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Fluid Power/Motion Control at MSOE
For more than 40 years the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) has served
the fluid power/motion control industry in the areas of research, testing and
education/training. The Fluid Power Institute TM (FPI) at MSOE is one of the Applied Technology Centers
of Excellence and has completed more than 6,000 projects for various fluid
power component / systems manufacturers, OEM's, distributors, end users and
government agencies.
The strengths of FPI include hydraulic / pneumatic component / systems design,
evaluation, and testing on large and small scale. A 400 HP test stand (above)
allows full power component and systems testing without the need to scale test
results.
Research and design capabilities include modeling and simulation of
hydraulic components and systems using distributed and lumped parameter models.
For example, the figure at left shows the velocity profiles for oil flow through
a spool valve using CFD to model the flow field. Various advanced computer
aided design methods are employed at FPI to design hydraulic systems and
components for various applications.
FPI's experience includes projects that cover every aspect of hydraulic
component / systems design, evaluation, and testing. A multi-discipline team is
constituted for each project based on its needs and time schedule. The full
resources of MSOE are available to assemble the appropriate team for the
project. The faculty and staff at MSOE have substantial industrial, research,
development, and testing experience in areas such as modeling and simulation of
hydraulic components and systems, control strategies for fluid power systems,
electrohydraulic valve technology, sensors, electromagnetic actuators, advanced
fluids, contamination control, filtration technology, high pressure systems
(>10,000 PSI), and test method development and implementation.
Relevant Project Summaries
Design Study of WB16 Hydraulic System (commercial client) - Study
comprised the development of steady state models for a hydraulic used on a
concrete construction vehicle. The models were developed and exercised in a
systems study that resulted in a reduction in pump and motor, valve, and line
size while increasing overall system efficiency.
Hydraulic System Model Development (commercial client) - A
mathematical model of a multi-valve/actuator system was developed for steady
state operations that allowed overall system efficiency to be optimized based
on valve configuration, actuator loading, fluid type, and operating
temperature.
High Pressure Pump Design (commercial client) - A high pressure,
manually operated pump was developed to control a linear actuator. The pump
included a hydro-mechanical controller that shifted the volume output of the
pump based on actuator loading up to an operating pressure of 10,000 PSI. The
pump has patent potential and is currently under prototype development.
Design Study of Excavator Hydraulic System (commercial client) - A combined
modeling and test/evaluation project was undertaken to established dynamic and
steady state performance of a hydraulic system used for the crowd function on a
large scale mining shovel. The system was composed of electro-hydraulic
cartridge valves, multiple pumps (4), and a large bore (14 IN) cylinder.
Dynamic valve models were developed using a combination of experimental data
and first principles. A novel test method was developed for determining the
dynamic response of large cartridge valves.
Designing Contamination Robust Hydraulic Valves (commercial client) -
An engineering design guide was developed to aid engineers in the design of
hydraulic valves for contamination rich environments. The guide provided
background information on contamination types and sources, valve performance
affected by contamination, design methods to control contamination, filtration
design, and resources available in this area for design, production, test and
quality control engineers.
Fluid Bulk Modulus Data Base (commercial client) - A data base was
generated empirically for fluid bulk modulus as a function of temperature and
pressure for eight fluid that included typical hydraulic oils, engine oil,
transmission fluid, and bio-degradable fluids. The pressure range was 2000 to
10000 PSI and the temperature ranged from 0 to 250o F.
Design Review of the "Total Care Hydraulic System"
(commercial client) - A total hydraulic system including pump, valves, lines,
connectors, filters, and linear actuators was reviewed. Recommendations were
implemented to increase the reliability of the system in terms of increasing
the uptime and maintenance of system performance, cost reductions, component
design changes, and filtration requirements.
Hydrostatic Transmission Endurance Evaluation (commercial client) -
Simultaneous tests on 4 hydrostatic transmissions used on commercial zero turn
turf mowers. Single test system that was computer controlled for adjusting
pressures and pump displacements on all four test unit simultaneously for 2000 HRS.
A 20 SEC duty cycle simulating actual use was developed. The control system
includes data acquisition for measuring and recording eight pressures, four
flow rates, and eight temperatures. The system has fail safes to run 24/7.
Accumulator Endurance Evaluation (commercial client) - A unique
regenerative test system was designed and built to simultaneously cycle test
four bladder type accumulators two 15 GAl and two11 GAL. The system was divided
into two banks containing one 15 and one 11 GAL accumulator. The pump
alternately charged the 15 GAL accumulators. The 15 GAL accumulators discharged
into the 11 GAL ones. This test system was also computer controlled with data
acquisition and fail safes for 24/7 operation.
Military Winch Calibration (commercial client) - Production
qualification testing of the 70 ton line pull main winch used in the Army's M88
Hercules Tank Retriever. Over 450 winches have been tested since 1993 when the
project started. This project is on going.
Hydraulic Pump Endurance Evaluation (commercial client) - A system
was designed and built to test four pumps simultaneously that were mounted to a
gearbox driven by a 200 HP electric motor. Pump outlet pressure was cycled
between 150 and 2000 PSI at 1 Hz. Testing continued until a 5% flow loss
occurred from their initial value. The system was computer controlled with data
acquisition and fail safes for 24/7 operation.
Component Failure Analysis (commercial clients) - Numerous projects
over the years involving failure of pumps, valves and cylinders. Typical
projects included reviewing the application, examining the failed components to
determine the most probable cause or causes of failure, and documenting the
findings.
Modeling/Simulation Software Programs
- MATLAB/SIMULINK a general purpose simulation program; models for pumps, valves, lines, cylinder, etc. have been developed at MSOE for this program.
- AUTOMATION STUDIOS a mid-level hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical simulation program.
- AMESIM a high level, hydraulic, pneumatic, control, mechanical (including vehicles), and thermal simulation program written specifically for fluid power/motion control applications.
- SOLIDWORKS - 3D CAD modeling program.
- FLOWWORKS - Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program for modeling/analysis of internal and external flows through valves, pumps, hose, pipes, etc.
- MSC PATRAN - Finite Element analysis program for mechanical design.
For more information on evaluation and research services, please contact:
Thomas Wanke
Fluid Power Institute TM
Phone: (414) 277-7191
Fax: (414) 277-7470
E-mail