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This study aims to investigate the potential of using polymer multi-material additive manufacturing (MMAM) to produce miniature hydraulic piston actuators combining rigid structures and flexible seals. Such actuators offer great potential for medical robots in X-ray and magnetic resonance environments, where conventional piston actuators cannot be used because of safety issues caused by metal components.

Hydraulic pistons with two different integrated flexible seal shapes are designed and manufactured using MMAM. Design 1 features a ring-shaped seal made from a flexible material that is printed on the surface of the rigid piston shaft. Design 2 appears identical from the outside, yet an axial opening in the piston shaft is added to enable self-reinforced sealing as fluid pressure increases. For both designs, samples with three different outer diameters are fabricated leading to a total of six different piston versions. The pistons are then evaluated regarding leakage, friction and durability.

Measurement results show that the friction force for Design 2 is lower than that of Design 1, making Design 2 more suitable for the intended application. None of the versions of Design 2 shows leakage for pressures up to 1.5 MPa. For Design 1, leak-tightness varies with the outer diameter, yet none of the versions is consistently leak-tight at 1.5 MPa. Furthermore, the results show that prolonged exposure to water decreases the durability of the flexible material significantly. The durability the authors observe may, however, be sufficient for short-term or single-use devices.

The authors investigate a novel design approach for hydraulic piston actuators based on MMAM. These actuators are of particular interest for patient-specific medical devices used in radiological interventions, where metal-free components are required to safely operate in X-ray and magnetic resonance environments. This study may serve as a basis for the development of new actuators, as it shows a feasible solution, yet pointing out critical aspects such as the influence of small geometry changes or material performance changes caused by water absorption.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, theoretically and experimentally, the sealing performance of the axial piston seal on a larger diameter (100 mm in diameter) axial piston and reveal the sealing mechanism of the axial piston.

Based on the characteristics of the clearance flow between the seal and the piston, reasonable boundary conditions for Navier‐Stokes' equations are determined and the equations are modified, so that the final equations can describe the real flow state of the clearance flow.

Through combining the final equations with finite element method, the pressure distributions within the clearance field for the sealing part during the reciprocating motion of the piston and the leakage rate with the pressure are obtained. The deflections of the sealing part which affect sealing performance have been given.

Theoretical and experimental results show the internal relationship between the seal and the piston, also help to develop some newer piston pumps and improve on the seals of present high‐pressure piston pumps.

Because of the specific structure and working mechanism, piston speed is only half of its shaft, which causes severally friction between piston and cylinder. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the friction and wear characteristics of the incomplete spherical piston in spherical pump comprehensively. Finally, to search the low-friction and wear-resistance structural pattern of the piston, and enhance the durability of spherical pump.

The non-linear frictional moment model for incomplete spherical piston in spherical pump was derivated quantificationally. Parameter sensitivity analyses were conducted to find the low-friction structural pattern of the piston. The theoretical wear model of piston–cylinder pair is proposed as well.

To reduce the frictional moment between incomplete piston and cylinder, the optimised diameter ratio between piston pin and piston should be 0.12 based on the parameter sensitivity analyses. The maximum frictional moment is approximately 2.5 times of the minimum. The total efficiency should be considered synthetically based on the thickness of specific working medium.

The proposed non-linear frictional moment model offers the quantitative estimations. Parameter sensitivity analyses were conducted to find the low-friction structural pattern of the piston. The wear behaviours of the piston and cylinder were analysed to investigate the wear characteristics of the piston.

The lack of integrity of the piston machine combustion chamber manifests itself in leakages of the working fluid between the piston and the cylinder liner, at valves mounted in the cylinder head and between the head and the liner. An untight combustion chamber leads to decreased power output or efficiency of the engine, while leaks of a fluid may cause damage to many components of the chamber. The actual value of working chamber leak is a desired and essential piece of information for planning operations of a given machine.

This research paper describes causes and mechanisms of leakage from the working chamber of internal combustion engines. Besides, the paper outlines presently used methods and means of leak identification and states that their further development and improvements are needed. New methods and their applicability are presented.

The methods of leak identification have been divided into diagnostic and non-working machine leak identification methods. The need has been justified for the identification of leakage from the combustion chamber of a non-working machine and for using the leakage measure as the value of the cross-sectional area of the equivalent leak, defined as the sum of cross-section areas of all leaking paths. The analysis of possible developments of tightness assessment methods referring to the combustion chamber of a non-working machine consisted in modelling subsequent combustion chamber leaks as gas-filled tank leak, leak from another element of gas-filled tank and as a regulator of gas flow through a nozzle.

A measurement system was built allowing the measurement of pressure drop in a tank with the connected engine combustion chamber, which indicated the usefulness of the system for leakage measurement in units as defined in applicable standards. A pneumatic sensor was built for measuring the cross-sectional area of the equivalent leak of the combustion chamber connected to the sensor where the chamber functioned as a regulator of gas flow through the sensor nozzle. It has been shown that the sensor can be calibrated by means of reference leaks implemented as nozzles of specific diameters and lengths. The schematic diagram of a system for measuring the combustion chamber leakage and a diagram of a sensor for measuring the cross-sectional area of the equivalent leak of the combustion chamber leakage are presented. The results are given of tightness tests of a small one-cylinder combustion engine conducted by means of the set up measurement system and a pre-prototype pneumatic sensor. The two solutions proved to be practically useful.

This paper aims to investigate the lubrication regime in spherical pump, especially under different structural parameters and operational conditions.

A ball-on-plane configuration is adopted to represent the contact model between spherical piston and cylinder cover. The governing equations, which include the Reynolds and elasticity equations, are solved and validated by Jin–Dowson model. Both minimum film thickness and lambda ratio (ratio of minimum fluid film thickness to combined surface roughness of the piston and cylinder cover) of the equivalent model are obtained using an established model.

The results indicate that piston diameter and radial clearance are the two main factors affecting the pump lubrication regime. Other related parameters such as rotation speed of the piston, load, viscosity of working medium, material matching and surface roughness of piston and cylinder cover also have different impacts on the lubrication regime of the spherical pump.

These results emphasize the importance of the design and manufacturing parameters on the tribological performance of spherical pumps and these are also helpful in improving the spherical pump lubrication regime and enlarging its life cycle. This is to certify that to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the content of this manuscript is their own work. This manuscript has only been submitted to this journal and never been published elsewhere. The authors certify that the intellectual content of this manuscript is the product of their own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this manuscript and sources has been acknowledged.

This paper aims to study the frictional performance of reciprocating pair with high velocity by using hydrodynamic lubrication principle and fish scale textured piston model.

Based on the idea of function characteristic approximation and coordinate change, a mathematical representation model of imitating fish scale texture pit section is established. According to the principle of dynamic pressure lubrication of the textured fluid, a three-dimensional numerical model of flow field for fish scale texture is established without considering cavitation. Numerical analysis of the model carp scale texture unit by orthogonal experimental design and FLUENT software is carried out.

Effects of fish scale pit texture on friction properties for a reciprocating pair piston surface with high velocity (impact piston) are acquired. Effects of texture characterization parameters and flow rate on the surface friction performance for impact piston are found. Effects of different characteristic parameters combination of imitating fish scale texture on friction performance for impact piston surface are obtained.

The model is an effective tool to study the friction and wear of reciprocating pair with high velocity. The effects of fish scale textured piston pair supply a theory lead to design the reciprocating pair with better friction performance.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-09-2019-0398

A switching depth controller based on a variable buoyancy system (VBS) is proposed to improve the performance of small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). First, the requirements of VBS for small AUVs are analyzed. Second, a modular VBS with high extensibility and easy integration is proposed based on the concepts of generality and interchangeability. Subsequently, a depth-switching controller is proposed based on the modular VBS, which combines the best features of the linear active disturbance rejection controller and the nonlinear active disturbance rejection controller.

The controller design and endurance of tiny AUVs are challenging because of their low environmental adaptation, limited energy resources and nonlinear dynamics. Traditional and single linear controllers cannot solve these problems efficiently. Although the VBS can improve the endurance of AUVs, the current VBS is not extensible for small AUVs in terms of the differences in individuals and operating environments.

The switching controller’s performance was examined using simulation with water flow and external disturbances, and the controller’s performance was compared in pool experiments. The results show that switching controllers have greater effectiveness, disturbance rejection capability and robustness even in the face of various disturbances.

A high degree of standardization and integration of VBS significantly enhances the performance of small AUVs. This will help expand the market for small AUV applications.

This solution improves the extensibility of the VBS, making it easier to integrate into different models of small AUVs. The device enhances the endurance and maneuverability of the small AUVs by adjusting buoyancy and center of gravity for low-power hovering and pitch angle control.

The purpose of this paper is to review and to provide a dipper understanding of what happens to piston rings and cylinder surfaces when manufacturing errors depicted, such as waviness and straightness. The mechanism of friction and the piston ring structural integrity, due to the surface irregularities, are analyzed either for smooth ring surface or for artificial textured, while piston ring floats into the piston groove or not.

In this work two tribological models of a piston ring- cylinder package are presented using CFD analysis. Initially, the piston ring is considered as a secured ring in the groove of piston (secured ring) while in second model, the piston ring floats into the piston groove (free ring).

Increasing the number of waves across the piston ring thickness, the structural integrity of the ring is strongly influenced. Piston ring with surface texturing reduces the mean friction force, under the consideration of cylinder straightness. The gas leaks due to existence of the ring gap, affects significantly the maximum mechanical stresses.

The novelty of this paper is the analysis of manufacturing errors, such as waviness and straightness either for smooth or for artificial textured piston ring. In particular, the piston ring structural integrity investigated while chamber gas pressure leaks through the ring gap or not. The number of the waves, their amplitude and the fluid velocity are also taken into consideration.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY innovation in piston/cylinder design was the talking point at a press conference staged during the Society of Automotive Engineers Exhibition and Congress in Detroit recently.

This paper aims to carry out a thermal-hydraulic simulation model for pump and hydraulic system to predict the temperature increasing and pump performance. Based on the model, how to alleviate the temperature is introduced. Besides, the optimization of piston is carried out.

This paper analyzes the heat generation in lubricating interfaces of the pump with energy conversion theory. The heat transfer inside the pump is analyzed with the control volume method. The simulation model is constructed in AMESim because of its operating friendly nature. The experiment is carried out to prove the validity and accuracy of the simulation model.

Temperature has less effect on the mechanical loss of pump. However, it has a great impact on volumetric efficiency. To reduce the temperature on the piston surface, the size of the piston should be optimized.

This paper fulfills a novel thermal-hydraulic model to evaluate the temperature of the pump. Based on the model, the performance of the pump is determined and optimization is carried out.