Hydro ug-SIMHYDRAULICS PDF

SimHydraulics®
User’s Guide
R2012a
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SimHydraulics® User’s Guide
© COPYRIGHT 2006–2012 by The MathWorks, Inc.
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Revision History
March 2006 Online only New for Version 1.0 (Release 2006a+)
September 2006 Online only Revised for Version 1.1 (Release 2006b)
March 2007 Online only Revised for Version 1.2 (Release 2007a)
September 2007 Online only Revised for Version 1.2.1 (Release 2007b)
October 2008 Online only Revised for Version 1.4 (Release 2008b)
April 2011 Online only Revised for Version 1.9 (Release 2011a)
March 2012 Online only Revised for Version 1.10.1 (Release 2012a)
Contents
Getting Started
1
Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Key Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Assumptions and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Related Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Product Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Other Related Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Modeling Physical Networks with SimHydraulics

Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Simulating Hydraulic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Simulation Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Selecting a Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Specifying Simulation Accuracy/Speed Tradeoff . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Troubleshooting Hydraulic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Model Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Modeling Hydraulic Systems

2
SimHydraulics Block Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Library Structure Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Using the Simulink Library Browser to Access the Block
Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Using the Command Prompt to Access the Block
Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
v
Product Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Overview of Modeling Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Working with Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Creating and Simulating a Simple Hydraulic Model . . 2-9

Building a SimHydraulics Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Modifying Initial Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Running the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Adjusting the Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Modeling Power Units ............................. 2-28
Modeling Directional Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32

Types of Directional Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
4-Way Directional Valve Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
Building Blocks and How to Use Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38
Example of Building a Custom Directional Valve . . . . . . . . 2-42
Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation

Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
How Fluid Transportation Systems Differ from Power and
Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Available Blocks and How to Use Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-48
Example of a Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
Examples
A
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Modeling Directional Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3
Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation

Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4
vi Contents
Index
vii
viii Contents
1
Getting Started
• “Product Description” on page 1-2

• “Assumptions and Limitations” on page 1-3
• “Related Products” on page 1-4
• “Modeling Physical Networks with SimHydraulics Blocks” on page 1-5
• “Simulating Hydraulic Models” on page 1-6
• “Model Sharing” on page 1-10
1 Getting Started
Product Description
Model and simulate hydraulic systems
The SimHydraulics® product extends Simscape™ software with tools for
modeling and simulating hydraulic power and control systems. It enables
you to describe multidomain systems containing connected hydraulic and
mechanical components as physical networks. It provides a representative
library of hydraulic components and building blocks that lets you implement
other components.
Key Features
• Modeling environment for building hydraulic and hydromechanical systems
as physical networks
• More than 45 hydraulic and mechanical components, including pumps,
valves, accumulators, and pipelines
• Customizable library of common hydraulic fluids
• Access to linearization and steady-state capabilities in Simscape
1-2
Assumptions and Limitations
Assumptions and Limitations

SimHydraulics software performs transient analysis of hydro-mechanical
systems. You may be able to use the higher-level library blocks, or you
may need to build your actuators out of the lower-level library blocks.
SimHydraulics software is specifically developed to cover modeling scenarios
with hydraulic actuators as part of a control system. It is also appropriate for
systems that allow consideration in lumped parameters.
SimHydraulics software does not have the capability to model the following
types of systems:
• Fluid transportation
• Water supply and sewer systems
• Distributed parameters systems
SimHydraulics software is based on the assumption that fluid temperature

remains constant during the simulated time interval, and this temperature
must be set as a parameter together with the relative amount of entrapped air.
1-3
1 Getting Started
Related Products
In this section...
“Product Requirements” on page 1-4
“Other Related Products” on page 1-4
Product Requirements
SimHydraulics software is the extension of Simscape platform product,
expanding its capabilities to model and simulate hydraulic elements and
devices.
SimHydraulics software requires these products:
• MATLAB®
• Simulink®
• Simscape
Other Related Products

The related products listed in the SimHydraulics product page at the
MathWorks Web site include toolboxes and blocksets that extend the
capabilities of MATLAB and Simulink. These products will enhance your use
of SimHydraulics software in various applications.
For more information about MathWorks® software products, see either
• The online documentation for that product if it is installed

• The MathWorks Web site at www.mathworks.com
1-4
Modeling Physical Networks with SimHydraulics® Blocks
Modeling Physical Networks with SimHydraulics Blocks

Simscape modeling environment provides the Physical Network approach for
modeling and solving systems under design as one-dimensional networks.
SimHydraulics software utilizes these basic modeling principles and contains
a library of specialized hydraulic blocks that seamlessly interact with basic
Simscape blocks.
SimHydraulics models are essentially Simscape block diagrams. When

building a SimHydraulics model, you use a combination of SimHydraulics
blocks with the blocks from the Simscape Foundation and Utilities libraries.
Each SimHydraulics diagram must have at least one Solver Configuration
block from the Simscape Utilities library. You can use basic hydraulic,
electrical, and one-dimensional translational and rotational mechanical
elements from the Simscape Foundation library and directly connect them to
SimHydraulics blocks. You can also use basic Simulink blocks, such as sources
and scopes, but you need to connect them through the Simulink-PS Converter
and PS-Simulink Converter blocks from the Simscape Utilities library. You
can also use these converter blocks to specify the desired input and output
signal units. For more information on specifying units in SimHydraulics
diagrams, see “Physical Units” in the Simscape documentation.
General rules that you must follow when building a hydraulic model are
described in “Basic Principles of Modeling Physical Networks” in the
Simscape documentation. “Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques” on page
2-6 briefly reviews these rules and provides specific examples of modeling
hydraulic systems and their components, such as power units and directional
valves.
1-5
1 Getting Started
Simulating Hydraulic Models

In this section...
“Simulation Basics” on page 1-6
“Selecting a Solver” on page 1-6
“Specifying Simulation Accuracy/Speed Tradeoff” on page 1-7
“Troubleshooting Hydraulic Models” on page 1-8
Simulation Basics
SimHydraulics software gives you multiple ways to simulate and analyze
hydraulic power and control systems in the Simulink environment. Running
a hydraulic simulation is similar to running a simulation of any other
Simscape model. See “Model Simulation” in the Simscape documentation for
a discussion of the following topics:
• Explanation of how SimHydraulics software validates and simulates a

model
• Specifics of using Simulink linearization commands in SimHydraulics
models
• Generating code for SimHydraulics models
• Restrictions and limitations on using Simulink tools in SimHydraulics
models
All these aspects of simulating SimHydraulics models are exactly the same as
for Simscape models.
Selecting a Solver
SimHydraulics software supports all of the continuous-time solvers that
Simscape supports. For more information, see “Setting Up Solvers for
Physical Models” in the Simscape documentation.
You can select any of the supported solvers for running a SimHydraulics
simulation. The variable-step solvers, ode23t and ode15s, are recommended
1-6
for most applications because they run faster and copy better for systems with
a range of both fast and slow dynamics.
To use Simulink Coder™ software to generate standalone C or C++ code from

your model, you must use the ode14x solver. For more information about code
generation, see “Code Generation ” in the Simscape documentation.
Specifying Simulation Accuracy/Speed Tradeoff

To trade off accuracy and simulation time, adjust one or more of the following
parameters:
• Relative tolerance (in the Configuration Parameters dialog box)

• Absolute tolerance (in the Configuration Parameters dialog box)
• Max step size (in the Configuration Parameters dialog box)
• Constraint Residual Tolerance (in the Solver Configuration block
dialog box)
In most cases, the default tolerance values produce accurate results without
sacrificing unnecessary simulation time. The parameter value that is most
likely to be inappropriate for your simulation is Max step size, because the
default value, auto, depends on the simulation start and stop times rather
than on the amount by which the signals are changing during the simulation.
If you are concerned about the solver’s missing significant behavior, change
the parameter to prevent the solver from taking too large a step.
The Simulink documentation describes the following parameters in more

detail and provides tips on how to adjust them:
• “Relative tolerance”
• “Absolute tolerance”
• “Max step size”
The Solver Configuration block reference page in the Simscape documentation

explains when to adjust the Constraint Residual Tolerance parameter
value.
1-7
1 Getting Started
Troubleshooting Hydraulic Models

SimHydraulics simulations can stop before completion with one or more error
messages. For a discussion of generic error types and error-fixing strategies,
see “Troubleshooting Simulation Errors” in the Simscape documentation. The
following troubleshooting techniques are specific to hydraulic models:
• Review the model configuration. If your error message contains a list of

blocks, look at these blocks first. Also look for:
- Wrong connections — Verify that the model makes sense as a hydraulic
system. For example, look for accumulators connected to the pump
outlet without check valves; cylinders connected against each other, so
that they try to move in opposite directions; directional valves bypassed
by a huge orifice, and so on.
- Wrong use of hydraulic elements — SimHydraulics blocks model their
respective hydraulic units within certain limits. For example, an Ideal
Pressure Source block can simulate a pump only when the pressure
remains constant (see “Modeling Power Units” on page 2-28). Similarly,
the Pressure Relief Valve block is a steady-state representation of a real
valve. A block may exhibit wrong behavior if it is placed in the wrong
environment. Always check the validity of the model for a particular
environment and the simulation objectives.
• Avoid portions of the system getting isolated from the main system.
An isolated or "hanging" part of the system could affect computational
efficiency and even cause failure of computation. Use the Leakage Area
parameter, introduced specifically for this purpose, to maintain numerical
integrity of the circuit. This parameter is present in all the directional
valve blocks, pressure control and flow control valve blocks, and most of
the variable orifices.
• Avoid "dry" nodes in a hydraulic system. By adding a hydraulic chamber to
a node, you can considerably improve the convergence and computational
efficiency of a model. Mathematically, the hydraulic chamber works in
approximately the same way as mechanical inertia does in mechanical
systems. The hydraulic chamber is represented by the Constant Volume
Hydraulic Chamber block in the Simscape Hydraulic Elements library.
MathWorks recommends that you build, simulate, and test your model
incrementally. Start with an idealized, simplified model of your system,
simulate it, verify that it works the way you expected. Then incrementally
1-8
make your model more realistic, factoring in effects such as fluid

compressibility, fluid inertia, and the other things that describe real-world
phenomena. Simulate and test your model at every incremental step. Use
subsystems to capture the model hierarchy, and simulate and test your
subsystems separately before testing the whole model configuration. This
approach helps you keep your models well organized and makes it easier
to troubleshoot them.
1-9
1 Getting Started
Model Sharing
The Simscape Editing Mode functionality lets you open, simulate, and save
models that contain blocks from add-on products, including SimHydraulics
blocks, in Restricted mode, without checking out add-on product licenses, as
long as the products are installed on your machine.
This functionality allows a user, model developer, to build a model that uses
Simscape and SimHydraulics blocks and share that model with other users,
model users. When building the model in Full mode, the model developer
must have both a Simscape license and a SimHydraulics license. Once the
model is built, model users need only to check out a Simscape license to
simulate the model and fine-tune its parameters in Restricted mode. As long
as no structural changes are made to the model, model users can work in
Restricted mode and do not need to check out SimHydraulics licenses.
Another workflow lets multiple users, who all have Simscape licenses, share
a small number of SimHydraulics licenses by working mostly in Restricted
mode, and temporarily switching models to Full mode only when they need to
perform a specific design task that requires being in Full mode.
For a complete description of this functionality, see “Add-On Product License

Management” in the Simscape documentation.
1-10
2
Modeling Hydraulic
Systems
• “SimHydraulics Block Libraries” on page 2-2

• “Product Workflow” on page 2-5
• “Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques” on page 2-6
• “Creating and Simulating a Simple Hydraulic Model” on page 2-9
• “Modeling Power Units” on page 2-28
• “Modeling Directional Valves” on page 2-32
• “Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation Systems” on page 2-46
2 Modeling Hydraulic Systems
SimHydraulics Block Libraries

In this section...
“Library Structure Overview” on page 2-2
“Using the Simulink Library Browser to Access the Block Libraries” on
page 2-2
“Using the Command Prompt to Access the Block Libraries” on page 2-4
Library Structure Overview

SimHydraulics software uses the Simscape library as its main library.
Simscape modeling environment provides the Physical Network approach for
modeling and solving systems under design as one-dimensional networks.
SimHydraulics software utilizes these basic modeling principles and contains
a library of specialized hydraulic blocks that seamlessly interact with basic
Simscape blocks. When modeling hydraulic power and control systems, you
use the following Simscape libraries:
• Foundation library — Contains basic hydraulic, mechanical, and physical

signal blocks
• SimHydraulics library — Contains advanced hydraulic diagram blocks,
such as valves, cylinders, pipelines, pumps, and accumulators
• Utilities library — Contains essential environment blocks for creating
Physical Networks models
You can combine all these blocks in your SimHydraulics diagrams to model
hydraulic systems. You can also use the basic Simulink blocks in your
diagrams, such as sources or scopes. See “Connecting Simscape Diagrams to
Simulink Sources and Scopes” for more information on how to do this.
Using the Simulink Library Browser to Access the

Block Libraries
You can access the blocks through the Simulink Library Browser. To display
the Library Browser, click the Library Browser button in the toolbar of the
MATLAB desktop or Simulink model window:
2-2
SimHydraulics® Block Libraries
Alternatively, you can type simulink in the MATLAB Command Window.

Then expand the Simscape entry in the contents tree.
For more information on using the Library Browser, see “Library Browser” in
the Simulink Graphical User Interface documentation.
2-3
Using the Command Prompt to Access the Block

Libraries
Another way to access the block libraries is to open them individually by
using the command prompt:
• To open just the SimHydraulics library, type sh_lib in the MATLAB

Command Window.
• To open the Simscape library (to access the utility blocks, as well as
hydraulic sources, sensors, and other Foundation library blocks), type
simscape in the MATLAB Command Window.
• To open the main Simulink library (to access generic Simulink blocks), type
simulink in the MATLAB Command Window.
The SimHydraulics library consists of eight top-level libraries, as shown

in the following illustration. Some of these libraries contain second-level
sublibraries. You can expand each library by double-clicking its icon. For
more details on library hierarchy and descriptions of block categories, see
“Block Reference”.
2-4
Product Workflow
Product Workflow
When you model and analyze a hydraulic power or control system using
SimHydraulics software, your workflow might include the following tasks:
1 Create a Simulink model that includes hydraulic or hydro-mechanical

components.
In the majority of applications, it is most natural to model the physical

system using Simscape and SimHydraulics blocks, and then develop the
controller or signal processing algorithm in Simulink.
For more information about modeling the physical system, see “Essential
Hydraulic Modeling Techniques” on page 2-6. For specific modeling
techniques, see category-specific topics like “Modeling Power Units” on
page 2-28 or “Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation Systems” on
page 2-46.
2 Define component data by specifying hydraulic or mechanical properties

as defined on a datasheet.
For more information about parameterizing blocks, see individual block

reference pages. For information on valve parameterization, see “Modeling
Directional Valves” on page 2-32.
3 Configure the solver options.
For more information about the settings that most affect the solution of
a physical system, see “Setting Up Solvers for Physical Models” in the
Simscape documentation..
4 Run the simulation.
For more information on how to perform time-domain simulation of an

electronic system, see “Simulating Hydraulic Models” on page 1-6.
2-5
Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques

In this section...
“Overview of Modeling Rules” on page 2-6
“Working with Fluids” on page 2-7
Overview of Modeling Rules

The rules that you must follow when building a hydraulic model are described
in “Basic Principles of Modeling Physical Networks” in the Simscape
documentation. This section briefly reviews these rules.
• SimHydraulics blocks, in general, feature Conserving ports and Physical

Signal inports and outports .
• There are three types of Physical Conserving ports used in SimHydraulics
blocks: hydraulic, mechanical translational, and mechanical rotational.
Each type has specific Through and Across variables associated with it.
• You can connect Conserving ports only to other Conserving ports of the
same type.
• The Physical connection lines that connect Conserving ports together
are bidirectional lines that carry physical variables (Across and Through
variables, as described above) rather than signals. You cannot connect
Physical lines to Simulink ports or to Physical Signal ports.
• Two directly connected Conserving ports must have the same values for all
their Across variables (such as pressure or angular velocity).
• You can branch Physical connection lines. When you do so, components
directly connected with one another continue to share the same Across
variables. Any Through variable (such as flow rate or torque) transferred
along the Physical connection line is divided among the multiple
components connected by the branches. How the Through variable is
divided is determined by the system dynamics.
For each Through variable, the sum of all its values flowing into a branch
point equals the sum of all its values flowing out.
2-6
Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques
• You can connect Physical Signal ports to other Physical Signal ports with
regular connection lines, similar to Simulink signal connections. These
connection lines carry physical signals between SimHydraulics blocks.
• You can connect Physical Signal ports to Simulink ports through special
converter blocks. Use the Simulink-PS Converter block to connect Simulink
outports to Physical Signal inports. Use the PS-Simulink Converter block
to connect Physical Signal outports to Simulink inports.
• Unlike Simulink signals, which are essentially unitless, Physical Signals
can have units associated with them. SimHydraulics block dialogs let you
specify the units along with the parameter values, where appropriate. Use
the converter blocks to associate units with an input signal and to specify
the desired output signal units.
For examples of applying these rules when creating an actual hydraulic

model, see “Creating and Simulating a Simple Hydraulic Model” on page 2-9.
MathWorks recommends that you build, simulate, and test your model
incrementally. Start with an idealized, simplified model of your system,
simulate it, verify that it works the way you expected. Then incrementally
make your model more realistic, factoring in effects such as friction loss,
motor shaft compliance, hard stops, and the other things that describe
real-world phenomena. Simulate and test your model at every incremental
step. Use subsystems to capture the model hierarchy, and simulate and test
your subsystems separately before testing the whole model configuration.
This approach helps you keep your models well organized and makes it easier
to troubleshoot them.
Working with Fluids

A change in the working fluid of your SimHydraulics model affects the global
parameters of the system. Global parameters, determined by the type of
working fluid, are used in equations for most hydraulic blocks. For example,
valves, orifices, and pipelines use fluid density and fluid kinematic viscosity;
chambers and cylinders use fluid bulk modulus; and so on. When you change
the type of fluid, the appropriate changes to the global parameter values are
propagated to all the blocks in the hydraulic circuit.
2-7
Each topologically distinct hydraulic circuit in a diagram requires exactly one

hydraulic fluid to be associated with it. You can specify the fluid by connecting
a Hydraulic Fluid block or Custom Hydraulic Fluid block to the circuit.
• The Custom Hydraulic Fluid block, available in the Simscape Foundation

library, lets you directly specify the fluid properties, such as fluid density,
kinematic viscosity, bulk modulus, and the amount of entrapped air, in
the block dialog.
• The Hydraulic Fluid block lets you select a type of fluid from a predefined
list and specify the amount of entrapped air and fluid temperature.
SimHydraulics software determines the fluid properties associated with
this type of fluid and these conditions, and displays them in the block dialog.
In both cases, SimHydraulics software then applies the fluid properties as

global parameters to all the blocks in the hydraulic circuit.
Note If no Hydraulic Fluid block or Custom Hydraulic Fluid block is attached

to a circuit, the hydraulic blocks in this circuit use the default fluid, which
is equivalent to fluid defined by a Custom Hydraulic Fluid block with the
default parameter values. See the Custom Hydraulic Fluid block reference
page for more information.
2-8
Creating and Simulating a Simple Hydraulic Model

In this section...
“Building a SimHydraulics Diagram” on page 2-9
“Modifying Initial Settings” on page 2-17
“Running the Simulation” on page 2-21
“Adjusting the Parameters” on page 2-23
Building a SimHydraulics Diagram

In this example, you are going to model a simple hydraulic system and observe
its behavior under various conditions. This tutorial illustrates the essential
steps to building a hydraulic model, described in the previous section, and
makes you familiar with using the basic SimHydraulics blocks.
The following schematic represents the model you are about to build.
It contains a single-acting hydraulic cylinder, which is controlled by an
electrically operated 3-way directional valve. The cylinder drives a load
consisting of a mass, viscous friction, and preloaded spring.
2-9
The power unit consists of a motor, a positive-displacement pump, and a

pressure relief valve. Depending on its characteristics, such a power unit can
be modeled in a variety of ways, as described in “Modeling Power Units” on
page 2-28. In this example, the pump unit is assumed to be powerful enough
to maintain constant pressure at the valve inlet. Therefore, we are going to
represent it in the diagram by a Hydraulic Pressure Source block.
To create an equivalent SimHydraulics diagram, follow these steps:
1 Open the Simscape and Simulink block libraries, as described in

“SimHydraulics Block Libraries” on page 2-2.
2 Create a new model. To do this, click the New button on the Library
Browser’s toolbar or choose New from the library window’s File menu
and select Model. The software creates an empty model in memory and
displays it in a new model editor window.
Note Alternately, you can type ssc_new at the MATLAB Command

prompt, to create a new model prepopulated with certain required and
commonly-used blocks. For more information, see “Creating a New
Simscape Model”.
3 Open the Simscape > Foundation Library > Hydraulic > Hydraulic Sources
library and drag the Hydraulic Pressure Source block into the model
window.
4 Open the Simscape > SimHydraulics > Hydraulic Cylinders library and
place the Single-Acting Hydraulic Cylinder block into the model window.
5 To model the valve, open the Simscape > SimHydraulics > Valves library.
Place the 3-Way Directional Valve block, found in the Directional Valves
sublibrary, and the 2-Position Valve Actuator block, found in the Valve
Actuators sublibrary, into the model window.
2-10
6 Connect the blocks as shown in the following illustration.
2-11
7 Ports T of the Hydraulic Pressure Source and 3-Way Directional Valve

blocks have to be connected to the tank, at atmospheric pressure. To model
this connection, open the Simscape > Foundation Library > Hydraulic >
Hydraulic Elements library and add the Hydraulic Reference block to your
diagram, as shown below. To do this, connect the only port of the Hydraulic
Reference block to port T of the Hydraulic Pressure Source block, then
right-click this connection line to create a branching point, and connect this
point to port T of the 3-Way Directional Valve block.
2-12
8 Model the mechanical load for the cylinder. Open the Simscape >
Foundation Library > Mechanical > Translational Elements library and
add the Mass, Translational Spring, Translational Damper, and three
Mechanical Translational Reference blocks to your diagram.
To indicate that the cylinder case is fixed, connect port C of the

Single-Acting Hydraulic Cylinder block to one of the Mechanical
Translational Reference blocks. To rotate the Mechanical Translational
Reference block, select it and press Ctrl+R. You can also shorten the block
name to MTR to make the diagram easier to read.
Connect the other blocks to port R of the Single-Acting Hydraulic Cylinder

block, as shown below.
2-13
9 Now you need to add the sources and scopes. They are found in the regular
Simulink libraries. Open the Simulink > Sources library and copy the
Constant block and the Sine Wave block into the model. Then open the
Simulink > Sinks library and copy two Scope blocks. Rename one of the
Scope blocks to Valve. It will monitor the valve opening based on the input
signal variation. The other Scope block will monitor the position of the
cylinder rod; rename it to Position.
2-14
10 Double-click the Valve scope to open it. In the scope window, click to
access the scope parameters, change Number of axes to 2, and click OK.
The scope window now displays two sets of axes, and the Valve scope in
the diagram has two input ports.
11 Every time you connect a Simulink source or scope to a SimHydraulics

diagram, you have to use an appropriate converter block, to convert
Simulink signals into physical signals and vice versa. Open the Simscape
> Utilities library and copy two Simulink-PS Converter blocks and two
PS-Simulink Converter blocks into the model. Connect the blocks as shown
below.
2-15
12 To specify the fluid properties, add the Hydraulic Fluid block, found in the
Simscape > SimHydraulics > Hydraulic Utilities library, to your diagram.
You can add this block anywhere on the hydraulic circuit by creating a
branching point and connecting it to the only port of the Hydraulic Fluid
block.
13 Each topologically distinct physical network in a diagram requires exactly

one Solver Configuration block, found in the Simscape > Utilities library.
Copy this block into your model and connect it to the circuit, similar to the
Hydraulic Fluid block. Your diagram now should look like this.
14 Your block diagram is now complete. Save it as simple_hydro.mdl.
2-16
Modifying Initial Settings

After you have put together a block diagram of your model, as described in the
previous section, you need to select a solver and provide the correct values for
block parameters. All the blocks have default parameter values that allow
them to run “out of the box,” but you may need to change some of them to suit
your particular application.
To prepare for simulating the model, follow these steps:
1 Select a Simulink solver. On the top menu bar of the model window,
select Simulation > Configuration Parameters. The Configuration
Parameters dialog box opens, showing the Solver node.
Under Solver options, set Solver to ode15s (Stiff/NDF) and Max step
size to 0.2.
Also note that Simulation time is specified to be between 0 and 10

seconds. You can adjust this setting later, if needed.
2-17
Click OK to close the Configuration Parameters dialog box.
2 Select a fluid. Double-click the Hydraulic Fluid block. In the Block

Parameters dialog box, set Hydraulic Fluid to Skydrol 5 and set the
other block parameters as shown below.
2-18
Click OK to close the Block Parameters dialog box.
3 Specify the units for the pressure input signal. Simulink signals are
unitless. When you convert them to physical signals, you can supply units
by using the converter blocks. Double-click the Simulink-PS Converter1
block, enter Pa in the Input signal unit combo box, and click OK. When
the physical modeling software parses the model, it matches the input
signal units with the block input ports and provides error messages if there
is a discrepancy. For more information, see “Model Validation”.
4 Specify a realistic value for the pressure input signal. Double-click the
Constant block, enter 10e5 in the Constant value text box, and click OK.
5 Open the 2-Position Valve Actuator block and note that its Nominal
Signal Value parameter is set to 24.
2-19
6 Double-click the Sine Wave block and change its Amplitude to a value
greater than 50% of the nominal signal value for the 2-Position Valve
Actuator block, for example, to 20.
7 Adjust the 3-Way Directional Valve block parameters as shown below.
8 Adjust the Single-Acting Hydraulic Cylinder block parameters as shown

below.
2-20
9 Double-click the Mass block and change its Mass to 4.5 kg.
10 Double-click the Translational Damper block, which models the viscous

friction, and change its Damping coefficient to 250 N/(m/s).
11 Double-click the Translational Spring block. Set its Spring rate to 6e3
N/m and Initial deformation to 0.02 m.
12 Save the model.
Running the Simulation

After you’ve put together a block diagram and specified the initial settings for
your model, you can run the simulation.
2-21
1 The input signal for the valve opening is provided by the Sine Wave block.
The Valve scope reflects both the input signal and the valve opening as
functions of time. The Position scope outputs the cylinder rod displacement
as a function of time. Double-click both scopes to open them.
2 To run the simulation, click in the model window toolbar. The physical
modeling solver evaluates the model, calculates the initial conditions,
and runs the simulation. For a detailed description of this process, see
“How Simscape Simulation Works”. Completion of this step may take a
few seconds. The message in the bottom-left corner of the model window
provides the status update.
3 Once the simulation starts running, the Valve and Position scope windows
display the simulation results, as shown in the next illustration.
2-22
In the beginning, the valve is closed. Then, as the input signal reaches 50%
of the actuator’s nominal signal, the valve gradually opens to its maximum
value and moves the cylinder rod in the positive direction. When the input
signal goes below 50% of the nominal signal, the actuator closes the valve.
The spring returns the cylinder rod to its initial position.
You can now adjust various inputs and block parameters and see their effect
on the valve opening profile and the cylinder rod displacement.
Adjusting the Parameters

After running the initial simulation, you can experiment with adjusting
various inputs and block parameters.
Try the following adjustments:
1 Change the input signal for valve opening.
2 Change the cylinder load parameters.
3 Change the rod position output units.
2-23
Changing the Valve Input Signal

This example shows how a change in the input signal affects the opening of
the valve, and therefore the cylinder rod displacement.
1 Double-click the Sine Wave block, enter 40 in the Amplitude text box,
and click OK.
2 Run the simulation. The simulation results are shown in the following
illustration. With the increase in the input signal amplitude, it reaches
50% of the actuator’s nominal signal sooner, and the valve stays open
longer, which in turn affects the cylinder rod position.
2-24
Changing the Cylinder Load Parameters

In our model, the cylinder drives a load consisting of a mass, viscous friction,
and preloaded spring. This example shows how a change in the spring
stiffness affects the cylinder rod displacement.
1 Double-click the Translational Spring block. Set its Spring rate to 12e3
N/m.
2 Run the simulation. The valve opening profile is not affected, but
increase in spring stiffness results in smaller amplitude of cylinder rod
displacement, as shown in the following illustration.
2-25
Changing the Rod Position Output Units

In our model, we have used the PS-Simulink Converter block in its default
parameter configuration, which does not specify units. Therefore, the
Position scope outputs the cylinder rod displacement in the units specified
for the parameters of the Single-Acting Hydraulic Cylinder block; in this
case, in meters. This example shows how to change the output units for the
cylinder rod displacement to millimeters.
1 Double-click the PS-Simulink Converter block. Type mm in the Output

signal unit text box and click OK.
2 Run the simulation. In the Position scope window, click to autoscale

the scope axes. The cylinder rod displacement is now output in millimeters,
as shown in the following illustration.
2-26
2-27
Modeling Power Units

The power unit is perhaps the most prevalent unit in hydraulic systems.
Its main function is to supply the required amount of fluid under specified
pressure. There is a wide variety of power unit designs varying by the amount
and type of pumps, prime movers, valves, tanks, etc. The set of blocks
available in the SimHydraulics libraries allows you to simulate practically
any of these configurations. This section considers basic approaches in
simulating power units and examples of typical schematics.
A typical power unit of a hydraulic system, as shown in the following

illustration, consists of a fixed-displacement or variable-displacement pump,
reservoir, pressure-relief valve, and a prime mover that drives the hydraulic
pump.
Typical Hydraulic Power Unit
In developing a model of a power unit, you must reach a compromise between

the robustness, speed of simulation, and accuracy, meaning that the model
should be as simple as possible to provide acceptable accuracy within the
working range of variable parameters.
The first option is to simulate a power unit literally, as it is, reproducing

all its components. This approach is illustrated in the Power Unit with
Fixed-Displacement Pump demo (sh_power_unit_fxd_dspl_pump). The
power unit consists of a fixed-displacement pump, which is driven by a motor
through a compliant transmission, a pressure-relief valve, and a variable
2-28
orifice, which simulates system fluid consumption. The motor model is

represented as a source of angular velocity rotating shaft at 188 rad/s at zero
torque. The load on the shaft decreases the velocity with a slip coefficient of
1.2 (rad/s)/Nm. The load on the driving shaft is measured with the torque
sensor. The shaft between the motor and the pump is assumed to be compliant
and simulated with rotational spring and damper.
The simulation starts with the variable orifice opened, which results in a low
system pressure and the maximum flow rate going to the system. The orifice
starts closing at 0.5 s, and is closed completely at 3 s. The output pressure
builds up until it reaches the pressure setting of the relief valve (75e5 Pa) and
is maintained at this level by the valve. At 3 s, the variable orifice starts
opening, thus returning system to its initial state.
You can implement a considerably more complex model of a prime mover

by following the pattern used in the demo. For instance, the shaft can be
represented with multiple segments and intermediate bearings. The model of
a prime mover can be more comprehensive, accounting for its type (DC or AC
electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine), characteristics, control type, and
so on. In addition, a complex mechanical transmission driven by a diesel or
gasoline internal combustion engine modeled using SimDriveline™ software
can be combined with the SimHydraulics model of the hydraulic portion of a
power unit.
Depending on your particular application, you may be able to simplify the

model of a power unit practically without a loss in accuracy. The main
factors to be considered in this process are the driving shaft angular velocity
variation magnitude and the system pressure variation range. If the prime
mover angular velocity remains practically constant during simulated time or
varies insignificantly with respect to its steady-state value, the entire driving
shaft subsystem can be replaced with the Ideal Angular Velocity Source block,
whose output is set to the steady-state value, as it is shown in the following
illustration.
2-29
Using the Ideal Angular Velocity Source Block in Modeling Power Units
Furthermore, if pump delivery exceeds the system’s fluid requirements at all

times, the pump output pressure remains practically constant and close to
the pressure setting of the pressure-relief valve. If this assumption is true
and acceptable, the entire power unit can be reduced to an ideal Hydraulic
Pressure Source block, as shown in the next illustration.
2-30
Using the Hydraulic Pressure Source Block in Modeling Power Units
The two previous examples demonstrate that the use of ideal sources is a
powerful means of reducing the complexity of models. However, you should
exercise extreme caution every time you use an ideal source instead of a real
pump. The substitution is possible only if there is an assurance that the
controlled parameter (angular velocity in the first example, and pressure
in the second example) remains constant. If this is not the case, the power
unit represented with an ideal source will generate considerably more power
than its simulated physical counterpart, thus making the simulation results
incorrect.
2-31
Modeling Directional Valves

In this section...
“Types of Directional Valves” on page 2-32
“4-Way Directional Valve Configurations” on page 2-33
“Building Blocks and How to Use Them” on page 2-38
“Example of Building a Custom Directional Valve” on page 2-42
Types of Directional Valves

The main function of directional valves in hydraulic systems is to direct and
distribute flow between consumers. As far as the valve modeling is concerned,
the valves are classified by the following main characteristics:
• Number of external paths (connecting ports) — One-way, two-way,

three-way, four-way, multiple-way
• Number of positions a control member of the valve can assume —
Two-position, three-position, multiple-position, continuous (can assume
any position within working range)
• Control member type — Spool, poppet, sliding flat spool, and so on
As an example, the following illustration shows a portion of a hydraulic

system with a 4-way, 3-position directional valve controlling a double-acting
cylinder, next to its schematic diagram.
2-32
Throughout SimHydraulics libraries, hydraulic ports are identified with the

following symbols:
• P — Pressure port
• T — Return (tank) port
• A, B — Actuator ports
• X, Y — Pilot or control ports
4-Way Directional Valve Configurations

4-way directional valves are available in multiple configurations, depending
on the port connections in three distinctive valve positions: leftmost, neutral,
and rightmost. Each configuration is characterized by the number of variable
orifices, the way the orifices are connected, and initial openings of the orifices.
Ten 4-way directional valve blocks in SimHydraulics libraries represent
twenty most typical valve configurations. Configurations that differ only by
the values of initial openings are covered by the same model.
The basic 4-Way Directional Valve block lets you model eleven most popular
configurations by changing the initial openings of the orifices, as shown in the
following table.
2-33
Basic 4-Way Directional Valve Configurations
No Configuration Initial Openings

1 All four orifices are overlapped in neutral position:
• Orifice P-A initial opening < 0

• Orifice P-B initial opening < 0
• Orifice A-T initial opening < 0
• Orifice B-T initial opening < 0
2 All four orifices are open (underlapped) in neutral position:
• Orifice P-A initial opening > 0

• Orifice P-B initial opening > 0
• Orifice A-T initial opening > 0
• Orifice B-T initial opening > 0
3 Orifices P-A and P-B are overlapped. Orifices A-T and B-T
are overlapped for more than valve stroke:

• Orifice A-T initial opening < – valve_stroke
• Orifice B-T initial opening < – valve_stroke
4 Orifices P-A and P-B are overlapped, while orifices A-T and
B-T are open:

2-34
Basic 4-Way Directional Valve Configurations (Continued)

5 Orifices P-A and A-T are open in neutral position, while
orifices P-B and B-T are overlapped:

6 Orifice A-T is initially open, while all three remaining
orifices are overlapped:

7 Orifice B-T is initially open, while all three remaining

8 Orifices P-A and P-B are open, while orifices A-T and B-T
are overlapped:

2-35
Basic 4-Way Directional Valve Configurations (Continued)

9 Orifice P-A is initially open, while all three remaining

10 Orifice P-B is initially open, while all three remaining

11 Orifices P-B and B-T are open, while orifices P-A and A-T
are overlapped:

The other nine configurations are covered by the remaining 4-way directional
valve blocks (A through K), as shown in the next table.
2-36
Other 4-Way Directional Valve Blocks
Block Name Configuration Description

4-Way Directional Valve A Contains two additional
normally-open,
sequentially-located orifices.
Valve displacement to the left
or to the right closes the path
to tank.
4-Way Directional Valve B Ports P and A are
permanently connected
through fixed orifice. Orifices
P-B and B-T are initially open
(underlapped).
4-Way Directional Valve C Ports P and B are
permanently connected
through fixed orifice. Orifices
P-A, A-T and B-T are initially
open (underlapped).
4-Way Directional Valve D Two orifices are installed in
the P-A link. Port A never
connects to port T.
4-Way Directional Valve E Two orifices are installed in

the P-B link. Port B never
connects to port T.
4-Way Directional Valve F Two parallel orifices in the

P-A arm and two series
orifices in the A-T arm.
2-37
Other 4-Way Directional Valve Blocks (Continued)
Block Name Configuration Description

4-Way Directional Valve G Two parallel orifices in the
P-B arm and two series
orifices in the B-T arm.
4-Way Directional Valve H Two parallel orifices in the

P-B arm and two series
orifices in the P-T arm.
4-Way Directional Valve K Two parallel orifices in the

P-A arm and two series
orifices in the P-T arm.
Building Blocks and How to Use Them

The Directional Valves library offers several prebuilt directional valve models.
As indicated in their descriptions, all of them are symmetrical, continuous
valves. In other words, the control member in 2-way, 3-way, 4-way, and
6-way valves can assume any position, controlled by the physical signal port
S. The valves are symmetrical in that all the orifices the valve is built of
are of the same type and size. The only possible difference between orifices
is the orifice initial opening.
These configurations cover a substantial portion of real valves, but the

directional valves family is so diverse as to make it practically impossible to
have a library model for every member. Instead, SimHydraulics libraries offer
a set of building blocks that is comprehensive enough to build a model for
any real configuration. This section describes the rules of building a custom
model of a directional valve.
All directional valve models are built of variable orifices. In SimHydraulics

libraries, the following variable orifice models are available:
2-38
• Annular Orifice
• Orifice with Variable Area Round Holes
• Orifice with Variable Area Slot
• Variable Orifice
• Ball Valve
• Ball Valve with Conical Seat
• Needle Valve
• Poppet Valve
To simplify the way variable orifices are combined in a model, their

instantaneous opening is computed in the same way for all types of orifices.
The orifice opening is always computed in the direction the spool, or any
other control member, opens the orifice. In other words, positive value of the
opening corresponds to open orifice, while negative value denotes overlapped,
or closed, orifice. The origin always corresponds to zero-lap position, when
the edge of the control member coincides with the edge of the orifice. In the
illustration below, origins are marked with 0 for the orifice with variable
area round holes (schematic on the left) and for the orifice with variable slot
(schematic on the right). The x arrow denotes the direction in which orifice
opening is measured in both cases.
2-39
The instantaneous value of the orifice opening is determined as
h = x0 + xsp or
where
h Instantaneous orifice opening.

x0 Initial opening. The initial opening value is positive for initially
open (underlapped) orifices and negative for overlapped orifices.
xsp Spool (or other control member) displacement from initial position,
which controls the orifice.
or Orifice orientation indicator. The variable assumes +1 value if
a spool displacement in the globally assigned positive direction
opens the orifice, and -1 if positive motion decreases the opening.
The number of variable orifices and the way they are connected are
determined by the valve design. Usually, the model of a valve mimics the
physical layout of a real valve. The illustration below shows an example of a
4-way valve, its symbol, and an equivalent circuit of its SimHydraulics model.
2-40
The 4-way valve in its simplest form is built of four variable orifices. In the
equivalent circuit, they are named P_A, P_B, A_T, and B_T. The Variable
Orifice block, which is the most generic model of a variable orifice in the
SimHydraulics libraries, is used in this particular example. You can use any
other variable orifice blocks if the real valve design employs a configuration
backed by a stock model, such as an orifice with round holes or rectangular
slots, poppet, ball, or needle. In general, all orifices in the model can be
simulated with different blocks or with the same block, but with different
way of parameterization. For instance, two orifices can be represented by
their pressure-flow characteristics, while two others can be simulated with
the table-specified area variation option (for details, see the Variable Orifice
block reference page).
The next example shows another configuration of a 4-way directional valve.

This valve unloads the pump in neutral position and requires six variable
orifice blocks. The Orifice with Variable Area Round Holes blocks have
been used as a variable orifice in this model. Port T1 corresponds to an
intermediate point between ports P and T.
2-41
Example of Building a Custom Directional Valve

Finally, let us consider a more complex directional valve example. The figure
below shows basic elements of a front loader hydraulic system. Both the
lift and the tilt cylinders are controlled by custom 3-position, 5-way valves,
developed for this particular application. The valves are designed in such a
2-42
way that the pump delivery is diverted to tank (unloaded) if both cylinders
are commanded to be in neutral position. The pump is disconnected from the
tank if either of the two control valves is shifted from neutral position.
To develop a model, the physical version of the valve must be created first.
The following illustration shows one of the possible configurations of the valve.
2-43
The SimHydraulics model, shown below, is an exact copy of the physical valve
configuration.
2-44
All the orifices in the model are closed (overlapped) in valve neutral position,
except orifices P_T1_1 and P_T1_2. These two orifices should be set open to an
extent that allows pump delivery to be discharged at low pressure.
2-45
Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation Systems

In this section...
“How Fluid Transportation Systems Differ from Power and Control
Systems” on page 2-46
“Available Blocks and How to Use Them ” on page 2-48
“Example of a Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation System” on page 2-50
How Fluid Transportation Systems Differ from Power

and Control Systems
In hydraulics, the steady uniform flow in a component with one entrance and
one exit is characterized by the following energy equation
W V 2 − V12 p2 − p1
s
− = 2 + + z2 − z1 + hL

mg 2g ρg (2-1)
where
 Work rate performed by fluid

W s

m Mass flow rate
V2 Fluid velocity at the exit

V1 Fluid velocity at the entrance
p1 , p 2 Static pressure at the entrance and the exit, respectively
g Gravity acceleration
ρ Fluid density
z 1, z 2 Elevation above a reference plane (datum) at the entrance and
the exit, respectively
hL Hydraulic loss
Subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the entrance and exit, respectively. All the terms
in Equation 2-1 have dimensions of height and are named kinematic head,
2-46
piezometric head, geometric head, and loss head, respectively. For a variety of
reasons, analysis of hydraulic power and control systems is performed with
respect to pressures, rather than to heads, and Equation 2-1 for a typical
passive component is presented in the form
ρ 2 ρ
V1 + p1 + ρgz1 = V22 + p2 + ρgz2 + pL
2 2 (2-2)
where
V 1 , p1 , Velocity, static pressure, and elevation at the entrance, respectively

z1
V 2 , p2 , Velocity, static pressure, and elevation at the exit, respectively
z2
pL Pressure loss
ρ
Term V 2 is frequently referred to as kinematic, or dynamic, pressure, and
2
ρgz as piezometric pressure. Dynamic pressure terms are usually neglected
because they are very small, and Equation 2-2 takes the form
p1 + ρgz1 = p2 + ρgz2 + pL (2-3)
The size of a typical power and control system is usually small and rarely
exceeds 1.5 – 2 m. To add to this, these systems operate at pressures in the
range 50 – 300 bar. Therefore, ρgz terms are negligibly small compared to
static pressures. As a result, SimHydraulics components (with the exception
of the ones designed specifically for low-pressure simulation, described in
“Available Blocks and How to Use Them ” on page 2-48) have been developed
with respect to static pressures, with the following equations
p = pL = f (q)
q = f ( p1 , p2 ) (2-4)
where
2-47
p Pressure difference between component ports

q Flow rate through the component
Fluid transportation systems usually operate at low pressures (about 2-4 bar),
and the difference in component elevation with respect to reference plane can
be very large. Therefore, geometrical head becomes an essential part of the
energy balance and must be accounted for. In other words, the low-pressure
fluid transportation systems must be simulated with respect to piezometric
pressures p pz = p + ρgz , rather than static pressures. This requirement is
reflected in the component equations
p = pL = f (q, z1 , z2 )
q = f ( p1 , p2 , z1 , z2 ) (2-5)
Equations in the form Equation 2-5 must be applied to describe a hydraulic

component with significant difference between port elevations. In hydraulic
systems, there is only one type of such components: hydraulic pipes. The
models of pipes intended to be used in low pressure systems must account
for difference in elevation of their ports. The dimensions of the rest of the
components are too small to contribute noticeably to energy balance, and their
models can be built with the constant elevation assumption, like all the other
SimHydraulics blocks. To sum it up:
• You can build models of low-pressure systems with difference in elevations

of their components using regular SimHydraulics blocks, with the exception
of the pipes. Use low-pressure pipes, described in “Available Blocks and
How to Use Them ” on page 2-48 .
• When modeling low-pressure systems, you must use low-pressure pipe
blocks to connect all nodes with difference in elevation, because these are
the only blocks that provide information about the vertical locations of
the system parts. Nodes connected with any other blocks, such as valves,
orifices, actuators, and so on, will be treated as if they have the same
elevation.
Available Blocks and How to Use Them

When modeling low-pressure hydraulic systems, use the pipe blocks from the
Low-Pressure Blocks library instead of the regular pipe blocks. These blocks
2-48
account for the port elevation above reference plane and differ in the extent of
idealization, just like their high-pressure counterparts:
• Resistive Pipe LP — Models hydraulic pipe with circular and noncircular

cross sections and accounts for friction loss only, similar to the Resistive
Tube block, available in the Simscape Foundation library.
• Resistive Pipe LP with Variable Elevation — Models hydraulic pipe with
circular and noncircular cross sections and accounts for friction losses and
variable port elevations. Use this block for low-pressure system simulation
in which the pipe ends change their positions with respect to the reference
plane.
• Hydraulic Pipe LP — Models hydraulic pipe with circular and noncircular
cross sections and accounts for friction loss along the pipe length and
for fluid compressibility, similar to the Hydraulic Pipeline block in the
Pipelines library.
• Hydraulic Pipe LP with Variable Elevation — Models hydraulic pipe with
circular and noncircular cross sections and accounts for friction loss along
the pipe length and for fluid compressibility, as well as variable port
elevations. Use this block for low-pressure system simulation in which the
pipe ends change their positions with respect to the reference plane.
• Segmented Pipe LP — Models circular hydraulic pipe and accounts
for friction loss, fluid compressibility, and fluid inertia, similar to the
Segmented Pipe block in the Pipelines library.
Use these low-pressure pipe blocks to connect all hydraulic nodes in your
model with difference in elevation, because these are the only blocks that
provide information about the vertical location of the ports. Nodes connected
with any other blocks, such as valves, orifices, actuators, and so on, will be
treated as if they have the same elevation.
The additional models of pressurized tanks available for low-pressure system

simulation include:
• Constant Head Tank — Represents a pressurized hydraulic reservoir,

in which fluid is stored under a specified pressure. The size of the tank
is assumed to be large enough to neglect the pressurization and fluid
level change due to fluid volume. The block accounts for the fluid level
elevation with respect to the tank bottom, as well as for pressure loss in
2-49
the connecting pipe that can be caused by a filter, fittings, or some other
local resistance. The loss is specified with the pressure loss coefficient.
The block computes the volume of fluid in the tank and exports it outside
through the physical signal port V.
• Variable Head Tank — Represents a pressurized hydraulic reservoir,
in which fluid is stored under a specified pressure. The pressurization
remains constant regardless of volume change. The block accounts for the
fluid level change caused by the volume variation, as well as for pressure
loss in the connecting pipe that can be caused by a filter, fittings, or
some other local resistance. The loss is specified with the pressure loss
coefficient. The block computes the volume of fluid in the tank and exports
it outside through the physical signal port V.
• Variable Head Two-Arm Tank — Represents a two-arm pressurized tank,
in which fluid is stored under a specified pressure. The pressurization
loss in the connecting pipes that can be caused by a filter, fittings, or some
other local resistance. The loss is specified with the pressure loss coefficient
at each outlet. The block computes the volume of fluid in the tank and
exports it outside through the physical signal port V.
• Variable Head Three-Arm Tank — Represents a three-arm pressurized
tank, in which fluid is stored under a specified pressure. The pressurization
loss in the connecting pipes that can be caused by a filter, fittings, or some
other local resistance. The loss is specified with the pressure loss coefficient
at each outlet. The block computes the volume of fluid in the tank and
exports it outside through the physical signal port V.
Example of a Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation

System
The following illustration shows a simple system consisting of three tanks
whose bottom surfaces are located at heights H1, H2, and H3, respectively,
from the reference plane. The tanks are connected by pipes to a hydraulic
manifold, which may contain any hydraulic elements, such as valves, orifices,
pumps, accumulators, other pipes, and so on, but these elements have one
feature in common – their elevations are all the same and equal to H4.
2-50
The models of tanks account for the fluid level heights F1, F2, and F3,
respectively, and represent pressure at their bottoms as
pi = ρgFi for i = 1, 2, 3
The components inside the manifold can be simulated with regular

SimHydraulics blocks, like you would use for hydraulic power and control
systems simulation. The pipes must be simulates with one of the low-pressure
pipe models: Resistive Pipe LP, Hydraulic Pipe LP, or Segmented Pipe LP,
depending on the required extent of idealization. Use the Constant Head
Tank or Variable Head Tank blocks to simulate the tanks. For details of
implementation, see the Water Supply System (sh_water_supply_system)
and the Fluid Transportation System with Three Tanks (sh_three_tanks)
demos.
2-51
2-52
A
Examples
Use this list to find examples in the documentation.

A Examples
Getting Started
“Creating and Simulating a Simple Hydraulic Model” on page 2-9
A-2

“Example of Building a Custom Directional Valve” on page 2-42
A-3
A Examples

“Example of a Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation System” on page 2-50
A-4
Index
A
Index block library structure 2-2
accuracy simulating models 1-6
model parameter values 1-7 speed
model parameters that affect 1-7 model parameter values 1-7
model parameters that affect 1-7
H
W
hydraulic fluids
specifying properties 2-7 workflow
SimElectronics® 2-5
S
SimHydraulics® software
Index-1

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SimHydraulics®

[email protected] Product enhancement suggestions

The MathWorks, Inc.

Assumptions and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Related Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Modeling Physical Networks with SimHydraulics

Simulating Hydraulic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Model Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

Modeling Hydraulic Systems

Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Creating and Simulating a Simple Hydraulic Model . . 2-9

Modeling Power Units ............................. 2-28

Modeling Directional Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32

Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation

Modeling Directional Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3

Modeling Low-Pressure Fluid Transportation

• “Product Description” on page 1-2

Assumptions and Limitations

SimHydraulics software is based on the assumption that fluid temperature

SimHydraulics software requires these products:

Other Related Products

For more information about MathWorks® software products, see either

• The online documentation for that product if it is installed

Modeling Physical Networks with SimHydraulics Blocks

SimHydraulics models are essentially Simscape block diagrams. When

Simulating Hydraulic Models

• Explanation of how SimHydraulics software validates and simulates a

To use Simulink Coder™ software to generate standalone C or C++ code from

Specifying Simulation Accuracy/Speed Tradeoff

• Relative tolerance (in the Configuration Parameters dialog box)

The Simulink documentation describes the following parameters in more

The Solver Configuration block reference page in the Simscape documentation

Troubleshooting Hydraulic Models

• Review the model configuration. If your error message contains a list of

make your model more realistic, factoring in effects such as fluid

For a complete description of this functionality, see “Add-On Product License

• “SimHydraulics Block Libraries” on page 2-2

SimHydraulics Block Libraries

Library Structure Overview

• Foundation library — Contains basic hydraulic, mechanical, and physical

Using the Simulink Library Browser to Access the

Alternatively, you can type simulink in the MATLAB Command Window.

Using the Command Prompt to Access the Block

• To open just the SimHydraulics library, type sh_lib in the MATLAB

The SimHydraulics library consists of eight top-level libraries, as shown

1 Create a Simulink model that includes hydraulic or hydro-mechanical

In the majority of applications, it is most natural to model the physical

2 Define component data by specifying hydraulic or mechanical properties

For more information about parameterizing blocks, see individual block

3 Configure the solver options.

4 Run the simulation.

For more information on how to perform time-domain simulation of an

Essential Hydraulic Modeling Techniques

Overview of Modeling Rules

• SimHydraulics blocks, in general, feature Conserving ports and Physical

For examples of applying these rules when creating an actual hydraulic

Working with Fluids

Each topologically distinct hydraulic circuit in a diagram requires exactly one

• The Custom Hydraulic Fluid block, available in the Simscape Foundation