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Full Hydraulic Steering - Tech

Part One

Full hydraulic Steering or Hydrostatic Steering is a very simple setup using some not so simple parts.
The steering control valve ( aka Orbital Valve) is the brains of the hydraulic steering system. For the
purpose of this explaination, I am only going to show an open center, load reactive system, since it's
the proper way to design for our purpose.

The Orbital Valve

Open Center:
The pressure port and tank port are joined internally in the Steering control valve so that a fixed
displacemnt pump can be used. If these ports were closed then your power steering pump would be at
maximum pressure unless you were turning, not very practical for our use.

Load Reactive:
A load reaction steering control valve couples the cylinder ports internally (in the neutral position) with
the meter gear set. Axle forces are then allowed to return the steering wheel to its approximate original
position. Comparable to automobile steering, gradually releasing the wheel mid turn will allow the
steering wheel to spin back as the vehicle straightens.

This picture shows the internal porting and components that are found in a typical steering control
valve. When rotated, the spool/sleeve assembly is like a rotary valve and is used to control fluid
direction. The gerotor assembly is basically a metering section and is used to control fluid flow.

This picture shows a open center type steering control in the neutral position. In the neutral position,
the fluid enters into the steering control through the (P) port and continues through the spool/sleeve
assembly and back out the (T) port.

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 This picture shows the steering control in the left hand turn position. In this position, the fluid enters
into the steering control through the (P) port and continues through the spool/sleeve assembly,
metering section, spool/sleeve assembly and out the (L) port. The (R) port is open through the
spool/sleeve assembly to the (T) port.

This picture shows the steering control in the right hand turn position. In this position, the fluid enters
into the steering control through the (P) port and continues through the spool/sleeve
assembly,metering section, spool/sleeve assembly and out the (R) port. The (L) port is open through
the spool/sleeve assembly to the (T) port.

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 This picture shows the steering control in the manual ( no flow of fluid from the pump, ie motor not
running, broken belt, bad pump, etc) right hand turn position. In this position, the fluid is recirculated
from the (T) port through the check valve, spool/sleeve assembly, metering section, spool/sleeve
assembly and out the (R) port. The (L) port is open through the spool/sleeve assembly to the (T) port. In
this position, the metering assembly actually becomes a hand pump, which is what allows the system
to still steer, although with much increased effort, without a working pump.

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