Hydrostatic machines often have multiple hydrodynamic bearing interfaces, which also serve as a sealing interface. In axial piston machines, the bearing and sealing interface between the barrel and the port plate is a well known example. At reasonably high operating speeds, hydrodynamic effects create an oil film between the barrel and the port plate. This oil film will then, to a certain extend, lift the barrel from the port plate, thereby avoiding metal-to-metal contact. The disadvantage of hydrodynamic bearings is, that they need a relatively high velocity of the sliding components, in order to reduce the friction. Below a certain speed, mixed lubrication and finally solid friction will occur. This results in strongly increased friction losses and wear. Low speed operation has always been of interest for hydrostatic motors, which are often operated at close to zero speed or at low rotational speeds. But low and near zero speed operation has also become of importance for pumps when being operated in electro-hydraulic actuators (EHAs). Many of the existing pump principles are not allowed to be operated below a certain minimum speed, due to excessive wear which results from coulomb friction conditions. Furthermore, the stick-slip-behaviour creates additional nonlinear behaviour of the EHA-operation, and makes it difficult to control EHAs. In order to overcome the disadvantages of hydrodynamic bearings, a new hydrostatic bearing has been developed [1]. In the new bearing, the sealing land of the barrel is divided into three concentric rings. In the middle ring, so called pockets are created. Each pocket has a direct connection with the corresponding port by means of a small groove. The new bearing not only lifts the barrel to a certain height, but also helps to counteract the tilting torque of the barrel. The size of the pocket grooves determines the height of the oil film, and therefore also the leakage and viscous friction of the bearing and sealing interface. In a recent research project, INNAS has performed a number of experiments to measure the influence of the groove size on the overall efficiency, as well as on the leakage and torque loss. Measurements have been performed on a 24 cc floating cup pump in a speed range between 500 and 4000 rpm and a pressure range between 100 and 400 bar. At the end of the project, the range has been extended to a speed range between 0.23 and 4400 rpm, and a pressure range between 50 and 450 bar. This paper describes some of the results of these experiments. The measured width of the pocket grooves is taken as a characteristic parameter for the size of the flow area and resistance of the pocket grooves.

Low speed operation of axial piston motors has always been a critical performance issue. The breakaway torque determines the capacity of a motor to move a certain load from standstill conditions. In addition, the low speed performance has also become a critical performance parameter for pumps being applied in frequency controlled electro-hydraulic actuators. Yet, there is almost no information available about the low speed and breakaway characteristics of piston pumps and motors. A new test bench has been constructed to measure these characteristics [1]. The new bench allows operation of hydrostatic machines below 1 rpm, down to 0.009 rpm. At these conditions, the main tribological interfaces operate in the solid friction domain, at which the friction losses are at a maximum value. This research describes and analysis the test results for a number of different axial piston pumps and motors: two slipper type motors, one slipper type pump and a floating cup pump/motor. The tests have been performed at various operating pressures and operating speeds. Furthermore, the breakaway torque has also been measured after letting the hydrostatic motor stand still for one or more days.

No abstract

In search for sustainable and clean solutions, the hydraulic industry is forced to develop more efficient alternatives to traditional systems. For mobile applications, battery driven machines are becoming an essential solution. But, electric driven hydraulic systems set completely different demands than classical systems. Since batteries are expensive and bulky, it is no longer acceptable that the majority of the battery stored energy is lost in the hydraulic system. One of the promising solutions for efficiency increase is the application of electrohydraulic actuators (EHAs). Aside from all the inherent control advantages, EHAs deliver energy to each load on demand. This makes them much more efficient than current valve controlled systems, at least in principle. In practice, EHAs require both low and high-speed operation of pumps. Almost all hydrostatic pumps have high friction losses, strong wear and often also high volumetric losses at speeds below 500 rpm. Additionally, it is obvious that the pumps must have the highest efficiency possible. Given these constraints and demands it is understandable that information is needed about the performance of pumps and motors. In the past years, Innas has measured and tested several positive displacement machines and published a comprehensive report about these measurements. This paper will analyse the outcome of the test results, with a special focus on the application in EHAs.

In mobile hydraulic applications, more efficient machinery generally translates to smaller batteries or less diesel consumption, and smaller cooling solutions. A key part of such systems are hydrostatic pumps and motors. While these devices have been around for a long time, some of the causes of energy loss in pump and motors are still not properly defined. This paper focuses on one of the causes of energy loss in pumps and motors, by identifying the energy loss as a result of the process of commutation. By nature, all hydrostatic pumps and motors have some form of commutation: the transition from the supply port to the discharge port of the machine (and vice versa). During commutation, the connection between the working chamber and the ports is temporarily closed. The chamber pressure changes by compression or decompression that is the result of the rotation of the working mechanism. Ideally, the connection to one of the ports is opened once the chamber pressure equals the port pressure. When the connection is opened too early or too late, energy is lost. This paper describes a method to predict the commutation loss using a lumped parameter simulation model. To verify these predictions, experimental data of a floating cup pump was compared to the calculated values, which show a decent match. Furthermore, the results show that, depending on the operating conditions, up to 50% of all losses in this pump are caused by improper commutation.