Linear Incremental Hydraulic Actuators combine one or more short-stroke cylinders, and two or more engaging/disengaging mechanisms into one actuator with long, medium, or even unlimited stroke length. The motion of each single short-stroke actuator concatenated by the engaging/disengaging mechanisms forms the motion of the linear incremental hydraulic actuator. The patterns of how these motions are concatenated form the gaits of a specific linear incremental hydraulic actuator. Linear incremental hydraulic actuators may have more than one gait. In an application, the gaits may be combined to achieve optimal performance at various operating points. The distinguishing characteristic of linear incremental hydraulic actuators is the incremental motion. The term incremental actuator is seen as analogous to the incremental versus absolute position sensor. Incremental actuators realize naturally relative positioning. Incremental motion means also that the behavior does not depend on an absolute position but only on the relative position within a cycle or step. Incremental actuators may realize discrete incremental or continuous incremental motion. Discrete incremental actuators can only approach discrete positions, whereby stepper drives are one prominent example. In contrast, continuous incremental actuators may approach any position. Linear electric motors are one example of continuous incremental actuators. The actuator has no inherent limitation in stroke length, as every step or cycle adds only to the state at the beginning of the step or cycle and does not depend on the absolute position. This led to the alternative working title Hydraulic Infinite Linear Actuator. Linear incremental hydraulic actuator provides long stroke, high force, and linear motion and has the potential to decrease the necessary resource usage,minimize environmental impact, e.g. from potential oil spillage,extend the range of feasible products: longer, stiffer, better, etc. This thesis presents an analysis of the characteristics and properties of linear incremental hydraulic actuators as well as the gaits and possible realizations of some gaits. The gait for continuous, smooth motion with two cylinders is comprehensively studied and a control concept for the tracking problem is proposed. The control concept encapsulates the complexity of the linear incremental hydraulic actuator so that an application does not have to deal with it. One other gait, the ballistic gait, which realizes fast, energy-efficient motion, enabling energy recuperation is studied.

Nonlinear Control Techniques for Electro-Hydraulic Actuators in Robotics Engineering meets the needs of those working in advanced electro-hydraulic controls for modern mechatronic and robotic systems. The non-linear EHS control methods covered are proving to be more effective than traditional controllers, such as PIDs. The control strategies given address parametric uncertainty, unknown external load disturbance, single-rod actuator characteristics, and control saturation. Theoretical and experimental validations are explained, and examples provided. Based on the authors' cutting-edge research, this work is an important resource for engineers, researchers, and students working in EHS.

Provides key updates to a must-have text on hydraulic control systems This fully updated, second edition offers students and professionals a reliable and comprehensive guide to the hows and whys of today's hydraulic control system fundamentals. Complete with insightful industry examples, it features the latest coverage of modeling and control systems with a widely accepted approach to systems design. The book also offers all new information on: advanced control topics; auxiliary components (reservoirs, accumulators, coolers, filters); hybrid transmissions; multi-circuit systems; and digital hydraulics. Chapters in Hydraulic Control Systems, 2nd Edition cover; fluid properties; fluid mechanics; dynamic systems and control; hydraulic valves, pumps, and actuators; auxiliary components; and both valve and pump controlled hydraulic systems. The book presents illustrative case studies throughout that highlight important topics and demonstrate how equations can be implemented and used in the real world. It also features end-of-chapter exercises to help facilitate learning. It is a powerful tool for developing a solid understanding of hydraulic control systems that will serve all practicing engineers in the field. Provides a useful review of fluid mechanics and system dynamics Offers thorough analysis of transient fluid flow forces within valves Adds all new information on: advanced control topics; auxiliary components; hybrid transmissions; multi-circuit systems; and digital hydraulics Discusses flow ripple for both gear pumps and axial piston pumps Presents updated analysis of the pump control problems associated with swash plate type machines Showcases a successful methodology for hydraulic system design Features reduced-order models and PID controllers showing control objectives of position, velocity, and effort Hydraulic Control Systems, 2nd Edition is an important book for undergraduate and first-year graduate students taking courses in fluid power. It is also an excellent resource for practicing engineers in the field of fluid power.

This book describes load modeling approaches for complex work pieces and batch forgings, and demonstrates analytical modeling and data-driven modeling approaches for known and unknown complex forging processes. It overcomes the current shortcomings of modeling, analysis and control approaches, presenting contributions in three major areas: In the first, several novel modeling approaches are proposed: a process/shape-decomposition modeling method to help estimate the deformation force; an online probabilistic learning machine for the modeling of batch forging processes; and several data-driven identification and modeling approaches for unknown forging processes under different work conditions. The second area develops model-based dynamic analysis methods to derive the conditions of stability and creep. Lastly, several novel intelligent control methods are proposed for complex forging processes. One of the most serious problems in forging forming involves the inaccurate forging conditions, velocity and position offered by the hydraulic actuator due to the complexity of both the deformation process of the metal work piece and the motion process of the hydraulic actuator. The book summarizes the current weaknesses of modeling, analysis and control approaches. are summarized as follows: a) With the current modeling approaches it is difficult to model complex forging processes with unknown parameters, as they only model the dynamics in local working areas but do not effectively model unknown nonlinear systems across multiple working areas; further, they do not take the batch forging process into account, let alone its distribution modeling. b) All previous dynamic analysis studies simplify the forging system to having a single-frequency pressure fluctuation and neglect the influences of non-linear load force. Further, they fail to take the flow equation in both valves and cylinders into account. c) Conventional control approaches only consider the linear deformation force and pay no attention to sudden changes and the motion synchronization for the multi-cylinder system, making them less effective for complex, nonlinear time-varying forging processes subject to sudden changes.

Automation is quickly becoming the standard across nearly every area of manufacturing. Pneumatic actuators play a very important role in modern automation systems, yet until now there has been no book that takes into account the recent progress not only in the pneumatic systems themselves but also in the integration of mechatronics, electronic cont