The Electrohydraulic

Servovalve Coloring
Book

Rosamond Dolid, PMP®

MTS Systems Corporation

© 2010
Acknowledgements
The CAD rendering and drawings were contributed by
Nathan Milner and Kristin Haag, undergraduate
mechanical engineering students at the University of
Minnesota. Content review was provided by Professor
Will Durfee, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Minnesota.

Permission to reproduce photographs was granted by

MTS Systems Corporation and by Moog Inc.

Support for this project was provided by MTS Systems

Corporation and by the Center for Compact and Efficient
Fluid Power, an NSF Engineering Research Center.

For information on this project, contact the author,

Roz Dolid at Roz.Dolid@mts.com.

2
 About this book
This purpose of this book is to facilitate understanding of a
basic electrohydraulic servovalve. This is not a guide to valve
design, nor does it provide proprietary information regarding
design or manufacturing of valves. The primary audience for
this book is degreed engineers working in the fluid power
industry who may not have received a fluid power education or
who may not be familiar with servovalves. Versions of this book
have been used to train newly hired engineers at MTS Systems
Corporation since 2007.

The underlying concept of this book is that the act of coloring

components helps your brain to fully understand where those
components are located and how they contribute to the
operation of the valve. The inspiration to use coloring as a
means to understand complex ideas is “The Anatomy Coloring
Book” by Kapit and Elson, which has long been used by
medical school students to deepen their understanding of how
the human body works. So, grab your colored pencils or
crayons and get started!

Twelve colors are sufficient to complete this book, by re-using

each color once. Twenty-four colors are enough for every item
to have its own color throughout the book. Colored pencils are
a better choice than crayons or markers. Use the same color
for the same part throughout the book as much as possible –
this allows the color itself to be a memory trigger for the part it
is associated with.

For the first part of the book, which covers servovalve

components, choose distinct colors for adjacent parts. Later,
when coloring in the oil flow paths, color represents a pressure
state. Choose a color sequence that shows pressure level in
an order that makes sense, for example a light spectrum
sequence of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

3
 Introduction: What is a Servovalve?

An electrohydraulic servovalve is a device that

takes an electrical current and turns it into
hydraulic flow which can then create linear,
rotational, uni-directional or reciprocating
mechanical motion.

Servovalves were invented during the late 1940’s

for military use. In the 1960’s MTS Systems
Corporation began using servovalves in
displacement and force controlled test equipment.
There are several types of servovalves, including
the flapper nozzle style 4-way valve, which is
presented in this book.

Three stage MTS valve, with

Two stage MTS valve two stage Moog valve used as
built by Moog, Inc the pilot stage

4
 First Stage: Armature assembly
A. Permanent Magnet (2) F. Ferrous Core or Armature
B. Wire Coils (2) G. Flexure Tube
C. Armature Assembly H. Flapper
D. Upper Pole Piece J. Feedback Wire
E. Lower Pole Piece A B K. Nozzles

D B
B

C
E

C A
K K
C

F
F F
F
F

H
G
H

Armature Detail

The first stage of an electrohydraulic servovalve converts the input electrical

current signal into a hydraulic flow.

5
 First Stage: Flapper-Nozzle Interaction

G G

Null

K K

G G

Activated

K
K

Use the same color for these parts as on the previous page.
Notice that the flapper on the activated valve is closer to the
nozzle on the left, which throttles the flow running through the
left nozzle.
6
 Second Stage: Components

L L L L L L

M M

N
N
M M

Notes:
J. Feedback Wire 1. Use brown or black for the filter
L. Spool 2. The variable orifices in this view are
closed so there is no space to color.
M. Filter Pages following will reveal the orifices.
N. Fixed Orifice
O. Variable Orifice
7
 Second Stage: Spool Features

Q
Q

Q. The wider portions of the spool are called lands.

R. The precision machined edges that define the
variable orifice openings are called metering edges.
Only two metering edges are visible in this drawing.

8
 Second Stage: Variable Orifices

When the valve is in its null position, all of the variable

orifices are closed. There is a small amount of leakage
through this type of valve even in the null position, which
must be taken into account when sizing a system for an
application.
O

O
O

When the valve is activated by a command signal, some

of the variable orifices open while others remain closed.
The arrows indicate the direction of oil flow through the
open orifices.

O. Variable orifice
9
Full Valve: Oil Pressures – Null Position

U U

Y
Y

W W

W U
W

S S
U
Y
W
T W T T T

S S
S

Color in the pressure legend according Notes:

to the colors used in the picture 1. Color the filter brown or black
2. Working pressures are equal so
S. Supply pressure there is no flow to the next
device (actuator or spool)
T. Filter pressure
U. Spool pressure
W. Working pressure
Y. Return pressure 10
Full Valve: Oil Pressures – Activated Position

U V

O Y

X W

U
X O W O

S S V
Y
X
T T T T
W

S S S

Color in the pressure legend according

to the colors used in the picture

S. Supply pressure Notes:

T. Filter pressure 1. Color the filter brown or black
2. Use the same color for variable
U. Higher Spool pressure orifices as previous pages
V. Lower Spool pressure
W. C1 working pressure
X. C2 working pressure
Y. Return pressure
O. Variable Orifice
11
 Full Valve: Oil Flows

Using one color, draw the path of an oil particle traveling through the valve
when the valve is in the null (top) and activated (bottom) positions,
remembering that there are four different pathways for an oil particle to travel
through when the valve is activated. 12
 Servovalve Parts

1 4
3

5
2

1. Spool
2. Nozzle
3. Fixed Orifice
4. Tubular Filter
5. Disc Filter

Courtesy of MTS Systems Corporation

13
 Torque Motor Armature Assembly
2 4

1. Upper and lower pole pieces

2. Permanent magnet
3. Electromagnet coil
4. Feedback wire

Courtesy of MTS Systems Corporation

14
 Torque Motor Assembly

1. Torque motor armature assembly with signal

connector
2. Permanent magnet
3. Electromagnet coil
4. Armature/flexure tube/flapper/feedback wire
assembly

Courtesy of MTS Systems Corporation

15
 Three Stage Servovalve

2
4
3

1. Torque motor armature assembly

2. 2nd stage spool
3. Manifold block (porting between 2nd and 3rd
stage spools)
4. 3rd stage spool

Courtesy of MTS Systems Corporation

16
Servovalve and Hydraulic Piston Actuator

Courtesy of MTS Systems Corporation

17
 References

1. Dolid, R., "What Makes a Bicycle? A Coloring

Activity to Teach Basic Mechanical Concepts”
presented at the 2006 ASME International
Mechanical Engineering Congress and
Exposition, November 5-10, 2006, Chicago, IL.
2. Kapit, W. and L. Elson, The Anatomy Coloring
Book, 3rd ed., Benjamin Cummings, 2002.
3. Merritt, H.E., Hydraulic Control Systems, New
York, John-Wiley & Sons, 1967.
4. Moog Inc., “Electrohydraulic Valves, a
Technical Look”,
http://www.moog.com/media/1/technical.pdf.
5. Wang, D., Dolid, R., Donath, M. and Albright,
J., “Development and Verification of a Two-
Stage Flow Control Servovalve Model”,
presented at the 1995 ASME International
Mechanical Engineering Congress and
Exposition, November 12-17, 1995, San
Francisco, CA.

18