Fast-switching seat valves suitable for digital hydraulic pumps and motors utilize direct electromagnetic actuators, which must exhibit superior transient performance to allow efficient operation of the fluid power pump/motor. A moving coil actuator resulting in a minimum valve switching time is designed for such valves using transient finite-element analysis of the electromagnetic circuit. The valve dynamics are coupled to the fluid restrictive forces, which significantly influence the effective actuator force. Fluid forces are modeled based on transient computational fluid dynamics models. The electromagnetic finite-element model is verified against experimental measurement, and used to design an optimum moving coil actuator for the application considering different voltage-current ratios of the power supply. Results show that the optimum design depends on the supply voltage-current ratio, however, the minimum switching time obtained is nearly independent on this voltage-current ratio. Selecting a suitable power supply based on thermal considerations yields a switching time just above one millisecond for a travel length of 3.5 mm while submerged in oil. The proposed valve has a pressure drop below 0.5 bar at 600 L/min flow rate, enabling efficient operation of digital hydraulic pumps and motors.

We present an analysis of what is called parametric oscillation in photorefractive media. It is shown theoretically that when a running grating and a constant electric field are applied to a photorefractive medium it is possible for two secondary gratings to grow spontaneously. These theoretical predictions are subsequently verified experimentally in the crystal Bi₁₂SiO₂₀, and excellent qualitative agreement is obtained. In previous subharmonic experiments, only grating vectors K/2, K/3, and K /4 were observed. Now, however, a whole continuum of grating vectors has been observed. Thus subharmonic generation in photorefractive materials is simply a special case of parametric oscillation in which the two secondary gratings are identical.

Fluid stiction may significantly influence the dynamic behavior when attempting to quickly separate two plates in close contact. The liquid fluid film, filling the gap between the plates, experiences a pressure drop resulting from an increasing distance, and cavitation may appear if sufficient separation speed and low plate distance are present. In the case of small initial plate separation, fluid tension is known to develop and the stiction force may exceed the maximum stiction force calculated by assuming strictly positive pressures in the fluid film. In this paper, a model for simulating the time dependent fluid stiction phenomenon, including a fluid tensile strength and cavitation effects, is proposed. The model is based on Reynolds theory, and the pressure distribution in the liquid zone is solved analytically for each time step, leading to a computationally efficient model without the need for finite element/volume methods. The considered geometry is two long parallel plates submerged in liquid, as present in many valve applications. The model is compared to experimental measurements, and it is found that the model is able to predict the stiction effect with reasonable accuracy given that proper selections of liquid tensile strength and initial plate distance are made.

We develop the nonlinear theory of transversal parametric oscillation in photorefractive sillenite crystals. The theory is nonlinear in the sense that the nonlinear feedback from the parametric space-charge field waves, above threshold of their excitation, is taken into account. In this manner, an analytical solution for the stationary state of the parametric waves is obtained. We analyze the stationary states’ stability both against small perturbations in amplitude and phase (internal stability) and against excitation of new secondary waves (external stability). It is shown that the stationary state of transversal parametric oscillation is stable within certain regions of external and internal parameters. This is opposed to the degenerate case ($K/2\mathrm{}$ subharmonic generation), which is unstable.

This paper investigates the many complications arising when controlling a digital displacement hydraulic machine with non-smooth dynamical behavior. The digital hydraulic machine has a modular construction with numerous independently controlled pressure chambers. For proper control of dynamical systems, a model representation of the systems fundamental dynamics is required for transient analysis and controller design. Since the input is binary (active or inactive) and it may only be updated discretely, the machine comprises both continuous and discrete dynamics and therefore belongs to the class of hybrid dynamical systems. The study shows that the dynamical system behavior and control complexity are greatly dependent on the configuration of the machine, the operation strategy, and in which application it is used. Although the system has non-smooth dynamics, the findings show that simple continuous and discrete approximations may be applicable for control development in certain situations, whereas more advanced hybrid control theory is necessary to cover a broader range of situations.