<p>Digital hydraulics is an emerging technology which provides a promising alternative to conventional valve-controlled approach for its high-energy efficiency, flexible control and insensitivity to contamination. Switched inertance hydraulic converters (SIHCs) are one of the digital hydraulic devices, which consist of high-speed switching valves, inductance and capacitance components. They make use of the inherent reactive behaviour of switching valves, inertance tubes and accumulators acting like switches, inductors and capacitors in the electrical converters, providing high energy efficiency. Two basic three-port SIHC modes, a flow booster and a pressure booster, can be configured employing a three-port high-speed switching valve. In this article, the loading effects of SIHCs are investigated on a flow booster with a time-varying load. An enhanced numerical model of a flow booster with a time-varying load is developed and validated using the analytical models. In addition, the flow booster was tuned and controlled at its optimal switching frequencies and ratios to maximise system efficiency when the load varies. Simulated results showed that the SIHC has very good dynamic responses and can perform at an average efficiency of 60% with a varying load. As time-varying loading conditions are commonly required in hydraulic applications, this work constitutes an important contribution to the design and development of high-efficiency SIHCs and the investigations of versatility and robustness of SIHCs.</p>

Efficient Control of a Switched Inertance Hydraulic Converter With a Time-Varying Load

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/FPST/FPMC2021/volume/85239

2021 ASME/BATH Symposium on Fluid Power and Motion Control (FPMC2021)

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