Fluid power refers to the discipline that involves the use of fluids to perform mechanical actuations, it is a well-established and independent discipline that has a defined research area and ...scholarly activities since at least seven decades....
With their advantages of low-cost, high-reliability and simplicity, external gear machines (EGMs) are among the most common pumps or motors in high pressure applications. As all positive displacement ...machines, EGMs are characterized by a substantial flow non-uniformity, which is given by the gear meshing and results in vibrations and noises. Several analytical methods are available but require the knowledge of the tooth profile, involute or cycloidal, and are not directly applicable to unconventional gears. This paper presents a numerical approach for the analysis of the theoretical flow through spur gear EGMs which does not require a-priori knowledge of the gear profile. Starting from a CAD input, the proposed approach automatically determines control volumes for every angular position of the gears to describe the displacing action realized by the unit. After describing the method, the paper shows its application to different geometric morphologies for the gear profiles to calculate the theoretical flow rate. The verification of the numerical model is demonstrated by comparing its results with those provided by the analytical methods available in literature for the case of involute gears.
•Numerical method to evaluate the theoretical flow for a gear machine is presented.•Machine displacing action described through a discretization of the fluid domain.•A robust geometrical approach which is able to process unconventional gear profiles.•Algorithm suitable to study new gear profiles for reduced fluid borne noise.•For involute gears, the proposed approach adheres to known analytical formulas.
This paper presents an experimental and numerical modal analysis for an external gear pump considering its mounting on a test rig in a laboratory setting. Most of the previous studies on experimental ...modal analysis (EMA) of hydraulic pumps focused on the modal frequencies to allow model validation. However, the mode shapes of pump bodies have not extensively been discussed. Furthermore, the nature of the pump components assembly and mounting poses some modeling challenges, such as the uncertain material properties of each component, the behavior of the bolted joints, and some critical modeling boundary conditions related to pump mounting. In this regard, the experimentally obtained vibration modes of a reference pump using the least-square complex exponential (LSCE) method are analyzed with an emphasis on the characteristics of the mode shapes. Then, simple modeling strategies are proposed and validated by performing the analysis from the component level to the full assembly. As a result, the mode shapes are categorized depending on the type of motions that the modes exhibit. It is observed that the pump casing does not show any substantial deformation but is close to the rigid body motion. Moreover, without considerably increasing model complexities, the proposed numerical approach provides reasonable accuracy with average errors in modal frequencies of 6%, as well as good agreement in terms of mode shapes. The vibration reduction strategy is briefly discussed based on the measured mode shapes, and the proposed modeling approaches can be useful to study external gear pumps with minimal model complexities yet allowing reasonable result accuracy.
External gear pumps are among the most popular fluid power positive displacement pumps, however they often suffer of excessive flow pulsation transmitted to the downstream circuit. To meet the ...increasing demand of quiet operation for modern fluid power system, a better understanding of the ripple source of gear pumps is desirable. This paper presents a novel approach for the analysis of the ripple source of gear pumps based on decomposition into a kinematic component and a pressurization component. The pump ripple can be regarded as the superposition of the displacement solution and the pressurization solution. The displacement solution is driven by the kinematic flow, and it can be derived from the kinematic flow theory; instead, the pressurization solution can be approximated by overlapping the pressurization flow for a single displacement chamber. Furthermore, in this way the changes of these two components with modification of the delivery circuit are determined in both analytical and numerical ways. The result of this analysis provides a good interpretation of the pulsation simulated by a detailed lumped-parameter simulation model, thus showing its validity. The result also indicates that the response of two ripple sources to the change of the loading in the downstream hydraulic circuit is very different. These findings reveal the limitation of the traditional experimental method for determining the pump ripple, that new experimental methods which are more physics-based can be potentially formulated based on this work.
•A model to evaluate fluid properties considering the dynamic features of cavitation is presented.•The new model for the evaluation of fluid properties is suitable for lumped parameters models.•The ...paper studies the operation of gear pumps under cavitating conditions.•Experimental activity on a gear pump was performed to validate the modelling approach.
This paper addresses the problem of predicting the effects of gas cavitation in fluid power components, accounting for the dynamic features of gas (including free air and vapour) release and adsorption. Several approaches to evaluate fluid properties under cavitating conditions have been proposed in the past, but those suitable to model hydraulic components with the classic lumped parameter approach do not consider the dynamic nature of the gas cavitation process. Cavitation can have a relevant impact on component operation, particularly for positive displacement machines directly connected to the oil reservoir. With the goal of studying the cavitation effects in hydrostatic units, in this paper a novel model to describe fluid properties – which utilizes a simplified formulation of the Full Cavitation Model – was integrated in an existing lumped parameter model for external gear machines previously developed by the authors’ research team. While the basic formulation of the new fluid model was previously validated for a single closed fluid chamber, the present study extends its formulation for the case of complete systems in which multiple chambers with variable volume are connected to each other. A proper experimental set-up was developed to permit the validation of the proposed model for the case of external gear pumps. Comparisons between measured and simulated instantaneous internal tooth space pressures as well as the outlet flow rates are presented. The significance of the proposed model is highlighted by comparing its predictions with those obtained using classic models of fluid properties, which cannot predict with accuracy the effects of cavitation.
This paper presents the experimental characterization of the vibroacoustic fields and the evaluation of noise performances of hydraulic pumps. Research on hydraulic pump noise has traditionally ...focused on the fluid-borne noise sources, and very often the analyses of vibration and noise have been performed focusing on a few local points. This trend results in the lack of investigation on the overall behaviors of vibroacoustic fields of hydraulic pumps, and it has been one of the obstacles to understand the complete mechanisms of noise generation. Moreover, despite the existence of the ISO standards for the determination of noise levels, diverse metrics have been used for the evaluation of noise performances of the pumps, but the adequacy of these metrics has not been carefully examined. In this respect, this paper aims at introducing a way to characterize and interpret the measured vibroacoustic field and providing proper methods which are also capable of applying the ISO standards for the fair assessment of pump noise performances. For the characterization of the vibroacoustic field, operational deflection shapes (ODS) and corresponding radiated sound fields are visualized at harmonics of the pumping frequency by using a spectral analysis. Observations are made regarding the motions of the pump and its mounting plate and the resultant radiated noise, depending on the frequency, as well as their correlation. A numerical analysis using the Rayleigh integral equation is also performed to further investigate the contribution of the mounting plate motion on the noise radiation. For the evaluation of noise performance, two different units are tested at multiple operating conditions, and comparisons are made based on their measured sound power levels (SWLs) and sound pressure levels (SPLs). The results emphasize the importance of SWL measurement for the fair noise performance evaluation, and the two methods are proposed as practices to determine the minimum number of measurement points for practicability and to have reliable sound power determination for hydraulic pumps.
This article presents a novel mixed-thermoelastohydrodynamic (TEHD) model for the lateral lubricating interfaces which exist between floating lateral bushings and gears in external gear machines ...(EGMs). The proposed model integrates the influence of surface asperities along with the fluid structure and thermal interaction in the interface, especially in the regions of very low film thicknesses by following a stochastic approach in modelling the mixed lubrication regime. Furthermore, the current work includes validation of the predictions of the mixed-TEHD model against experimentally measured leakages from the lateral gap and compares the performance of this model with a previously developed full film TEHD model for the lateral gaps in EGMs.
This article presents a novel passive fluid borne noise source reduction strategy, based on tandem axial-piston unit indexing with the usage of symmetric lines. The strategy consists of setting the ...phase between the two synchronous units to accomplish destructive interference in targeted unit harmonics. A strategy capable of achieving destructive interference in all odd harmonics is investigated first analytically and then confirmed by a simulation study. Experiments on the proposed strategy confirmed its effectiveness at the first and third pump fundamental harmonics, and pressure ripple reduction was accomplished. The fluid borne noise source reduction in the first and third harmonic is verified to be propagated to pipe vibration and sound power. Regarding the first harmonic, pressure ripple was reduced by up to 18 dB; while for third harmonic, pressure ripple was reduced by up to 11 dB. In the experiment, however, noise cancellation is not achieved for the higher odd harmonics, as is instead found in the simulation. Conversely, transfer functions form pressure ripple to pipe wall acceleration are obtained experimentally, and a critical vibration band from 2000 Hz to 3000 Hz is identified as being crucial for effective overall sound power reduction.
This paper presents a solution for reducing energy loss in the hydraulic control system of agricultural tractors and their implements. The solution is referred to as a multi-pressure rail (MPR) and ...provides power to the hydraulic functions following a pressure control logic, as opposed to the traditional flow control logic typical of hydraulic systems used in off-road vehicles. The proposed hydraulic control system allows for elimination of redundant flow control valves in the state-of-the-art system, which cause excessive throttling losses leading to poor overall energy efficiency. Related work on MPR technology targets construction vehicles, where the MPR solution can allow energy recovery during overrunning loads and better engine management. This paper alternatively addresses the case of agricultural applications where functions mostly operate under resistive load conditions with slow dynamics, which offers an opportunity to target throttle losses. For this purpose, the paper introduces a variable pressure control strategy to handle the instantaneous pressure at each rail. To develop both the controller and the hydraulic system architecture, a stationary test rig is conceived and used to validate a numerical simulation model of the MPR system and its control strategy. Particular focus is given to the dynamic behavior of the system during the switches of a function between different pressure rails, which needs to ensure reduced oscillations of the flow provided to each hydraulic function. Once validated, the simulation model is used to predict the energy savings of the MPR solution in an actual application: a 435 hp hydraulic tractor powering a 16-row planter, for which operating features during typical drive cycles were available to the authors. The results show up to 59% total power reduction at the pump shaft, corresponding to 89.8% system efficiency gain.
This paper presents a novel method for designing and sizing high-efficient hydrostatic transmissions (HTs) for heavy duty propulsion applications such as agricultural and construction machinery. The ...proposed method consists in providing cost effective HT architectures that maximizes efficiency at the most frequent operating conditions of the transmission, as opposed to the traditional HT design methods based on the most demanding requirements of the system. The sizing method is based on a genetic optimization algorithm for calculating the optimal displacement of the main units of the HT to maximizes the efficiency in the most frequent operating conditions of the vehicle. A simulation model for HTs is built in MATLAB/Simulink® environment to test three different circuit alternatives for basic HTs. Considering a particular 250 kW heavy-duty application for which drive cycle data were available, this study shows great improvement in energy efficiency (14%) and power saving (20.1%) at frequent operating conditions while still achieving the corner power condition.
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