The use of control valves in hydraulic systems
Hydraulic power systems are increasingly popular in the worlds of industrial, mobile and aerospace equipment. This is because of the flexibility of hydraulic power systems, where they have a high power-to-weight ratio as well as being able to be stalled, intermittently operated and even reversed, they can also accelerate and decelerate rapidly and are incredibly responsive. An additional, feature attractive that makes fluid power system attractive, is that they can have a long lifespan and offer reliable operation rates.
Hydraulic systems are able to operate the way they do as they contain incompressible liquid flow in which the material density is constant within a fluid parcel. In many situations, this is a preferential option when using hydraulics to move machinery.
- Fluid systems do not generate the same amount of wear as when compared with dryer methods.
- They do not require as many moving parts as a different type of system would.
Fluid pressure in a hydraulic system is controlled by the valve, which also handles the flow rate and direction. When used in combination with cylinders and hydraulic pumps, hydraulic valves are powerful enough to control the flow of liquid.
The taxonomy of hydraulic valves is determined by how much pressure they can control. It is also related to the flow and how many directional control valves they contain. They may also be catalogued on how they look and any extra features they may have such as needle valves, spools and poppets.
Apart from their ability to move very heavy objects, another of the reasons that hydraulic systems are so popular, is because they operate at very low noise levels. In the manufacturing industry, a low noise level is much sought after, particularly anything less than 70 dBs. Hydraulic systems and pumps are able to accomplish this.
