The Torque on the Swashplate of Axial Piston Variable Displacement Pumps With Conical Cylinder Blocks

In this paper, the load torque on the swashplate of axial piston variable displacement pumps with conical cylinder blocks is studied. At present, general analytical solution for the load torque of axial piston variable displacement pump is not available, which makes the dynamic analysis and controller design an uneasy work. The main contribution of this paper is that the analytical solution of the swashplate torque caused by piston inertia and centrifugal force was derived. First, based on the piston acceleration and centrifugal force, the piston kinematic and dynamic models were developed, the analytical solution of the swashplate torque caused by piston inertia and centrifugal force was derived. In addition, the piston chamber pressure dynamics were established, the pressure distribution in the cylinder bore and the load torque of the swashplate under different working conditions were obtained. Finally, the relationship between the swashplate average load torque and the swashplate angle, swashplate angular velocity, pump load pressure and the pump input shaft velocity was uncovered. It is shown that the swashplate angle has greater influence on the load torque when the pump load pressure is higher, besides, it is interesting to observe that the swashplate angular velocity has a damping influence upon swashplate dynamics which helps to stabilize the swashplate during pump displacement regulation transients.

Dynamic and efficiency characteristics of an inlet metering valve controlled fixed displacement pump

This project developed the inlet metering system. An inlet metering system represents a new option in hydraulic pump design. Traditional pressure controlled hydraulic pumps rely on either swashplate displacement (for variable displacement pumps) or bleed off valves (for fixed displacement pumps). Variable displacement pumps require mechanically complex parts which are expensive to machine and prone to break down. Bleed off valves represent a significant loss in system efficiency. In contrast, the inlet metering system is able to make use of a fixed displacement pump (which is relatively inexpensive and mechanically robust) and a two-way spool valve. This dissertation goes through the process of designing the valve and pump dimensions, presents a theoretical dynamic analysis, studies the control law associated with this pump, and examines the energy requirements associated with inlet metering system operation. A prototype of the design was constructed and experimental data was used to validate the efficiency analysis. The major finding associated with this work was that the inlet metering system can be designed to display a first order pressure response. This means that when the inlet metering system is operated, the actual pressure in the system will never exceed the desired pressure. In contrast, traditional hydraulic systems will display up to 60% pressure overshoot, meaning the systems must be designed to handle pressures significantly greater than operating pressures. Additionally it was found that the inlet metering system is more efficient than using a bleed off valve, but less efficient than using a variable displacement pump.