Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Axial piston machine'

A mechanical model of an axial piston-type machine with a so-called wobble plate and Z-shaft mechanism is presented. The overall aim is to design and construct an oil-free piston expander demonstrator as a first step to realizing an advanced and compact small-scale steam engine system. The benefits of a small steam engine are negligible NOx emissions (due to continuous, low-temperature combustion), no gearbox needed, fuel flexibility (e.g., can run on biofuel and solar), high part-load efficiency, and low noise. Piston expanders, compared with turbines or clearance-sealed rotary displacement machines, have higher mechanical losses but lower leakage losses, much better part-load efficiency, and for many applications a more favourable (i.e., lower) speed. A piston expander is thus feasible for directly propelling small systems in the vehicular power range. An axial piston machine with minimized contact pressures and sliding velocities, and with properly selected construction materials for steam/water lubrication, should enable completely oil-free operation. An oil-free piston machine also has potential for other applications, for example, as a refrigerant (e.g., CO₂) expander in a low-temperature Rankine cycle or as a refrigerant compressor.

 

An analytical rigid-body kinematics and inverse dynamics model of the machine is presented. The kinematical analysis generates the resulting motion of the integral parts of the machine, fully parameterized. Inverse dynamics is applied when the system motion is completely known, and the method yields required external and internal forces and torques. The analytical model made use of the “Sophia” plug-in developed by Lesser for the simple derivation of rotational matrices relating different coordinate systems and for vector differentiation. Numerical solutions were computed in MATLAB. The results indicate a large load bearing in the conical contact surface between the mechanism’s wobble plate and engine block. The lateral force between piston and cylinder is small compared with that of a comparable machine with a conventional crank mechanism.

 

This study aims to predict contact loads and sliding velocities in the component interfaces. Such data are needed for bearing and component dimensioning and for selecting materials and coatings. Predicted contact loads together with contact geometries can also be used as input for tribological rig testing. Results from the model have been used to dimension the integral parts, bearings and materials of a physical demonstrator of the super-critical steam expander application as well as in component design and concept studies.

Axial piston machines of the swashplate type are commonly used in various hydraulic systems and with recent developments in displacement control, it is essential to maximize their efficiency further reducing operation costs as well as improving performance and reliability. This paper reports findings of a research study conducted for the piston-cylinder interface utilizing a novel fluid structure thermal interaction model considering solid body deformation due to thermal and pressure effects in order to accurately predict the transient fluid film within the gap. A large reduction in energy dissipation is possible due to reduced clearances allowable due to the surface shaping of the piston resulting in a reduction in leakage. From this study, it is shown that surface shaping of the piston in combination with a reduced clearance is not only beneficial by improving the efficiency of a machine, but also increases the reliability and the performance of the machine as the load support is enhanced.

Noise emission is a major drawback of the positive displacement machine. The noise source can be divided into structure borne noise source (SBNS) and fluid borne noise source (FBNS). Passive techniques such as valve plate optimization have been used for noise reduction of axial piston machines. However, passive techniques are only effective for limited operating conditions or at least need compromises in design. In this paper, active vibration control of swash plate is investigated for vibration and noise reduction over a wide range of operating conditions as an additional method to passive noise reduction techniques. A 75cc pump has been modified for implementation of active vibration control using the swash plate. One tri-axial acceleration sensor and one angle sensor are installed on the swash plate and a high speed servovalve is used for the swash plate actuation. The multi-frequency two-weight least mean square (LMS) filter synthesizes the servovalve input signal to generate a destructive interference force which minimizes the swash plate vibration. An experimental test setup has been realized using Labview field-programmable gate array (FPGA) via cRIO. Simulation and experimental studies are conducted to investigate the possibility of active vibration control.

In this paper, a simulation study is carried out for the development of concepts to optimize the tribological contact of valve plate and cylinder block in an axial piston machine in swash plate design. The valve plate/cylinder block contact is one of the three essential tribological contacts in axial piston machines. In a research project at the Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Systems (ifas), this contact is investigated by a specifically designed simulation tool. In addition, a test rig exists for the experimental investigation. With the results of simulation and experiment, it was shown before that the cylinder block is tilting to the high pressure side. Due to this movement, the gap height is not constant. In the area of minimum gap height, not only the fluid friction, but also the danger of solid body friction increases. Because of the higher friction losses in the area of minimum gap height, the temperature increase reduces the lifetime of the leaded coatings. In this paper, the results of the measurements as well as the simulation model are briefly summarized. It is followed by a simulation study of different possibilities to raise the gap height. Based on this pre-study, a first concept for the optimization of the tribological contact valve plate/cylinder block is presented and its applicability is discussed.

The cylinder block/valve plate interface is a critical design element of axial piston machines. In the past, extensive work has been done at Maha Fluid Power Research center to model this interface were a novel fluid structure thermal interaction model was developed which accounts for thermal and elasto-hydrodynamic effects and has been proven to give an accurate prediction of the fluid film thickness. This paper presents an in-depth investigation of the impact of the elastic deformation due to pressure and thermal loadings of the end case/housing on the performance of the cylinder block/valve plate interface. This research seeks to understand in a systematic manner the sensitivity of the cylinder block/valve plate interface to the structural design and material properties. A comparison between simulations results is done by utilizing different end case designs and material compositions, both in the valveplate and end case solids.

Overall losses in swash plate type axial piston machines are mainly defined by three tribological interfaces. These are swash plate/slipper, piston/cylinder and cylinder block/valve plate. Within a research project, funded by the German Research Foundation, a combined approach of experimental research and simulation is chosen to acquire further knowledge on the cylinder block/valve plate contact. The experimental investigations focus on the friction torque within the contact and the measurement of the cylinder block movement in all six degrees of freedom. Simultaneously a simulation model is created focusing on the main physical effects. By considering the results of the experimental investigations significant physical effects for the simulation model are assessed. Within this paper a first comparison between experimental results and the simulation is presented, showing that for a qualitative match the implemented effects (mainly the fluid film, solid body movement, solid body contact, surface deformation) are sufficient to model the general behaviour of theinvestigated pump.

This master thesis presents a novel methodology for the  development of simulation models  for hydraulic pumps and motors. In this work, a generic simulation model capable of representing multiple axial piston machines is presented, implemented and validated. Validation of the developed generic simulation model is done by comparing the results from the simulation model with experimental measurements. The development of the generic model is done using AMESim. Today simulation models are an integral part of any development process concerning hydraulic machines. An improved methodology for developing these simulation models will affect both the development cost and time in a positive manner. Traditionally, specific simulation models dedicated to a certain pump or motor are created. This implies that a complete rethinking of the model structure has to be done when modeling a new pump or motor. Therefore when dealing with a large number of pumps and motors, this traditional way of model development could lead to large development time and cost. This thesis work presents a unique way of simulation model development where a single model could represent multiple pumps and motors resulting in lower development time and cost. An automated routine for simulation model creation is developed and implemented. This routine uses the generic simulation model as a template to automatically create simulation models requested by the user. For this purpose a user interface has been created through the use of Visual Basic scripting. This interface communicates with the generic simulation model allowing the user to either change it parametrically or completely transform it into another pump or motor. To determine the level of accuracy offered by the generic simulation model, simulation results are compared with experimental data. Moreover, an optimization routine to automatically fine tune the simulation model is also presented.

This thesis is concerned with the dominant leakage characteristics of an axial piston pump. Results have been obtained from a combination of analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and experimental work, and have added to existing knowledge in this field. The measurement of slipper leakage within an axial piston pump is impossible due to additional leakage from the pistons and between the cylinder barrel and port plate. It may only be determined by analysis and this aspect has been studied via a new CFD simulation. Further progress has been made experimentally on slipper leakage. A new test apparatus was designed and developed by the author and comparisons have been made with parallel analytical work. Previous research in this area has concentrated on single-landed slippers and leakage rates from such slippers have been examined, however only under static conditions. The work in this thesis is the first to consolidate experimental studies on multiple-land slippers, and the first to measure slipper leakage under dynamic conditions. These results have been compared with both CFD simulations and a new theoretical study undertaken in parallel with this work. The new test apparatus allowed measurement of both leakage and groove pressure under a range of operating conditions. It was established that the presence of a groove reduces the restoring moment produced, and hence enables the slipper to operate with an appropriate angle of tilt, thus permitting hydrodynamic lift to more readily exist. However, this occurs at a cost of increased leakage. In addition to the experimental work on slippers, the time-varying pressures within selected cylinders of an axial piston pump were measured. In parallel, a fully dynamic CFD model of a pump was produced. This model included all leakage paths from the pump. It was discovered that the port plate leakage dominated the overall leakage, with slipper leakage still being significant, but with piston leakage insignificant. This model was also used to predict the flow and pressure ripple from the pump and the predictions were compared with experimental measurements.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (February 28, 2007). Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The temperature distribution of the lubricating interfaces is an important aspect of the functioning of positive displacement machines. It can determine the efficiency and the life time of the unit. In particular, it directly affects the fluid properties and the thermal induced deformations of the solid bodies. A simulation tool capable of predicting the fluid temperature in such gaps thus becomes very useful in the design process of these machines. The temperature distribution in a film comprises of many physical phenomena including convection and conduction along and across the film. Past numerical approaches solved this multi-directional conduction-convection problem using a threedimensional(3D) grid, making the tool computationally expensive and unsuitable for fast simulations. This paper proposes a hybrid fluid temperature solver, based on, a low computational cost twodimensional(2D) grid, to reduce the simulation time with reasonable accuracy. The piston/cylinder interface of an axial piston machine is selected as reference case to demonstrate the proposed approach. The hybrid approach was found to speedup the simulation times by 36%.

Axial piston machines are widely used in the industry ranging from aerospace, agriculture, automotive, heavy machinery, etc. These applications require better pumps and motors to meet current market demands such as higher power density in hydraulic units, smarter pumps (diagnostics and prognostics), higher efficiencies, and compactness. The current state-of-the-art in pump design is mostly based on heuristic design approach with very limited use of numerical toolssince the invention of this positive displacement machine until the present time. The numerical tools being used do not capture the physical phenomena in the thin fluid film between the rotating group components. The work presented in this dissertation aims to demonstrate the feasibility of virtual prototyping utilizing a combination of in-house developed multi-domain models and to propose a novel computational based design methodology for axial piston machines. The methodology is an iterative process between the virtual components in 3D CAD models and the function evaluations for the design requirements utilizing the numerical models which provide an accurate prediction to the behavior of the mechanical components working together. To validate the proposed methodology a case study on a 24 cc/rev axial piston machine was carried out. The machine was built virtually, simulated,and optimized for desired performance. A physical prototype was built based on the case study and tested successfullyfor forty-five operating conditions.

Condition monitoring of hydraulic systems has become more available and inexpensive to implement. However, much of the research on this topic has been done on stationary hydraulic systems without the jump to mobile machines. This lack of research on condition monitoring of hydraulic systems on mobile equipment is addressed in this work. The objective of this work is to develop a novel process of implementing an affordable condition monitoring system for axial piston pumps on a mobile machine, a mini excavator in this work. The intent was to find a minimum number of sensors required to accurately predict a faulty pump. First, an expert understanding of the different components on an axial piston pump and how those components interact with one another was discussed. The valve plate was selected as a case study for condition monitoring because valve plates are a critical component that are known for a high percentage of failures in axial piston pumps. Several valve plates with various degrees of natural wear and artificially generated damage were obtained, and an optical profilometer was used to quantify the level of wear and damage. A stationary test-rig was developed to determine if the faulty pumps could be detected under a controlled environment, to test several different machine learning algorithms, and to perform a sensor reduction to find the minimum number of required sensors necessary to detect the faulty pumps. The results from this investigation showed that only the pump outlet pressure, drain pressure, speed, and displacement are sufficient to detect the faulty pump conditions, and the K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) machine learning algorithms proved to be the least computationally expensive and most accurate algorithms that were investigated. Fault detectability accuracies of 100% were achievable. Next, instrumentation of a mini excavator was shown to begin the next phase of the research, which is to implement a similar process that was done on the stationary test-rig but on a mobile machine. Three duty cycle were developed for the excavator: controlled, digging, and different operator. The controlled duty cycle eliminated the need of an operator and the variability inherent in mobile machines. The digging cycle was a realistic cycle where an operator dug into a lose pile of soil. The different operator cycle is the same as the digging cycle but with another operator. The sensors found to be the most useful were the same as those determined on the stationary test-rig, and the best algorithm was the Fine KNN for both the controlled and digging cycles. The controlled cycle could see fault detectability accuracies of 100%, while the digging cycle only saw accuracies of 93.6%. Finally, a cross-compatibility between a model trained under one cycle and using data from another cycle as an input into the model. This study showed that a model trained under the controlled duty cycle does not give reliable and accurate fault detectability for data run in a digging cycle, below 60% accuracies. This work concluded by recommending a diagnostic function for mobile machines to perform a preprogrammed operation to reliably and accurately detect pump faults.

The advantages of high efficiency, reliability, flexibility and high power to weight ratio make axial piston pumps popular for use in a wide variety of applications like construction and agricultural machinery, off road vehicles and aerospace applications. However, a major drawback which limits their extensive use in other commercial applications is noise. One of the important components in axial piston machines is the valve plate, which influences the transition of the suction and delivery flows into and out of the displacement chamber. Appropriate design of the valve plate can play a significant role in influencing the rate of compression and expansion in the displacement chamber, and hence contribute towards the abatement of noise in axial piston machines. Furthermore, the relief grooves in valve plates makes them relatively less sensitive to operating conditions for the operation of the pump. The high sensitivity of the valve plate design towards the pressure build up in the displacement chamber and towards the noise sources are big motivation factors towards rigorously exploring the design space to find suitable designs to meet the objective of noise reduction. This motivates the development of an advanced computational tool, colloquially called 'MiNoS', where a powerful optimization algorithm has been combined together with a novel parametrization scheme for valve plate design and a 1D simulation model of swash plate type axial piston machines to find optimized designs which can contribute towards noise reduction in swash plate type axial piston machines. Furthermore, incorporation of the appropriate constraint also helps in avoiding designs susceptible to the onset of cavitation in the displacement chamber. A case study performed using the developed computational tool has been shown later in this work.

This thesis investigates the effects of swashplate vibration and slipper surface geometry on the performance of the slipper-swashplate interface. The lubricating interfaces within a swashplate type axial piston machine are the most complicated part of the design process. These interfaces are supposed to provide support to the significant loads they experience during operation and to prevent continuous contact of the sliding surfaces. Therefore a proper slipper-swashplate interface design ensures full film lubrication during operation and provides sufficient load support while minimizing viscous and volumetric losses at the same time. The effects of two factors on the performance of the slipper-swashplate are examined during this work; swashplate vibration and slipper surface micro-geometry. An already existing model of the slipper-swashplate interface was used to carry out the results for this work however some modifications were made to the model to suit the needs of this research. Swashplate vibration is a phenomenon that has not been implemented in the model before, therefore its effects on the performance of the interface were analyzed. Thickness of the fluid film in the lubricating regime corresponds with its performance and is directly affected by the micro-geometry of the sliding interfaces. Therefore the effects of slipper surface micro-geometry is crucial to study in order to find the optimal slipper-swashplate interface design.