Analysis of flow torques during opening and closing of high-frequency rotary directional control valve

Abstract

A 2D high-frequency rotary directional control valve with a spool having two degrees of freedom for axial linear motion and circumferential rotation is proposed in this paper. The axial linear motion decides the maximum orifice area, and the circumferential rotation lets the orifice area change continuously. One of the known elements impacting valve function is the flow force. This paper systematically analyzes the steady and transient flow torques subjected to the valve through theoretical analysis, AMESim-Fluent joint simulation and experimental tests. The results show that: under a single variable, the flow torques of the 2D high-frequency rotary directional control valve initially increase and then decrease like the sinusoid curve with the rotation of the spool and reach the maximum when the orifice opening is 1/2, and the flow torques are always in the direction of orifice closing and want to close the orifice. When the orifice area increases, the flow torques are the resistance, preventing the spool from opening; when the orifice area decreases, the flow torques are the power, pushing the spool to close. The steady flow torques are proportional to the pressure drop. The direction of the transient flow torque is independent of the relative position of the spool groove and sleeve window, which proportional to the square root of the pressure drop, orifice area and rotational speed. The flow torques are so important in the control of valve and can not be negligible.