Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Multifunctional four-port directional control valve constructed from

logic valves
E. Lisowski a,⇑, W. Czyzycki
_ a
, J. Rajda b
a
Cracow University of Technology, al. Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Kraków, Poland
b
PONAR Wadowice S.A., ul. Wojska Polskiego 29, 34-100 Wadowice, Poland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The paper refers to four-port solenoid pilot operated valves, which are subplate mounted in a hydraulic
Received 11 December 2013 system in accordance with the ISO 4401 standard. Their widespread use in many machines and devices
Accepted 1 July 2014 causes a continuing interest in the development of their design by both the scientific centers and the
Available online 23 August 2014
industry. This paper presents an innovative directional control valve based on the use of logic valves
and a methodology followed for the design of it by using Solid Edge CAD and ANSYS/Fluent CFD software.
Keywords: The valve design methodology takes into account the need to seek solutions that minimize flow resis-
Hydraulic valve
tance through the valve. For this purpose, the flow paths are prepared by means of CAD software and
Directional control valve
Logic valve
pressure-flow curves are determined as a result of CFD analysis. The obtained curves are compared with
CFD analysis the curves available in the catalogs of spool type directional control valves.
The new solution allows to replace the whole family of spool type four-port directional control valves
by one valve built of logic valves. In addition, the innovative directional control valve provides leak-proof
shutting the flow paths off and also it can control flow rate and even pressure of working liquid. A
prototype of the valve designed by the presented method has been made and tested on the test bench.
The results quoted in the paper confirm that the developed logic type directional control valve is able
to meet all designed connection configurations, and the obtained pressure-flow curves show very good
conformity with the results of CFD analysis.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Directional control valves are components of virtually any
hydraulic system and hence they are subject to continuous devel-
opment. A lot of scientific papers are dedicated to the issues of
their performance characteristics improvement, such as papers of
Amirante et al. [1–3], wherein CFD (Computational Fluid Dynam-
ics) methods are more and more often used to analyze the design
of directional valves. The similar trends in the application of CFD
methods in the development of hydraulic system components
can be seen in the papers of, among others, Del Vescovo et al. [4]
Chattopadhyay et al. [5] and Pan et al. [6].
In the recent years there has been a growing interest in the
technique based on logic valves for slip-in mounting, especially
the poppet type ones, which is reflected in the catalogs of manufac-
turers of hydraulic components, for example [7–10]. The develop-
ment of those creates the possibility of higher internal tightness
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: lisowski@mech.pk.edu.pl (E. Lisowski), czyzycki@mech.pk.
_
edu.pl (W. Czyzycki), janusz.rajda@ponar-wadowice.pl (J. Rajda).
and greater speed of control, and the ability to build special sys-
tems for large capacities of the volumetric flow rate, even several
thousand liters per minute [11–14]. The logic valves are relatively
new solutions, which are being systematically introduced to
hydraulic controls and drives.
A single logic valve has a simple structure that allows control of
the flow direction through one flow path, depending on the given
pressure control signal. Due to the fact that the usual working ele-
ment has poppet type closing system, it is possible to obtain high
internal tightness with almost no leakage. A single logic valve is
usually not able to fulfill the function of a directional control valve
which controls the direction of movement of a hydraulic cylinder
or motor. Using a sufficient number of logic valves, theoretically,
we can build a directional control valve for these advanced control
functions [7,10,15]. Their assembly as a functional unit, such as
four-port hydraulic directional control valve, is a relatively com-
plex task [16]. Proposals of ready-made solutions are rare and, fur-
thermore, does not take into account the applicable standards [17].
Application of ISO 4401 standard [18] enables mounting and
connecting many different spool type directional control valves,
as well as valves with different functions, to one type of subplate.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.07.008
0196-8904/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
906 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913
Nomenclature
A, B actuator ports
P pressure port
T return port
X pressure port for the pilot valve
E1, . . ., E6 pilot valves
L1, . . ., L6 logic valves
S1, S2 shuttle valves
Z1, Z2 pressure relief valves
C 1e ; C 2e ; C 3e constants of the turbulence model
Cl constant
Q volumetric flow rate
Using ISO 4401 standard, the innovative solution allowing to
replace of the whole family of spool type directional control valves
by one unit is proposed. This is possible because, when using many
logic valves to construct a directional control valve, one can control
each of them individually to create many configurations of flow
paths. In this paper a methodology for implementing such a solu-
tion will be presented for selected flow range up to 450 dm3/min
and pressure of 35 MPa.
2. Spool valves according to ISO 4401 standard
The valves designed for installation by this standard are offered
by a lot of companies, including such well-known ones as Bosch
Rexroth [7], Eaton [8], and Kawasaki [9]. The ISO standard allows
for interchangeable use of technological solutions from different
companies and without having to disassemble or change the pip-
ing of the system. This standard provides also the possibility of
building a layer of additional valves (pilot operated check valves,
throttle/check valves, pressure control valves, etc.).
The design of spool type pilot operated directional control
valves is relatively simple. The typical hydraulic directional control
valve (Figs. 1 and 2) consists of a main stage 1 with body, wherein
the control spool is placed, and a built-on pilot valve 2. These
valves can be made with different spools having different connec-
tion configurations of the ports. Fig. 3 shows a set of frequently
used types of 2- and 3-position valves offered by various compa-
nies. Analyzing the flow paths, it can be determined that they meet
13 combinations of connections between four ports P, A, B, T
Fig. 1. Schematic design of the pilot operated directional control valve [19]: 1 – the
main valve and 2 – solenoid operated pilot valve.
Sk ; Se Pandtl’s numbers
p pressure
AB flow path A–B
AT flow path A–T
BT flow path B–T
PA flow path P–A
PB flow path P–B
PT flow path P–T
(Fig. 2). Those are presented in Fig. 4. One valve can realize maxi-
mum 3 various combinations of connections. To have possibility of
more ones, there is necessity to use respectively more valve types.
3. Leakproof logic valves
The current hydraulic market offers many technological solu-
tions of logic valves [7–9] with different nominal sizes (Fig. 6),
for flow up to 20,000 dm3/min. For the sake of the study, a solution
capable of providing internal leak tightness between relevant ports
has been selected (Fig. 5). The tightness is achieved on the one side
in a conical seat 1 which mates with the edge of the conical end of
the piston 2, on the other side by using a low friction seal 3
between the sleeve 1 and the cylindrical part of the piston 2. To
obtain complete internal leak tightness of valve, it still will be nec-
essary to seal the pilot control line connected to the port X. It can
be accomplished by using a poppet valve as a pilot (Fig. 7).
4. Combinations of logic valve connections
Using several logic valves, we can obtain a large number of flow
path combinations. In order to replace all the functions performed
by directional control valves from WEH22 family, it will be neces-
sary to use six logic valves. For the valve constructed with the logic
units the code is L6-WEH22, where L6 stands for the number of
logic valves used, while WEH22 means compatibility with the
standard hydraulic spool valve.
Schematic diagram of the designed directional control valve L6-
WEH22 can be found in Fig. 8. The possibility of connections using
the logic valves are shown in the graph in Fig. 9. Considering all
combinations of solenoid switches, the number of possible
connection variants equals 64. Some of these connections may
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of structure of spool type directional control valve: A, B –
actuator ports, P – pressure port, T – return port, X – pressure port for the pilot
valve, Y – return port for the pilot valve, 1 – the main valve and 2 – solenoid
operated pilot valve.
 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913
Fig. 3. Frequently used hydraulic schemes for 2- and 3-position spool type
directional control valves and their symbols used in catalogs [10,19].
Fig. 4. Configurations of connections between the four ports for schemes of the
spool type valves from Fig. 3.
prove useless in practice. Taking into account the most useful com-
binations (Table 1), the selected connections are shown corre-
spondingly to the technological solutions used in the spool type
valves. As presented in the Table 1, it enables the realization of
all connection variants for the spool type valves shown in Fig. 4
and also makes connections between paths AB and AB + PT which
usually are not performed by the normal spool valves. The realiza-
tion of the different connection configurations of four ports (A, B, P,
T) by using the logic valves L1–L6 is obtained by energizing the
appropriate solenoids E1–E6.
Fig. 5. Schematic design of logic valve: 1 – sleeve with a seat, 2 – piston with a
control edge, 3 – low-friction seal, 4 – body, 5 – stroke limiter, and 6 – cover.
907
5. The design of multifunctional directional control valve by ISO
standard
To design this valve, it is assumed that a new type of directional
control valve is to be mounted interchangeably with the spool type
one on the same subplate by ISO standard [18]. The analysis com-
prises the valve of ISO code 4401-08-08-0-05, flow range up to
450 dm3/min and working pressure up to 35 MPa, similar to the
spool type valve of the same size [15,20]. Additional assumptions
for the new design are:
 internal leak tightness,
 internal pilot pressure supply,
 implementation of all connection configurations for spool type
valves shown in Fig. 3.
To check the ability to implement the solution, the models of
components such as logic valves, solenoid pilot valves, and shuttle
valves, were made in SolidEdge software. Then they were placed in
a space basically defined by the connection pattern, according to
ISO standard in such a way that it was possible to design the body
with internal channels (Fig. 10).
The project is inspired by the solution of four-port directional
control valve built of logic valves presented in the paper [16]. Four
logic valves L1, L2, L3, L4 (Fig. 10) placed parallel to each other, per-
pendicular to the subplate surface, in a row are used to build the
valve. Putting more of the valves in a row is limited by the overall
dimensions. In the cover above the logic valves there are four pilot
valves E1, E2, E3, E4. To obtain more functions, two additional logic
valves: L5 and L6, are used. Those are placed parallel to the sub-
plate surface, opposite each other in a separate plate 2 (Fig. 11)
under the main valve block 1. Pilots to the logic valves L5 and L6
are mounted to the plate 2 by means of blocks 3 and 4 (Fig. 11).
The valve built-in this way, has mounting pattern in accordance
with ISO (Fig. 12). Free space in the body 1 is left to build in two
shuttle valves S1 and S2 to select a pressure supplied to the control
system. Additionally, logic valves can be used as pressure control
valves. For example, for the logic valves L5 and L6 in the body 3
and 4 (Fig. 11) the pilots of pressure relief valves Z1 and Z2
(Fig. 10) are built-in, functioning as pressure relief on PT and AB
paths.
6. CFD analysis
One of the most important methods used to improve the
hydraulic valves is CFD. Many researchers dealing with hydraulics
in this area use ANSYS/Fluent software [3,5,21,22], which offers a
variety of flow models and different models to describe turbulence
[22–24]. CFD method is used to calculate the forces acting on the
valve components and to determine pressure losses, and also in
FSI (Fluid Structure Interaction) version to study dynamics of the
valve elements [25]. Application of the CFD analysis is of particular
importance in the design of the new valve [16].
6.1. Geometric model and finite element mesh
On the basis of 3D model of the directional control valve L6-
WEH22, geometric models of flow paths: PA, PB, AT, BT, AB and
PT have been created. Most of these paths are characterized by dif-
ferent geometry and different distance for the working fluid to flow
through. The flow paths AB and PT have the same geometry and are
the shortest. The longest and the most complex is the flow path BT.
For example, Fig. 13 shows the flow path PA, while in Fig. 14 – the
flow path BT.
908 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913

Fig. 6. Various sizes of logic valve family (Kawasaki) [9].

Fig. 9. Graf of connections for directional control valve L6-WEH22.

Fig. 7. Leak proof logic valve assembly with internal pilot supply: 1 – logic valve, 2
– poppet valve, and 3 – shuttle valve.
the nodes. What follows is that the initial heights for an uniform
mesh will be approximately the same, whereas the initial heights
for a varying mesh will vary [16,22]. The Curvature Size function
is used to generate mesh for flow paths. This function analyses cur-
vature on edges and faces and calculates element sizes on those, so
that the size will not exceed the maximum size or the normal cur-
vature angle, which can be defined by the user or computed auto-
matically by the Mesher.

6.2. Turbulence model

Different turbulence models [22,24,26] are used for flow model-

ling. Knowing basic data on the investigating phenomenon such as
fluid viscosity, density and kind of flow an adequate model for the
analysis can be preliminarily defined. Literature shows that in sim-
ilar analysis with hydraulic oil as working medium model k—e gen-
erally was used. This model applied Amirante et al. in studies of
directional control valves [3], Chattopadhyay et al. for pressure
regulating valve [5] and Domagała [21] for flow control valve anal-
ysis. Therefore for simulation research available in ANSYS/Fluent
standard model of turbulence k—e in the standard approach of Lan-
dauer and Spalding [23,24] has been chosen. The turbulence
kinetic energy k and its rate of dissipation e are obtained from
Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of directional control valve L6-WEH22. the following transport equations:
  
@ @ @ l @k
ðqkÞ þ ðqkui Þ ¼ lþ t þ Gk þ Gb  qe  Y M þ Sk ; ð1Þ
To build the mesh, the generator of ANSYS/Fluent software, @t @xi @xj rk @xj
  
dedicated to creating a mesh for the CFD, has been used. In the con- @ @ @ l @e e
struction of a grid, to create a boundary layer, the function Inflation
ðqeÞ þ ðqeui Þ ¼ lþ t þ C 1e ðGk þ C 3e Gb Þ
@t @xi @xj re @xj k
is used with the option Inflation Smooth Transition [22]. The volume e2
change is smooth as each local initial height and total height are  C 2e q þ Se : ð2Þ
k
computed by the Smooth Transition option with respect to the local
tetrahedral element size. The initial height of each triangle under- In these equations, Gk represents the generation of turbulence
going inflation is calculated with respect to its area and averaged at kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients, calculated as
 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913 909

Table 1
Configuration of solenoid switches for the implementation of appropriate flow paths: 1 – on and 0 – off.

Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Symbol

E1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
E2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
E3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
E4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
E5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
E6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Fig. 10. The initial placement of the valve components L6-WEH22.

Fig. 12. Valve L6-WEH22 view from the ISO mounting surface.

Fig. 11. Design of directional control valve L6-WEH22: 1 – logic valve block L1–L4,
2 – logic valve block L5 and L6, 3 and 4 – block with stroke limiter and pressure
pilots for logic valves L5 and L6, and 5 – pilot valve block for L1–L4.

Fig. 13. Finite element mesh for the flow path PA: Nodes 236 725 and elements 755
described in modelling turbulent production in the k—e models. Gb 535.
is the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy, cal-
culated as described in effects of buoyancy on turbulence in the k—e
models. Y M represents the contribution of the fluctuating dilatation 6.3. Boundary conditions
in compressible turbulence to the overall dissipation rate, calcu-
lated as described in effects of compressibility on turbulence in The calculation has been conducted for four values of inlet
the k—e models. C 1e ; C 2e and C 3e are constants. Sk and Se are the velocity of hydraulic liquid: 4, 8, 12 and 16 m/s (Velocity Inlet).
turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and e, respectively. Sk and Se are For outlet boundary condition type Pressure Outlet has been
user-defined source terms. The turbulent (or eddy) viscosity, lt , is assumed – constant pressure on outlet p ¼ 0:1 MPa. Intensity of
computed by combining k and e as follows: turbulence has been assumed for calculation basing on the value
2 of 2% for the scale length of 2 mm. Remaining assumptions:
k
lt ¼ q C l ; ð3Þ
e  no slip on walls,
where C l is a constant.  the liquid is incompressible (hydraulic oil),
ANSYS/Fluent standard model of turbulence k—e has been cho-  the liquid properties are constant,
sen. The model constants have the following default values  the model is in condition of thermal equilibrium,
[16,26]: C 1e ¼ 1:44; C 2e ¼ 1:92; C 3e ¼ 1; C l ¼ 0:09; Sk ¼ 1:0; Se ¼ 1:3.  viscosity of hydraulic liquid is 41 mm2/s.
910 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913

Fig. 14. Finite element mesh for the flow path BT: Nodes 226 514 and elements 710
710.

Fig. 16. Velocity distribution along the stream line for the flow path PA.

Fig. 15. Pressure distribution on the walls of the flow path PA. Fig. 17. Pressure distribution on the walls of the flow path BT.

6.4. Results of CFD analysis

The calculation results are presented in a graphical form of

pressure distribution on the path walls and distribution of the fluid
velocity vectors along the stream line. The pressure distribution on
the walls of the flow paths PA and BT for average value of flow
velocity 16 m/s are showed in Figs. 15 and 17. The analysis of each
of the drawings shows that the highest pressure occurs at the inlet
to the individual paths, and then undergoes a substantial change at
each change of direction of the paths. In most cases, they are
changes of direction by an angle of 90°. Every such bend of the path
causes thus local pressure losses, however, this phenomenon is
inevitable. Furthermore, the local pressure losses can be detected
at the transition of fluid stream near the logic valve seat.
The distribution of fluid velocity vectors along the stream lines Fig. 18. Velocity distribution along the stream line for the flow path BT.

for path PA is shown in Fig. 16. The analysis of stream lines pre-
sented in the figure suggests that in the initial phase of the flow
from P port, the stream lines are arranged in parallel. After entering
the logic valve of complex shape, its split follows.
A similar phenomenon occurs for the flow path BT (Fig. 18). At
flow line BT eddy of the flow stream is maintained along a whole
length of the passage from outlet of the valve up to T ports of the
directional control valve. The highest value of the fluid velocity
can be seen in the holes of the valve sleeve, both at the inlet and
outlet. In the case of path BT (Fig. 18) a higher value of fluid veloc-
ity can be observed in the rectilinear section of the path leading to
the port T. This is the effect of narrowing the stream, which after
passing through the windows of the logic valve body encounters
three consecutive path direction changes of angle of 90°. The aver-
age value of flow velocity at the valve inlet was 16 m/s while the
velocity rose locally to above 30 m/s in the narrowings of the logic
valve as well as in the places of sudden changes in flow direction.
6.5. The characteristic curves of pressure losses
Using the results of calculations performed in ANSYS/Fluent,
flow resistance curve is made. Fig. 19 shows the curves obtained
from five points (point 0 and four points calculated) using the
approximation by polynomial equation of the least squares
method. The lowest pressure losses occur in the paths AB and PT,
while slightly higher pressure losses occur for the paths PA, AT
and PB and the largest for BT. Increased pressure losses in the path
BT result from larger number of the fluid flow direction bends at an
 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913
Fig. 19. Pressure losses for logic type directional control valve L6-WEH22.
angle of 90°. Furthermore, it is the longest flow path for valve L6-
WEH22.
Fig. 19 shows the pressure loss characteristic curves obtained
by CFD analysis for the flow paths PA, PB, AT, BT, AB and PT of direc-
tional control valve L6-WEH22. The lowest pressure losses occur
for the paths AB and PT (0.81 MPa at volumetric flow rate of
3
450 dm = min), and the largest for the flow path BT (1:63 MPa at
3
450 dm = min). Comparison of test results WEH22 spool valve
and a prototype L6-WEH22 will be conducted in chapter 9.
7. Prototype
Using a geometric model created in Solid Edge software, pre-
sented in Figs. 10–12, the engineering drawings and then a proto-
type of directional control valve L6-WEH22 were made. Fig. 20
shows its real view and, for comparison, the spool type one with
sandwich design pilot operated check valve to ensure the tightness
of the paths AT and BT and additionally double throttle/check valve
to control flow rate. Directional control valves L6-WEH22 and
Fig. 20. Real directional control valves: left – valve L6-WEH22 and right – WEH22 with pilot operated check valve and double throttle check valve [7].
911
WEH22 can be mounted to the same subplate and occupy similar
space, their weight is approximately equal.
8. Experimental tests
Pressure loss curve determination for the directional control
valve L6-WEH22 was carried out in accordance to ISO standard
[27] and the method presented in the paper [16]. Pressure values
were recorded at the input and output of flow paths of the control
valve and also the volumetric flow rates were documented. The
test bench, on which the control valve L6-WEH22 was mounted,
allowed the setting of required constant flow rate (Fig. 21). The
bench testing was performed for each flow path separately, at oil
viscosity 41 cSt and in the range of volumetric flow rate up to
3
Q ¼ 350 dm = min, arising from the capacity of the bench. Thus,
the experimental tests were carried out under similar conditions
as in the CFD analysis. Based on the obtained results, pressure drop
curves for individual paths were approximated with polynomial
curves. The results obtained in the experimental tests do not
exceed 5% than those obtained from the CFD analysis.
To exemplify, some curves obtained during the tests and in the
CFD analysis are shown below: Fig. 22 comparison of pressure loss
curves for path BT, Fig. 23 pressure loss curves for path PA, while
Fig. 24 for pressure loss curves for path PT.
9. Pressure losses comparison
Fig. 25 shows the pressure loss characteristic curves for the
spool type directional control valves obtained from data included
in the catalog [20]. If characteristic curves obtained in tests of
L6-WEH22 are directly compared with those of the pressure loss
for the spool type valves, we need to consider a few types of those,
as a single directional control valve is unable to perform the func-
tion as of the described L6-WEH22. As an example, the three most
popular types of valves are taken into consideration, and those are:
 WEH22E (the paths PA, PB, AT, BT),
 WEH22G (the path PT),
 WEH22R (the path AB).
912 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913

Fig. 24. Comparison of pressure loss curves for the path PT, the results obtained: 1 –
from the experiment and 2 – from the CFD analysis.

Fig. 21. Directional control valve L6-WEH22 on the test bench.

Fig. 25. Pressure losses for spool type directional control valves WEH22E, WEH22G
Fig. 22. Comparison of pressure loss curves for the path BT, the results obtained: 1 –
and WEH22R [20].
from the experiment and 2 – from the CFD analysis.

Fig. 23. Comparison of pressure loss curves for the path PA, the results obtained: 1
– from the experiment and 2 – from the CFD analysis.

For comparison of pressure losses, common point is selected. It
3 WEH22E, WEH22R and WEH22G.
is the volumetric flow rate of the value of Q ¼ 300 dm = min,
because the flow of this value is realized for the available catalog
3
data. Pressure loss for Q ¼ 300 dm = min for the valves WEH22E,
WEH22G, WEH22R range from 0:35 to 1:1 MPa, while for the valve
L6-WEH22 they range from 0:35 to 0:75 MPa (Fig. 26) and thus
vary quite considerably. Pressure losses for the paths AB and PT
for the logic type valve are much lower (more than 60%), for the
path AT similar value is obtained, while for the other paths are
slightly higher than in the spool type valve. Therefore, it can be
concluded that, for the paths AB and PT the logic type valve allows
for far more favorable performance characteristics, while others
are comparable.
3
Fig. 26. Comparison of pressure losses at Q ¼ 300 dm = min for L6-WEH22 to
10. Summary
This paper presents a proposal of replacing the family of four-
port pilot operated spool type directional control valves by only
one directional control valve built of logic valves. In the design of
a new valve, which is coded as L6-WEH22, six logic valves con-
trolled by six 3/2 directional control valves poppet type as a pilot
are applied. As a foundation for the design, it was assumed that
the valve must be mounted on a standard ISO subplate [18], be
 E. Lisowski et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 87 (2014) 905–913
close in dimensions to the corresponding spool valves, be capable
of carrying out the frequently used configuration of hydraulic
scheme for the spool valves. Synthesis of the valve design was car-
ried out using CAD SolidEdge and CFD ANSYS/Fluent software. CFD
analysis with the use of ANSYS/Fluent showed that the proposed
new solution L6-WEH22, with one unit can replace the entire
family of spool type directional control valves, equalling or even
surpassing their performance.
The prototype valve was built and functional tests were
performed. Besides, the flow curves were obtained, which con-
firmed the results from the CFD analysis. In addition, if we compare
features such as:
 internal leak tightness,
 and the maximum switching frequency [13,14],
the use of logic valve, despite its more complex design, may be
significantly beneficial for many hydraulic systems.
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