Simulation of Utilisation of Pressure Propagation for Increased Efficiency of Secondary Controlled Discrete Displacement Cylinders

A key component of upcoming secondary controlled fluid-power systems for e.g. wave energy is the implementation of discrete force control of cylinders by discrete variation of the cylinder displacement. However, as the discrete control is implemented by shifting between fixed system pressures in multiple cylinder chambers using on/off valves, the energy efficiency of the performed shifts is essential for the total system efficiency. However, pressure shifting on a volume, where the dynamics of pressure propagation in the pipelines is negligible have been proved to have an unavoidable minimum loss due to the compressibility of the fluid. This paper performs a simulation study, showing that an improved energy efficient shift may be implemented by utilising the pressure propagation in the line between valve and cylinder chamber.