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Comprehensive Nonlinear Modeling of a Pilot

Operated Relief Valve

Article in Journal of Dynamic Systems Measurement and Control · October 2012

DOI: 10.1115/1.4006883

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 Comprehensive Nonlinear
Modeling of a Pilot Operated
Relief Valve
Osama Gad This paper is directed toward a comprehensive nonlinear modeling and simulation of the
Mechanical Engineering Department, performance of a class of a pilot operated relief valves. A mathematical model is deduced
College of Engineering and Petroleum, to predict the performance of the valve in the steady state and transient modes of opera-
Kuwait University, tions. The developed model takes into consideration most nonlinearities of the valve and
P.O. Box 5969, is studied within the MATLAB-SIMULINK environment. The validity of the proposed model is
Safat, Kuwait assessed experimentally in the steady state and transient modes of operations. The
e-mail: osama.gad@ku.edu.kw detailed modeling has resulted in a good agreement between simulation and experimental
results. During the simulation studied, it was found that, nonlinearity occurs due to three
factors: the pressure changes cause nonlinear velocity changes of the flow rate, the throt-
tling area of the valve restriction usually changes nonlinearly, and the discharge coeffi-
cient of the throttling area of the valve restriction does not remain constant. In the
transient mode of operation, the simulation studied identified some critical parameters
which have a significant effect on the transient response of the valve. Most of the model’s
parameters can be evaluated readily by direct measurement of the valve components
dimensions thought the Coulomb friction factor and bulk modulus are tuned to match the
model to the measurements. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4006883]

1 Introduction ments of the throttling devices. Maiti et al. [5] studied the static
and dynamic characteristics of a pressure relief valve with a pro-
Most hydraulic power systems are designed to operate within a
portional solenoid-controlled pilot stage. The developed model
preset pressure range, which is a function of the pressure forces.
was verified experimentally. The authors concluded that the over-
Without controlling these forces, the hydraulic power systems
all dynamic behavior has been shown to be dominated by the sole-
could be damaged. Pressure control valves avoid this risk. These
noid characteristic relating force to applied voltage. Johnston
valves are found in almost every hydraulic system and they assist
et al. [6] studied the hydraulic impedance characteristics of a
in a variety of functions—keeping system pressures safely below
cartridge-type relief valve experimentally and theoretically. The
a desired upper limit and to maintain a set pressure in the circuit.
effect of the various physical parameters on the stability of the
For most of these valves, a restriction is necessary to produce the
valve was discussed. The authors concluded that the hydraulic in-
required pressure control. Among the pressure control valves, the
ductance through the damping orifice is shown to have a very
relief valve is of most importance. They are used to limit the max-
strong effect on the impedance and stability. Washios et al. [7]
imum pressure in the hydraulic circuit by relieving the excess
studied the static performance of an oil hydraulic pilot relief valve
fluid to the tank. This makes this class of valves indispensable for
empirically. The authors derived a new characteristic equation
the circuit protection. Only few publications are found to deal
represented the static relation between the pressure drop, flow rate
with the performance of these valves. Klarecki [1] presented a
and opening area for a constriction, not by the traditional hydrau-
proposal of an improvement of a new low pressure relief valve
lic orifice equation which has always been used for this purpose
used in a low pressure hydraulic system. The author estimated
but by a new one including an additional pressure loss propor-
that the main advantages of this type of valves are high precision
tional to the flow rate and the fluid viscosity as well as inversely
of the operating pressure and short time responses, while the main
proportional to the square of the opening area.
disadvantage is the high values of the peak pressures. Licsko et al.
Herein, the nonlinear modeling and simulation of a class of
[2] presented a mathematical analysis of a simple hydraulic pres-
pilot operated relief valves are investigated in this paper. The
sure relief valve. The authors obtained a criterion for stability
studied aims to point out the peculiarities of operation of these
regarding the flow rate and damping coefficients parameters using
valves in the steady state and transient modes of operation. The
linear stability analysis. The authors found that this kind of dy-
paper is organized as follows: a descriptive study of the relief
namical systems can lose their stability in a particular way in
valve under consideration and a nonlinear model, taking into
which self-excited limit cycle vibrations occur. Dasgupta and
account most nonlinearities of the valve. Steady state and transient
Watton [3] studied the dynamics of a proportional controlled pilot
performance are evaluated experimentally to assess the validity of
operated relief valve. The authors concluded that the factors hav-
the proposed model.
ing significant effects on the controlling pressure ripples are the
characteristics of the damping orifices because it may be difficult
to control them in real situation. Pei-Sun and Ming-Hwei [4] pro- 2 Description and Operation of the Valve
posed a nonlinear dynamic model of a two stage pilot pressure
relief servo valve. The authors mentioned that all model parame- Figure 1 shows the basic components of the studied valve,
ters can be estimated from the expected working conditions and while its schematic diagram is shown in Fig. 2. The valve consists
dimensions on the blue prints except the correcting factor of the of two stages; a pilot stage and a main stage. The pilot stage con-
flow force which can be determined from the steady state experi- tains the pressure limiting device, a direct-operated relief valve
controlled by a spring-loaded poppet. As shown in Fig. 1, the pilot
stage includes a conical poppet element loaded by a high stiffness
Contributed by the Dynamic Systems Division of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, MEASUREMENT, AND CONTROL. Manuscript received De-
spring. In this stage, the user adjusts the preload set on this spring,
cember 7, 2011; final manuscript received April 28, 2012; published online October and this turn regulates the force necessary to displace the poppet
30, 2012. Assoc. Editor: Rama K. Yedavalli. spring. The main stage incorporates the piston of relatively large

Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control JANUARY 2013, Vol. 135 / 011011-1
C 2013 by ASME
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 2. The shape and discharge area of the valve restriction usually
changes nonlinearly.
3. During the transient mode of operation, the flow rate passing
through the valve throttling area is assumed to be turbulent
flow with unknown value of its Reynolds number. The dis-
charge coefficient of this throttling area varies with the
Reynolds number in a complicated way. According to the
available hydraulic researches knowledge obtained so far,
this point is not solved and this coefficient is often assumed
constant independent of the flow rate and opening area
[10–15]. So, the discharge coefficients of the valve throttling
areas are considered constant in this work and are obtained
from the experimental steady state characteristics of the
studied valve.
Fig. 1 Pilot operated relief valve The nonlinearity associated with the pressure variations is a
physical result described using the Bernoulli equation. The shape
and varying discharge area of metering restriction is a significant
contributor to the characteristics of the flow rate. The mathemati-
cal model describing the dynamic behavior of the studied relief
valve is deduced considering the following two assumptions; the
pressure losses in the short pipe lines are neglected and the oil
temperature and viscosity are constant. These two assumptions
have no significant effect on the simulated performance [1–9].
Considering the geometry of the studied valve shown in Fig. 2,
the pressure P in the valve inlet cavity of volume V is sensed on
the main piston-end area and opposes a piston spring force setting.
A directional control valve (DCV) is mounted on the pressurized
line of the valve and is connected directly to the valve inlet cavity
to introduce a rapid change in the valve load. When the DCV is
switched on, the discharge flow rate of the pump passes to the
tank via the DCV widely opened restriction area. When the DCV
is switched off, its restriction closes and the discharge flow rate of
the pump passes to the tank via the studied relief valve. As shown
in Fig. 3, when the continuity equation is applied to the valve inlet
cavity of volume V yields

dx ðV þ As xÞ dP
QP ¼ Q1 þ Qv þ Qts þ Ql þ As þ (1)
dt B dt

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of the studied relief valve The flow rate Q1 passing through the first damping orifice is given
by
area, loaded by a relatively low stiffness spring. The piston large sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
area and low spring stiffness decrease the valve override 2
pressure. As shown in Fig. 2, the pressure P in the inlet cavity of Q1 ¼ Cd1 A1 jðP  P1 Þj sign ðP  P1 Þ (2)
q
initial volume V affects the piston, while the pressure P2 in the
second cavity of initial volume V2 affects the poppet element.
Pressures P1 and P2 are limited in the pilot stage through the ini-
tial setting of the poppet spring. The valve inlet cavity is commu-
nicated to the pilot stage through two damping orifices. If the
pressure P is smaller than the value necessary to open the pilot
stage, the pilot poppet valve remains closed. The pressure P2
together with the poppet spring force keep the piston seated in the
closing position. If the pressure P is higher than the value preset
at the pilot stage, the poppet element moves to an opening posi-
tion. The pressure at which the valve starts relieving pressure is
known as the cracking pressure. This causes the limitation of the
pressures P1 and P2 . When the pressure P exceeds this limit, the
piston opens to dump the excess fluid to the tank. The main attrac-
tion in using a pilot operated relief valve is its ability to minimize
the pressure override. The pressure override is the difference
between the cracking pressure and the system pressure P when the
valve is passing its maximum flow rate.

3 Mathematical Modeling of the Valve

As operating conditions change within hydraulic components,
nonlinearities of metered flow rate occur due to three factors:
1. Pressure variations cause nonlinear velocity changes of the
oil. Fig. 3 Opening area of the main piston element

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 The first damping orifice is a fixed cross-sectional area orifice and Referring to Fig. 3, the inherent fluid accelerating property of the
can be modeled as a short tube with a diameter d1 and a length L1 . piston opening area as ðxÞ results in a jet force of [9]
In most application and our case, ðd1  ðRe=L1 ÞÞ  50, hence,
the discharge coefficient Cd1 is given by [4] Q2ts q Q2ts
Fj ¼ q Vx ¼ (11)
aðxÞ Vx Cc1 as ðxÞ
1
Cd1 ¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
64 L1 acting normal to the plane of fluid at the vena contracta. By New-
2:28 þ
d1 Re ton’s third law, this force has an equal and opposite reaction force
which may be resolver into two components: axial component Fjx
The flow rate Qv passing through the DCV is given by and lateral component FjL . The lateral component tends to push
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi the piston sideways against the sleeve and cause sticking. How-
2 ever, it is compensated in practice by locating the valve ports
Qv ¼ Cdv av ðxv Þ jðP  Pt Þj sign ðP  Pt Þ (3)
q symmetrically around the piston. The axial component is not com-
pensated and acts in a direction to close the piston opening area
where Cdv and av ðxv Þ are the discharge coefficient and opening as ðxÞ. So, the jet reaction force Fjx is given by [9]
area of the DCV, respectively. The flow rate Qts flowing from the
valve inlet cavity of volume V to the tank via the piston throttling q Q2ts cos /
Fjx ¼ (12)
area as ðxÞ, is given by Cc1 as ðxÞ
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 where / and Cc1 are the flow streamline inclination angle and
Qts ¼ Cds as ðxÞ jðP  Pt Þj signðP  Pt Þ (4) contraction coefficient, respectively. The reaction force of the seat
q
Frx is introduced in the model by considering an equivalent stiff-
ness of the seat material kr and damping coefficient fr representing
The valve flow rate Qtv is given by
the structural damping of the seat material. This force appears
Qtv ¼ Qts þ Qtp (5) only when the piston comes in contact with either the right or left
seat and is given by
The value of the discharge coefficient Cds is assumed to be con- 2 3
 0 if xmax > x > 0:01 mm
stant [1–9]. The throttling area as ðxÞ of the piston is given by
Frx ¼ 4 dx 5
  kr x þ fr sign ðx  0:01Þ if xmax  x  0:01 mm
dt
0 if 0 < x  xo
as ð xÞ ¼ (6) (13)
p ds ðx  xo Þ if x > xo

The piston is subjected to pressure, Coulomb friction, viscous fric- The Coulomb friction force is a function of the preload force,
tion, spring, jet reaction, and seat reaction forces, as shown in caused by the seal squeeze during assembly. It is proportional to
Fig. 3. Its motion could be described by the following equation: the pressure. This force acts in a direction opposite to that of pis-
ton motion and is given by
d2 x dx
mx þ fx ðxÞ
_ þ kx ðx þ xoo Þ6 Fc þ Fjx þ Frx ¼ P As  P1 As Fc ¼ Fpr þ fc P1 (14)
dt2 dt
(7)
Usually, the value of the preload force Fpr is neglected due to the
lubricated contact surface between the piston and valve wall. The
where fx ðxÞ
_ is a nonlinear viscous damping factor. To express this continuity equation as applied to the first cavity, of volume V1 ,
factor in terms of the valve dimensions, let the leakage flow across yields
the piston circumference be modeled as an orifice [4]. Let a1 be
the effective cross-sectional area of the leakage across the piston dx ðV1  As xÞ dP1
circumference. Then, the leakage flow rate Qls is given by Q1 þ As ¼ Q2 þ (15)
dt B dt
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 The flow rate passing through the second damping orifice is given
Qls ¼ As x_ ¼ Cdl a1 jðP  P1 Þj signðP  P1 Þ (8)
q by
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
where the discharge coefficient Cdl of the leakage flow is given by 2
Q2 ¼ Cd2 A2 jðP1  P2 Þj sign ðP1  P2 Þ (16)
q
1
Cdl ¼ sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
64 Ls 4 The second damping orifice is a fixed cross-sectional area orifice
2:28 þ
Re p a1 and can be modeled as a short tube with a diameter d2 and a length
L2 . In most application and our case, ðd1  ðRe=L1 ÞÞ  50, hence,
Accordingly, the viscous damping force Fx ffi fx ðxÞ
_ x_ on the piston the discharge coefficient Cd2 is given by
can be obtained from Eq. (8) to arrive at
1
  Cd2 ¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
q A3s x_ 64 L2
Fx ¼ As ðP  P1 Þ ¼ x_ (9) 2:28 þ
2 C2ds a21 d2 Re

As shown in Fig. 4, when the continuity equation is applied to the

Finally, the nonlinear damping factor fx ðxÞ
_ is given by [4] second cavity of volume V2 , yields
q A3s dy ðV2 þ aP ðyÞ yÞ dP2
fx ðxÞ
_ ¼ x_ (10) Q2 ¼ Qtp þ aP ðyÞ þ (17)
2 C2ds a21 dt B dt

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 Fig. 4 Pilot stage throttling area
Fig. 5 The hydraulic circuit of the test stand

The flow rate Qtp flowing from the second cavity to the tank via steady state, the equations describing the valve behavior are
the poppet throttling area app ðyÞ is given by obtained by equating the time derivatives, in the above mentioned
equations to zero. The valve simulation in the steady state and
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi transient modes of operation is carried out by solving the govern-
2 ing equations using the SIMULINK program [17].
Qtp ¼ Cdp app ðyÞ jðP2  Pt Þj sign ðP2  Pt Þ (18)
q

4 Experimental Work
The value of the discharge coefficient Cdp is assumed to be con-
stant [1–9]. The pilot poppet element is subjected to pressure, The experimental work aims at validating the simulation pro-
spring, jet reaction, and seat reaction forces. Its motion could be gram in the steady state and transient modes of operations. A sim-
described by the following equation: plified hydraulic circuit of the used test rig is shown in Fig. 5.
The pressurized and return ports of the studied valve (9) are con-
d2 y dy nected directly to the pump delivery line and flow meter inlet. The
my þ fy þ ky ðy þ yo Þ þ Fjy ¼ P2 aP ðyÞ (19) pump exit line is equipped with a safety valve (11). The preset
dt2 dt pressure of this valve is higher than that of the studied valve. The
DCV (10) acts as a bypass line in this case. By communicating
Similarly, the damping factor fy can be obtained according to the the electric power to the DCV solenoid, the DCV closes and the
procedure described in Eqs. (8)–(10). Let a2 be the effective pump flow rate is forced through the studied relief valve. The
cross-sectional areas of the flow across the poppet element, then used DCV is controlled by an ac solenoid. During the steady state
measurements, the DCV is fully opened and its downstream pres-
q a3P ðyÞ sure is controlled by a throttle valve (12). During the transient
fy ¼ (20)
2 C2dp a22 response measurements, this throttle valve is widely opened.

The jet reaction force Fjy can be obtained according to the proce-
dure described in Eqs. (11) and (12).
q Q2tp cos b
Fjy ¼ (21)
Cc2 app ðyÞ
where b and Cc2 are the flow streamline inclination angle and con-
traction coefficient, respectively. Considering the geometry of the
pilot poppet valve shown in Fig. 4, the throttling area app ðyÞ and
the area ap ðyÞ subjected to the pressure P2 , are given by the fol-
lowing equations [16]:
app ðyÞ ¼ ðp dp sin bÞ y  ðp sin2 b cos bÞ y2 (22)
! ment time relation starts by a triggering signal, which communi-
dp2
ap ðyÞ ¼ p  ðp dp sin b cos bÞ y þ ðp sin2 b cos2 bÞ y2
4 calculate the transient variation of its throttling area av ðxv Þ and the
(23)
Equations (1)–(23) are the governing equations describing the
dynamic behavior of the studied valve. The numerical values of
the valve constructional and operational parameters were obtained
by direct measurements carried out on the valve elements. In the
4.1 DCV. The resistance to the studied relief valve circuit,
the variation of loads, and the flow demands are represented in
this work by a DCV (10) fitted at the valve inlet line, as shown in
Fig. 5. The rapid loading of the studied valve is carried out by
rapid closure of the DCV. In this case, the whole pump exit flow
Qp is forced to pass to the tank through the studied relief valve.
The transient variation of the throttling area of the DCV affects
the studied valve transient response. In the case of limited DCV
spool displacement, the DCV restriction area is too small, and the
main source of losses is the DCV spool restriction. Therefore, for
precise modeling of the studied valve loading, the transient
response of the DCV displacement xv (t) is measured and the
results obtained are plotted in Fig. 6. The record of the displace-
cates the electrical power to the DCV electric solenoid. The
experimental results of the DCV transient response are used to
results obtained are introduced in the computer simulation pro-
gram of the studied valve through Eq. (3).
4.2 Measurement of the Valve Steady State Characteristics.
The experimental determination of the steady state characteristics
of the studied valve is carried out by measuring the valve output

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 Fig. 6 Experimental results of the transient response of the
DCV displacement
flow rate Qtv at different values of the valve pressure difference
(P  Pt ). The valve inlet pressure P is controlled by a variable
throttle valve (12) and is indicated by a pressure sensor as shown
in Fig. 5. During this experiment, the return pressure Pt was found
to attain values that cannot be neglected compared with the pres-
sure P. This is due to the appreciable discharges passing through
the return line resistances. This pressure was indicated by a pres-
sure sensor. The valve output flow rate Qtv is measured by flow
meter (8). During this experiment, remarkable steady state pres-
sure oscillations were observed. Therefore, the accumulator inlet
shutoff valve (7) was opened so that the accumulator (6) sup-
presses these oscillations. Measurements were carried out for dif-
ferent preset values of valve cracking pressure. The measured and
the corresponding simulation results of the steady state character-
istics of the studied valve are presented in Fig. 7.
4.3 Measurement of the Valve Transient Response. The
valve control pressures P and P1 are measured using two pressure
sensors. The transient responses of these pressures, due to sudden
increase of its load, are carried out for different values of the pop-
pet spring precompression. When energizing the electronic sole-
noid of the DCV, the valve closes rapidly and the pump flow rate
is forced to flow through the studied valve. The test rig is arranged
such that the communication of electric current to the DCV sole-
noid triggers the data acquisition system and picking up of the
transient variation of the above mentioned pressures is started.
The accumulator inlet shut off valve (7) was closed during the
Fig. 7 Measured and simulated results of the steady state
characteristics of the relief valve at different precompression of
the poppet spring
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Fig. 8 Measured and simulated results of the transient
response of the valve when the precompression of the poppet
spring is equal to zero
valve transient response measurements. The obtained experimen-
tal and simulation of the transient response of the pressures P and
P1 are plotted in Figs. 8–11.
5 Analysis of Results
5.1 Steady State Mode of Operation. The steady state char-
acteristics of the studied relief valve are measured and simulated
for different precompression of the poppet spring and the results
obtained are given in Fig. 7. This figure shows good agreement
between the experimental and simulation in the steady state mode
of operation. The valve presents relatively small override pres-
sure. This is attributed to the small spring stiffness kx and rela-
tively big piston area As . During the simulation process, the
(P  Qtp ) steady state characteristics of the pilot poppet stage
were plotted and it was found that the pilot stage shows consider-
able override pressure. This may be attributed to the small dimen-
sions of its poppet element and the relatively high spring stiffness
ky . In practical application, however, the flow through this
pilot stage is very small, which results in a negligible override
pressure.
5.2 Transient Mode of Operation. The transient response
of the valve pressures P and P1 due to sudden closure of the direc-
tional control valve are measured and simulated for different pre-
compression of the poppet spring and the results obtained are
plotted in Figs. 8–11. The studied of these figures shows that the
Fig. 9 Measured and simulated results of the transient
response of the valve when the precompression of the poppet
spring is equal to 2 mm
JANUARY 2013, Vol. 135 / 011011-5

Fig. 10 Measured and simulated results of the transient
response of the valve when the precompression of the poppet
spring is equal to 3.5 mm
Fig. 11 Measured and simulated results of the transient
response of the valve when the poppet spring is totally com-
pressed on the poppet element
valve response presents a settling time within 0.65 s. This time is
relatively long, due to the small stiffness of the piston spring kx
and relatively large inertia of the moving piston mass my . The var-
iations of the pressures P and P1 in these figures are explained by
the following. When the DCV is switched off, the load is applied
on the valve and the pressure P increases. This pressure increase
the pressures P1 and P2 . When the pressure P reaches the value
needed to overcome the poppet spring force, the poppet element
starts to displace. The time at which the piston starts to displace
the motion of the piston leads to rapid decompression of oil in the
valve inlet cavity of volume V, and rapid compression of oil in the
first cavity of volume V1 . This motion leads to further increase in
the control pressure P1 . Due to continuous displacement of the
piston, the valve inlet cavity is connected to the tank via the piston
throttling area as ðxÞ and so the valve start to dump the oil at a
flow rate Qts . However, the continuous supply of oil from the
pump to the valve inlet cavity and then to the first cavity, through
the first damping orifice, the pressures P and P1 rapidly increase
to reach its steady state value. These stages of transient variation
are clearly indicated in Figs. 8–11. From these figures, it was also
noted that, the increase of the precompression value of the poppet
spring increases the steady state value of the control pressures P
and P1 . Since the Coulomb friction force Fc acts in the direction
opposite to that of piston motion, it is one of the factors that con-
tribute to the hysteresis exhibited by the valve during its opening
and reseating. This effect is clearly seen in Figs. 8–11 in the time
range of 0.5–1.5 s. When the valve is fully opened (i.e., the pre-
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compression force of the poppet spring is equal to zero), the con-
trol pressures P and P1 are increased to the value needed to
overcome only the precompression of the piston spring force. In
this case, the pump flow rate flowing to the tank via the widely
opened valve restrictions areas as ðxÞ and app ðyÞ at relatively small
steady state values of the pressure P and P1 , as shown in Fig. 8.
When the valve is fully closed (i.e., the poppet spring is totally
compressed on the poppet element), the control pressures P and
P1 are increases continuously until the safety valve (11) opens to
protect the system against overloading as seen in Fig. 5. The ex-
amination of Figs. 8–11 shows that experimental and simulation
results are in good agreement from point of view of the general
shape of response. But the simulation results present considerable
difference with the corresponding measured ones at certain pres-
sure ranges. This difference could be attributed to the following:
1. The discharge coefficients of the valve throttling areas are
assumed constant.
2. The pressure variations are very sensitive to the flow rates
due to great Bulk’s modulus.
Considering these factors, the obtained simulated results and
the corresponding measured ones are in a good agreement during
the whole operating pressure ranges, which insure the validity of
the proposed model in the transient mode of operation.
6 Conclusion
The steady state and transient behavior of a pilot operated relief
valve are studied theoretically and evaluated experimentally. A
nonlinear mathematical model of the valve is deduced to predict
the performance of the studied valve. The developed model,
which takes into consideration almost all valve nonlinearities, is
used to develop a computer simulation program. The nonlinear-
ities have been considered via the use of appropriate SIMULINK
blocks. The steady state flow-pressure characteristics and valve
pressures transient responses are simulated using this program.
The steady state flow-pressure characteristics and valve pressures
transient responses are also evaluated experimentally. The experi-
mental work aimed at validating the valve proposed model and
simulation program. The studied showed good agreement between
simulation and experimental results in the steady state and tran-
sient modes of operations. During the simulation study, it was
found that nonlinearity appears due to three main factors:
1. The pressure changes cause nonlinear velocity changes of
the fluid flow.
2. The throttling area of the valve restriction usually changes
nonlinearly.
3. The discharge coefficient of the throttling area of the valve
restriction does not remain constant.
In the transient mode of operation, the effect of various design
parameters on the overall transient response of the valve is stud-
ied. The effects of changes of the diameters of the first and second
damping orifices, precompression of the poppet spring, the seat di-
ameter of the poppet element, and the volumes of the valve cav-
ities are some of the important design parameters which affect the
valve transient response. So, most of the model parameters could
be evaluated readily from measurement or calculation, thought the
Coulomb friction factor and bulk modulus were finally tuned to
match the model to the measurements. The final values of these
two parameters were practically the values commonly used in the
specialized literature.
Nomenclature
A1 ¼ area of the first damping orifice
A2 ¼ area of the second damping orifice
As ¼ main piston area
av ðxv Þ ¼ DCV opening area
as ðxÞ ¼ main piston opening area
Transactions of the ASME
 aP ðyÞ ¼ poppet valve opening area xo ¼ initial displacement of the piston
app ðyÞ ¼ poppet area subjected to pressure P2 xoo ¼ precompression of the piston spring
B¼ bulk modulus xv ¼ DCV spool displacement
Cc1 and Cc2 ¼ contraction coefficients y¼ poppet element displacement
Cd1 and Cd2 ¼ discharge coefficients yo ¼ presetting of the poppet spring
Cds and Cdp ¼ discharge coefficients q¼ oil density
Cdl and Cdv ¼ discharge coefficients /¼ flow streamline inclination angle
ds ¼ piston diameter b¼ poppet inclination angle
dp ¼ poppet seat diameter
dv ¼ DCV spool diameter
fc ¼ Coulomb friction coefficient References
fr ¼ equivalent seat viscose friction coefficient [1] Klarecki, K., 2010, “Preliminary Analysis of a Innovative Type of Low Pres-
sure Valves,” J. Achiev. Mater. Manuf. Eng., 41(1–2), pp. 131–139.
fx and fy ¼ damping coefficient [2] Licsko, G., Champneys, A., and Hos, C., 2009, “Nonlinear Analysis of a Single
Fc ¼ Coulomb friction force Stage Pressure Relief Valve,” Int. J. Appl. Math., 39(4) pp. 12–26.
Fx ¼ viscous damping force [3] Dasgupta, K., and Watton, J., 2005, “Dynamic Analysis of Proportional Sole-
Fjx ¼ axial component of the jet reaction force noid Controlled Piloted Relief Valve by Bond Graph,” Simul. Pract. Theory,
13(1), pp. 21–38.
FjL ¼ lateral component of the jet reaction force [4] Pei-Sun, Z., and Ming-Hwei, P., 2002, “Nonlinear Dynamic Model of a Two-
Frx ¼ seat reaction force Stage Pressure Relief Valve for Designers,” Trans. ASME Dyn. Syst., Meas.,
Fpr ¼ preload force Control, 124(1), pp. 62–66.
Fjy ¼ jet reaction force [5] Maiti, R., Saha, R., and Watton, J., 2002, “The Static and Dynamic Characteristics
of a Pressure Relief Valve With a Proportional Solenoid-Controlled Pilot Stage,”
kr ¼ equivalent seat material stiffness Proc. Inst Mech. Eng., Part I: J. Syst. Control Eng., 216(2), pp. 143–156.
kx and ky ¼ spring stiffness [6] Johnston, D. N., Edge, K. A., and Brunelli, M., 2002, “Impedance and Stability
kv ¼ flow coefficient of the DCV Characteristics of a Relief Valve,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., Part I: J. Syst.
mx ¼ reduced mass of the piston moving parts Control Eng., 216(5), pp. 371–382.
[7] Washio, S., Nakamura, Y., and Yu, Y., 1999, “Static Characteristics of a
my ¼ reduced mass of the poppet valve moving parts Piston-Type Pilot Relief Valve,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., Part C: J. Mech. Eng.
P¼ valve supply pressure Sci., 213(3), pp. 231–239.
P1 ¼ pressure in the cavity of volume V1 [8] Shin, Y. C., 1991, “Static and Dynamic Characteristics of a Two Stage Pilot
P2 ¼ pressure in the cavity of volume V2 Relief Valve,” Trans. ASME J. Dyn. Syst., Meas., Control, 113, pp. 280–288.
[9] Manring, N., Hydraulic Control Systems, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA.
Pt ¼ pressure in the valve return line [10] Medhat, K., Khalil, B., and Loper, D. M., 2008, “Hydraulic System Protection
Q1 ¼ flow rate via the first damping orifice Against Catastrophic Line Failure Using Newly Developed Safety Valve,” Int.
Q2 ¼ flow rate via the second damping orifice J. Fluid Power, 9(2), pp. 35–46.
QP ¼ pump flow rate [11] Dasgupta, K., and Karmakar, R., 2002, “Modeling and Dynamics of Single-
Stage Pressure Relief Valve With Directional Damping,” Simul. Model. Pract.
Qv ¼ flow rate via the DCV opening area Theory, 10(1–2), pp. 51–67.
Qtv ¼ valve flow rate [12] Dasgupta, K., and Karmakar, R., 2002, “Dynamic Analysis of Pilot Operated
Qts ¼ flow rate via the piston opening area Pressure Relief Valve,” Simul. Model. Pract. Theory, 10(2), pp. 35–49.
Qtp ¼ flow rate via the poppet valve opening area [13] Edge, K. A., and Johnston, D. N., 1991, “The Impedance Characteristics of
Fluid Power Components: Relief Valves and Accumulators,” Proc. Inst. Mech.
Re ¼ Reynolds number Eng., Part I: J. Syst. Control Eng., 205(1), pp. 11–22.
t¼ time [14] Watton, J., 1990, “The Stability and Response of a Two-Stage Pressure Rate
V¼ volume of the valve inlet cavity Controllable Relief Valve,” J. Fluid Control Fluidics Q., 20(3), pp. 50–66.
V1 ¼ volume of the first cavity [15] Petherick, P. M., and Birk, A. M., 1991, “State-of-the-Art Review of Pressure
Relief Valve Design, Testing and Modeling,” ASME J. Pressure Vessel Tech-
V2 ¼ volume of the second cavity nol., 113(1), pp. 46–56.
Vx ¼ volume of fluid flow [16] Rabie, M. G., 2009, Fluid Power Engineering, McGraw-Hill International, NY.
x¼ piston displacement [17] MATLAB, SIMULINK Package Version 7 R14, 2002, The MathWorks, Inc.

Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control JANUARY 2013, Vol. 135 / 011011-7

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