On Fluid Compressibility in Switch-Mode Hydraulic Circuits—Part II: Experimental Results

In this paper, the author presents experimental work with a generic switch-mode hydraulic circuit that aims to validate a previously presented computational model, with primary focus on the energy loss due to fluid compressibility. While multiple previous papers have presented experimental works with switch-mode hydraulic circuits, the presented experimental system is unique due the capability of in-flow measurement of the entrained air in the hydraulic fluid. A designed experiment was run that varied the entrained air, system pressure, and volume of the fluid experiencing pressure fluctuations, defined as the switched volume. The calculated volumetric efficiency from these experiments ranged from to 61% to 75%, with efficiency increasing with decreased levels of entrained air, system pressure, and switched volume. These efficiency trends and the pressure profile in the switched volume agree well with the computational model presented in Part I of this two part set (Van de Ven, 2013, “On Fluid Compressibility in Switch-Mode Hydraulic Circuits—Part I: Modeling and Analysis,” ASME J. Dyn. Sys., Meas., Control, 135(2), p. 021013). Differences between the experimental results and the computational model include approximately 10% higher predicted efficiency and pressure oscillations found in the experimental work that were not predicted by the model.