An electronic flow valve is one of the most vital devices in the hydraulic industry to control efficiency directly related to improving profitability and environmental performance. An optimized procedure to consume less energy, water, and perhaps most significantly valuable raw materials. Traditionally, flow control is executed via a balanced or servo valve. When current is applied to the coil of a solenoid (proportional valve) or a torque motor (servo valve) of the electronic regulator valve, a corresponding electromagnetic force is induced in the system. These forces can either directly stroke the spool (single-stage configuration) or indirectly move the main stage spool by regulating the hydraulic pressures of the electronic flow valve on each end of the main stage spool (multiple-stage configuration).
How does the flow control valve perform?
Generally, an electronic flow regulator can perform a number of different functions within a hydraulic flow system depending on the distinctive type that is used. One of the most common uses of the electronic flow control valves are to regulate the speed of motors or cylinders through the system. This type of function is possible due to the ability of a flow control valve to simulate the rate of energy transfer at any point in a system by moving the flow rate.
The capability of an electronic flow valve to reduce or increase pressure in a system has a number of advantages. System operators can specifically use an electronic low flow valve to quickly depressurize a functional hose and change fittings fast.
They are also used in many consumer applications that include showers, faucets, and lawn watering systems to easily decrease the amount of water consumed without affecting the overall system performance. The flow control valve is also known for its dependability and typically has a long working lifetime as they are not inclined to stop due to its design.
Due to these flexible performance parameters, flow control valve has found wide use in applications across materials handling, food processing, and automated factory and warehouse equipment.
Application of the air flow control valve:
An application for the flow control valve is a self-sensing cylinder, which will calculate the piston displacement of a regular hydraulic cylinder by taking the benefit of integrated sensors and flow rate calculation.
In the cylinder, two electronic valves connect each chamber, respectively. The sensors in the valves measure the pressures and the flow rates are calculated by using the analytical model with the experimental calibration. In addition, in order to eradicate the integration error, some deterministic displacement information is required (an absolute start position).
Due to the combined effect of the flow rate and the load applied to the cylinder, the actual displacement is the sinusoidal signal with a higher frequency oscillation. The latches sensor in the electronic flow valve is enabled and then enforces the error to be zero. Without the latch sensor, the observer will still give a similar displacement profile but with an offset error into the air flow control valve. Integrated pressure sensors and the experimentally calibrated flow rates in the flow valves, together with the proposed observer, make it possible to implement the self-sensing cylinder.