Novel resonance stability criterion for the 2D magnetically levitated servo-proportional valve

The leakage of the pilot stage of the 2D valve mainly depends on the size of its initial opening. According to the Routh criterion, the pilot stage of the two-dimensional magnetically levitated servo-proportional valve (2D-MSP valve) needs to be designed to have certain positive values to increase the damping ratio to improve valve stability, which leads to the leakage flow representing a non-negligible power loss. In order to reduce leakage flow and achieve goal of energy saving, this paper presents a novel resonance stability criterion by considering nonlinear characteristics of the fluid dynamic system. First, the 2D-MSP valve is regarded as a three-way valve-controlled differential cylinder system. Based on the frequency response of the resonance state, the energy conservation method is used to solve the flow “backfilling” area, the motion equation of the cylinder piston (valve spool displacement) and the pressure waveform of the sensing chamber under different opening and pressure amplitude ratio. Then, the analytical expression of the resonance peak amplitude is obtained and the resonance stability criterion is deduced. The result is compared with the Routh stability criterion, which illustrates that the positive openings of the pilot stage can be reduced to one-third of the original value. The prototype valve is then designed and manufactured based on the resonance stability criterion. The dynamic and static characteristics under different system pressures are measured. Experimental results show that the prototype valve is an over-damped system without any overshoot, which has excellent working stability, and its static and dynamic performance can meet the demands of the industry servo-proportional control system. The research work validates the effectiveness of the proposed resonance stability criterion.

Modeling and Dynamic Characteristics of a Novel High-Pressure and Large-Flow Water Hydraulic Proportional Valve

In the field of fully mechanized coal mining equipment, the hydraulic valve used in the hydraulic support is an on/off directional valve. There are many problems caused by the valve such as large pressure shock and discontinuous flow control. Therefore, a novel two-position three-way hydraulic proportional valve suitable for high-pressure and large-flow conditions is proposed to overcome the above problems. The novel valve utilizes a two-stage structure and the displacement follow-up principle is adopted between the pilot stage and the main stage to meet proportional control. In this paper, a simulation model of the novel proportional valve was established after a simplified analysis of the structural principle. Its reliability and the feasibility of the design were verified by the test results under different working conditions. Then, the step response characteristics of the proportional valve under different strokes were predicted and analyzed. Nonlinear characteristics were presented, and the closing time was shorter than the opening time because of the influence of nonlinear flow force. Under different ramp signals, the displacement of the main inlet spool was always approximately equal to the displacement of the pilot stage. Then, the motion relationship between the pilot stage and the main stage was studied, and the influence of the structural parameters on the stability was analyzed.

Extended Analysis of a Valve-Controlled System with Multi-Chamber Actuator

This paper outlines an extended analysis on how multi-chamber actuators can improve the efficiency of valve-controlled systems. Resistive control is a major source of energy losses in valve-controlled systems that share the same pump to drive multiple loads. By combining different chambers, the load on multi-chamber actuators can be transformed into different pressure and flow rate levels. This allows the adaptation of its load to the loads on other actuators. This can lead to a reduction of resistive control energy losses that occur between pump and actuators when driven simultaneously. As a case study to highlight how the system efficiency can be improved, a load sensing system with a conventional and a multi-chamber actuator is analysed. The equations that describe the system steady state behaviour are presented to evaluate the effect of the load transformations on the system efficiency. A disadvantage of such architecture is the fact that load transformations result in different actuator speeds. To reduce this effect, a compensation factor for the command signal to the proportional valve is presented. The highlight from this paper is the potential for efficiency improvement enabled by the adoption of multi-chamber actuators in a valve-controlled architecture. Further research is required for the selection of number of chambers and their areas since they directly affect the system efficiency.

Electrohydraulic proportional valve-controlled vane type semi-rotary actuated wind turbine control by feedforward fractional-order feedback controller

In this study, proportional valve-controlled semi-rotary electrohydraulic actuator proposed for horizontal axis wind turbine pitch movement. Semi-rotary actuator can be connected directly to the wind turbine blade, which reduces mechanical complexity compare to linear electrohydraulic actuator system. Adaptive torque control scheme has been adopted for the horizontal axis wind turbine in region II; however, adaptive pitch control has been adopted for region III. Optimum pitch demand and torque demand have been estimated through blade element momentum theory based on predicted wind speed. The control objective is to track maximum power through torque control in region II and to maintain rated power with structural safety by limiting thrust force in the region III. The proposed wind turbine model has been validated with 1.5-MW wind turbine experimental data. Feedforward fractional-order proportional–integral–derivative controller with adaptive teaching–learning based optimization algorithm has been developed for wind turbine control application. In region II, feedforward control signal generates due to torque demand and feedback control signal generates due to combined torque and pitch error. However, in region III, feedforward and feedback control estimated with pitch demand and combined pitch and torque error, respectively. The proposed controller performance has been tested with sinusoidal, step and actual wind data. The controller performance also compared with respect to other conventional controllers. Performance of the adaptive teaching–learning-based optimization has been compared with genetic algorithm and teaching–learning-based optimization process. Sensitivity analysis has been performed with proposed controller to check the effectiveness of the optimization. Furthermore, the proposed controller response has been compared with existing data of 1.5-MW wind turbine. Lyapunov-based stability analysis has been performed to ensure stability and convergence of the proposed system. Proposed controller performance has been found better compare to the existing result.

Investigation on the Modeling and Dynamic Characteristics of a Novel Hydraulic Proportional Valve Driven by a Voice Coil Motor

As the key control component of the water hydraulic systems, the water hydraulic proportional valve has a significant influence on the control performance of the systems. Due to the poor viscosity and lubricity of water, the valve spool resistance is large and non-linear. In this study, a novel fast-response water hydraulic proportional valve is presented. The actuator of the valve adopts a voice coil motor (VCM), which has the advantages of fast response, high control precision and small volume. In order to realize the fast control of the valve, a lever amplifier is designed to obtain enough actuation force. A detailed and precise non-linear mathematical model of the valve considering both the valve’s structural parameters and VCM electromagnetic characteristics is developed. A comprehensive performance simulation analysis has been carried out, mainly divided into an electromagnetic simulation, an analysis of the characteristics of the lever magnifier, and a dynamic performance simulation of the valve. The simulation results show that the adjusting time is about 28ms, and the maximum overshoot is about 5 %. The step response rise time is about 15 ms. The test rig of the valve and VCM have been built. The test results of the prototype show that the optimal stroke range of VCM is 4 mm to 15 mm. The maximum overshoot of the valve is around 10 %; the adjusting time is about 30 ms in the opening process and 35 ms in the closing process. The test results prove that the valve has good static and dynamic control performance.

Gain-Scheduled Model Predictive Control for a Commercial Vehicle Air Brake System

This paper presents a control-oriented Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) model for commercial vehicle air brake systems with the electro-pneumatic proportional valve based on the nonlinear mathematical model, a set of discrete-time linearized models at different target pressures with the q-Markov Cover system identification method. The scheduled parameters for the LPV model were the brake chamber pressure, which was controlled by the electro-pneumatic proportional valve. On the basis of the LPV model, a family of Model Predictive Control (MPC) controllers with a Kalman filter was designed at each operation point. Then, the gain-scheduled MPC was designed over the entire operating range with the switched strategy, which was validated by experimental data. Furthermore, compared with the PID controller, the performance of the system was improved with a gain-scheduled MPC controller.