Design and Modelling of a Piston

Accumulator for Rock Drill and its

Fatigue Strength
Nadeem Ul Haq
Division of Fluid and Mechatronic Systems

Degree Project
Department of Management and Engineering
LIU-IEI-TEK-A10/00929SE

Abstract
This Master Thesis has been performed at Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB, Orebro
and at Linkoping University, Sweden from February 2010 through August 2010.
The project deals with performance improvement of hydraulic rock drill machine
manufactured by Atlas Copco Rock Drills. Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB is a world
leading supplier of percussive rock drilling equipment for surface and underground
applications. HOPSAN, a software developed at Linkoping University, provides an
integrated simulation environment for simulation of fluid power systems. During
the work, a HOPSAN model of a piston accumulator has been developed and its
performance with a rock drill has been studied. Furthermore, the fatigue strength
calculations of a piston accumulator has been made on the basis of stress analysis
performed using the ANSYS software.
One of the rock drills of valveless type, developed at Atlas Copco Rocktec Division works at higher efficiency than the conventionally used rock drills. But the
problem with this type of drill is that the piston swings between two large and
highly pressurized oil volume which causes strength problems in the housing of the
rock drill. The aim of this work is to achieve the higher efficiency of the rock drill
without having any strength problems. Therefore, some study and research is proposed to replace the large oil volume by one or two piston accumulators.
This thesis work involves modelling, simulation, design and fatigue strength calculations of a piston accumulator and its implementation to the rock drill. Optimization
of the piston accumulator has also been conducted while working with the rock drill
so that highest possible efficiency could be achieved. The performance of the rock
drill with piston accumulator has been analyzed and results are studied. In the end,
a short fatigue life calculations are performed and results are discussed. Prior to
fatigue life calculations, a transient dynamic stress analysis has been performed and
stress amplitudes are identified which contributes to the accumulated damage to
piston in accumulator.

Acknowledgment
I am greatly thankful to my supervisors Maria Petterson and Prof. Karl Erik Rydberg, for giving me the opportunity to do this work under their supervision, for
giving me profound understanding about formulation of problem, for being ready
all the time to discuss problems. Their politeness, patience and way of guidance
is really appreciable. They boosted my confidence and showed me how research is
performed with a good planning.
I am also thankful to Anders Johansson and Kenneth Weddfelt, for giving me support, and providing me help whenever I got stuck in HOPSAN or ANSYS related
problems during this work, for showing patience while answering my questions, for
taking their time out whenever I needed it.
Finally, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my family for their encouragement
and endless support.

Contents
1 Rock Drilling
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2 A Typical Percussive Rock Drilling System . .
1.2.1 Down The Hole Rock Drilling . . . . .
1.2.2 COPROD Rock Drilling . . . . . . . .
1.2.3 Top Hammer Percussive Rock Drilling
1.2.4 Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.5 Feed Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.6 Dampener System . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.7 Drill String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.8 Drill Bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.9 Flushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.10 Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Problem Description
2.1 Valveless Rock drills . . . .
2.1.1 Working Mechanism
2.2 Problem Definition . . . . .
2.3 Proposed Solution . . . . . .
2.3.1 Two Gas Volumes . .
2.3.2 Research Approach .

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3 Hydraulic Accumulator
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Types of Accumulator . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1 Weight Loaded or Gravity Type
3.2.2 Spring Loaded Accumulator . .
3.2.3 Gas Loaded Accumulator . . .
3.2.4 Piston Type Accumulator . . .
3.2.5 Diaphragm Type Accumulator .
3.2.6 Bladder Type Accumulator . .
3.2.7 Bellow Type Accumulator . . .
3.2.8 Applications of Accumulator . .

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Accumulator
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4 Modeling of Piston Accumulator

4.1 Mathematical Model of Gas . . . . . . . . .
4.2 About HOPSAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.1 Simulation Methodology in HOPSAN
4.2.2 Optimization Module in HOPSAN .
4.3 Simulation Model of Piston Accumulator . .
4.3.1 Orifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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4.4
4.5
4.6

4.3.2 Volume with Mechanical Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.3.3 Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.4 Mechanical Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.5 Speed Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.6 Frictional Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.7 T-Orifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.8 Miscellaneous Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.9 Piston Accumulator Simulation Model . . . . . . . .
Breaking Chamber in Simulation Model . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of Breaking Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Description of Piston Accumulator/Simulation Model . . . .
4.6.1 Advantages of the invention . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.6.2 Optimization of Piston Accumulator over Rock Drill

5 Performance of Rock Drill Without Piston Accumulator

5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Calculation of large oil volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 A Large Oil Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4 Simulation Results with Large Oil Volume . . . . . . . . .
5.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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6 Performance of Rock Drill With One Piston Accumulators

6.1 Rock Drill Simulation Model With One Piston Accumulator .
6.2 Sizing of Piston Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3 Performance of Rock Drill with One Piston Accumulator . . .
6.3.1 Performance of Piston Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4 Optimization with One Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7 Performance of Rock Drill With Two Piston Accumulators
7.1 Theoretical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2 Model of Rock Drill with Piston Accumulators . . . . . . . .
7.2.1 Sizing of Piston Accumulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.2 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . .
7.2.3 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . .
7.2.4 Performance of Rock Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.3 Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.3.1 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . .
7.3.2 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . .
7.4 Performance of Rock Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8 Fatigue Analysis
8.1 An Introduction to Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.1.1 Fatigue Life at Different Stress Levels . . . . . . .
8.2 Stress Based fatigue Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2.1 General Procedure for Predicting the Fatigue Life
8.2.2 Rain Flow Count Method . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3 Stress Analysis Using Ansys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.1 Problem Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.2 Dynamic Analysis in Ansys . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.3 The Full Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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8.4
8.5
8.6

8.7

8.3.4 Critical Cases in Piston Accumulators

Solution Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
First Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Second Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.6.1 Static Analysis with Pressure Loading
8.6.2 Transient Analysis with Speed . . . . .
8.6.3 Fatigue calculations for Critical Point .
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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9 Summary and Results

102
9.1 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Appendix: A FORTRAN code for the Calculation of Friction
in Piston Cylinder Device
Appendix: B
*.ODAT and *.HCOM Files for Optimization
in HOPSAN
Appendix: C

ANSYS Command Line for Fatigue Analysis

Appendix: D

Wohler Curve

II

III
V
IX

List of Figures
1.1.1 Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer WL4 C30
1.2.1 Percussive Rock Drilling Methods . . .
1.2.2 Top Hammer Drill Basic Principle . . .
1.2.3 Top Hammer Drill . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.4 The Percussive Rock Drilling Principle
1.2.5 Feed Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.6 Drill String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.7 Bit and Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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2.1.1 Valveless Rock Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.1.2 Valveless Rock Drill, Theoretical Blow Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.1 Energy Loss during Piston Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.2.1 Weight Loaded Accumulator . . .
3.2.2 Spring Loaded Accumulator . . .
3.2.3 Non-Separator Type Accumulator
3.2.4 Piston Type Accumulator . . . .
3.2.5 Diaphragm Accumulator . . . . .
3.2.6 Bladder Accumulator . . . . . . .
3.2.7 Metal Bellow Accumulator . . . .

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4.1.1 Accumulator volume and pressure during simulation . . . . .

4.2.1 Optimization Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.1 Orifice with Diameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.2 Volume with Mechanical Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.3 Mass Component (Steel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.4 Mechanical Connection Between Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.5 speed Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.6 Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.7 Frictional Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.8 T-Orifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.9 Initial Simulation Model of Piston Accumulator . . . . . . .
4.3.10Accumulator Simulation Model Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.11Piston Accumulator Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.12Piston Accumulator Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.13Piston Accumulator Performance (mass effect) . . . . . . . .
4.4.1 Modified Simulation Model of the Piston Accumulator . . .
4.5.1 Test Model for Piston Accumulator with Breaking Chamber
4.5.2 Piston Accumulator Performance with Breaking Chamber .
4.6.1 A Sketch of the Piston Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.6.2 wvs0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.6.3 wpo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4.6.4 wve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.1.1 Rock Drill Machine Simulation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.1 Valveless Rock Drill Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1 Rock Drill Performance with large Volume in Piston Chamber . . . .
5.4.2 Rock Drill Performance with large Volume (pressure in piston chamber) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.3 Rock Drill Performance with large Volume in Piston Chamber(1.5 lit)

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6.2.1 Rock Drill Simulation Model with One Accumulator . . . . . . . . . .

6.3.1 Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.2 Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator(pressure in piston
chamber) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.3 Performance of One Accumulator with Rock Drill . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.1 Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator (Optimization) . . . .
6.4.2 Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator (pr. piston chamber)
6.4.3 Performance of Accumulator with Rock Drill (Optimization) . . . . .
6.4.4 Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator (drain line flow) . . .

56
57

7.1.1 Two Piston Accumulator Mechanism with Rock Drill . . . . . . . . .

7.1.2 Characteristic Curve of Valveless Rock Drill Mechanism . . . . . . . .
7.2.1 Rock Drill Simulation Model With Two Accumulators . . . . . . . . .
7.2.2 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 1) . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.3 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 2) . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.4 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 1) . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.5 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 2) . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.6 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Piston Accumulators . . . . . .
7.2.7 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Piston Accumulators (impact
force) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.8 Performance of Rock Drill and Two Accumulators . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.9 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (pressure piston
chamber) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.10Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (flow rates) . . . .
7.3.1 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: Optimization) . .
7.3.2 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: Optimization) . .
7.3.3 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: breaking chamber)
7.3.4 Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: breaking chamber)
7.3.5 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: Optimization) . .
7.3.6 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: Optimization) . .
7.3.7 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: breaking chamber)
7.3.8 Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: breaking chamber)
7.4.1 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (Optimization) . .
7.4.2 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (impact force) . .
7.4.3 Performance of Rock Drill and Two Accumulators (Optimization) . .
7.4.4 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (pressure piston
chamber) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.4.5 Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (flow rates) . . . .
7.4.6 Schematic Drawing of High Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . .
7.4.7 Schematic Drawing of Low Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . .

52
52

58
58
59
59
60
60
61
62
63
65
65
65
66
66
67
67
68
68
69
70
70
70
71
71
72
72
73
73
74
74
74
76
76

8.1.1 Fatigue life as a function of applied stress represented by a so called

Wohler curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2.1 Stress at Time Varying Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4.1 Sketch of Piston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4.2 Ansys Model for Low Pressure Accumulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.1 Initial Loading and Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.2 Stress Distribution Due to Static Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.3 Piston with Speed of 2 m/s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.4 Critical Point with Maximum Principal Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.5 Stress variation at Node 262 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.6 Stress Variation at Node 262 w.r.t New Coordinate System . . . . . .
8.5.7 Stress Cycles for Node 262 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.8 Critical Point (node 1) with maximum Principal Stress . . . . . . . .
8.5.9 Stress Variation at Node 1 in the Piston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5.10Stress Variation at Node 1 w.r.t New Coordinate System . . . . . . .
8.5.11Stress Ranges Obtained Using Rain Flow Count Method . . . . . . .
8.6.1 Ansys Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.6.2 Stress Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.6.3 Variation of Stresses at Critical Node 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.6.4 Variation of Stresses at Critical Node 2 w.r.t New Coordinate System
8.6.5 Stress Ranges Obtained by Rain Flow Count Method . . . . . . . . .

78
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84
85
86
86
87
88
89
89
90
92
93
94
94
96
97
98
99
99

Nomenclature

Chapter 1
Rock Drilling
1.1

Introduction

Rock drilling is an essential part of several important industrial activities: mining,

oil and water well drilling and civil engineering, the latter concept covering a large
variety of different contract work applications. Two main rock drilling methods are
available:
rotary drilling of large diameter holes from above ground in all kind of rocks
percussive drilling of small to medium diameter holes in all kind of rocks, both
under and from above ground [1].

Figure 1.1.1: Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer WL4 C30

[2]
Figure 1.1.1 shows a drill rig Rocket Boomer WL4C30. It is used for tunnel drifting
underground. The rocket boomer has four rock drills, which all can be operated
at the same time. Percussive method of rock drilling differs from the other in one
8

fundamental aspect: the drilling equipment is comparatively light and accordingly

easily maneuverable. The percussive rock drilling system may be regarded as a force
amplifier, which transforms a constant low thrust force to a periodic force on the
bit, alternating between almost zero for most of the time and the same high force
as for the rotary bit for only a few percent of the blow period[1].

1.2

A Typical Percussive Rock Drilling System

In the percussive machine itself a piston is given a reciprocating motion by a working

fluid pressure over the two pressure areas, one for each direction of piston motion.
The distribution of the working fluid to these pressure areas is controlled by the
motion of the piston itself, either directly or indirectly via a valve. Each cycle of
the piston motion includes a blow of the piston against the shank of the drill steel.
Thereby all or at least most of the piston blow energy is transmitted to the drill
steel as a compressive stress wave running along the drill steel towards the drill bit.
The compressive stress wave corresponds to a dynamic force between the drill bit
buttons and/or wedges and the rock surface at the bottom of the hole. When this
force is sufficiently high the rock surface is broken and rock debris is created around
and below the drill bit buttons. The debris is flushed out of the hole by a flushing
fluid delivered to the drill bit via an axial hole through the drill steel [1]. After
each blow of the piston the drill steel is rotated a certain angle in order to turn
the drill bit over the hole bottom so that the entire surface can be worked upon by
the buttons. Since this master thesis deals with percussive rock drill machine, it is
quite relevant to highlight here different percussive rock drilling methods. Various
methods of percussive rock drilling are used for different applications and conditions.
The three most common are DTH (Down The Hole), COPROD and Top Hammer
Drilling.

1.2.1

Down The Hole Rock Drilling

In DTH drilling, there is no drill steel between the rock drill and the drill bit. The
rock drill is mounted in a cylinder, which is pushed down the hole. The rotation of
the drill bit is performed by a rotation unit located outside the hole. The rotation is
transferred by pipes, to which the rock drill is connected. Most DTH hammers are
pneumatic driven, and the air is led through the pipes that transfer the rotation.
The air operating the percussion mechanism is led out through the drill bit, where
it flushes the cuttings out of the hole. The advantage with DTH drilling is that
there are neither drill steels, nor threads transferring the shock wave produced by
the rock drill. DTH hammers are used for large holes from approximately 120 mm
[3].

1.2.2

COPROD Rock Drilling

The COPROD technique separates the percussive and rotation mechanism, as in

DTH drilling, but as in top hammer drilling the rock drill is mounted on a drill
rig. The impact energy is transferred to the drill bit through a drill steel. The
steel is fitted into a pipe, which transfers the rotation motion. When the hole depth
increases several pipes are joined together by threads. The drill steels are stacked
on top of each other inside the pipes. The advantage with this is that the threads
do not transfer the shock wave. This means that the loss of impact energy is small
9

compared to top hammer drilling. Since hydraulic top hammers are used, it is
possible to use a high output power. Another advantage of this system is that the
pipes transferring the rotation are more rigid compared to the drill steels used in
top hammer drilling. This gives less hole deviation [3].

1.2.3

Top Hammer Percussive Rock Drilling

In top hammer drilling the rock drill is mounted on a drill rig ( Figure 1.2.1),
and a drill steel with drill bit is connected to the rock drill. The drill steel both
transfers the impact energy and the rotation to the drill bit. As the depth of the
hole increases, the drill steels are lengthened using thread joints connecting them to
each other. One weakness with the system is the threads. In each joint, effective
impact energy is lost due to distortion of the shock wave. The energy loss can be
relatively large when drilling deep holes with multiple joints. The joints also have
to be correctly tightened, else the threads may be severely damaged due to friction
energy that converts into heat. The heat generated may damage the hardening of
the steel, or even weld the drill steels together. In top hammer drilling, holes with
a maximum diameter of approximately 140 mm are drilled [3].

Figure 1.2.1: Percussive Rock Drilling Methods

In percussive top-hammer drilling, energy is transmitted from the rock drill via the
shank adapter, drill steel and drill bit to the rock, where it is used for crushing. The
impact strikes the shank adapter typically 60 times per second, i.e a frequency of 60
Hz. The kinematic energy of one piston blow is designated as Impact Energy. The
10

magnitude of the impact energy [J] depends on the piston, its mass [kg] and blow
m v2
velocity [m/s], according to E = 2i i . The power [W] equals energy per time unit
[J/s], and is the product of energy and frequency, Pout = E f . The use of power
magnitude can be confusing, since a combination of high energy and low frequency
can give equally large power as low energy and high frequency does. In order to
achieve high impact power of the rock drill machine, it is desired to achieve high
frequency but the installed pressure and flow must be sufficient. In brief, one can
state that the energy requirement comes from the rock properties (hard, soft etc.)
and the drilled hole dimension. An increased frequency (and power) will give high
penetration rate. This is what the fundamental theme of this thesis. In a simpler
way the drill principle can be best described by figure 1.2.2.

Figure 1.2.2: Top Hammer Drill Basic Principle

A typical top hammer percussive drill is shown below(fig: 1.2.3):

Figure 1.2.3: Top Hammer Drill

Figure 1.2.4 shows the percussive rock drilling basic principle and the different parts
of the drill which are involved in its operation.A piston with the mass mi impacts
the drill steel with the velocity 0 vi and the frequency f. The pressure area a is
used to throw the piston against the shank adapter where it stops upon impact.
There is also a pressure area b used to return the piston for the next impact. The
rock drill has a motor to rotate the drill steel and a flushing connection. Now, basic
parts of percussive rock drill machine are discussed in the following sections.
11

Figure 1.2.4: The Percussive Rock Drilling Principle

1.2.4

Percussion

By increasing the hydraulic pressure on the impact piston rear side, the piston is
moved towards the shank adapter. This striking piston gives the impact force to
the shank adapter. For optimal drilling, different velocities are needed specially for
different rocks. The change of stroke length and thereby change of striking velocity,
is achieved by changing a special regular pin.

1.2.5

Feed Mechanism

In percussive rock drilling it is important that the drill bit is in contact with the
rock[3]. If not, the energy in the shock wave is reflected back to the machine. This
results in low drilling rate, and high wear of both drill steel and machine. The energy
from the shock wave causes heating and wears the joints between the drill steels.
Contact between rock and drill bit is also necessary to give a tightening torque on
the joints between the drill steels. The rock drill is mounted on a sleigh, on which a
feed force acts, pushing the rock drill against the rock. There are two different feed
system designs. The first one is a chain driven feed. The second one works in the
same way, but instead of a chain, a hydraulic actuator is used to keep the contact
with the rock. A hydraulic actuator is preferred over the chain driven solution since
it provides a smoother function [4].

Figure 1.2.5: Feed Mechanism

[2]

12

1.2.6

Dampener System

One function of the dampener system is to take care of the reflected shock waves
resulting from drilling in the most efficient way. Another task is to ensure that drill
is in contact with the rock with the right magnitude of force.
Without dampeners the impact power of the drill is limited significantly, only the
smallest drills are currently working without a dampener. In other words, the hydraulic damper of the rock drill establishes contact between drill bit and rock as fast
as possible after the impact. It also absorbs the recoil energy from the drill steel.

1.2.7

Drill String

The drill steel is a pipe with thick walls that connect the rock drill to the drill bit.
Water or air is led through the hole in the drill steel to flush the cuttings out of the
hole and to cool the joints. A thicker drill steel gives straighter holes and better
flushing efficiency, due to higher flushing velocity between drill steel and wall. The
drill string consists of three parts. The first part is mounted in the drill and is called
shank adapter. At the other end towards the rock, the drill bit is placed. Between
these two parts are mounted one or more rods. In order to drill deeper holes than
the drill rod, several can be jointed, see figure 1.2.6[3].

Figure 1.2.6: Drill String

[2]

1.2.8

Drill Bit

The drill bit, shown in figure 1.2.7, is mounted at the end of the drill steel [3].
It has several hard carbide steel buttons, which crush the rock. The force needed
for crushing the rock is increased with the number of bit buttons, the bit button
diameter and how worn the buttons are. With the right choice of drill bit, the
cuttings are relatively coarse, whereas a drill bit with too many, and/or too worn
bit buttons, produces very fine cuttings. There are mainly two types of bit buttons,
ballistic, and spherical, shown in figure 1.2.7. Ballistic bit buttons generally give a
higher drilling rate, but they are more difficult to regrind [4].

1.2.9

Flushing

In order to flush out the drill cuttings, pressurized air, water or a mixture of air
and water are used as flushing medium. Flushing medium is transferred into the
13

Figure 1.2.7: Bit and Buttons

[2]
hole through the drill string and then back between the hole wall and the exterior of
the drill string. Water flushing provides better cooling. In practice, comparing the
two flushing options, air flushing is used mostly above ground, and water flushing
in underground drilling.

1.2.10

Rotation

To attain an effective drilling rate the drill bit needs to be rotated between impacts
[3]. The rotation is also needed to obtain correctly tightened joints. The rotation is
generated by a hydraulic motor, which provides a constant speed. When the drill bit
buttons are struck into the rock, the rotation of the drill bit temporarily stops. The
rotary motor continues to rotate the adapter, causing torsion of the drill steel. When
the shock wave from the piston ends, the grip between the rock and bit slackens,
and the drill bit must catch the adapter. The force in this lash increases with the
mass of the drill steel, and it can cause the joints between the drill steels to loosen.
By increasing the feed force the rotation torque from the drill bit increases, and as a
result the joints are tightened. A rule of thumb is that the bit buttons should move
one button diameter between impacts. With a higher rotation speed the drilling
rate increases, but it also causes heavier wear on the drill bit buttons[3].

14

Chapter 2
Problem Description
2.1

Valveless Rock drills

In a valveless rock drill the piston is the only moving part. The term valveless is
however not quite adequate since the piston itself is used as a valve [1]. In this kind
of drill, compressibility of the fluid plays an important role in the operation of the
drill machine. The basic aim to design rock drills without any valves is to increase
their overall efficiency.

2.1.1

Working Mechanism

Consider the valveless rock drill schematically shown in given fig 2.1.1. The valveless

Figure 2.1.1: Valveless Rock Drill

rock drill mechanism consists of an impact piston, two chambers, piston chamber
(rear side) area A1 and piston rod chamber(front side area A2 ), which are connected
periodically with each other. Furthermore, piston rod chamber is permanently connected with the inlet constant pressure source p, whereas the piston chamber is
connected with the drainage line periodically. After a blow, the piston is first accelerated by force F = p A2 to the position X = a. Next it continues to compress the
fluid in the piston chamber. It is assumed that the pressure in the piston chamber
increases linearly with the piston displacement X a. When the piston reaches the
15

position X = a + s, the working fluid pressure p is suddenly connected to the piston

chamber to the right, so that that the retarding pressure on the piston increases
from some value p0 to p. The piston then stops at the position X = S > s + a. The
pressure in both the chamber becomes equal to the source pressure p. The piston
stops for an instant but as the area of the piston rear end A1 is larger than the
piston rod chamber area A2 , therefore the force causes the piston to move forward
towards the drill steel. At the position X = s + a, the working fluid pressure to the
piston chamber is shut off from the piston rod chamber. The pressure in the piston
chamber starts decreasing linearly as the piston moves forward towards drill steel.
At the position X = a, the pressure on the piston has dropped to p p0 , and is
suddenly released to drain pressure which is assumed zero pressure level here. The
retarding pressure p, acting on the piston rod side, decelerates the piston before it
finally strikes the drill steel at X = 0. The theoretical force position diagram for
the piston is shown in given figure 2.1.2[1]. The area within the cycle represents the

Figure 2.1.2: Valveless Rock Drill, Theoretical Blow Cycle

blow energy W and equals the external work on the piston over a blow cycle.
W = (p p0 )A1 s

(2.1.1)

Therefore, the principle for percussive rock drilling is based on a impact piston
with mass mi impacts the drill steel shank adapter with the velocity vi and the
frequency f . The impact power Pout is then given by:
Pout = E f

(2.1.2)

mi vi2 f
2

(2.1.3)

Pout =

16

where,
mi vi2
= impact energy or impulse energy E.
2
Since the rock drill is supplied with pressure pin and flow rate qin , the input power
Pin is given by:
Pin = pin qin

(2.1.4)

The overall efficiency of the machine can be calculated as follows.

avg(P ulseEnergy P ulseF requency)

avg(qin ) avg(pin )

(2.1.5)

where,
qin ; inlet flow rate
pin ; inlet pressure
The size of a piston accumulator has been optimized such that the highest efficiency
could be obtained on the basis of some constraints. The optimization has been
done by using the optimization module of simulation software HOPSAN. A short
description of optimization technique is given in chapter 4.

2.2

Problem Definition

The valveless rock drill so far has the best efficiency at Atlas Copco. The impact
piston oscillates according to figure 2.1.2. The volume is large enough, that it causes
strength problems with the housing. The pressure at the piston chamber fluctuates
at a very large level. When the impact piston is at the front most position so that
it is striking the drill steel, the pressure in the piston chamber is as low as 16 bar.
When impact piston reaches its rear most position away from the drill steel, the
pressure is above 200 bar. This high pressure fluctuation results in fatigue strength
problems in the housing due to high pressurized large volume of oil.
The other issue which needs to be taken into account is to achieve high efficiency
of the rock drill. During the impact piston movement within rock drill, a certain
volume of oil with a pressure of around 40 bar is drained off. The performance of this
particular drill machine can be improved if some mechanism is proposed which could
eliminate the strength problems along with no need of the relatively high pressure oil
to be drained off. This could certainly lead to increased efficiency. The performance
of the valveless rock drill is described in the figure 2.2.1. The plot describes the
waste of power occurs due to pressurized oil at pressure of p0 is drained off. In the
figure 2.2.1, the energy loss is the area enclosed by points A, D and E. In practice,
it can be as large as 30% of total useful energy.
W aste = qpf

(2.2.1)

where,
q = flow rate = X A f
f = blow frequency
R = drain line/outlet pressure
p = p0 R
17

Figure 2.2.1: Energy Loss during Piston Motion

A =effective area of piston in piston chamber
X = impact piston part of stroke length for which oil volume is drained off The
frequency of the rock drill is rather high and around 120 Hz.

2.3

Proposed Solution

Since in the studied valveless rock drill, pressurized large oil volume is drained off
and high pressure difference also causes fatigue strength problems. One way to solve
the problem is to replace the large oil volume in the piston chamber with several
oil volumes. Many small oil volumes will probably eliminate the strength problems
in the housing which was previously exposed to highly pressurized large oil volumes
causing fatigue failures. The volume is determined to give a certain efficiency at a
specific energy level.

2.3.1

Two Gas Volumes

At the instant when the outlet drain port is opened, the pressure in the piston
chamber is much higher than the pressure in the outlet channel. It results in large
part of energy loss. The efficiency of such mechanism is not often more than 70%.
The problem can be solved by using two gas accumulators whose working volumes
should be equal to the volume of work in piston chamber to minimize the losses. One
accumulator works at high pressure level close to supply pressure, whereas the other
accumulator works at low pressure level close to pressure in outlet channel. The
18

main purpose of using two gas accumulators is to perform different tasks during
operation. The energy of low pressure accumulator is used to press out the oil
coming from piston rod chamber to piston chamber. The energy of the high pressure
accumulator is used to continue the reciprocating motion of the impact piston. The
details of the two accumulator system is given in chapter 7. In next chapters,
different kind of gas accumulators and their basic properties have been discussed.

2.3.2

Research Approach

Studying different kind of gas accumulators and their basic properties

Checking the compatibility of different gas accumulators with the rock drill
machine
Mathematical formulation of Piston Accumulator and development of a simulation model in HOPSAN
Analyzing the performance of rock drill with one or two piston accumulators,
and without piston accumulator
fatigue strength calculations of piston accumulator at high pressure and frequency using Ansys

19

Chapter 3
Hydraulic Accumulator
3.1

Introduction

An accumulator is a device that stores potential energy by means of either gravity,

mechanical springs, or compressed gases. The stored potential energy in the accumulator is a quick secondary source of fluid power capable of doing useful work as
required by the system[5].

3.2

Types of Accumulator

There are three basic types of accumulators used in hydraulic systems. They are
identified as follows:
1. Weight loaded, or gravity type
2. Bellow type
3. Spring loaded type
4. Gas loaded type

3.2.1

Weight Loaded or Gravity Type Accumulator

The weight loaded accumulator is historically the oldest. This type consists of
a vertical, heavy wall steel cylinder, which incorporates a piston with packings to
prevent leakage. A dead weight is attached to the top of the piston see fig 3.2.1. The
force of gravity of the dead weight provides the potential energy in the accumulator.
This type of accumulator creates a constant fluid pressure throughout the full volume
output of the unit regardless of the rate and quantity of output.[5]. Advantages :
large capacity
uniform output pressure
Disadvantages :
huge, bulky and heavy weight
installation and servicing is not easy
not suitable for mobile applications
20

Figure 3.2.1: Weight Loaded Accumulator

[5]

3.2.2

Spring Loaded Accumulator

A spring loaded accumulator is similar to the wight loaded type accumulator except
that the piston is preloaded with a spring. The compressed spring is the source of
energy that acts against the piston, forcing the fluid into the hydraulic system to
drive an actuator.

Figure 3.2.2: Spring Loaded Accumulator

[5]
21

Advantages :
generally small and light weight
suitable for mobile application
Disadvantages :
over small working volume
low pressure range
can not be used for high cycle rates as spring will fatigue

3.2.3

Gas Loaded Accumulator

Gas loaded accumulators (frequently called hydro pneumatic accumulators) have

been found to be more practical than the weight and spring type accumulators.[5] By
using gas-charged accumulators as energy storage devices in hydraulic systems which
operate in a cyclic manner the energy consumption can be considerably reduced[6]. If
we also note the simple design of an accumulator, its relatively compact form and the
fact that it can be quickly modified to become suitable for a different system pressure
by charging the amount of gas in it, it becomes quite clear that an accumulator
is to be preferred for most modern hydraulic systems. Accumulator in hydraulic
systems normally operate with dry nitrogen as compressed gas. The performance
of the accumulator depends on the thermodynamic processes taking place in the
gas. During system operation hydraulic fluid enters and leaves the accumulator
and the resultant expansion and compression of the gas will be accompanied by
changes in pressure. For a proper system design and/or determination of operation
characteristics it is therefore essential to use some method calculating these pressure
fluctuations. Before going into more operational details of gas charged accumulator,
here we discuss first different kind of accumulators and their basic properties. Gas
loaded accumulators fall into two main categories:
1. Non-separator type accumulator
2. Separator type accumulator
Non-Separator Type Accumulator
The non separator type of accumulator consists of a fully enclosed shell containing
an oil port on the bottom and a gas charging valve on the top. The gas is confined
in the top and the oil at the bottom of the shell. There is no physical separator
between the oil and the gas, and thus gas pushes directly on the oil.
Advantages :
ability to handle large oil volumes
Disadvantages :
absorption of gas in the oil
must be installed vertically to keep the gas confined at the top of the shell
entrapped gas in the oil could cause cavitation if used with high speed pumps[7]
22

Figure 3.2.3: Non-Separator Type Accumulator

[7]
Separator Type Accumulator
The commonly accepted design of gas loaded accumulator is the separator type.
In this type there is a physical barrier between the gas and the oil. This barrier
effectively uses the compressibility of the gas [7]. The four major classifications of
the separator accumulator are
Piston type
Diaphragm type
Bladder type
metal bellow type

3.2.4

Piston Type Accumulator

The piston type of accumulator consists of a cylinder containing a freely floating

piston with proper seals. the piston serves as a barrier between gas and oil. Normally
nitrogen gas is used as compressible medium.
Advantages :
ability to handle high or low temperature systems
long life even at high cycle rate
high ratios possible between precharge pressure and maximum working pressure
ability to provide high flow rates
better damping due to hydraulic leakage (viscous damping) and friction
Disadvantages :
23

Figure 3.2.4: Piston Type Accumulator

[7]
expensive to manufacture
piston and seal friction may also be a problem
appreciable leakage tend to occur over a long period

24

3.2.5

Diaphragm Type Accumulator

The diaphragm-type accumulator consists of a diaphragm, secured in the shell, which

serves as an elastic barrier between the oil and gas. The hydraulic pump delivers
oil into the accumulator and deforms the diaphragm. As the pressure increases, the
volume of the gas decreases, thus storing energy. Advantages :

Figure 3.2.5: Diaphragm Accumulator

[5]
small weight to volume ratio, suitable for airborne applications
suitable for high speed applications
not susceptible to contamination and consistent behavior under similar conditions
Disadvantages :
possibility of diaphragm failure, especially at high cycle rates
large size is needed for high flow rates
temperature differences on the gas will have some affect on performance

3.2.6

Bladder Type Accumulator

A bladder-type accumulator contains and elastic barrier (bladder) between the oil
and gas. The bladder is fitted in the accumulator by means of vulcanized gas-valve
element and can be installed or removed through the shell opening at the poppet
valve. The poppet valve closes the inlet when the accumulator bladder is fully
expanded [5].
25

Figure 3.2.6: Bladder Accumulator

[7]
Advantages :
positive sealing between gas and oil
light weight bladder provides quick response
not susceptible to contamination and consistent behavior under similar conditions
Disadvantages :
possibility of bladder failure, especially at high cycle rates
large size is needed for high flow rates
temperature differences on the gas will have some affect on performance

3.2.7

Bellow Type Accumulator

The metal bellows accumulators function similarly to the compressed gas type, except the elastic diaphragm or floating piston is replaced by a hermetically sealed
welded metal bellows. Fluid may be internal or external to the bellows.
Advantages :
generally work at high pressure, allows more energy storage capacity
low spring rate allows gas to do all work within little change in pressure
maximum storage volume for given container size

26

Figure 3.2.7: Metal Bellow Accumulator

[7]
Disadvantages :
can not work over high cycle rates due to fatigue
slow in response to pressure changes

3.2.8

Applications of Accumulator

There are four basic applications where accumulators are used in hydraulic system.
an auxiliary power source
a leakage compensator
an emergency power source
a hydraulic shock absorber
The given equipment i.e. Rock drill Application which has been described previously in chapter 2, needs an accumulator which can operate on high frequency or
cycle rate and also possess high life without fatigue failure, so piston accumulator
might be a good choice, based on its performance with the rock drill. The performance of the rock drill can be best analyzed by utilizing a simulation model of
the rock drill in any hydraulic simulation application software. Since the simulation
model of the rock drill has already been developed at Atlas Copco using HOPSAN,
rest is to design and model a piston accumulator and then analyze the performance
of the rock drill with one or more piston accumulator. In the next chapters, the gas
accumulator mathematical model, some description of HOPSAN and modeling of
piston accumulator for simulation in HOPSAN etc are presented.
27

Chapter 4
Modeling of Piston Accumulator
4.1

Mathematical Model of Gas

A common way to calculate gas pressure in an accumulator is to use the ideal gas
law. Either consider the process as adiabatic or isotherm. The expression used is,
p.V n = constant,
where the isotopic exponent 0 n0 is Cp /Cv .
For nitrogen n is 1.4 in an adiabatic process where gas has no heat exchange with surrounding. In isothermal process, when initial pressure and temperature is 1bar and
20o C respectively, n is 1.0 [8]. In the adiabatic process, there is a quick compression
of gas and immediately an expansion back to start volume take place as Vo V1 Vo .
The accumulator consists of a precharged gas chamber and a fluid chamber connected
to a hydraulic system. The chambers are separated by a bladder, piston, or any kind
of elastic diaphragm. If the fluid pressure at the accumulator inlet becomes higher
than the precharge pressure, fluid enters the accumulator chamber and compresses
the gas, thus storing hydraulic energy. A drop in the fluid pressure at the inlet forces
the stored fluid back into the system. For two states of gas (po , V0 )and(p1 , V1 ), and
for an adiabatic process (fig 4.1.1), Boyles law gives:
p1 V1n = po Von
V1 = Vo ( ppo1 )1/n
V = Vo V1 ; change in volume of gas
V = V1 [1 ( ppo1 )1/n ]
Normally, pressure in the gas chamber is equal to that of the fluid chamber. But
if pressure at the accumulator inlet (p) drops below the accumulators precharge
value (ppr ), the gas chamber gets isolated from the system by the inlet valve. In
this case, pressure in the gas chamber remains constant and equal to the precharge
value, while pressure at the inlet depends on pressure in the system to which the
accumulator is connected. If pressure at the inlet builds up to the precharge value
or higher, the chambers start interacting again. Therefore accumulator is described
with the following equations:
dV
q = dtf

28

Figure 4.1.1: Accumulator volume and pressure during simulation

(
0
Vf =
V1 [1 ( ppo1 )1/n ]
where,
Vf
Vo
p1 or pin
po
n
q
t

if pin < po
if pin > po

(4.1.1)

Fluid volume
Accumulator capacity
Inlet gauge pressure
Precharge pressure
Specific heat ratio
Volumetric flow rate
Time

Since the total volume of the accumulator is composed of varying oil and gas volumes
during operation, i.e. Vo or Vtot = Vgas + Voil , therefore, the effective bulk modulus
of oil and gas mixture depends upon gas pressure, its polytropic constant and bulk
modulus of oil. Bulk modulus of oil is its measure of incompressibility given by
oil =

p
V /V

gas = npgas

(4.1.2)

and the effecive bulk modulus of mixture of oil and gas can be written as:
Vtot
Vgas Voil
=
+
eqv
gas oil

(4.1.3)

The model of the piston accumulator is based on following assumptions:

The gas compression is determined on the basis of the thermodynamics of ideal
gases
The process is assumed to be polytropic
The accumulator cylinder is composed of two volumes, gas and oil chambers
29

 There exists an inertia due to piston mass between the gas chamber and oil
chamber
There exists friction between piston and cylinder
Fluid and gas compressibility is taken into account

4.2

About HOPSAN

The program is developed at the division of Fluid and Mechanical Engineering Systems at Linkoping University.
Hopsan is a tool used for modelling and simulation of technical systems, mainly
hydromechanical ones. It is possible to create component models in Fortran directly
and use in Hopsan. This can however be difficult and the authors are therefore
developing tools that make this process easier. There are well developed component
libraries available in HOPSAN, which can be used to create different simulation Models. HOPSAN uses a graphical interface, called GDynmoc, where different hydraulic
and mechanical components are connected to a complete model. Atlas Copco uses
the simulation program HOPSAN (Hydraulisk Och Pneumatisk System ANalys) to
simulate hydraulic systems.

4.2.1

Simulation Methodology in HOPSAN

Most of the elements found in HOPSAN are hydraulic components. These components can be divided into two groups: Q-type and C-Type, flow and volume
components. C-component must always be connected to the Q-component and vice
versa. Examples of Q-components are valves, pumps and motors. Examples of Ccomponents are lines and volumes. HOPSAN uses fixed time step. Calculations of
the C components are said to be hydraulic capacitance and impedance as a function
of pressure and flow. Calculation of Q-components are flow and pressure as a function of hydraulic capacitance and impedance.
For a more detailed explanation of simulation technology in HOPSAN and TLM,
see [9] and [10]. Q-and C-components do not always need to be hydraulic. They
may be mechanical or electrical. Calculation methodology in HOPSAN does not
separate the physical devices.

4.2.2

Optimization Module in HOPSAN

The optimization built-in in HOPSAN is based on the Complex method. The basic
idea is to use an already developed simulation model and apply the optimization
algorithm on that. Typical things to optimize are pump and valve sizes and control
parameters. To optimize it is necessary to write a file describing the object function and the parameters to optimize along with some settings for the optimization
algorithm. The format of this file is described below. The command for starting
the optimization is then OPTIM, OPTFIL or just optim which causes HOPSAN to
prompt for a optimization file name [10].

30

Figure 4.2.1: Optimization Procedure

4.3

Simulation Model of Piston Accumulator

Before creating a simulation model of piston accumulator, it will be better to conceive main elements needed. As in a piston accumulator, a mass moves up and down
in between two volumes, composed of gas and oil. The volumes should be variables
based on movement of piston. As the oil moves into the accumulator from the drill
machine, an orifice action is needed to be taken into account at the inlet. There, of
course, should be an element representing mass of piston held in between oil and gas
volumes. To restrict the motion of the piston, two rigid end stops are also needed.
The piston is supposed to move to and fro in between these stoppages which represents the end positions of the piston mass. Some mechanical connections are also
needed to connect piston with oil and gas volumes as well as with mechanical stops.
Components used in Simulation Model of Piston Accumulator
The following main components have been used for a complete simulation model of
piston accumulator after step by step analysis.

31

4.3.1

Orifice

It simulates an orifice with an opening. As the oil flows into the piston accumulator from the system, it has to face an opening area with some specified diameter.
Therefore, an orifice is used in the simulation model where calculations are based
on the orifice equation. Its a Q-type component and it calculates flow and pressure
at the two hydraulic nodes and takes orifice diameter, and Cq as input.
r
2
p
q = Cq A

(4.3.1)

where,
q = flow through the orifice
Cq = flow coefficient (0.67)
A = dia2 /4= area of orifice
p= pressure drop

Figure 4.3.1: Orifice with Diameter

= oil density (870 Kg/m3 )

4.3.2

Volume with Mechanical Ends

The oil and gas volumes are needed to be included in simulation model of the
accumulator. Following components in the given figure represents a volume with
two mechanical endspistons. In the simulation model of piston accumulator, its one
end is needed to be fixed at speed zero whereas the other is connected with the
piston mass, so that it moves with the piston and hence bring change in the volume.
The component is designed to calculate pressure in the volume when the volume is
changed based on piston position. its a C-type hydraulic components thus it gives
impedence and capacitance as output, whereas piston areas at its ends, effective
bulk modulus of oil or gas e and initial volume are taken as input variables.
q=

V dp
dV
+
dt
e dt

p=

F
A

(4.3.2)

where,
q ; flow into the volume
p ; pressure in the volume
A ; area of ends

Figure 4.3.2:
Ends

Volume with Mechanical

F ; force on the ends of volume

t; time
e ; effecive bulk modulus ; for oil, it is 1.6e+09 Pa and for gas it depends on its
pressure and its polytropic exponent i.e. (e,gas = np)
32

4.3.3

Steel

The component simulates a mechanical steel with distributed parameters. In the

simulation model of piston accumulator, it represents the piston. It is also used
as mechanical stops at two end of the piston motion. It is a C-type mechanical
component thus it gives impedance and capacitance as output. It takes diameter,
length , young modulus and density as input variables and can be connected with
mechanical components with its two mechanical nodes.

Figure 4.3.3: Mass Component (Steel)

4.3.4

Mechanical Connection

The component gives mechanical connection or separation between different mechanical nodes. It is used between piston mass and mechanical stops as well as
it also creates a mechanical connection between piston mass and oil/gas volumes.
Furthermore, it also establishes a gap between two mechanical stops, i.e. the stroke
length of piston accumulator can be set using this component. It is a Q-type mechanical component, and it gives forces, speed and position at different mechanical
nodes in the simulation model.

Figure 4.3.4: Mechanical Connection Between Nodes

4.3.5

Speed Selector

This block is used to set a particular speed at any node in simulation model. The
speeds at one end of volumes and mechanical stop has been set to zero using this
component. It takes a value of speed at a node as an input parameter. It is a
Q-type mechanical component and is connected with volume and steel which are
C-type components.

Figure 4.3.5: speed Selector

33

4.3.6

Frictional Force

Piston cylinder friction block simulates friction in the sliding contact between moving
bodies in the piston accumulator[11]. This frictional element has been developed to
give a frictional force depending upon preload force, coulomb friction, breakaway
friction and viscous friction. The code for frictional load is available in Appendix A.
The speed of the piston and twice of the
pressure across the piston is taken as input parameters to find out the frictional
force during piston motion. So, friction
Figure 4.3.6: Friction
force is simulated as a function of relative velocity and pressure, and is assumed to be the sum of Stir-beck, Coulomb, and
Viscous components.

Figure 4.3.7: Frictional Force

The Coulomb friction force consists of the preload force, caused by the seal squeeze

during assembly, and the force proportional to pressure. The friction force is approximated with the following equations:
if |V | >= Vth
F = (Fc + (Fbrk Fc ).exp(cv |V |))sign(V ) + f V

(4.3.3)

if |V | <= Vth
F =V

(f Vth + (Fc + (Fbrk Fc ).exp(cv Vth )))

Vth
34

(4.3.4)

where,
V ; speed of the piston sensed and given as an input to the friction block
Vth ;= velocity threshold
Vth represents discontinuities at V = 0 which creates considerable computation problems. The discontinuity is eliminated by intoducing a very small, but finite region
in the zero velocity vicinity, within which friction force is assumed to be linearly
proportional to velocity with the proportionality coefficient Fbrk /Vth . It has been
proven experimentally that the velocity threshold is in the range between 104 and
106 m/s [11].
Fc ; Coloumb Friction
F = Fpr + fcf r (Pa + Pb )

(4.3.5)

where,
Fpr ; preload force, caused by seal squeez during assembly, 10 N
fcf r ; coulomb friction coefficient, defines the proportionalty between the Coulomb
friction force and the pressure in chambers, value 1e-6 N/Pa
Pa and Pb ; Pressures in oil and gas side, assumed equal at an instant, sensed from
gas volume and given the twice as an input to the friction component
Fbrk ; breakaway friction, sum of coulomb and static frictions
Fbrk = Kbrk Fc

(4.3.6)

where,
Kbrk ; breakaway friction increase coefficient, value is a little more than 1
f; viscous friction coefficient, proportionality coefficient between the friction force
and the relative velocity, value 100 Ns/m
cv ; The parameter sets the value of coefficient cv , which is used for the approximation of the transition between the breakaway and the Coulomb frictions. Its
value is assigned based on the following considerations: the Stribeck friction component reaches approximately 5% of its steady-state value at velocity 3/cv , and 2% at
velocity 4/cv , which makes it possible to develop an approximate relationship cv =
4/Vmin , where Vmin is the relative velocity at which friction force has its minimum
value. By default, cv is set to 10 s/m, which corresponds to a minimum friction at
velocity of about 0.4 m/s [11].

4.3.7

T-Orifice

It offers flow and pressure calculation of orifice or leakage through a clearance. Since
the breaking of the piston in oil chamber is incorporated when the piston reaches
the lower end, T-orifice is utilized for this purpose. The breaking mechanism is
35

described in later chapters. It is a Q-type hydraulic element works as a leakage

orifice. It gives the output flow and pressure when it is simulated over a specified
leakage length and radial clearance.

Figure 4.3.8: T-Orifice

4.3.8

Miscellaneous Components

Pressure Sensor

Velocity Sensors

Area of piston, stroke, break area calculation

constant flow gas source to maintain constant pre-charge pressure in accumulator

36

4.3.9

Piston Accumulator Simulation Model

Using the components described above, simulation model is developed and its response and characteristics are studied. Initial simulation model is given in fig 4.3.9:
The components involved in the piston accumulator are combined into one compo-

Figure 4.3.9: Initial Simulation Model of Piston Accumulator

nent and the component is named as Piston Accumulator. It is stored in HOPSAN
component library. The performance of the accumulator is checked using a sinus
wave flow and an orifice as a load as shown below: In the next figures, the perfor-

Figure 4.3.10: Accumulator Simulation Model Test

mance of the accumulator is given showing the movement of piston with supply and
then discharge flow to the load. Following parameters are used:
Pre-charge pressure = 15 bar
Working volume = 10 cm3
37

Total volume of accumulator = 55 x 106 m3

Piston diameter = 70 x 103 m
Accumulator inlet port diameter = 25 x 103 m
Piston stroke length (distance between end positions) = 2.6 x 103 m
Amplitude of sinus flow = 0.8m3 /sec
Frequency of sinus flow = 166 Hz
From plot given in figure 4.3.11, it is quite clear that as the flow increases from

Figure 4.3.11: Piston Accumulator Performance

the flow source with time, the piston starts to move up and reach to its upper end
held at 2.5 mm. Due to restriction, it stops there. As the supply pressure decreases,
the accumulator discharge the hydraulic oil to the load. The speed of the piston
is around 5 m/sec when it reaches to its lower end position.The speed at the end
positions especially when the piston reaches to its end position in oil volume could
be decreased by using a breaking chamber. The details of breaking chamber are
given in later sections. In the plot given below, rise in gas pressure and flow to and
from the accumulator is shown. The plot 4.3.12 shows that gas pressure increases

Figure 4.3.12: Piston Accumulator Performance

38

from 15 bar (pre-charge pressure) to 21 bar. During this pressure change, an oil
volume of 10 x 106 m3 flows into the accumulator and it is discharged later on.
This oil volume is the set working volume of the accumulator.
From the above plots it has been quite clear that the model developed is working
as a piston accumulator. The mass of the piston is another factor which has been
taken in account in the simulation model. Since the flow rate in the test simulation
described above is very high about 800 lit/min of sin flow amplitude, therefore, a big
increase in piston mass will show the change in piston movement at same flow wave.
In the given plot, behavior of piston movement is shown when its mass is increased
by 5 times the previous one. As it is quite evident from the plot 4.3.13 that position

Figure 4.3.13: Piston Accumulator Performance (mass effect)

of heavier piston is lagging behind the lighter piston. It is due to the inertia of the
heavier piston which delays its movement initially and it takes a little more time to
reach the upper end. From above discussion, we reach to the initial conclusion that
the developed piston simulation model is working according to the characteristics of
a real piston accumulator. In order to damp the piston movement, when it reaches
the end position especially the end position in oil chamber, a breaking mechanism
is implemented. The details are given in the following section.

4.4

Breaking Chamber in Simulation Model

In the oil chamber of the piston accumulator, a breaking chamber is implemented to

slow down the piston movement when piston reaches close to the lower end position.
The aim is to damp the speed of the piston so that it strikes the end stoppage with
relatively lower speed. This will increase the fatigue life of the piston accumulator as
high speed impact might fail the piston accumulator well before its desired fatigue
life.
To achieve the breaking, a breaking oil volume is connected with the main oil volume
using an orifice. This orifice gives a leakage volume of oil through a clearance set
between piston and breaking oil volume. As the piston moves down during discharge,
the leakage length increases and hydraulic oil is leaked from the breaking chamber
to main oil chamber through the radial clearance. It resists the movement of the
39

piston especially when it is close to the end position. Therefore, the speed of the
piston is reduced at the end and it strikes the end with relatively low speed. The
complete simulation model of piston accumulator is shown below:

Figure 4.4.1: Modified Simulation Model of the Piston Accumulator

4.5

Effect of Breaking Chamber

Due to the inclusion of breaking chamber in the oil side of the piston, the motion of
the piston is slowed down and speed is decreased especially when it is closed to the
end position. It is quite evident with the following plot 4.5.2. As can be seen from

Figure 4.5.1: Test Model for Piston Accumulator with Breaking Chamber

40

Figure 4.5.2: Piston Accumulator Performance with Breaking Chamber

the plot 4.5.2 that speed of the piston is reduced when it reaches the lower end/stop
in oil region. The speed which was increasing steadily reduces to less than 1 m/sec
at impact.

41

4.6

Description of Piston Accumulator/Simulation

Model

A piston accumulator consists of a piston bore where a piston 4 can move forward
and backward( 4.6.1). On one side of the piston there is gas 12 with a pre charge
pressure charged through gas recharge port 1 and a dead volume. On the other side
the accumulator is connected to the rock drill and the hydraulic oil 11 and there
exist an outlet oil port 8. Sealing 5 on the piston 4 or in the piston bore seals
between the hydraulic oil 11 and gas 12. A piston accumulator is better than a
membrane accumulator when it strikes the end positions 2 and 7, due to its rigidity
and strength and secondly a breaking chamber 6 at the end positions has also been
implemented. As the piston moves to end position 2 and 7, motion of the piston
is resisted, due to the trapped oil in the breaking chamber 6. The trapped oil in
the breaking chamber is leaked out through the clearance 13 by an orifice action.
The same mechanism of breaking of piston is probable in the gaseous chamber 12.
The sealing 5 and wear seals 9 are held by the cylinder 3 and slided by the piston
4 in order to make piston light and to get its fast response. The seals provide high
sealing effect. But as the piston accumulator has to work for high cycles of time at
high frequency, therefore, to avoid any significant mixing of oil and gas, the drainage
line 10 has been incorporated to drain off the hydraulic oil to the tank 14 which has
been leaked through the seals and exists in between sliding surfaces.

4.6.1

Advantages of the invention

The piston accumulator withstands a process where the oil pressure varies
largely between return and supply pressures much better than a membrane
accumulator. This is an assumption for using piston accumulators in a valve
less rock drill.
The use of one or more piston accumulators replaces the large oil volume that
is otherwise needed in a valve less rock drill. It results in a relatively compact
design of valve less rock drill.
Leakage of the oil over sealing, for a long time periods of operation, is simply
drained out to the tank through the drain line 10. Therefore, longer operation
of the accumulator is assumed to be achieved without mixing of oil and gas.
The breaking chamber in the oil region provides significant reduction in the
speed before it strikes the stoppages. There is also the probability of getting
reduced speed in gaseous region. It results in working of the accumulators
piston and housing over longer period of time. The proposed concept of the
piston accumulator is shown below:
As the simulation model of the piston accumulator has been developed, it is now
possible to use the piston accumulator with the simulation model of rock drill. In
the following chapters, we deal with three different cases. The performance of the
rock drill is analyzed with different options such as:
Simulation and performance analysis of rock drill without piston accumulator
Simulation and performance analysis of rock drill with one piston accumulator
Simulation and performance analysis of rock drill with two piston accumulators
42

1
2

12

9
4
5
10

5
14
9

A-A
1:1

11

8
13

A
2:1

Figure 4.6.1: A Sketch of the Piston Accumulator

Before proceeding to the next chapter it is appropriate to describe the optimization of piston accumulator based on rock drill constraints so that the high over all
43

efficiency is achieved.

4.6.2

Optimization of Piston Accumulator over Rock Drill

The procedure for optimization is adapted with reference to the HOPSAN user guide
(see ref [10]).
The objective function is described as follows:
obj.f unc. = Pout wvs0 wvf wvedif f wpo wve0.1
Description of Parameters
Pout = output power (see eq 2.1.2)
wvs0 = maxof (1, maxof (0, 2(

v2 v
))
v2 v1

where,
v = avg(va)
va ; impact piston speed
v1 , v2 ; upper and lower limit for optimization of impact piston speed(fig: 4.6.2)
wvs0 describes the constraints for impact piston speed.

Figure 4.6.2: wvs0

wvf = maxof (1, maxof (0, 2(

f2 f dif f
)
f2 f1

where,
fdiff = max(pulse frequency)-min(pulse frequency)
f1 , f2 ; upper and lower limit for optimization of impact piston pulse frequency
wvedif f = maxof (1, maxof (0, 2(

e2 edif f
)
e2 e1

where,
ediff = max(pulse energy)-min(pulse energy); to control pulse energy difference
e1 , e2 ; upper and lower limit for optimization of impact piston pulse energy

44

P2 Pin
Pin P1
)), maxof (0, 2(
))) where,
P2 P1
P2 P1
Pin = inputpower = maxof (1 108 , avg(qin ) avg(pin )
P1 , P2 ; upper and lower limit for optimization of input power (fig: 4.6.3)
wp0 = maxof (maxof (0, 2(

Figure 4.6.3: wpo

wve = maxof (maxof (0, 2(

e e1
e2 e
)), maxof (0, 2(
))) where,
e2 e1
e2 e1

e; output pulse energy

e1 , e2 ; upper and lower limit for optimization of impact piston pulse energy (fig: 4.6.4)

Figure 4.6.4: wve

The objective function results in maximum output power within the feasible region
set by above specified functions. It then gives the highest possible over all efficiency of the rock drill as efficiency = Output Power/ Input power. The different
parameters of the piston accumulator are given a range and some are set constant to
perform optimization. These parameters include the initial value of the precharge
pressure, total volume of the accumulator, diameter of the piston, mass of the piston
and working volume etc. Upper and lower limit of the parameters is set or if needed
a parameter is taken constant and other are allowed to change within a specified
45

range. Then optimization solution converges to the values of the parameters of piston accumulator which gives highest output power hence overall efficiency of the
rock drill. The files for optimization of rock drill with piston accumulators are given
in the Appendix B. In the later chapters optimizations of rock drill machine with
one or with two piston accumulators are performed and results are compiled.

46

Chapter 5
Performance of Rock Drill
Without Piston Accumulator
5.1

Introduction

The simulation model of the rock drill which is given in the figure 5.1.1 is used to
find the performance of rock drill if it is run without any accumulators attached to
the oil volume behind the impact piston. In this case, initially, a large oil volume of
3lit is considered existing at the rear end of impact piston of percussive rock drill
machine. Since this large oil has to be highly pressurized during operation, it causes
strength problems in housing. Therefore, this volume is replaced by a relatively
smaller volume of 0.3 liters and the performance of the rock drill is again analyzed.
The measurement of performance is based on efficiency of the drill machine and the
position profile of the impact piston. The over all efficiency of the drill machine
is dependent on the frequency and energy of impact. The impact piston oscillates
between two oil volumes, with some constant stroke length. The given figure shows
the simulation model of rock drill machine. In this model the size of the oil volume
(connected to the tank) is changed to for performance analysis.

47

Figure 5.1.1: Rock Drill Machine Simulation Model

5.2

Calculation of large oil volume

Consider the rock drill machine as depicted in the figure 5.2.1. let us start with the
following terms and nomenclature:
p;
supply pressure
V;
initial volume
V ;
change in volume due to compression
A1 ;
area of piston in piston chamber
A2 ;
area of piston in piston rod chamber
s;
compression stroke
0
p;
pressure in the piston chamber function of piston stroke length s
p;
change in pressure in piston chamber
;
bulk modulus
48

Figure 5.2.1: Valveless Rock Drill Mechanism

mi :
mass of the impact piston
W;
useful energy
Wa ;
supplied energy
0
;
efficiency of rock drill = p /p (derivation given below)
In mathematical terms, the bulk modulus is defined by continuity equation as:
0

p
=
V /V

(5.2.1)

where,
V = A1 s

(5.2.2)

The equation 5.2.1 can also be written as:

0

pV
A1 s =

(5.2.3)

From equation 2.1.1, we have useful work defined by,

0

W = (p p )A1 s

(5.2.4)

From 5.2.3 and 5.2.4, we get

W =

V
0
0
(p p )p

(5.2.5)

At X = s + a; When piston chamber is connected with piston rod chamber, energy

(Wa ) is supplied to the piston chamber from the piston rod chamber.
Wa = f low pressure

(5.2.6)

49

where continuity equation gives:

V
0
f low = p; p or pressure increase = p p

Wa =

V
0
(p p )p

(5.2.7)

From equation 5.2.5 and 5.2.7, efficiency can be obtained as:

0

W
p
=
=
Wa
p

(5.2.8)

Now, equation of useful energy or impact energy can also be written by using equation 5.2.8 in 5.2.5,
W = p(p p)

V =

V
p2 V
= (1 )

(5.2.9)

W
(1 )p2

(5.2.10)

Equation 5.2.10 is used to measure the size of large oil volume, where compressibility
of oil results in movement of the piston in the piston chamber.

5.3

A Large Oil Volume

Now a size of oil volume is calculated which should be attached to the piston chamber. It has already been described that large oil volume causes strength problems
in the housing as its pressure varies over high pressure range. Secondly, due to its
big size, large volume of oil is drained off which results in reduction of efficiency.
Consider the following parametric values, which are used to calculate the size of oil
volume needed.
W or E (impulse energy or useful energy) = 200 J
= 1.6e+09 Pa
p = 2.5e+07 Pa
= 80%
Putting the above parametric values in eq 5.2.13. The following result is obtained:
V = 3.2e-03 m3 or 3.2 lit
In the next section, the calculated size of oil volume is connected with the rock drill
simulation model and results are studied.

50

5.4

Simulation Results with Large Oil Volume

Simulation with a large oil volume yields following results:

Figure 5.4.1: Rock Drill Performance with large Volume in Piston Chamber
In the plot given in figure 5.4.1, impact piston position is plotted with respect to
time. The impact piston oscillates over a stroke length of approx 18 mm whereas
the rock drill as a whole is continuously moving forward (see machine position curve
in the above plot). Apparently drill is working properly and its impact piston is
oscillating between oil volumes. During motion impact piston imparts 250 KN of
force at the impact to the shank adapter. From the simulation, the over all average
impulse frequency and impulse energy have been recorded. This results in impulse
frequency of around 118 Hz and average impulse energy of 288 J. The simulation
results the following data:
avg(Pin )= 22 MPa
avg(qin )= 2.74e-03 m3 /sec or 165 lit/min
avg(P ulseEnergy P ulseF requency)= 34405
= 57%
The overall efficiency of rock drill is found to be 57% using equation 2.1.4. As
the large part of the oil from piston chamber is drained off, it resulted in the reduction of overall efficiency of the rock drill. As the volume in the piston chamber
is decreased from 3.2 lit, an improvement in the efficiency occurs. But this volume
can not be decreased to a large extent, otherwise the rock drill does not give high
impact force at the shank adapter.
While drill is moving forward giving feed and hence penetration to the drill bit
into the rock. The relative speed between impact piston and drill housing is observed. The oil flowing through the machine does not distinguish between impact
piston and machine housing.

51

Figure 5.4.2: Rock Drill Performance with large Volume (pressure in piston chamber)
Consequently the impact piston mass and machine mass M alternately impact the
shank adapter, the piston with the velocity v and machine with a velocity about
mv/M, which is a few decimeter per second. This impact thrusting of drill steel
results in wear and tear on the machine, for instance on the bearings. Therefore,
relative speed of impact piston w.r.t housing is mentioned here which is not fluctuating at high level and hence satisfactory as shown in plot given in figure 5.4.2.
In the plot given in figure {a17, the drill model is simulated with a piston chamber
volume of 1.5 lit. It is observed that the drill efficiency is eventually increased to
78% as large oil volume is not being drained off now and the pulse frequency has also
been increased to 142 Hz. But on the other hand, the output impact force due to
oscillation of impact piston is reduced from 250 KN to below 200 KN. The reduction
in impact force is due to the decrease in stroke length of the impact piston as shown
in given plot.

Figure 5.4.3: Rock Drill Performance with large Volume in Piston Chamber(1.5 lit)

52

5.5

Conclusion

Since large volume gives strength problems in the housing, it is needed to change the
design of the rock drill especially the piston chamber with large volume is needed to
be replaced with one or more gas volumes. It will also increase the efficiency of the
rock drill due to reduction in energy loss.

53

Chapter 6
Performance of Rock Drill With
One Piston Accumulators
6.1

Rock Drill Simulation Model With One Piston Accumulator

Since the efficiency of the rock drill is not found satisfactory particularly due to
strength problem, it is proposed to replace the large oil volume with gas accumulator. Gas accumulator with bladder as a separation medium between oil and gas
is unable to sustain high frequency of cyclic loading as described earlier. Therefore,
one piston accumulator replaces the large oil volume at piston chamber.
In this chapter, we analyze the performance of the rock drill with one piston accumulator and results are compiled. The same model of the rock drill is used with
same parameters, inlet pressure and inlet flow rate to the rock drill. The accumulator is designed so that it could work over high pressure range. The pressure in the
piston chamber changes from a low level of drain line pressure to the high supply
line pressure.

6.2

Sizing of Piston Accumulator

Consider the following input parameters:

Effective Impact Piston Diameter in Piston Chamberl (Dip )= 44 mm
Impact Piston Stroke length (Xip )= 20 mm
Desired pulse(Impact) frequency (f) = say 125 Hz
Max. piston accumulator operating velocity (vaccl ) = 4 m/s
After market survey regarding high speed piston accumulators, it is found that the
maximum operating velocity of the piston accumulators is dependent on the sealing
friction between piston and seals. High piston velocities are possible when there is
less sealing friction. HYDAC piston accumulators offer low friction piston seals that
allow continuous operating velocities of up to 12 fps (3.65 m/s) to 15 fps (4.57 m/s).
Therefore, in the sizing of piston accumulator where high frequencies are desired,
maximum operating velocity of 4 m/s is selected. From the above data, the minimum
flow rate (qaccl ) to the accumulator is calculated based on impact piston movement
over the given stroke length during the specified time period. Working volume in
the piston chamber during every complete stroke of impact piston is calculated as
54

follows:

W orkingV olume = Aip Xip

2
Dip
Xip
4
(44 103 )2
M in.W orkingV olume =
(20 103 )
4
M in.W orkingV olume = 30.4 106 m3

M in.W orkingV olume =

And the time period for piston accumulator:

1
T imeP eriod =
f
1
= 8 103 sec
T imeP eriod =
125
Time for one stroke of the piston in accumulator:
8 103
= 4 103 s
Half of T imeP eriod =
2
Max. flow rate to the accumulator can be estimated as follows:
W orkingV olume
Half of T imeP eriod
30.4 106 3
m
qaccl =
4 103
3 3
qaccl = 7.6 10 m or 456 lit/min
since,
qaccl =

qaccl = Aip vaccl

(6.2.1)

d2p
vaccl
4
d2p
7.6 103 =
4 103 dp = 0.0492 [mm] or 49.2 mm
4
qaccl =

Therefore, from last chapter and using above calculations, a piston accumulator
with following specifications is selected to use with the rock drill.
Pre-charge pressure = 15 105 Pa
Total Volume = 35 106 m3
Effective gas volume = 30 106 m3 ; more than estimated working volume
Diameter of piston = 50 103 m
Piston material = Steel
Piston mass= 0.230 kg
Piston stroke length in breaking chamber = 1 103 m
Surface area of breaking chamber = 10%of total effective area of piston
Radial clearance in the breaking chamber = 5 105 m
Diameter at the connection between rock drill and piston chamber = 30 103 m
Initial volume piston chamber = 40 103
Input flow rate to the rock drill = 0.003m3 /sec
Input pressure to the rock drill = 2.5 107 P a

55

The simulation model with one piston accumulator is shown in the figure 6.2.1.

Figure 6.2.1: Rock Drill Simulation Model with One Accumulator

6.3

Performance of Rock Drill with One Piston

Accumulator

The simulation results are given below:

Average
Average
Average
Average

Pulse
Pulse
input
input

Energy = 69 J
Frequency = 118 Hz
flow = 1.3103 m3 /sec
pressure = 2.3107 P a

Using eq 2.1.4 to calculate overall efficiency of the rock drill, it gives:

=

69 118
= 27.2%
1.3 103 2.3 107

The efficiency is very low with one piston accumulator. The parameters used may
not be the optimal that give high efficiency. Since the output frequency of 118 Hz
is quite acceptable but the force at the impact is not sufficient to give high output
power. This results in low overall efficiency of the machine.

56

From the plot given in figure 6.3.1, it can be observed that impact piston oscillates
over a stroke length of 18 mm. The volume of the oil in the piston chamber is quite
sufficient to give a complete stroke of the impact piston. But the force at the point
of impact is too low. It can be observed from the plot given below that drill steel
is not more than 120 KN (which was about 200 KN without accumulator) for every
stroke. The small impact force results in small output power and for a given input
power, a very low efficiency is obtained.

Figure 6.3.1: Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator

In the plot given in figure 6.3.2, the relative speed of the impact piston with respect
to the rock drill machine speed due to feed force is plotted against time. The relative
speed plays an important factor causing impact thrusting. The impact thrusting of
drill steel results in wear and tear on the machine. The relative speed is acceptable
to avoid wear and tear on machine especially on bearings. But low impact force is
a factor contributing the low efficiency of the rock drill. The pressure in the piston
chamber is also varying abruptly and hence similar is the case with the gas pressure
in the piston accumulator. The two curves are shown in the plot given below:

6.3.1

Performance of Piston Accumulator

The performance of piston accumulator is described with the following plot:

The gas pressure in the accumulator has two peaks as the piston of accumulator
oscillates abruptly during drill piston movement. The accumulator works over high
pressure range of over 20 [MPa]. Therefore, with one accumulator drill does not
perform satisfactorily. It suggests that volume of the accumulator is not enough to
work for a pressure range of 200 MPa. It might be the case that non feasible parameters are being used for piston accumulator. In the next section an optimization of
the piston accumulator has been performed using HOPSAN module of optimization
and an accumulator with optimized parameters is used with the drill and results are
compiled.

57

Figure 6.3.2: Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator(pressure in piston

chamber)

Figure 6.3.3: Performance of One Accumulator with Rock Drill

6.4

Optimization with One Accumulator

An optimization of the rock drill model with one piston accumulator has been performed. The overall efficiency is improved and found 57%. An average frequency of
80 Hz is obtained. The performance of the rock drill is now described with the given
plots. Impact piston imparts 225 KN of force on the shank adapter at the impact
and 200 J of average impact energy is transferred, which is lower than achieved
without accumulator (280 J).

58

Figure 6.4.1: Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator (Optimization)

The relative speed of piston with respect to housing is not highly fluctuating which
is a positive observation. Piston chamber pressure also increases slowly and it does
not change as per desired blow cycle to give large useful work.

Figure 6.4.2: Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator (pr. piston chamber)

6.5

Conclusion

By using one piston accumulator, the desired results are not obtained. Single piston
accumulator is unable to provide the high impulse energy to the impact piston of the
rock drill especially when it strikes the shank adapter. therefore, it is proposed to
use two accumulators. One accumulator with high precharge pressure, and the other
at low precharge pressure level. The high pressure accumulator should be capable
of working at high pressure in the piston chamber i.e. when the impact piston of
rock drill is away from shank adapter. The low pressure accumulator should be
capable of working at low pressure in the piston chamber i.e. when the impact
piston of rock drill is close to strike the shank adapter. It is also observed form
the simulation results that when the accumulator volume is larger than the piston
chamber working volume, reduced design efficiency is obtained due to losses incurred
59

The accumulator gas pressure changes from precharge pressure of 1.5 MP to 25 MPa..

Figure 6.4.3: Performance of Accumulator with Rock Drill (Optimization)

As can be seen from the plot of drain line flow given in figure 6.4.4, high oil volume
with a flow rate of 450 lit/min is drained off in every cycle of impact piston stroke
which is huge loss.

Figure 6.4.4: Rock Drill Performance with One Accumulator (drain line flow)
in accumulator. If the volume of accumulator is taken lower than working volume
in piston chamber, impact piston does not impart high force on the shank adapter.
Larger accumulator volume causes energy loss of about 30% to 40%. Therefore, a
number of accumulators with small working volumes connected with piston chambers
are proposed working on different pressure ranges instead of one accumulator with
high pressure range.

60

Chapter 7
Performance of Rock Drill With
Two Piston Accumulators
7.1

Theoretical Background

The hydraulic valveless striking mechanism of rock drill consists of a cylinder (1),
striking or impact piston(2) and piston rod (3), two chambers (piston chamber (4)
and piston rod chamber(5)) connected periodically with each other, piston chamber
which is connected periodically with the outlet channel (10), piston rod chamber
( through channel 11) which is connected with the inlet (source flow) channel (9).
Two accumulators (6 and 7) are connected to the piston chamber (4). Therefore,
the impact piston (2) output work and hence the efficiency is enhanced through the
use of non linear accumulator system. Accumulator system is based on two accumulators which have piston (8) of accumulator (see fig 7.1.1) [12].

Figure 7.1.1: Two Piston Accumulator Mechanism with Rock Drill

One accumulator works at low pressure level and the other works at high pressure
level. The charging pressure of the accumulators is given by the following relation:

61

pgash >> pgasl

pgasl > pr
pgasl ; charging pressure in the first accumulator (low pressure)
pgash ; charging pressure in the second accumulator (high pressure)
pr ; pressure in outlet channel
As the impact piston moves from the extreme left position (see fig 7.1.1) to the
right by means of pressure, closes the outlet channel (10) and press out the liquid
from the piston chamber (4) to the accumulator sections (6 and 7). Low pressure
accumulator is filled first as its charging pressure is lower than high pressure accumulator. As the two chambers are connected via channel (11), the pressure in both
becomes equal. But due the effective area difference in two chambers causes the
impact piston to move to the left towards shank adapter. As a result, the outlet
channel (10) is opened. The important idea of this discussion is to show that energy
stored in the high pressure accumulator is used to move the impact piston towards
shank adapter whereas the energy of the low pressure accumulator is used to press
out the hydraulic oil coming from the piston rod chamber to piston chamber. This
amount of oil represents the loss which is expected to be relatively low with the use
of two small volume gas accumulators. Fig 7.2.1 represents the pressure change in
piston chamber with volume. The low pressure accumulator works at the pressure

Figure 7.1.2: Characteristic Curve of Valveless Rock Drill Mechanism

level close to point A (fig 7.1.2), and high pressure accumulator works at pressure
62

level close to point C (fig 7.1.2). Therefore the charging pressure of the low pressure
accumulator is kept close to but more than outlet pressure. Similarly, the charging
pressure of the high pressure accumulator is kept close to but less than flow source
(inlet) pressure. This theoretical description helps to set the precharge pressure of
the two accumulators by an initial guess.

7.2

Model of Rock Drill with Piston Accumulators

The complete rock drill machine model is simulated after two piston accumulators
are being attached with it. The model is shown by fig 7.2.1:

Figure 7.2.1: Rock Drill Simulation Model With Two Accumulators

7.2.1

Sizing of Piston Accumulators

For the sake of initial guess of sizes of piston accumulators, following values of parameters have been assumed:
Precharge pressure of the low pressure accumulator = 15 105 Pa
Flow rate to the low pressure accumulator: qa ckl= 800 [lit/min] or 13.33103 m3 /s]
accumulator piston speed;vp = 3.5 to 4 [m/s] (speed recommended by HYDAC, see
section 6.2 )[7].
qackl = Ap vp
d2pl
qackl =
4
dpl = 0.0696 0.070[m]
Similarly,
precharge pressure of the high pressure accumulator = 190 105 [Pa]
63

flow rate to the low pressure accumulator: qa ckh= 500 [lit/min] or 8.333103 [m3 /s]
accumulator piston speed;vp = 3.5 [m/s] (speed recommended by HYDAC, see section 6.2 ).[7]
qackh = Ap vp
d2ph
qackh =
4
dph = 0.055m
On the basis of rock drill data, flow rate at the piston chamber (the chamber where
accumulators are connected), following parameter values have been set for two accumulators. The performance is later analyzed by taking into account the effect of
piston accumulators. The value of the friction coefficients are the same which have
been described in section 4.3.6. The input supply pressure is set to a maximum
of 200105 [P a] and pressure at the outlet channel is set at 5105 [P a]. Initially
following parameters for piston accumulators are used:

7.2.2

Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator

The motion of piston and change in gas pressure in the low pressure accumulator
is shown below. From the plots (1 and 2) shown here, it can be observed that
the accumulator has performed according to set parameters. The piston of the
accumulator moves over a stroke length of 2.6 mm. During this motion piston
comes in contact with the upper stop at the speed of 2.0 m/s. Leakage length in
breaking chamber and radial clearance diminishes the speed of the piston and it
does not strike the lower stop in the oil side. The gas pressure increases from its
precharge pressure of 1.5 MPa and reach to its maximum pressure of 2.24 MPa.
64

Figure 7.2.2: Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 1)

Figure 7.2.3: Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 2)

7.2.3

Performance of High Pressure Accumulator

The motion of piston and change in gas pressure in the high pressure accumulator
is shown below. From the plots (1 and 2) shown here, it can be observed that

Figure 7.2.4: Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 1)

the accumulator has performed according to set parameters. The piston of the
accumulator moves over a stroke length of 3.3 mm. During this motion piston does
not come in contact with the upper stop. Leakage length in breaking chamber and
65

Figure 7.2.5: Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 2)

radial clearance diminishes the speed of the piston and it strikes the lower stop in the
oil side with a diminished speed of 3 m/s. The gas pressure increases from precharge
pressure of 19 MPaand reach to its maximum pressure of 21.5 MPa.

7.2.4

Performance of Rock Drill

The performance of the rock drill is quite satisfactory. The impact piston oscillates
over a piston stroke of 18 mm. The pressure in piston chamber increases from 1.5
MPa to 22 MPa. At the impact over 200 KN of force is imparted by impact piston
to shank adapter.

Figure 7.2.6: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Piston Accumulators

66

Figure 7.2.7: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Piston Accumulators (impact
force)
It is also observed that both pressure accumulator discharge oil to the piston
chamber when impact piston is moving towards the fore most end close to shank
adapter. Similarly its pressure is increased and accumulator are charged when piston
moves back more into the piston chamber. It is shown in the plot given in figure 7.2.8
that low pressure accumulator is charged first as its precharge pressure is lower than
high pressure accumulator. Efficiency of the rock drill is also increased to 77%.

Figure 7.2.8: Performance of Rock Drill and Two Accumulators

Efficiency of Rock Drill

The simulation of rock drill model gives following values of parameters needed to
find the efficiency.
Average Pulse Energy = 157 J
Average Pulse Frequency = 139 Hz
Average input flow = 1.2103 m3 /sec
Average input pressure = 2.33107 P a
Using eq 2.1.4 to calculate overall efficiency of the rock drill, it gives:
157 139
=
= 77%
1.2 103 2.33 107
67

Figure 7.2.9: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (pressure piston
chamber)

Figure 7.2.10: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (flow rates)

7.3

Optimization

A number of optimizations of the complete model with two piston accumulators

have been performed using HOPSAN and one of them is dicussed here. The output
power is taken as an objective function, and the optimization module is given a
range of different piston accumulator parameters. Optimization resulted in decrease
in piston strokes and the diameter of the pistons are increased.
The optimization results in the following values of parameters for piston accumulators: Now the performance is analyzed for two accumulators.

68

7.3.1

Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator

The plot 1 given below shows the piston motion in the low pressure accumulator
and speed variation. It can be observed that speed of piston is reduced when piston
reaches the breaking chamber. Speed reaches to -1 m/s. Upper stop is at 1.6 mm]
determines the stroke length of the piston. The gas pressure in the low pressure
accumulator is increased from precharging pressure to 2 MPa as piston moves up
shown in the plot. This shows the characteristic of an accumulator.

Figure 7.3.1: Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: Optimization)

69

Figure 7.3.2: Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: Optimization)

Breaking Chamber
The pressure inside breaking chamber suddenly rises when piston approaches. The
orifice action takes place and flow rate from the breaking chamber is reduced to 500
lit/min.

Figure 7.3.3: Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: breaking chamber)

Figure 7.3.4: Performance of Low Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: breaking chamber)

70

7.3.2

Performance of High Pressure Accumulator

High Pressure accumulator works such that its piston does not reach the upper end.
The speed is reduced due to breaking action at the lower. The rise in pressure due
to piston motion and breaking chamber effects are described by given plots.

Figure 7.3.5: Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: Optimization)

Figure 7.3.6: Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: Optimization)

71

Breaking Chamber

Figure 7.3.7: Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 1: breaking chamber)

Figure 7.3.8: Performance of High Pressure Accumulator (plot 2: breaking chamber)

7.4

Performance of Rock Drill

The simulation of rock drill model gives following values of parameters needed to
find the efficiency.
Average Pulse Energy = 240 J
Average Pulse Frequency = 118 Hz
Average input flow = 1.5103 m3 /sec
Average input pressure = 2.3107 P a
Using eq 2.1.4 to calculate overall efficiency of the rock drill, it gives:
240 119
=
= 83%
1.5 103 2.3 107

72

Following plots depicts the variation of different parameters in the rock drill.
Smooth variation in pressure in the piston chamber is obtained and impact piston
oscillates over a stroke length of 20 mm, which is the best stroke length achieved.
It enhances the working capability and range of stroke length of the rock drill that
can be adjusted. High pressure accumulator discharges oil before the low pressure

Figure 7.4.1: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (Optimization)

Impulse force obtained is over 200 KN at the impact which is quite acceptable.

Figure 7.4.2: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (impact force)
accumulator as shown in the plot below. The oil volume from the low pressure
accumulator is just drained out which is lower than the volume being drained out
without accumulators. The high pressure accumulator volume is discharge and it
supports the impact piston movement towards the shank adapter.

73

Figure 7.4.3: Performance of Rock Drill and Two Accumulators (Optimization)

The blow cycle is shown in the given plot. It is very much close to the theoretical blow cycle described in figure 7.1.2. This shows that the performance of rock
drill with two accumulators is satisfactory and better results are obtained with two
accumulators instead of using one.

Figure 7.4.4: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (pressure piston
chamber)

Figure 7.4.5: Performance of Rock Drill with Two Accumulators (flow rates)

74

Since the obtained efficiency is the highest achieved efficiency so far, the parameters
of the accumulators are used to find their geometry.
High Pressure Accumulator Schematic Drawing
Since,
Total volume = 245106 m3
Initial gas volume = 100106 m3
Working volume = 15106 m3
it gives,
Initial oil volume = 145106 m3
Diameter of the piston = 75103 m
Diameter of connection with drill = 40103 m
Mass of the piston = 0.415 (Kg)

Low Pressure Accumulator Schematic Drawing

Since,
Total volume = 330106 m3
Initial gas volume = 70106 m3
Working volume = 10106 m3
it gives,
Initial oil volume =260106 m3
Diameter of the piston = 90103 m
Diameter of connection with drill = 35103 m
Mass of the piston = 0.595 (Kg)
Using above parameters, the geometry of the accumulator can be obtained. The
schematic of piston accumulator particular to this application is given in fig ??:
Therefore, a highest possible efficiency is achieved using two piston accumulators, it
has been proved as a good option to use in this application of rock drill.

75

Figure 7.4.6: Schematic Drawing of High Pressure Accumulator

Figure 7.4.7: Schematic Drawing of Low Pressure Accumulator

76

Chapter 8
Fatigue Analysis
8.1

An Introduction to Fatigue

Components subjected to repeated loading may break even at load levels so low
that the stresses in the material are far below the tensile strength or even the yield
limit of the material. This type of failure is called fatigue. Although the fatigue
phenomenon has been known for over 150 years, material fatigue is still very common. It is considered that some 60 to 90 percent of all mechanical failures are due
to fatigue[13].
Designing against fatigue failure may have the objectives of infinite life, zero weight,
infinite strength or 100 percent reliability or perhaps all four simultaneously. But
for the discussed case, our main objective is to predict the fatigue life of the piston
accumulators under given cyclic loading. The schematic design of the accumulators
have already been shown in previous and now fatigue life of the accumulators is
predicted.

8.1.1

Fatigue Life at Different Stress Levels

Fatigue failures can be avoided if there is no plastic deformation in the material due
to loading. August Wohler suggests that the stress amplitude i.e. (max min )/2,
correlates better to the fatigue life than the maximum stress. Therefore, if the
stresses in the structure are varying, it is quite reasonable to use the stress amplitude to predict the fatigue life instead of maximum stress in the stress cycle. The
fatigue life can be plotted as a function of the applied stress amplitude. This is
called Wohler or SN-(stress-number) curve, see figure 8.1.1.
From such a curve it can be seen, not surprisingly, that fatigue life decreases with
increased stress amplitude. Also, for a large part of the curve, this relationship is
linear in a log plot. There is also a limiting stress amplitude, F L , below which no
fatigue failures occur.

8.2

Stress Based fatigue Design

When stress levels in a material are low, the fatigue life of a structure will be long. In
some cases fatigue failure will perhaps not appear at all. For failure life calculations,
it is convenient to use the stress as a measure of the constraining of the material[12].
The number of stress cycles to failure may for high cycle fatigue vary from some
77

Figure 8.1.1: Fatigue life as a function of applied stress represented by a so called

Wohler curve
tens of thousands to infinity. If the stress level in the material lies below the fatigue
limit, then the material is expected to sustain an infinite number of loading cycles.
At a stress level above the fatigue limit, the fatigue strength provides a specified
life for the stress level given. During the fatigue life calculation of a specimen, the
form of the load variation is considered not to have any influence on the fatigue life;
only the mean value m of the stress in the material and the stress amplitude a are
important. When the stress in the material varies between the two limits max and
min , the mean value m and amplitude a are defined as:
1
m = (max + min )
2

and

1
a = (max min )
2

(8.2.1)

Also the following quantities are defined:

R=

min
max

and

Sr = 2a

(8.2.2)

where R is the stress ratio and Sr is the stress range. Stress range is twice the
amplitude.
Now, the SN or Wohler curve is obtained by plotting a graph with the stress level
(the stress amplitude a ) on the ordinate versus the logarithm of the number of
cycles N to fatigue failure on the abscissa (see figure 8.1.1). It can be seen that for
high stress levels, the number of cycles to failure is very small. For lower stress levels
there is a more or less linear relationship between the stress amplitude a and the
logarithm of the total number of cycles to fatigue failure N.
Another important stress level is known as fatigue limit or sometimes the endurance
78

limit F L . This is the stress level below which no fatigue failure will occur. Therefore, structures subjected to a very large number of cycles should be designed so
that their service stresses are well below the fatigue limit. But here as we are dealing with only the fatigue life predictions for a specific design of piston accumulator
under high level of loading, only stress amplitudes of high magnitudes are taken into
account which can cause fatigue. Thus endurance limit becomes irrelevant here.

8.2.1

General Procedure for Predicting the Fatigue Life

A material point where one wants to investigate a possible appearance of a fatigue

damage has to be selected. The stresses in that critical point are determined by
some method (e.g FEM). If the analysis is transient which is the case here, the time
instant is searched where the highest stress (normally 1st. principal stress ) exists.
Since first principal stress is normally the maximum stress on a surface point in a
structure, it is taken into consideration on critical points of stress concentration. It
is later found out that 1st. principal stress shows high stress variation on critical
points. The time instant is determined through history of the principal stress at
the investigated critical point in the model simulated over a specific time span. If
the loading has a constant mean value and a constant amplitude, then the fatigue
life may be directly estimated from Wohler diagram. The fatigue limit is the stress
level below which the life is infinite. In practice, this is assumed to correspond
to 106 to 107 cycles[12]. If the stress amplitude gives number of cycles more than
given by stress amplitude at fatigue limit, no failure is assumed to occur due to
fatigue loading, otherwise the fatigue life is predicted using Wohler diagram. If the
stress amplitude is not constant (as the case here, see next sections), the varying
stress amplitude will have an influence on the fatigue life. The Palmgren-Miner
rule may then be used to calculate the damage accumulation for each loading cycle.
The damage caused by one cycle is 1/Ni , where Ni is the fatigue life at the stress
amplitude of the cycle. The other method is to first find the equivalent stress range
of the all stress ranges occurring on critical point and then from equivalent stress
amplitude and using Wohler diagram, fatigue life can be calculated. When the
loading of the structure is irregular as given in fig. 8.2.1, it is not always clear which
mean value and which amplitude should be used. Therefore some method is needed
to find the equivalent damage caused by the irregular cyclic stress.
Several methods exist by which it is possible to analyze irregular loading cycles. One
widely used method is rain flow count method[13], which is used in this analysis to
find the closed stress ranges on the basis of determined stress history on critical
point of the structure. If a sequence of loading is composed of stress cycles with
variation in their mean and stress amplitude, rain flow count method counts the
number of closed stress cycles in the particular sequence. Therefore, all the stress
cycles in the sequence are not taken into account for fatigue life calculation. The
calculation is based on closed stress cycles given by rain flow count method.

8.2.2

Rain Flow Count Method

rearrange the sequence so that it starts with the largest maximum

establish the runs of drops
start at a maximum and passes an equal or larger maximum
79

Figure 8.2.1: Stress at Time Varying Load

starts at a minimum and passes and equal or smaller minimum
reaches the run-way of another drop
identify closed loops [13]
closed loops gives stress cycles with maximum 2 and minimum 1 stress levels
the mean value of the cycle becomes m = 2 +1 /2 and the amplitude becomes
a = 2 1 /2
each stress amplitude gives number of cycles form wohler durve for specific
material
the damage D caused by one loading sequence is obtained by use of the
Palmgren-Miner rule:
n1
n2
n3
ni
+
+
+ .... +
N1 N2 N3
Ni
where, ni ; number of cycles of same stress range in a sequence of loading Ni ;
number of cycles for a cyclic stress range in a sequence of loading obtained
from Wohler curve
D=

The equivalent stress for a varying stress cycle can be calculated using,
3
eqv
neqv = 13 n1 + 23 n2 + ... + n3 nn

where,
eqv ; equivalent stress range
3 is the slope of the Wohler curve used in the analysis
80

(8.2.3)

neqv ; total number of stress cycles obtained on the critical point

1 , 2 ....: individual stress range of a cycle in a sequence
Therefore by determination of eqv , an equivalent stress cycle of constant stress
amplitude is obtained as shown in fig 8.2.1.

8.3

Stress Analysis Using Ansys

The maximum stress (at the critical point) during the loading cycle is determined
using Finite Element Analysis Software ANSYS ver.12. The finite element method is
a numerical procedure that can be applied to obtain solutions to variety of problems
in engineering. Steady, transient, linear, or nonlinear problems in stress analysis,
heat transfer, fluid flow, and electomagnetism problems may be analyzed with finite
element methods.

8.3.1

Problem Description

In piston accumulator, a piston comes is in contact with its end stop under varying
pressure loading due to gas and hydraulic oil. The critical point of loading is the
instant when the piston strikes the end stop with some speed under the influence of
high dynamic pressure acting on it. In this analysis, piston accumulator is analyzed
at an instant when piston strikes the end and simultaneously a static pressure over
the piston and accumulator surfaces is applied. Since the piston is considered as
moving mass whose speed is influenced by the impact, the problem is solved by
transient dynamic analysis. The piston of accumulator is given an initial speed and
is allowed to strike the end under the influence of a set static pressure.

8.3.2

Dynamic Analysis in Ansys

Transient dynamic analysis (sometimes called time- history analysis) is a technique

used to determine the dynamic response of a structure under the action of any
general time-dependent loads. This type of analysis can be used to determine the
time- varying displacements, strains, stresses, and forces in a structure as it responds
to any combination of static, transient, and harmonic loads. The transient dynamic
equilibrium equation of interest is as follows for a linear structure:
[M ]{
u} + [C]{u}
+ [K]{u} = [F a ]

(8.3.1)

where,
[M] = structural mass matrix
[C] = structural damping matrix
[K] = structural stiffness matrix
{
u} = nodal acceleration vector
{u}
= nodal velocity vector
{u} = nodal displacement vector
{F a } = applied load vector
Using ANSYS, the solution (i.e. the nodal displacement vector) of the above linear
equation can be found. There are three methods available to do a transient dynamic analysis: full, reduced, and mode superposition. Next section describes the
Full Method which has been employed in this analysis.
81

8.3.3

The Full Method

The full method uses the full system matrices to calculate the transient response (no
matrix reduction). It is the most powerful of the three methods because it allows
all types of nonlinearities to be included (plasticity, large deflections, large strain,
etc). The advantages of the full method are:
It is easy to use, because there is no need to choose master of freedom or mode
shapes.
It allows all types of nonlinearities.
It uses full matrices, so no mass matrix approximation is involved.
All displacements and stresses are calculated in a single pass.
It accepts all types of loads: nodal forces, imposed (non-zero) displacements
(although not recommended), and element loads (pressures and temperatures).
The main disadvantage of the full method is that it is more expensive than either
of the other methods.

8.3.4

Critical Cases in Piston Accumulators

To simplify the problem, one critical case for low pressure accumulator has been
discussed. Case Description:
In low pressure accumulator, when piston strikes the upper stop with speed 2.0
(m/s) with a static pressure of 2.2 (MPa) surrounding the contact surfaces (see section 7.2.2). Note: The piston of low pressure accumulator does not come in contact
with lower stop as shown by results in section 7.2.2. Therefore, piston is given a
speed of 2 m/s at the impact and fatigue calculations are performed.

8.4

Solution Procedure

From the simulation results given in section 7.2, a critical loading cases has been
defined. The maximum principal stress (i.e. first principal stress) is found at the
critical point and its direction is determined, which is assumed as the critical direction of stress at the critical point in the structure. Therefore, a new coordinate
system is introduced into the Ansys model so that the X-axis becomes parallel with
the critical direction of stress as determined earlier. Now the magnitude of stress
components in x-direction according to the new coordinate system are recorded for
critical node for each time instant of simulation. This stress data can be plotted
with respect to time. Since the plotted data has shown that means stress m is
not constant and the stress variation is found irregular, rain flow count method has
been used to determine the number of load cycles and stress range in a loading
sequence. Since the loading sequence determined using rain flow count method is
repeated in a piston accumulator as per frequency of operation, expected number
of loading sequences or total life cycle before failure can be calculated. The stress
ranges and hence the stress amplitude obtained from rain flow count method is used
with Wohler curve to obtain the number of cycles the structure will sustain before
failure. Each range of stress cycle gives damage to the structure and accumulated
82

damage caused by all stress ranges can be calculated using Miner rule of damage
accumulation. For rain flow count method a computational software has been used
which takes the stress variation data as an input and results the number of stress
cycles and their corresponding ranges. The command line code which is given as
an input to ANSYS for the performing stress analysis, also for producing a new
coordinate system and a new array generation is given in Appendix C.
Geometry
Geometry has been developed in ANSYS as per schematic drawing mentioned in
section 4.6.
Element Type
8 node quadrilateral Plane 183 with axis symmetric features has been used for areas
of the structure.
CONTA 172 and CONTA 169 have been used for generating the contact surface and
target surface respectively.
Material Properties
Steel has been used with density 7800 kg/m3 , poisson ratio 0.3, modulus of elasticity
of 200 109 Pa.
Loading
The contact surface has been given a specified initial speed using displacement and
time relation, whereas surface other than contact and target surfaces are applied
with a specified static pressure, for each case.
Load Steps
Three load steps have been considered to get the desired speed at impact simultaneous with the specified static pressure.
Load Step 1:
Contact surface is set at its initial position without any displacement constraint.
Time integration is turned off.
Load step is simulated for one time step.
This load step solves for deformations due to static pressure. Since TIMINT option
is turned off, static solution is performed and no inertia effects are taken into account.
Load Step 2:
Time integration is turned off.
Contact surface is given a displacement constraint uy.
Time step is given so that following relation is satisfied.
speed = 2*uy/time step; where speed is known from HOPSAN results.
Load step is simulated for one time step. It results in an initial piston speed of 2 m/s.
Load Step 3:
Now transient analysis is started here where contact surface has attained an initial
speed due to given displacement in load step 2. Initially the contact surface and
83

Figure 8.4.1: Sketch of Piston

target surface are in contact and contact surface is sliding over the target surface.
There is also a static pressure acting on the surfaces other than surfaces in contact.
The total time of simulation is determined using the travel speed of stress wave in
steel i.e. 5500 [m/s] (speed of sound in steel) and dimension of the structure. The
total time of the simulation should be sufficiently large so that the stress wave could
travel from one end to the other end of the structure. In these cases, a total time
of 0.2 [ms] and with a time step range of 0 to 2 106 has been selected, for all
analysis for load step 3.
Piston is the most critical component in this structural domain because of its light
weight and oscillating at high speed and frequency. Stress concentration normally
occurs at corners and notches. In piston inner and outer fillet radius are described.
Initially high stress concentration is found at the fillet but as the fillet radius is increased stress concentration is reduced. The other critical point found in the piston
is its upper center node. This critical point is subjected to high tensile stress at the
impact fig 8.4.1. The fatigue analysis is performed on both critical points. The
geometry of the piston is changed for two analysis but mass is kept close to value
found in section 7.2. In order to solve the problem first the dimensions and geometry
of the piston is determined. From section 7.2 following data is obtained:
mass of the piston = 360 g
diamater of the piston = 0.070 m
material = steel
Therefore, initial dimension of the piston for fatigue analysis is given. It can be
noted that a diameter to length ratio of 1.6 is maintained to avoid any binding of
piston inside cylinder (see [7]). As the stroke length of the piston is not too large, it
is assumed that increase in diameter to length ratio will not cause binding of piston
inside cylinder. During analysis thickness of piston is increased while decreasing the
length for better stress concentration results that can contribute to high fatigue life.
The piston accumulator is dimensioned in such a way that its mass and diameter of
piston remain close to 360 g and 70 mm respectively.

84

Figure 8.4.2: Ansys Model for Low Pressure Accumulator

8.5

First Analysis

Load case 1(Static Analysis with Pressure Loading)

The static solution for stresses is computed first by applying a pressure load of 2.2
MPa on the surface of piston and inside accumulator. The results from the static
solution can be superimposed to the stress analysis results obtained from transient
analysis with velocity loading at impact.
Solution and Result:
For static analysis in transient mode, TIMINT option is turned OFF and structure
is analyzed for one time step. It can be observed that due to pressure application at
the time instant when piston is in contact with the upper end, the whole piston accumulator is under compression for 1st. principal stress. the magnitude of principal
stress is not too high i.e. the application of static pressure at impact does not affect
the result significantly. The stresses obtained in the structure due to application of
static pressure can be later on superimposed with the stresses obtained due to other
loads, but it will not affect the solution. (Note: left end of the piston is constrained
in both directions just to avoid rigid body motion, it gives high tensile stresses on
center, which can be neglected)

85

Figure 8.5.1: Initial Loading and Boundary Conditions

Figure 8.5.2: Stress Distribution Due to Static Pressure

86

Figure 8.5.3: Piston with Speed of 2 m/s

Load case 2 (Transient Analysis with Speed)

In this load case, piston is given a speed of 2 m/s at the contact and is allowed
to penetrate into the upper end. Normally 1st. principal stress is the maximum
stress on a surface point. First principal stress at different points in the structure
is observed. Now the fillet radius is observed and a node is selected for fatigue
analysis where maximum principal stress occurs. It is also found that high stress
concentration is found on the upper center point on the axis of symmetry. Therefore
a point lying on fillet and upper center point lying on symmetrical axis on piston
are analyzed and fatigue strength calculations are performed.
Critical Point 1 at the Fillet
After stress analysis, result is analyzed. Several points lying on fillet radius are
observed. It is found that maximum 1st. principal stress of 109.5 MPa occurs on
node 262 at a time instant of 0.0011034 sec or sub-step number 518. The stress
concentration at node 262 is given by following figure 8.5.4. The stress variation at
the node 262 is shown in the chart shown in figure 8.5.5: Now the direction of
maximum principal stress at node 262 is calculated as follows :
Maximum Principal stress magnitude = 109.5 MPa
Principal direction vector = -0.46298, 0.88637, 0
Angle = 62.42o , this is considered to be the most critical direction of stress

87

Figure 8.5.4: Critical Point with Maximum Principal Stress

Since the direction of principal stress is changing with time, a new coordinate
system at an angle of 62.42o with the global frame of reference is introduced and
the 1st. principal stress according to the new coordinate system is observed on the
same node 262 for each time step.
The chart (figure 8.5.6) represents the variation of x-component of stress on node
266 with with respect to new coordinate system. These are the stresses in the direction of x axis of the new coordinate system or x-component of stresses acting on
node 262 for each time step.These stress cycles can be used to find the accumulated
damage and hence the fatigue life of the piston accumulator for this particular load
case.Since the mean of stress cycles is changing, rain flow count method is applied to
find the number of closed cycles of different stress ranges that can cause fatigue failure. Rain flow count method results in 82 closed stress cycles shown by chart 8.5.7
Since there are number of stress cycles have been found on the node 240 in the principal stress direction, it is quite appropriate to select only those stress cycles which
have high stress ranges i.e. the stress cycles contributing the largest part in fatigue
failure. To simplify the problem low stress range cycles have not been considered.
Higher life can be predicted if the radius at the fillet is increased. This will give
improved fatigue life as stress concentration on the investigated point is reduced.
This fatigue life till failure is applicable to a piston accumulator for this particular
load case under static pressure loading and initial speed at contact. Dynamic pressure accumulation can bring a change to the predicted life. The approach to predict
the life is quite conservative as material damping is not taken into account. Taking
material damping as a material parameter in the analysis can improve results.

88

Figure 8.5.5: Stress variation at Node 262

Figure 8.5.6: Stress Variation at Node 262 w.r.t New Coordinate System

89

From rain flow count method following cycles are obtained:

Figure 8.5.7: Stress Cycles for Node 262

90

Only the first few high stress ranges are considered for the calculation of accumulated damage and hence fatigue life. The stresses with small stress ranges do not
contribute to the fatigue failure to large extent. The stress ranges, amplitude and
the corresponding number of cycles using the W ohler Curve for high alloy, high
strength steels (see Appendix E table 5-110.1 for UTS 793-896 MPa) are given in
the table.

Now, using the following data and tabular values, the expected life to failure can
be obtained:
since,
Accumulated Damage caused by one loading sequence = D; its value should be 1
or less than 1 so that equivalent stress amplitude could remain on or below Wohler
curve.
Total time to failure = T
Time for one sequence of loading cycle (Tseq ) =1/f requency,
in this case it is fr = 139 Hz (operating frequency of the accumulator) (see section
7.2.4)
Tseq = 7.2 ms
i =1 to 6
ni = 1
N can be obtained from table for each stress amplitude.
Therefore,
Accumulated Damage = D=

n1
n2
n3
ni
T
[
+
+
+ .... + ]
fr
N1 N2 N3
Ni

we get,
T = 125hrs
This is the life time obtained due to speed loading on the given structure.
The life is based on the frequency of loading which is considered relatively high i.e.
140 Hz.

91

Critical Point 2 (Node1) in Piston

Concentration of high bending stresses is observed at another point in the piston
domain. It is the upper central point at the central axis located on the piston. It is
found that high tensile stresses are concentrated at a point of time of simulation at
node 1. This critical point extrudes into the empty region left for gas charging into
the accumulator in the upper stop. Therefore, a similar procedure is applied and
fatigue life is predicted for this critical point.
The sub-step when maximum stress is found at node 1 at time instant of is shown
in figure 8.5.8 :

Figure 8.5.8: Critical Point (node 1) with maximum Principal Stress

92

The stress variation at the location is given by chrat 8.5.9:

Figure 8.5.9: Stress Variation at Node 1 in the Piston

Now find the direction of principal stress at node 230 is calculated as follows :
1st Pr stress magnitude = 170 MPa
Principal direction vector =1.000, 0.00235, 0
Angle = 0.1364o
Now, a new coordinate system is introduced and the x-component of the stresses
are found according to new coordinate system on the same node 1. The chart in
figure 8.5.10 represents the variation of 1st principal stress on node 1 with time
such that its direction remains at 0.1364o . On this curve, rain flow count method is
applied to find the number of predicted cycles to failure. Since the stress is varying
at high level, the curve is simplified in such a way that the cycles of stresses with
high magnitudes of stress ranges are selected for further analysis. Rain flow count
method finds the equivalent stress curve of constant range of 63 MPa and 145 number of cycles in a sequence 8.5.11. Rain flow curve and the results are obtained
by an internally developed software at Atlas Copco. Only first few but of largest
stress range cycles are selected for further analysis as other cycles do not contribute
to damage on large scale.
Now, using the following data and tabular values, the expected life to failure can
be obtained:
since,
Accumulated Damage caused by one loading sequence = D; its value should be 1
or less than 1 so that equivalent stress amplitude could remain on or below Wohler
93

Figure 8.5.10: Stress Variation at Node 1 w.r.t New Coordinate System

Figure 8.5.11: Stress Ranges Obtained Using Rain Flow Count Method

94

curve.
Total time to failure = T
Time for one sequence of loading cycle (Tseq ) =1/f requency,
in this case it is fr = 139 Hz (operating frequency of the accumulator) (see section
7.2.4)
Tseq = 7.2 ms
i =1 to 13
N can be obtained from table for each stress amplitude.
Therefore,
n1
n2
n3
ni
T
+
+
+ .... + ]
Accumulated Damage = D= [
fr
N1 N2 N3
Ni
we get,
T = 0.2hrs
The life obtained after this investigation on second critical point suggests that high
stresses magnitudes exist there. The stress concentration at this point can be reduced by conducting another analysis by taking a higher thickness in the center of
the piston.

95

Figure 8.6.1: Ansys Model

8.6

Second Analysis

The geometry of the piston is changed as given in the figure 8.6.1. Now the piston is
given extra thickness in the middle portion. Since the upper central region is under
high bending stresses at the impact, the higher thickness can reduce concentration
of higher stresses at the central point.

8.6.1

Static Analysis with Pressure Loading

It can be observed that applied pressure of 2.2 MPa does not induce high stresses
in the structure. Therefore its occurrence at the impact does not contribute to the
deformation at significant level especially for this load case. In separate analysis the
dynamic pressure variation with position of the piston can be taken into account
which can contribute high stresses.

8.6.2

Transient Analysis with Speed

The same procedure is applied as was adopted in 1st. Analysis. The piston is given
speed of 2 m/sec and is allowed to come in contact with an end stop. Penetration of
the contact surface in the target surface occurs which causes stress developing in the
structure. Again two critical points are analyzed, one lying at the fillet region and
other is the upper center point in the piston. The results are described in following
sections.

8.6.3

Fatigue calculations for Critical Point

After analysis for simulation time of 0.2 ms, several nodes around the upper central
corner and fillet radius are analyzed and the node with high stress concentration i.e.
node 2 is selected for fatigue analysis as shown in below in figure 8.6.2. The chart
given in figure 8.6.3 represents the variation of first principal stress at node 2.

96

Figure 8.6.2: Stress Distribution

97

Figure 8.6.3: Variation of Stresses at Critical Node 2

Now the principal direction of maximum 1st. principal stress at node 2 is determined. It is found from the nodal solution that principal direction of 1st. Principal
Stress at its maximum amplitude on node 2 is found to be:
1st Pr stress magnitude = 119.2 MPa
Principal direction vector =0.99997, 0.00830, 0
Angle = 0.4755o
The a new coordinate system is introduced at an angle of 0.4755o with the global
coordinate system. The x-axis of this coordinate system is in the direction of maximum 1st. principal stress at node 2. Now x-component of stress is determined
for each time instant according to new coordinate system. This stress variation is
shown in figure 8.6.4 Now rain flow count method gives the 152 closed stress cycles
of different stress ranges. But Palmgren-Miner rule is applied to only first few but
stress ranges with highest magnitudes. The stress ranges are given in the plot (see
figure 8.6.5):
In the following table, stress ranges, their magnitudes, stress amplitudes and using
Wohler curve ( 5.110.1 for UTS 793-896 MPa, appendex) corresponding number of
cycles are shown:
since,
Accumulated Damage caused by one loading sequence = D; its value should be 1
or less than 1 so that equivalent stress amplitude could remain on or below Wohler
curve.
Total time to failure = T
Time for one sequence of loading cycle (Tseq ) =1/f requency,
98

Figure 8.6.4: Variation of Stresses at Critical Node 2 w.r.t New Coordinate System

Figure 8.6.5: Stress Ranges Obtained by Rain Flow Count Method

99

in this case it is fr = 139 Hz (operating frequency of the accumulator) (see section

7.2.4)
Tseq = 7.2 ms
i =1 to 12
N can be obtained from table for each stress amplitude.
Therefore,
Accumulated Damage = D=

n1
n2
n3
ni
T
[
+
+
+ .... + ]
fr
N1 N2 N3
Ni

we get,
T = 40hrs
Therefore and improved fatigue life is obtained by increasing the thickness in the
center of the piston. The piston accumulator with the given size and geometry and
under given loading can work at a frequency of 139 Hz for 40 hrs without failure.

8.7

Conclusion

The fatigue life of the piston can be increased by changing the geometry and increasing the mass. In this study only the fatigue strength of piston accumulator for
given geometry and mass is predicted. From this analysis it can be concluded that
the higher fatigue life can be achieved for a piston accumulator with a light weight
piston by using a smart shape of piston. For this shape optimization can be per-

100

formed to find the optimum design of piston in the accumulator that can give high
fatigue life by the reduction of stress concentration at critical points. Furthermore,
the analysis performed by using a very conservative approach as no damping has
been used as a material property. If an exact value of material damping is used in
this analysis, better fatigue life can be achieved.

101

Chapter 9
Summary and Results
This study and analysis helped in analyzing the performance of valveless rock drill
when it is allowed to operate with and without gas accumulators. In this thesis work
the following tasks are performed :
a piston accumulator has been modeled in HOPSAN and its characteristic
behavior has been studied. In this modeling, all the important factors which
have effect on the piston accumulator have been taken into account, such as
mass and hence inertia of piston, friction in sliding contact between piston
and cylinder and effective bulk modulus for oil, gas and mixture of oil and
gas. As the accumulator is designed to work over high pressure loading and
high frequency level, to give it a high fatigue life, a breaking chamber is also
installed. The breaking chamber gives damping to the piston of accumulator
especially when it strikes the ends. Therefore, its collides with the ends with
relatively low speed. This will certainly add life to accumulator. It is also
observed from the simulation that accumulator piston mass affects the performance of the rock drill. Higher the mass of piston, lower the overall efficiency
of the rock drill. Similar is the case with the friction. High speed of piston can
be achieved with less sliding friction. Since in the friction model used here,
the coefficients of friction has been used as per given in simulink model for
hydraulic cylinder, it is now proposed to experimentally determine the more
realistic friction coefficients for piston accumulator. Low friction seals provide
low pressure differentials between gas and oil side. Therefore, low friction seals
will allow high piston speeds and hence the effectiveness of piston accumulator
is improved. With low friction in piston accumulator, high life can also be
expected.
The piston accumulator is proposed to be used with the valveless rock drill.
One alternative is to use bladder accumulator that can work on high frequency.
But as the pressure in the piston chamber is varying over a high range, the
membrane of the accumulator is unable to sustain this high pressure differential. The bottoming out of the membrane causes an earlier failure. Therefore,
Piston accumulator, due to the high strength of separating medium, is an appropriate option, along with some constraints of mass of piston and fatigue
failure of piston accumulator. This study reveals the satisfactory performance
of rock drill with the piston accumulator.
The performance of valveless rock drill is studied with one and two piston
accumulators and is compared with its performance when no accumulator is

102

used. Two piston accumulator results in optimum efficiency. One accumulator does not give high efficiency for drill as large oil volume is drained off.
The accumulator volume has to keep larger than working volume in piston
chamber for satisfactory performance but it results n losses. Rock drill with
two piston accumulators works satisfactorily and gives high efficiency. The
working volume in both the accumulators is lower than the volume of one
accumulator if used with rock drill. As described in earlier discussion in previous chapters, performance of rock drill with two piston accumulators is found
satisfactory. It is observed that large the diameter of the accumulator piston
and shorter stroke length, high frequency of operation and high efficiency is
obtained. The high pressure accumulator piston oscillates such that it does
not come in contact with the upper stop. Opposite is the case with low pressure accumulator. As the large oil volume has been replaced by two smaller
oil volumes, the strength problem with the housing has also been eliminated.
Now as a future task, performance of the drill with two piston accumulators
can be experimentally tested in lab for validation of results.
The fatigue strength of the accumulators have been computed. For this stress
analysis of the piston accumulator has been conducted using ANSYS where
critical loading conditions are analyzed. The critical condition for failure in
the two accumulators is when the piston strikes any of the stop. The maximum
principal stress and its direction on the critical point of stress concentration
has been used to find the stress range of cyclic loading. It is found by stress
analysis that the stress amplitude in the material critical point is not constant.
Therefore, rain flow count method is used to find the stress range and then
the stress amplitude. This stress amplitude gives the number of loading cycles
the structure can sustain before failure. For this W ohler Diagram for high
tensile steels is used. Piston of accumulator is found susceptible to failure
based on the observation that the critical point of stress concentration exist in
the piston.
From fatigue analysis it is concluded out that the corner fillet regions in the
piston are relatively safe regions to fatigue failure. The piston can perform for
longer period of time at a particular frequency of operation without failure at
the corner fillets. But the central point on the surface of the piston is the most
critical point to fatigue failure. The stress concentration at the corners of the
piston can be easily reduced by increasing the fillet radius, but the top surface
center point is observed to be the most favorable point for fatigue failure to
occur. The reason is its exposition to the hole left in the upper stop for the
flow of gas. High tensile stress is concentrated every time the piston strikes
the upper stop. Due to these tensile stresses, center point on the upper surface
of the piston bends and protrudes into the hole. This stress concentration at
this point can be reduced by increasing the thickness of the piston especially
close to central axis. But mass of the piston, which has to be as low as possible
for better operation of the drill, is a real constraint in designing an optimal
design of piston. The other way could be to perform a smart shape and size
optimization of the piston.
Material damping can influence the result of fatigue analysis. The method
adopted here for fatigue analysis is the most conservative method since no
material damping has been considered in this analysis. If material damping
103

is used for the structure, it can eliminate the high stress concentration at the
critical point.

9.1

Future Work

After performing this thesis work, research and development can e continued while
focusing on these key point:
Friction coefficients for piston cylinder sliding motion in the accumulator can
be established by experiments in the lab. For this an accumulator can be
fabricated and test can be performed with low friction sealing. Abrupt piston
movement (the stick slip effect) can be studied and reduced by designing and
validating a low friction design. calculations can be performed to find out the
individual accumulator efficiency apart form drill efficiency.
Valveless rock drill can be tested in the lab with two accumulators and results
can be validated.
Fatigue strength calculations can be performed by incorporating other load
cases such as piston movement with pressure variation.
Fatigue strength calculations can also be made by tests in the lab and real data
can be established for fatigue life of piston accumulator at different frequency
of operation and loading.

104

Bibliography
[1] Gunnar Wijk, Percussive Rock Drilling
[2] Atlas Copco Photo Archive, http://atlascopco.com/Standard/index.jsp

[3] Gunnar (1996) Wijk,Total Rock Drilling Technology, Orebro,

Atlas Copco Rock
Drills AB
[4] Johan Aleberg, Andreas Wiberg (2007), Designing a Hydraulic Energy Absorber
for Endurance Tests of Percussive Rock Drills
[5] Anthony Esposito , Fluid Power With Applications, Sixth Edition
[6] Karl-Erik Rydberg , Gas Charged Accumulators as Energy Storage Devices in
Hydrostatic Drives
[7] HYDAC International Accumulators Catalogue
[8] Karl-Erik Rydberg (2003) , Modelling level for Simulation and Design of Fluid
Power Systems
[9] Krus, Peter (1994) , An introduction to Modelling of Transmission Lines,
Link
opings Universitet, Link
oping, IKP-R-732
[10] Larsson, Jonas (2002), Users guide to HOPSAN, Link
opings Universitet,
Link
oping
[11] Cylinder Friction, Simulink Library Model to Simulate Friction in Hydraulic
Cylinders
[12] G.G Popov, I.E Zavjalova, V.L. Borisenko, V.G Popov, N.A. Rashkeev,
J.K.Bochebarov and V.S. Stramnov (1975) Patent 673,193
[13] Tore Dahlberg, Anders Ekberg, Failure Fracture Fatigue, An Introduction
[14] ASTMs standard E 1049, Standard Practices for Cycle Counting in Fatigue
Analysis, Rainflow counting

Appendix: A
FORTRAN code for the Calculation of Friction in Piston Cylinder Device

II

Appendix: B
*.HCOM File Code for Optimization in HOPSAN

III

*.ODAT File Code for Optimization in HOPSAN

IV

Appendix: C

VI

VII

VIII

Appendix: D
Wohler Curve

IX

XI