve with on/off solenoids, 6 flexible pipes (length L1 = 1000 mm, length L2 = 2000 mm), 7 pressure transducer, 8 double acting, single piston rod hydraulic cylinder, 9 external load (30 kg).

1.1. First test step - pipes length (6) is equal to L1 = 1000 mm. An electrical circuit of solenoid is operated by a monostable button normally opened. A spring keeps valve spool in position I. The closure of the electrical circuit of solenoid b causes the cylinder to move up. Ports P and B are connected now. Ports A and T are connected now too. During the system start pressure is acquired by pressure transducer 7. Now pressure ripple can be observed and the coefficient of dynamic surplus can be calculated. Coefficient of dynamic surplus is described by the formula: p p st d = max (5) p st where: pmax pressure ripple, pst stable pressure. Capacitance of flexible pipes 6 can be calculated: V CV = (6) B where: V - volume of oil in pipes, substitute bulk modulus (for flexible pipes 750 MPa).

1.2. Next test step - change pipes length to L2 = 2000 mm. An electrical circuit of solenoid is operated by a monostable button normally opened. A spring keeps valve spool in position I. The closure of the electrical circuit of solenoid b causes the cylinder to move up. Ports P and B are connected now. Ports A and T are connected now too. During the system start pressure is acquired by pressure transducer 7. Now pressure ripple can be observed and the coefficient of dynamic surplus can be calculated. Capacitance of flexible pipes 6 (length L2) can be calculated too. 2. Valve 5 is replaced by a proportional directional control valve, according to the scheme presented in fig. 9.
6 8 7

L1

L1
5 II A B III T 3

M
4

M 1 2

Fig. 9. Scheme of test system: 1 filter, 2 tank, 3 fixed displacement pump, 4 safety valve, 5 4/3 proportional directional control valve, 6 flexible pipes (length L1 = 1000 mm), 7 pressure transducer, 8 double acting, single piston rod hydraulic cylinder, 9 external load (30 kg). Spool of valve 5 is operated by proportional solenoids, so spool displacement is proportional to input current. Moreover an electronic amplifier which collaborates with proportional solenoids is equipped with rampenzeit knob to adjust the value of time delay of electrical control signal. It is an efficient tool to shape transient processes in hydraulic systems (starting or stopping hydraulic cylinder). During system operation pressure transducer 7 measures pressure run. Now pressure ripple can be observed and the coefficient of dynamic surplus can be calculated.

3. Reduction of pressure ripples using hydraulic accumulator.

This test step covers building the system with an accumulator according to the scheme presented in fig. 10.

6 8 7

10

L1

L1
5 II A B III T 3

M
4

11

M 1 2

Fig. 10. Scheme of test system: 1 filter, 2 tank, 3 fixed displacement pump, 4 safety valve, 5 4/3 directional control valve with on/off solenoids, 6 flexible pipes (length L1 = 1000 mm), 7 pressure transducer, 8 double acting, single piston rod hydraulic cylinder, 9 external load (30 kg), 10 bladder accumulator, 11 check valve. Electrical circuits of solenoids are operated by monostable buttons normally opened. Springs keep valve spool in neutral position. The closure of the electrical circuit of solenoid b causes the cylinder to move up. Ports P and A are connected now. Ports B and T are connected now too. In the first phase the accumulator is being charged. Next the hydraulic cylinder moves up softly. Pressure change can be observed. Pressure ripple is reduced. 4. Report Conclusions should cover dynamic states comparison of considered systems (figures 8, 9 10) with the help of coefficient of dynamics surplus d and discussion about practical rules of pressure pulsation and pressure ripples reduction. Results of the reduction should be well understood.

References: 1. Norvelle F. D.: Electrohydraulic control systems. Prentice Hall. 2000. 2. Design and Steady-state Analysis of Control Systems. Fluid Net Publications Cracow 2002 3. Hydraulic Trainer. Bosch Rexroth Manuals.