Fluid Power System Investigation Case Study

Fluid Power
Dynamic System Investigation
K. Craig
Fluid Power
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Dynamic System
Investigation
Process
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Fluid Power
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Typical Fluid Power System
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Advantages / Disadvantages / Challenges

Fluid Power is the transmission of forces and motions
using a confined, pressurized fluid.
In hydraulic fluid power systems the fluid is oil, or,
less commonly, water.
In pneumatic fluid power systems the fluid is air.
Fluid Power System Advantages
High Power Density
Fluid power is ideal for high speed, high force, high
power applications. Compared to all other
actuation technologies, including electric motors
which are limited by magnetic saturation, fluid
power is unsurpassed for force and power density.
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Responsiveness and Bandwidth of Operation

Fluid power systems have a higher bandwidth than
electric motors and can be used in applications
that require fast starts, stops, and reversals, or that
require high-frequency oscillations.
High Accuracy and Precision
Oil has a high bulk modulus; hydraulic systems
can be accurately and precisely controlled.
Advances in pneumatic components and control
theory have opened up new opportunities for
pneumatic control applications.
Heat Dissipation and Lubrication Ensures Reliability
Fluid circulating to and from an actuator removes
heat generated by the actuator doing work, and
also lubricates moving parts of the components.
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Heat is the predominant damaging mechanism

in electric and electronic systems and
electromechanical actuators and motors have
limited ability to dissipate heat generated.
Compactness, Light Weight, and Flexibility
Fluid power cylinders and motors are relatively
small and light weight. Flexible hoses allow
compact packaging.
Stiffness
Hydraulic drives are stiff with respect to load
disturbances; stiffness is the slope of the speed
torque (force) curve. Control gains required
in a high-power hydraulic control system would
be significantly less than the gains required in a
comparable electromagnetic control system.
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Fluid Power System Disadvantages

Electric power is more readily available, cleaner and
quieter, and easier to transmit. Hydraulic systems
require pumps.
Oil leakage, flammability, and fluid contamination
Fluid cavitation and entrained air
Challenging physics leads to more difficult modeling and
control.
Fluid Power System Challenges
Increase Efficiency
Compact Energy Storage and Compact Power Sources
Noise, Vibration, Leakage, Safety, and Ease of Use
Create Portable, Untethered, Human-Scale Applications
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Pump-Controlled vs. Valve-Controlled Systems

Hydraulic actuation devices may be linear (piston / cylinder)
or rotary (motor) and these may be controlled by a pump or
a valve, giving four basic hydraulic system combinations.
The pump-controlled system consists of a variable-delivery
pump supplying fluid to an actuation device. The fluid flow
is controlled by the stroke of the pump to vary output speed,
and the pressure generated matches the load.
The valve-controlled system consists of a servovalve /
proportional valve controlling the flow from a hydraulic
power supply to an actuation device. The hydraulic power
supply is usually a constant-pressure type with two basic
configurations.
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a constant delivery pump with a pressure relief

valve and
a variable-delivery pump with a stroke control to
regulate pressure.
Pump-Controlled vs. Valve-Controlled Comparison
Response Speed
A pump-controlled system has slow response
because pressures must be built up, contained
volumes are large, and the stroke servo has
comparatively slow response.
A valve-controlled system has fast response to
valve and load inputs because contained
volumes are small and the supply pressure is
constant.
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Efficiency
A pump-controlled system is much more efficient
since both pressure and flow are closely matched to
load requirements.
A valve-controlled system is much less efficient ( 2/3)
because of the constant supply pressure regardless of
load, the large pressure drop across the control valve,
and significant leakage.
Size
A pump-controlled system has a bulky power element
which makes the application difficult if the pump is
close coupled to the actuator.
A valve-controlled system has a small and light power
element but a bulky hydraulic power supply is
required.
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Heat Dissipation
A pump-controlled system requires an auxiliary
pump and valving to provide oil for
replenishment and cooling.
A valve-controlled system has a build-up of oil
temperature because of inefficiency which
necessitates heat exchangers to dissipate the
wasted energy.
Cost and Complexity
A pump-controlled system generally requires
an electrohydraulic servo to stroke the pump
which increases system cost and complexity.
Several valve-controlled systems can be
powered by a single hydraulic power supply.
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A valve-controlled system has a build-up of oil

temperature because of inefficiency which
necessitates heat exchangers.
Cost and Complexity
A pump-controlled system generally requires an
electrohydraulic servo to stroke the pump which
increases system cost and complexity.
Several valve-controlled systems can be fed from
a single hydraulic power supply.
Here, we focus on a valve-controlled, linear actuation
system, with a 4-way, 3-position valve, a single-rod,
double-acting cylinder, and a constant-displacement
pump with a pressure-relief valve.
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Physical System
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Physical System Components

Single-Rod, Double-Acting Hydraulic Cylinder
4-Way, 3-Position, Solenoid-Operated,
Spring-Return, Proportional Control Valve
Check Valve
Pilot-Operated Pressure Relief Valve
Fixed-Displacement Hydraulic Pump (Gear
Pump) with Motor
Transmission Lines
Option: Accumulator
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System Description
This system is one of the most basic hydraulic control
systems.
It uses a standard four-way, three-position valve to
control the output characteristics of a single-rod,
double-acting linear actuator by controlling the
volumetric flow of hydraulic fluid into and out of the
actuator.
The load to be moved by the actuator is shown as a
single mass-spring-damper system with a loaddisturbance force.
A fixed-displacement pump provides a constant
volumetric flow rate into the supply line to the valve.
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The pump is sized according to its volumetric

displacement and is driven by an external power
source at an angular velocity .
The pressure in the discharge line of the pump is
controlled using a pilot-operated pressure relief
valve set at the desired supply pressure.
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System Diagram Used For Analysis
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Analysis
Force Analysis
F = load force = dynamic term that represents the
force of the load on the actuator
m = inertia of the load; we often neglect the inertia
of the actuator itself because it is much smaller
than the actual forces that are generated by the
actuator. This high force-to-inertia ratio is one of
the principle advantages of using a hydraulic
system as opposed to an electric system.
c = equivalent viscous damping constant
representing energy dissipation effects associated
with the load and moving parts of the actuator.
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k = equivalent spring constant representing

compliance / flexibility effects associated with the
load and moving parts of the actuator
Apply Newtons Second Law to obtain the
equation of motion:
d2 y
dy
m 2 c ky af (A A PA A B PB ) F F0
dt
dt
PA and PB are the fluid pressures on the A and B
sides of the actuator.
af is the force efficiency of the actuator.
F0 is the nominal spring or bias load that is applied
to the actuator when y equals zero.
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Nominal Steady-State Operating Conditions of the

System:
Ps
y0
PA PB
F0
2
Note that we assume that the actuator pressures PA and PB each
come to Ps/2 at the servo rest condition.
The nominal force exerted on the actuator by the load is

then given as:
Ps
af (A A A B ) F0
2
The equation of motion then becomes:
Ps
Ps
d2 y
dy

m 2 c ky af A A PA A B PB F
dt
dt
2
2

We see that the required inputs for adjusting the position
of the load are PA and PB. These pressures result from
the changing flow and volume conditions within the
actuator itself.
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Background on Hydraulic Cylinders

The major function is to convert hydraulic power
into linear mechanical force to perform work or
transmit power.
Hydraulic power (PAQA) is delivered to the system
through port A. As the piston moves to the right,
power (PBQB) is expelled from the actuator
through port B. Heat is lost to the atmosphere
resulting from viscous shear and Coulomb friction.
The useful output power of the linear actuator is
Fv.
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The overall efficiency of the linear actuator is

defined as the ratio of the useful output power to the
Fv
supplied input power.
PA Q A
The overall efficiency can be separated into two

components: the volumetric efficiency v and the
force efficiency f.
AAv
v
QA
F
f
PA A A
v f
In general, the volumetric efficiency will be less than

unity owing to fluid compression and leakage past the
piston. The force efficiency will be less than unity
owing to Coulomb friction and viscous shear.
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Pressure Analysis
We assume that the pressure transients that result from
fluid compressibility are negligible.
This assumption is especially valid for a system
design in which the transmission lines between the
valve and the actuator are very short, i.e., small
volumes of fluid exist on either side of the actuator.
The omission of pressure transient effects is also valid
for systems in which the load dynamics are much
slower than the pressure dynamics themselves.
Since the load dynamics typically occur over a range
of seconds and the pressure dynamics typically occur
over a range of milliseconds, it is usually safe to
neglect the time variation of the pressure in favor of
the time variation of the overall systems.
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For design and operating conditions in which long

transmission lines between the valve and the
actuator are used or in which a large amount of
entrained air is captured within the fluid causing
the fluid bulk modulus to be reduced, it may be
necessary to conduct a transient analysis of the
pressure conditions on both sides of the actuator.
This also may be the case if the actuator dynamics
are very fast.
Under these assumptions:
A A dy
QA
av dt
A B dy
QB
av dt
QA and QB are the volumetric flow rates into and out

of the actuator, respectively, and av is the volumetric
efficiency of the actuator.
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Review: Conservation of Mass

The net rate of mass efflux
0
dV vdA
through the control surface plus
t CV
CS
the rate of change of mass
V Q
0 CV V
inside the control volume
CV
CV CV
net
equals zero. Velocity is
VCV Q
measured relative to the control
0V
CV
net
volume.
Here we assume that all of the densities of the system (inlet
flow, outlet flow, and control volume) are the same and equal
to .
This assumption is justified for incompressible fluids and is
quite accurate for compressible fluids if pressure variations
are not too large and the temperature of flow into the control
volume is almost equal to the temperature of the flow out of
the control volume.
dP 0

P
P dt
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0 V PCV Q net
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From the flow rates shown at the four-way spool

valve below, we see that:
Q A Q2 Q1
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QB Q4 Q3
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The linearized flow equations for fluid passing across

the metering lands of the four-way spool valve are
given by:
Q ACd
Kq
2
P
Q A
2 A
Cd
P
A x 0
x 0
ACd
Q
Kc
P 0
2P
Ps
K q x K c PA Pr
2
P
Q2 K c s K q x K c Ps PA
2
P
Q3 K c s K q x K c Ps PB
2
P
Q4 K c s K q x K c PB Pr
2
Q1 K c
K q 2P A
P
Q / x
Kp
x 0 Q / P 0 K c
A x 0
Kq and Kc are the flow gain and pressure-flow

coefficients for the valve, respectively. Kp is the
pressure sensitivity.
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The volumetric flow rates into and out of the

actuator may be expressed as:
Ps
Q A 2K q x 2K c PA
2
Ps
QB 2K q x 2K c PB
2
The return pressure Pr = 0.

The equations for the operating pressures on both
sides of the linear actuator then are:
A A dy
QA
av dt
Ps
A A dy
PA
Kp x
2
2K c av dt
A B dy
QB
av dt
Ps
A B dy
PB
K p x
2
2K c av dt
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We see that the fluid pressure on side A of the

linear actuator is increased by moving the spool
valve in the positive x direction and that the fluid
pressure on side B of the actuator is decreased by
the same spool motion.
This adjustment in fluid pressure by motion of the
spool valve is the mechanism for adjusting the
output motion of the load.
The equation also shows a linear velocity
dependence for the fluid pressure as well, which
will result in favorable damping characteristics for
the system.
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Analysis Summary
Ps
A A dy
PA
Kp x
2
2K c av dt
Ps
A B dy
PB
K p x
2
2K c av dt
d2 y
dy
m 2 c ky af
dt
dt
Substitution into
Ps
Ps

A A PA 2 A B PB 2 F
Result is:
d2y
A 2A A B2 dy
m 2 c
ky af A A A B K p x F
dt
2K c dt
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In this result we have assumed that af/av 1.

The mechanical design of the linear actuator and
the four-way spool has a decisive impact on the
overall dynamics of the hydraulic control system.
These design parameters help to shape the
effective damping of the system and provide an
adequate gain relationship between the input
motion of the spool valve and the output motion of
the load.
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Design
Actuator Design
We start by sizing the linear actuator in accordance with
the expected load requirements.
Usually for a given application the working load force is
known and can be used to determine the required
pressurized areas that are needed within the actuator to
develop this load for a specified working pressure.
Ps
Ps
d2 y
dy

m
c
ky
A
P
A
P
0=
F
af A A
B B
2
dt
dt
2
2

steady state
Ps
Ps steady

F af A A PA A B PB working
2
2 force

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At the working force that is specified for the

application, it is common to use fluid pressures in
the linear actuator that are less than the full supply
pressure so as to provide a margin of excessive
force capability for the system.
Typical design specifications at the working force
conditions are:
3
1
F Fw
PA Ps
PB Ps
4
4
Fw is the working force of the hydraulic control
system
Ps is the supply pressure to the hydraulic control
valve.
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3
PA Ps
4
F Fw
Substitution:
1
PB Ps
4
into
Ps
Ps

F af A A PA A B PB
2
2

Result is: A A A B 4
and
Fw
af Ps
af (A A A B )
AA AB 2
Ps
F0
2
F0
af Ps
Simultaneous solution yields:
AA
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2Fw F0
af Ps
AB
2Fw F0
af Ps
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These results may be used to design or select a

linear actuator that will provide a sufficient working
force for a given supply pressure.
Other design considerations must also be taken
into account when designing the linear actuator.
The stroke of the actuator or distance of piston
travel must be sufficient for the application.
Pressure vessel stresses within the actuator
must be acceptable.
Sealing mechanisms must be used to minimize
both internal and external leakage.
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Valve Design
Once the actuator has been designed to generate
the necessary working force for the control
application, the next step is to design a control
valve that will provide sufficient flow and pressure
characteristics for the linear actuator.
These characteristics are designed by specifying
the appropriate flow gain Kq and pressure-flow
coefficient Kc for the valve.
Combine:
Ps
A A dy
Kp x
PA
2
2K c av dt
Result is:
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and
Kp
Kq
Kc
Ps
A A dy
K c PA K q x
2
2av dt
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For specifying the appropriate valve coefficients,

usually two operating conditions are considered:
the steady working force condition
the steady no-load velocity of the actuator
For both these conditions, the displacement of the
open-centered valve is usually taken to be the
under-lapped valve dimension u. A specified
working valve displacement of this magnitude is
helpful because this valve keeps the valve
operating near the vicinity of the null position
about which the valve flow equations have been
linearized, and it provides a margin of excessive
capability for the system design.
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Substitution:
1
x u
4
3
PA Ps
4
dy
0
dt
Result is:
Ps
A A dy
K c PA K q x
2
2av dt
K cPs K qu
Similarly, we use the following parameters to

identify the no-load velocity conditions of the
hydraulic control system:
1
1
dy
x u
PA Ps
v0
4
2
dt
Where v0 is the no-load velocity that is specified
when the load disturbance force F is zero.
Ps
A A dy
2A A
K c PA K q x
0 K qu
v0
2
2
dt
av
av
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Simultaneous solution:
K cPs K qu
and
2A A
0 K qu
v0
av
Results in the following specifications for the

valve-flow gain, the pressure-flow coefficient, and
the pressure sensitivity:
2A A v 0
Kq
uav
2A A v 0
Kc
Ps av
Kq
Ps
Kp
Kc
u
The valve coefficients are heavily dependent on

the shape of the flow passages that are used to
design the valve.
Kq
Q A
2 A
Cd
P
A x 0
x 0
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Kc
ACd
Q
P 0
2P
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If rectangular flow passages are used in the

design, we can show that the flow gain and
pressure-flow coefficients are given by:
K q hCd
Ps
Kc
uhCd
Ps
Here h is the height of the rectangular flow

passage, Cd is the discharge coefficient for the
flow passage, and is the fluid density.
Equate the following two expressions:
Ps
uhCd
2A A v 0
2A A v 0
K q hCd
Kc
Kq
Kc
uav
Ps av
Ps
Result is:
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uh
2A A v 0
Cd
Ps
av
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If it is assumed that the under-lapped dimension of

the open-centered valve is of the flow passage
height, the following design characteristics of the
valve may be written:
A A v0
u
h 4u
Ps
2Cd
av
It can be seen that as the actuator area AA and the
no-load velocity requirement v0 become large, the
valve size also must grow accordingly. The valve
must be matched with the load requirements in
order to satisfy the overall design objectives of the
hydraulic control system.
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Pump Design
Now that the linear actuator and control valve
have been designed, it is time to specify the
hydraulic pump that will be used to power the
hydraulic control system.
The pump is a fixed-displacement pump that
produces a volumetric flow rate that is proportional
to the angular input speed of the pump shaft .
Within the pump itself there is internal leakage that
results in a reduction of the pump volumetric
efficiency pv.
Lets review some details on pump efficiency (see
slides 52-56 .)
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If we assume that the relief valve is closed, the

supply flow to the four-way control valve is given
by:
Qs pv Vp
Where Vp is the volumetric displacement of the
pump per unit of rotation, and pv is the volumetric
efficiency of the pump.
The supply flow must equal the sum of the
volumetric flow rates that are crossing metering
lands 2 and 3 on the four-way spool valve.
Ps
Q2 K c
K q x K c Ps PA
2
P
Q3 K c s K q x K c Ps PB
2
Qs Q2 Q3 3K cPs K c PA PB
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Using the following equations:
Ps
A A dy
PA
Kp x
2
2K c av dt
Ps
A B dy
PB
K p x
2
2K c av dt
PA PB Ps
Substitution:
PA PB Ps
A A A B dy
Result is:
Qs 2K cPs
2K c av
A A A B dy
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2K c av
dt
Qs 3K cPs K c PA PB
dt
2av
A A A B dy
dt
supplied volumetric
flow rate to the valve
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Substitution:
Qs 2K cPs
A A A B dy
2av
dt
Qs pv Vp
Result is the expression for the required

volumetric flow displacement for the supply pump,
where dy/dt has been replaced with the no-load
velocity requirement v0 for the system.
2K cPs A A A B
Vp
v0
pv
2pv av
The physical construction of the pump now needs

to be addressed, e.g., gear pump or axial-piston
pump.
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Input Power Design

The input power that is required to operate the
hydraulic control system is given by:
Power
VpPs
Where is the overall pump efficiency.
v t
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Qd
v
Vd
VdPd
t
T
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Review: Pump Efficiency

The task of the hydraulic pump is to convert rotating
mechanical shaft power into fluid power that may be
used downstream of the pump.
None of the hydraulic pumps is 100% efficient. They
all lose power in the process of converting power.
Fluid leaks away from the main path of power
transmission.
Friction exists within the machine.
The diagram on the next slide shows the power that
flows in and out of a typical hydraulic pump,
regardless of type.
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Power Flowing In and Out of The Pump
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Power is supplied to the pump through the rotating

shaft by an external drive device (not shown).
As the shaft rotates, the pump draws fluid into the
inlet side and pushes fluid out of the discharge side.
The input power to the shaft is torque times the shaft
angular velocity , i.e., T.
Power is also delivered to the pump on the inlet side
by any pressure that may exist at the intake port of
the pump. This hydraulic power is equal to the
pressure times the volumetric flow rate, i.e., PiQi.
The discharge power of the pump is equal to the
discharge pressure times the discharge volumetric
flow rate, i.e., PdQd.
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Power also leaks away from the pump in the form of

internal leakage. This power loss is calculated as
PQ, where P is the pressure drop across the leak
path, and Q is the leakage volumetric flow rate.
Finally, power also leaves the pump in the form of
dissipating heat.
The overall pump efficiency is defined as the useful
output power divided by the supplied input power:
PdQd
T
We can use the volumetric displacement of the pump Vd
to separate the overall efficiency into two components:
the volumetric efficiency v and the torque efficiency t.
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v t
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The volumetric efficiency is given by:
Qd
v
Vd
It is used for describing power loses that result

from internal leakage and fluid compressibility.
The torque efficiency is given by:
VdPd
t
T
It is used for describing power loses that result

from fluid shear and internal friction.
The volumetric displacement Vd is given in units of
volume per radian. The volumetric displacement per
revolution is given by 2Vd.
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Case Study
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Control
Position Control
One control objective is to accurately position the load at
a prescribed location within the trajectory range of the
actuator.
Typically, this control function is carried out under slowly
moving conditions of the actuator; therefore, the plant
description for this control problem may neglect safely
any transient contributions that normally would be
significant during high-speed operations.
d2y
A 2A A B2 dy
m 2 c
dt
2K c dt
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Neglect
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Using a standard PI controller, the control law for

the displacement of the four-way spool valve is:
x K e y d y K i y d y dt
yd is the desired position of the load.
The most practical way to enforce the control law
is to use an electrohydraulic position control of the
four-way spool valve coupled with a
microprocessor that is capable of reading
feedback information and generating the
appropriate output signal for the valve actuator.
See diagram on the next slide.
A block diagram for the position control system is
also shown on the slide after that.
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Solenoid-Actuated Two-Stage Electrohydraulic Valve

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Position Control of the

Four-Way Valve-Controlled Linear Actuator
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If we assume that the position control of the system is a

regulation control problem, and that the load force and
the desired position of the load yd are constants, the
equation of motion for the closed-loop system is:
This is a first-order dynamic system.

The design objective for the position control problem is
to shape the first-order response by designing the
appropriate time constant for the system. This is
accomplished by proper selection of the proportional and
integral control gains.
NOTE: This response is based on a slowly-moving
device. If the settling time becomes too short, higherorder dynamics will become significant.
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Velocity Control
Another common control objective is velocity
control. The objective is to establish a specific
output velocity for the load based on a desired
velocity that is prescribed by the application. This
objective typically is carried out for load systems
that do not include a load spring.
The equation of motion (with k = 0) for the
velocity-controlled system is:
dv
A 2A A B2
m c
v af A A A B K p x F
dt
2K c
v is the instantaneous velocity of the load.
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For the velocity control objective, the PID

controller will be used for the spool valve:
d
x K e v d v K i v d v dt K d v d v
dt
vd is the desired velocity of the load.
Again, the most practical way to enforce the
control law is to use an electrohydraulic position
control of the four-way spool valve coupled with a
microprocessor that is capable of reading
feedback information and generating the
appropriate output signal for the valve actuator.
The system block diagram for the velocity control
is shown on the next slide.
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Velocity Control of the

Four-Way Valve-Controlled Linear Actuator
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If it is assumed that the velocity control of the

system is a regulation control problem and that the
load force F and the desired velocity of the load vd
are constants, the equation of motion for the
closed-loop system may be written as:
d2 v
dv
2
2
2
v
n
n
nvd
2
dt
dt
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This is a second-order dynamic system.

The design objective for the velocity-control
problem is to shape the second-order response by
designing the appropriate undamped natural
frequency and damping ratio for the system.
By making the proper selection of control gains,
the undamped natural frequency and damping
ratio for the control system may be adjusted.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
69
Force Control
Another control objective that is used for a hydraulic
control system is force control.
Force-controlled systems usually are configured very
much like a velocity-controlled system without a load
spring, and when they are used, they often switch
between velocity and force control depending on the
immediate needs of the application.
Furthermore, force-controlled systems typically are
operated in slow motion so as to gradually apply the load
force to whatever the application is trying to resist.
The equation of motion is:
d2y
A 2A A B2 dy
m 2 c
dt
2K c dt
Fluid Power
Neglect
K. Craig
70
Use a standard PI controller for the displacement

of the four-way spool valve.
x K e Fd F K i Fd F dt
Fd is the desired force that is to be exerted on the
load. In most applications, the instantaneous load
force F is measured by sensing the fluid pressures
in sides A and B of the linear actuator and
calculating the load force according to the
following equation:
Ps
Ps

F af A A PA A B PB
2
2
Fluid Power
K. Craig
71
Again, the most practical way to enforce the control law

is to use an electrohydraulic position control of the fourway spool valve coupled with a microprocessor that is
capable of reading feedback information and generating
the appropriate output signal for the valve actuator.
A block diagram for the closed-loop control system is
shown below.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
72
If it is assumed that the force control of the system is a

regulation control problem and that the desired load force
Fd is constant, the dynamic equation for the closed-loop
system is:
dF
Ki
dt
F Fd
1
Ke
af A A A B K p
This is first-order dynamic system.

The design objective for the force-control problem is to
shape the first-order response by designing the
appropriate time constant for the system.
NOTE: This response is based on a slowly-moving
device. If the settling time becomes too short, higherorder dynamics will become significant.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
73
Case Study
Fluid Power
K. Craig
74
Fluid Power
K. Craig
75
Pump-Controlled Hydraulic Systems

A pump-controlled hydraulic system uses a pump as
opposed to a control valve for directing hydraulic power
to and from an actuator that is used to generate useful
output.
Pump-controlled hydraulic systems exhibit an efficiency
advantage over valve-controlled systems due to the fact
that the control valve introduces a pressure drop that
results in significant heat dissipation.
The pump-controlled system does not use this valve; the
immediate power needs of the output are met directly by
the power source and that increases the overall
operating efficiency of the system.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
76
However, there are disadvantages of a pumpcontrolled system:

The response characteristics of pump-controlled
systems can be slower due to the longer
transmission lines that usually are used for
reaching the output actuator and the
accompanying fluid compressibility effects.
To eliminate long transmission lines, often times
the pump, actuator, and power source are too
bulky to be collocated.
Pump-controlled systems consist of a single pump
that operates a single actuator. Multiple actuators
cannot share the power that is generated from
one pump, so the pump cost must be included
with the overall cost of a single actuator.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
77
In pump-control of a linear actuator, since the pump

operates symmetrically as it sends flow to and
receives flow from the output actuator, only doublerod linear actuators are suitable.
Typical applications for these systems include
industrial robots and flight-surface controls in the
aerospace industry.
Pump-controlled rotary actuators, used to drive a
rotating shaft, are often called hydrostatic
transmissions. They are frequently used for lawn
tractors, off-highway earth-moving equipment, and as
a constant-speed drive for various aerospace flight
applications.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
78
Fixed-Displacement Pump Control of a

Linear Actuator
speed controlled
double-acting
Vp = volumetric displacement per unit of rotation

Fluid Power
F = load disturbance force

K. Craig 79
Comments:
Speed-controlled (driven by an input shaft rotating at a
variable angular velocity ) fixed-displacement pump
with volumetric displacement per unit of rotation Vd
Double-rod linear actuator to facilitate symmetric action
of the actuator
Pressurized areas are the same on both sides of the
actuator
Load is a single mass-spring-damper system with a loaddisturbance force
Rod connects the load to the actuator piston
Volumetric flow of hydraulic fluid into the actuator is
controlled by the output flow of the pump
For positive , pump flow is to side A of the actuator; the
load moves down and flow exits the actuator from side B
Fluid Power
K. Craig
80
For negative , pump flow is to side B of the

actuator; the load moves up and flow exits the
actuator from side A
QA and QB are the volumetric flow rates into and
out of the actuator
Shuttle Valve
Connects the low-pressure side of the hydraulic
control system to the reservoir
It keeps the low-pressure side of the circuit at a
constant reservoir pressure, i.e., zero gage
pressure
It keeps the fixed-displacement pump from
drawing a vacuum and causing fluid cavitation
It allows for the return flow to be cooled by a
low-pressure radiator (not shown)
Fluid Power
K. Craig
81
The shuttle valve shifts up or down depending

on which side of the circuit is at high pressure;
the dashed lines indicate pressure signals that
are used to move the shuttle valve
A leak path on both sides of the hydraulic circuit is
shown and is characterized by the leakage
coefficient K; this low-Reynolds-number flow
occurs naturally due to the inherent internal
leakage of the system.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
82
Analysis
Load Analysis
cy ky af A(PA PB ) F
my
af is the force efficiency of the actuator
F
af
PA A A
Pressure Analysis
Assume that the pressure transients that result
from fluid compressibility in the transmission
lines are negligible. This assumption is
especially valid for a system design in which
the transmission lines between the valve and
actuator are very short, i.e., small volumes of
fluid exist on either side of the actuator.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
83
The omission of pressure transient effects is

also valid for systems in which the load
dynamics are much slower (seconds) than the
pressure dynamics (milliseconds) themselves.
If there are long transmission lines between the
valve and actuator, or if the bulk modulus is
reduced because of entrained air in the fluid, or
if the actuator dynamics are very fast, a
transient analysis of the pressure conditions on
both sides of the actuator may be necessary.
Here, we assume that pressure transients may
be safely neglected.
Ay
QA
Therefore
av
av = actuator volumetric efficiency
Fluid Power
K. Craig
84
From the diagram we see that for an

incompressible fluid:
Q A Qs KPA
Qs pv Vp
The supply flow is given by:
pv = pump volumetric efficiency
Combining equations results in:
PA
pv Vp
K
A
av K
The shuttle valve is used to connect the lowpressure side of the hydraulic circuit to the
reservoir. The pressure on side B of the
actuator is therefore 0 gage pressure.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
85
PA
pv Vp
K
A
av K
This equation shows a pump velocity and an

actuator velocity dependence for the fluid
pressure in side A. An adjustment of the pump
velocity term will provide a control input to the
dynamic load equation. The linear velocity
term will be useful in providing favorable
damping characteristics.
Analysis Summary
af pv Vp A
af A 2
c
my
F
y ky
av K
K
Fluid Power
K. Craig
86
We see that the mechanical design of the linear

actuator and the volumetric displacement of the
pump have a decisive impact on the overall
dynamics of the hydraulic control system. The
design parameters help to shape the effective
damping of the system and provide an adequate
gain relationship between the input velocity of the
pump and the output motion of the load.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
87
Design
Actuator Design
We start the mechanical design of the hydraulic
control system by sizing the linear actuator in
accordance with the expected load requirements.
We usually know the maximum working load and
maximum working pressure. Use these two
quantities along with the steady-state form of the
load equation:
cy ky af A(PA PB ) F
my
reduces to: F af A(PA PB )

Fluid Power
K. Craig
88
Since there is no pressure drop between the pump

and actuator, the fluid pressure on side A of the
linear actuator is the full supply pressure.
F Fw
Pa Ps
PB 0
Here Fw is the working force of the hydraulic

control system, and Ps is the supply pressure at
the working condition.
Therefore, after substitution, the equation for
sizing the pressurized area of the linear actuator
Fw
is:
af Ps
Other design considerations include the stroke of

the actuator or distance of piston travel.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
89
Pump Design
The pump is a fixed-displacement pump that
produces a volumetric flow rate that is proportional
to the angular input speed of the pump shaft .
In order to size the required volumetric
displacement of the pump, it is common to specify
a no-load velocity v0 requirement for the linear
actuator and to size the pump in such a way as to
achieve this velocity requirement.
Set PA equal to zero for the no-load case,
efficiencies equal to unity, and equal to the
maximum pump speed. Then the equation below
becomes:
PA
pv Vp
K
Fluid Power
av K
y Vp
Av 0
K. Craig
90
The pump may be any positive-displacement

pump that satisfies the volumetric displacement
requirement.
Usually the pump construction type is selected
based on the required supply pressure of the
system and the desired operating efficiency of the
pump.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
91
Input Power Design

The input power that is required to operate the
hydraulic control system is given by the standard
power equation:
Power
Vp Ps
p
p is the overall efficiency of the pump given by

the product of the volumetric and torque efficiency
values: p = ptpv. Ps and are the
instantaneous pressure and operating speed of
the pump. Use the maximum combination of
operating speed and pressure encountered in the
application.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
92
Control
Position Control
The control objective is to position the load
accurately at a prescribed location within the
trajectory range of the actuator.
Typically, this control function is carried out under
slowly moving conditions of the actuator.
The plant description may safely neglect any
transient contributions that normally would be
significant during high-speed operations.
Neglect
af pv Vp A
af A 2
c
my
F
y ky
K
av K
Fluid Power
K. Craig
93
Use a standard PI controller:
K e y d y K i y d y dt
The closed-loop system equation of motion is:
y y y d
Fluid Power
1
kK

Ke
K i af pv AVp
K. Craig
94
Velocity Control
Another possible control objective for the system
is velocity control. The objective seeks to
establish a specific output velocity for the load
based on a desired velocity. This objective is
carried out for load systems that do not include a
load spring. Therefore set k = 0.
2
af pv Vp A
af A
c
F
my
y ky
av K
K
Neglect
af pv Vp A
af A 2
F
mv c
v
av K
K
Fluid Power
K. Craig
95
Use a standard PID controller:
d
K e v d v K i v d v dt K d v d v
dt
Fluid Power
K. Craig
96
The closed-loop system equation of motion is:
v 2n v n2 v n2 y d
n
Ki
mK
Kd
af pv AVp
Fluid Power
af A 2 af av AVp
Ke
c K
K
av
af av AVp
2m
K d n
K
K. Craig
97
Force Control
Another control objective that is occasionally used
for the hydraulic control system is that of force
control.
Force-controlled systems are usually configured
very much like a velocity-controlled system without
a load spring, and when they are used, they often
switch between velocity and force control
depending on the immediate needs of the
application.
Furthermore, force-controlled systems typically
are operated in slow motion so as to apply the
load force gradually to the object that the
application is trying to resist.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
98
Under these slow-motion conditions, the load

inertia and viscous damping effects may be
ignored safely without sacrificing accuracy in the
modeling process.
af pv Vp A
af A 2
c
F
my
y ky
av K
K
Neglect
Us a standard PI controller.
K e y d y K i y d y dt
Fluid Power
K. Craig
99
In most applications, the instantaneous load force

F is measured by sensing the fluid pressures in
sides A and B of the linear actuator and
calculating the load force.
F af A(PA PB )
Fluid Power
K. Craig
100
The closed-loop system equations of motion is:
F F Fd
1
K

Ke
K i af pv AVp
Summary
We have considered 3 control objectives: position,
velocity, and force control.
For position and force control, an important slowspeed assumption has been employed. Under
high-speed conditions, higher-order dynamics may
manifest and may produce an undesirable result.
Fluid Power
K. Craig
101

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Fluid Power

Dynamic System Investigation

Typical Fluid Power System

Advantages / Disadvantages / Challenges

Responsiveness and Bandwidth of Operation

Heat is the predominant damaging mechanism

Fluid Power System Disadvantages

Pump-Controlled vs. Valve-Controlled Systems

a constant delivery pump with a pressure relief

A valve-controlled system has a build-up of oil

Physical System Components

The pump is sized according to its volumetric

System Diagram Used For Analysis

k = equivalent spring constant representing

Nominal Steady-State Operating Conditions of the

The nominal force exerted on the actuator by the load is

Background on Hydraulic Cylinders

The overall efficiency of the linear actuator is

The overall efficiency can be separated into two

In general, the volumetric efficiency will be less than

For design and operating conditions in which long

QA and QB are the volumetric flow rates into and out

Review: Conservation of Mass

From the flow rates shown at the four-way spool

The linearized flow equations for fluid passing across

Kq and Kc are the flow gain and pressure-flow

The volumetric flow rates into and out of the

The return pressure Pr = 0.

We see that the fluid pressure on side A of the

In this result we have assumed that af/av 1.

At the working force that is specified for the

Simultaneous solution yields:

These results may be used to design or select a

For specifying the appropriate valve coefficients,

Similarly, we use the following parameters to

Results in the following specifications for the

The valve coefficients are heavily dependent on

If rectangular flow passages are used in the

Here h is the height of the rectangular flow

If it is assumed that the under-lapped dimension of

If we assume that the relief valve is closed, the

Using the following equations:

Result is the expression for the required

The physical construction of the pump now needs

Input Power Design

Where is the overall pump efficiency.

Review: Pump Efficiency

Power Flowing In and Out of The Pump

Power is supplied to the pump through the rotating

Power also leaks away from the pump in the form of

The volumetric efficiency is given by:

It is used for describing power loses that result

It is used for describing power loses that result

Using a standard PI controller, the control law for

Solenoid-Actuated Two-Stage Electrohydraulic Valve

Position Control of the

If we assume that the position control of the system is a

This is a first-order dynamic system.

For the velocity control objective, the PID