Use of CFD Technology in Hydraulics System Design for off-Highway Equipment and Applications

摘要

Hydraulics technology is most preferred for off-highway equipment due to its high power density. Pumps, motors, valves, cylinders and hoses constitute a typical hydraulic machinery. Design of these parts will decide efficiency, reliability and power density of the system and the entire equipment itself. To meet these requirements, there is a paradigm shift towards the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology to design these products. CFD is used to simulate actual behavior of the fluid system, identify the critical areas of concern, evaluate various design alternatives and develop an optimized solution. The paper highlights CFD modeling approach with simulation challenges for pumps, motors and valves to predict pressure losses, fill speed and cavitation. Validation of CFD results with test data for key performance parameters is highlighted. This simulation methodology not only saves design and prototype building cost but also more importantly accelerates design cycle and improves speed to market. Thus, it has emerged as an integrated part of the design process.