‘1aiz021 Pump contral ve valve canto: Efiiancy or performance? | Hycraulce & Pneumatics
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Pump control vs valve control: Efficiency or performance?
A flying cutoff requires accelerating a knife to the same speed of a moving
workpiece, then actuating a knife to cut the moving material at a specific
location. Because the work material moves at a constant speed, the process is
much more
Jack Johnson
MAR 19, 2007
‘Those of you who regularly read this column are well
aware that I am a strong advocate of using servo and
proportional valves. Indeed, they represent the best
means of critical control. Only valves have the
frequency response necessary to provide system
responsiveness and overall performance for tight,
closed-loop electrohydraulic control.
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Born to fly
—
oa
Aflying cutoffrarz021
Pump contol v vaiva conto Efcaney or perormance? | Hysraules & Posumatcs
The other viable hydraulic control method is pump —_requires accelerating
control, where pump displacement is changed in order _ @ knife to the same
speed of a moving
workpiece, then
actuating a knife to
cut the moving
material at a specific
location. Because the
primarily for their efficient operations. work material moves
to change the speed and power output of an actuator.
Its main advantage is that it is very efficient because no
power is developed by the pump until the load needs it.
Load-sensing and pressure compensated pumps
perform in this manner and are broadly implemented
at a constant speed,
the process is much
ns — — more productive than
closed-loop positioning circuits, for example — because having to repeatedly
However, state-of-the-art pump controls lack the
system bandwidths needed for critical appl
pumps do not have the required frequency response. start and stop the
Valves can reach into the 150 to 200 Hz frequency material.
responses, whereas the fastest pump frequency
response is a small fraction of that.
Hopefully, pumps will be developed one day with bandwidths of 50 or 80 Hz, or
maybe even higher, making them suitable for many applications that are currently
controlled by servo and proportional valves. In the short term, however, pump
response is in the 20 to 30 Hz range.
Other side of the coin
Valve control does have two major disadvantages: It does its control work by
consuming power, not by not generating it, and, it is impossible to have an energy
regenerative circuit in which kinetic energy stored in the load can be returned to
the electrical power grid during periods of deceleration. Valves provide what is
called the energy loss method of control. On the other hand, properly controlled,
variable-displacement pumps perform their control tasks by not generating power
when it is not needed. This is the energy conservation method.
To get a visualize of the energy loss method, consider an application, say a flying
cut-off, wherein a knife-carrying axis accelerates to synchronize with the speed of
some continuous moving work material. The knife is thrust through the work
piece, cutting it to the precise required length, the knife is retracted, then the
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Pump contral ve valve canto: Efiiancy or performance? | Hycraulce & Pneumatics
knife-carriage axis reverses direction and flies back to home position to wait for
the cut of another work piece.
‘A very tight positioning servo loop must be used to maintain the cut-off accuracy.
For high system cycle rates, only valves will be able to perform these tasks. This
requires a well-regulated, constant supply pressure to power the servovalve. Such
machines sometimes operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Where has all the power gone?
Look at the power consumed in the process, but more specifically, look at how it is
consumed. Consider the hydraulic power flowing into the pressure port of the
valve. It varies as the actuator speed rises and falls (acceleration and deceleration
periods), but it is unidirectional, always flowing into the valve. The power into the
valve is the average P-port flow times the constant P-port pressure. If the motion
cycle of the knife carriage and cut-off axes is always the same, hour after hour, and
if the supply pressure is always constant, the power into the valve is the same,
hour after hour. Where does that power go? Well, let's find out.
‘When the knife axis is accelerating, the valve opens, power flows into the cylinder,
and the mass of the axis takes on kinetic energy. Some power is consumed in the
open valve land because of its inherent restriction. The remaining power goes into
accelerating cylinder and load.
During the constant-speed portion of the cycle — that is, the period of
synchronizing the knife axis speed with the moving work material — some power
goes into overcoming the friction in the seals and bearings. However, nothing is
required to sustain the constant speed of the knife carriage. After the knife axis
performs the cut-off, the valve for the knife carriage axis closes off in a controlled
manner, causing the carriage axis to decelerate, reverse direction, accelerate in
retraction, fly back toward home at constant speed, then decelerate into the home
position.
How much of the energy that went into the P-ports of the valves — both the knife
carriage axis and the cut-off axis — made its way into the work piece during one
complete cut off cycle? The correct answer: Only that small amount of energy that
was used to force the knife through the workpiece. Where did the rest of the energy
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Pump contral ve valve canto: Efiiancy or performance? | Hycraulce & Pneumatics
g0? The correct answer: Except for a tiny portion that went into the bearing and
seal friction, all of it went into the valve lands. It is possible that more than 95% of
the energy ends up consumed by the valve lands, and only a few percent end up in
the workpie
‘The hydraulic power into the valve can be calculated by multiplying the average P-
port flow by the constant P-port supply pressure. When the load accelerates, the
valve opens and routes hydraulic power into the load mass. During the constant-
speed portion of the cycle, the valve closes down a bit compared to the acceleration
period, and valve lands consume power in their open state. Nothing goes to the
load except for a bit of friction. During deceleration, the valve lands close and
absorb the kinetic energy of the load mass that had been gained during
acceleration. None of the kinetic energy of the load is returned to the prime mover;
nearly all is consumed by the valve.
A different approach?
Contrast this scenario with what could have been, had the knife carriage axis been
controlled by a variable-displacement pump. During acceleration, the pump
displacement increases, delivering more and more power to accelerate the knife
carriage axis. The only power required from the prime mover is that for:
+ accelerating knife carriage mass,
+ small amount of internal leakage and friction of the pump, and
+ friction of the bearing and seals.
During the constant speed portion, the displacement of the pump backs off a bit,
and the pump shaft input power falls to level needed only to sustain the actuator
speed in the face of a bit of friction.
But look what happens during deceleration! The pump displacement reduces,
converting the variable-displacement pump into a hydraulic motor as it absorbs
the kinetic energy from the load mass. The hydraulic motor shoves energy back
into the prime mover. If it is an induction motor, the motor is forced to run at
more than synchronous speed, so it becomes a generator that puts electrical
energy back onto the power grid. The beauty of the pump control is that the pump
is capable bidirectional energy flow, and energy regeneration is possible.
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Energy regeneration
This discussion assumes that the pump and actuator are configured in the form of
a conventional hydrostatic transmission configuration. That is, itis a closed circuit
with a charge pump and check valves and all the other paraphernalia that
characterizes the conventional hydrostatic transmission. This paraphernalia is
what allows the actuator and pump to operate in an energy regenerative mode.
In another view, electric motor manufacturers have developed controls that are
also capable of energy regeneration. Electric motors have always been capable of
energy regeneration, but in the area of motor controls, the electrical industry has
long ago moved away from the energy loss method and successfully implemented
the energy conservation method. As that industry develops ways to cram more
power into smaller packages, it will become more competitive with fluid power.
The astute reader will recognize that the conventional hydrostatic transmission, as
described, must use an actuator that is symmetrical between forward and reverse,
for example, implementing a conventional motor or an equal-area cylinder. It begs
the question: "Is it possible to obtain energy regeneration with unequal area
cylinders and still use no valves?" The answer is yes. Next month I will share with
readers just such a method for which I received a provisional patent, but I have
decided to publicly disclose it.
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