Introductory Motion and Control

Exercises #1 Basic Hydraulic Circuits

1. Explain the difference between fixed volume pumps and pressure-compensated, variable volume pumps.
What is the major advantage of a pressure-compensated, variable volume pump over a fixed volume pump?

2. Explain the function of directional control valves in basic hydraulic circuits. Describe the operation of a
simple hydraulic circuit that would use a solenoid-operated, directional control valve. If the solenoid-
operated valve in your example circuit is replaced with a proportional directional valve, how will the
operation of the system change?

3. At a certain location within a hydraulic circuit, the pressure is 200 (psi) and the flow rate is 2 (gpm). Calculate
the fluid power at this location. Express your results in horsepower (Hp).
Answer: P  0.233 (Hp)

4. The flow rate through and pressure drop across an orifice can be modeled by the equation Q = k pin − pout .

Given the following data, estimate a value of the proportionality constant k that provides the best fit (in a
least-squares sense) to the data. Plot the data along with your curve fit to verify your results.
p (psi) 60 80 100 120 130 140 150 160 168 200 220 240
Q (gpm) 0.793 0.925 1.06 1.12 1.16 1.22 1.27 1.29 1.32 1.45 1.52 1.59
Answer: k  0.1027

5. Calculate the power loss (in Hp and ft-lb/sec) through the orifice for each of the data points listed in the table
of problem 4.

6. A hydraulic cylinder has an inner diameter of 1.5 (in) and a rod with an outer diameter of 1.0 (in) . a) Find
the speeds of extension and retraction of the cylinder, assuming an input flow rate of 2 (gpm) . b) Find the
pressures developed during extension and retraction assuming the cylinder has a constant resistive load of
100 (lb) .
Answers:
a) v ext  4.36 (in/s) , v ret  7.84 (in/s) ;
b) p ext  56.6 (psi) , p ret  102 (psi)

Kamman – Introductory Motion and Control – Exercises #1: Basic Hydraulic Circuits – page: 1/4
7. The system shown consists of a fixed-displacement pump, a
pressure relief valve, a variable flow restrictor, a flow meter,
and a filter. With the vent valve closed, the following data was
collected during operation of the system.

Flow Rate (Q ) Pressure Drop ( p) Across Flow Restrictor

(gpm) (psi)
1.9 120
2.4 180
2.6 220

Complete the following:

a) Assuming the flow rate through the restrictor is governed by the equation Q = k  p , estimate the

coefficient k for this flow restrictor by averaging the values for each data pair in the table. b) Given the pressure
drop across the same flow restrictor is 150 psi, estimate the flow rate and power loss through the flow
restrictor. c) Estimate the flow through the pressure relief valve for the conditions of part (b). The fixed-
displacement pump has a maximum flow rate of 3 (gpm).
Answers:
a) kavg = 0.1759 ; b) Q = 2.15 (gpm) , P = 0.189 (Hp) ; c) QPRV = 0.846 (gpm)

8. The figure shows a simple hydraulic actuation system

driven by a fixed displacement pump whose maximum
flow rate is 3 (gpm) . The hydraulic cylinder has a piston
of diameter of 2 (in) , and a rod of diameter of 1.5 (in) .
Movement of the piston is resisted by the constant force
F = 100 (lb) . This force always acts opposite the motion
of the cylinder. Neglecting losses in the hydraulic lines and
the solenoid-actuated valve, and assuming a closed vent
valve and ideal response for the pressure relief valve,
complete the following:
a) Find the maximum possible cylinder velocities ( xext , xret ) during extension and retraction of the cylinder

if the relief valve remains fully closed. b) Find the minimum power that must be supplied to the pump to
move the 100 (lb) load at the speed calculated in part (a) for extension of the cylinder. What is the
corresponding pressure in the cap end of the cylinder? c) What is the maximum possible flow rate in this
system?

Kamman – Introductory Motion and Control – Exercises #1: Basic Hydraulic Circuits – page: 2/4
 Answers:
a) xext = 3.68 in/sec , xret = 8.4 in/sec ; b) P = 368 (in-lb)/sec , p = 31.8 psi ; c) Qmax = 6.86 gpm

9. The figure shows a simple hydraulic actuation system

driven by a fixed displacement pump whose maximum
flow rate is 3 (gpm) . The hydraulic cylinder has a piston
of diameter of 2 (in) , and a rod of diameter of
1.5 (in) . Movement of the piston is resisted by the force
F (lb) . This force always acts opposite the motion and

is known to vary with piston speed ( x (in/s) ) as

| F |= 100 + ( 20 | x |) (lb) . Given the pressure relief valve

is set to open at 100 (psi) , complete the following.

Neglecting losses in the hydraulic lines and the solenoid-
actuated valve, and assuming a closed vent valve and ideal response for the pressure relief valve, complete
the following: a) Estimate ( xe )max the maximum possible extension speed of the cylinder. Will the relief

valve open during extension? b) Estimate ( xr )max the maximum possible retraction speed of the cylinder.

Will the relief valve open during retraction?

Answers:
a) relief valve does not open with ( xe )max  3.68 (in/s) ; b) relief valve opens with ( xr )max  1.87 (in/s)

10. The figure shows a metering-out circuit for a hydraulic

cylinder. The system has a 3 (gpm) fixed-displacement
pump, and the hydraulic cylinder has cap-end and rod-end
areas of Ac = 2 (in 2 ) and Ar = 1 (in 2 ) . The flow from the

rod end of the cylinder passes through a variable flow

control valve with a check valve by-pass. A flow meter is
in the return line. Neglecting losses in the hydraulic lines
and the solenoid-actuated valve, and assuming a closed
vent valve and ideal response for the pressure relief valve,
complete the following: a) Briefly describe the role of
the check valve in this system. b) During an extension

cycle, the flow meter measures 1 (gpm) . Find xext the speed of the cylinder extension, Qc the flow rate into

the cap end of the cylinder, and QPRV the flow rate over the pressure relief valve. c) Is it possible to have flow

Kamman – Introductory Motion and Control – Exercises #1: Basic Hydraulic Circuits – page: 3/4
 rates in this system higher than 3 (gpm) ? If so, what is the maximum rate you expect, and where does it
occur? d) Can the pressure anywhere in this system be greater than the cracking pressure of the pressure relief
valve? If so, where? Consider all possible settings of the flow control valve from fully open to fully closed.
Assume the pressure relief valve is set to open at 300 (psi) . e) Given the pressure at the inlet of the flow
control valve is measured to be 250 (psi), and the pressure at the outlet of the flow control valve is measured
to be 50 (psi), find the power loss over the restriction in horsepower (HP). Assume the pressure relief valve
remains fully closed.
Answers:
a) The check valve forces flow through the flow control valve (restriction) during cylinder extension but
allows the flow to avoid the restriction during retraction.
b) xext = 3.85 (in/sec) , Qc = 2 (gpm) , QPRV = 1 (gpm)
c) Yes, if the flow over the pressure relief valve is zero during retraction, then Qrod = 3 (gpm) and
Qcap = 6 (gpm) . The maximum flow rate is 6 (gpm) out of the cap end of the cylinder.
d) Yes, if the flow control valve is completely closed, then pcap = 300 (psi) and prod = 600 (psi) .
e) Ploss = 0.175 (Hp)
11. The system shown represents the hydraulics portion of a closed-
loop hydraulic cylinder positioning system. An electronic control
system manages the spool position of a linear proportional control
valve to control the position ( x) of the attached hydraulic
cylinder. Explain the phenomenon of dead-band of a linear
proportional control valve. What affect does dead-band have on
the operation of the closed-loop positioning system? What types
of components exhibit dead-band in electromechanical systems?

12. The diagram shows representations of solenoid-actuated directional control valves with closed centers, open
centers, and tandem centers. The symbols “P” and “T” represent the pressure and tank lines, and the symbols
“A” and “B” represent the valves working ports. Explain the differences between these different types of
centers. Also explain how the hydraulic actuation system of problem 8 would behave differently with each of
these types of valve centers.

Kamman – Introductory Motion and Control – Exercises #1: Basic Hydraulic Circuits – page: 4/4