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Switch-mode hydraulic control is a compact and theoretically efficient alternative to throttling valve control or variable displacement pump control. However, a significant source of energy loss in switch-mode circuits is due to throttling during valve transitions. Hydraulic soft switching was previously proposed as a method of reducing the throttling energy loss, by absorbing, in a small variable volume chamber, the flow that would normally be throttled across the transitioning high-speed valve. An active locking mechanism was previously proposed that overcomes the main challenge with soft switching, which is a lock mechanism that releases quickly and with precise timing. This prior work demonstrated a reduction in energy losses by 66% compared to a control circuit. In this paper, a numerical model is developed for a switch-mode virtually variable displacement pump (VVDP) circuit, utilizing the proposed soft switch. The model is then used as a means of designing a proof of concept prototype to validate the model. The prototype design includes methods for controlling the soft switch spring preload, travel distance, piston displacement required to unlock the soft switch, valve command duty cycle, switching cycle period, and load pressure. Testing demonstrated that the soft switch circuit performed as expected in a baseline condition. The operating region for this prototype was found to be quite narrow. However, the model does a good job of predicting the displacement of the soft switch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switched inertance hydraulic systems (SIHS) use inductive, capacitive, and switching elements to boost or "buck" (reduce) a pressure from a source to a load in an ideally lossless manner. Real SIHS circuits suffer a variety of energy losses, with throttling of flow during transitions of the high-speed valve resulting in as much as 44% of overall losses. These throttling energy losses can be mitigated by applying the analog of zero-voltage-switching, a soft switching strategy, adopted from power electronics. In the soft switching circuit, the flow that would otherwise be throttled across the transitioning valve is stored in a capacitive element and bypassed through check valves in parallel with the switching valves. To evaluate the effectiveness of soft switching in a boost converter SIHS, a lumped parameter model was constructed. Simulation demonstrates that soft switching improves the efficiency of the modeled circuit by 42% at peak load power and extends the power delivery capabilities by 77%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hydraulic accumulators are used in a variety of applications to minimize the pressure variation in hydraulic circuits and to store energy. Conventional hydraulic accumulators suffer from two major limitations, the hydraulic system pressure varies with the quantity of energy stored and the energy density is significantly lower than other energy domains. In this paper, a novel hydraulic accumulator is presented that uses a piston with an area that varies with stroke to maintain a constant hydraulic system pressure while the gas pressure changes. The variable area piston is sealed with a fabric reinforced rolling diaphragm. In this work, the piston radius profile is developed as a function of the piston displacement and then transformed into a function of the axial contact location between the piston and the diaphragm. The piston profile was solved numerically for a variety of conditions using both transformation methods to illustrate the geometric design trade-offs. Using a variable area gas piston with a fixed cylinder area, the maximum gas volume ratio was 1.8:1. An analysis of the energy density revealed that the constant pressure accumulator provides a 16% improvement in energy density over a conventional accumulator at a volume ratio of 2.71:1 and also exceeds the maximum energy density of a conventional accumulator at the lower volume ratio of 1.8:1. This new promising technology maintains a constant hydraulic system pressure independent of the quantity of energy stored, easing system control and allowing other circuit components to be downsized to meet the same power requirements, while also increases the energy storage density. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Conventional mobile hydraulic power supplies involve numerous kinematic connections and are limited by the efficiency, noise, and emissions of internal combustion engines. The Stirling cycle possesses numerous benefits such as the ability to operate from any heat source, quiet operation, and high theoretical efficiency. The Stirling engine has seen limited success due to poor heat transfer in the working chambers, difficulty sealing low-molecular weight gases at high pressure, and non-ideal piston displacement profiles. As a solution to these limitations, a liquid piston Stirling engine pump is proposed. The liquid pistons conform to irregular volumes, allowing increased heat transfer through geometry features on the interior of the working chambers. Creating near-isothermal operation eliminates the costly external heat exchangers and increases the engine efficiency through decreasing the engine dead space. The liquid pistons provide a positive gas seal and thermal transport to the working chambers. Controlling the flow of the liquid pistons with valves enables matching the ideal Stirling cycle and creates a direct hydraulic power supply. Using liquid hydrogen as a fuel source allows cooling the compression side of the engine before expanded the fuel into a gas and combusting it to heat the expansion side of the engine. Cooling the compression side not only increases the engine power, but also significantly increases the potential thermal efficiency of the engine. A high efficiency Stirling engine makes energy regeneration through reversing the Stirling cycle practical. When used for regeneration, the captured energy can be stored in thermal batteries, such as a molten salt. The liquid piston Stirling engine pump requires further research in numerous areas such as understanding the behavior of the liquid pistons, modeling and optimization of a full engine pump, and careful selection of materials for the extreme operating temperatures. Addressing these obtainable research quandaries will enable a transformative Stirling engine pump with the potential to excel in numerous applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A liquid piston concept is proposed to improve the efficiency of gas compression and expansion. Because a liquid can conform to an irregular chamber volume, the surface area to volume ratio in the gas chamber can be maximized using a liquid piston. This creates near-isothermal operation, which minimizes energy lost to heat generation. A liquid piston eliminates gas leakage and replaces sliding seal friction with viscous friction. The liquid can also be used as a medium to carry heat into and out of the compression chamber. A simulation is presented of the heat transfer and frictional forces for a reciprocating piston and a liquid piston. In the application of an air compressor, with a pressure ratio of 9.5:1 and a cycle frequency of 20Hz, the liquid piston decreased the energy consumption by 19% over the reciprocating piston. The liquid piston and the reciprocating piston exhibited a total efficiency of 83% and 70% respectively. The liquid piston demonstrated significant improvements in the total compression efficiency in comparison to a conventional reciprocating piston. This gain in efficiency was accomplished through increasing the heat transfer during the gas compression by increasing the surface area to volume ratio in the compression chamber. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The efficiency and power density of gas compression and expansion are strongly dependent on heat transfer during the process. Since porous media inserts can significantly increase heat transfer surface area, their addition to a liquid piston compressor/expander has been hypothesized to reduce the time to complete the compression or expansion process and hence the power density for a given thermodynamic efficiency; or to increase the thermodynamic efficiency at a fixed power density. This paper presents an experimental investigation on heat transfer with porous inserts during compression for a pressure ratio of 10 and during expansion for a pressure ratio of 6. A baseline case without inserts and five cases with different porous inserts are tested in a compression experiment: 3 interrupted ABS inserts with plate spacing of 2.5, 5, and 10 mm and 2 aluminum foam inserts sized with 10 and 40 pores per inch. The 2.5 mm and 5 mm interrupted plate inserts were also tested in expansion experiments. Porous inserts are found, in compression, to increase power-density by 39-fold at 95% efficiency and to increase efficiency by 18% at 100 kW / m 3 power density; in expansion, power density is increased three fold at 89% efficiency, and efficiency is increased by 7% at 150 kW / m 3 . Surface area increase is found to be the predominant cause in the improvement in performance. Thus, a liquid piston compressor/expander together with a porous medium may be used in applications requiring high compression ratios, high efficiencies, and high power density such as in an open-accumulator compressed air energy storage (CAES) system or a compressor for compressed natural gas (CNG). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]