Characterization & Identification of Short Circuit Connections in Hydraulic Drive Networks

Motivated by energy efficiency and decreasing the amount and size of components,<br/>recent studies have presented hydraulically actuated systems that<br/>include one or several fluid short circuit connections between actuator chambers.<br/>The main motivations for establishing short circuit connection have<br/>been to enable hydraulic power sharing directly between hydraulic actuators<br/>in terms of cylinders and motors, thereby reducing conversion losses and<br/>enabling reduced power installations in hydraulic drive networks. This paper<br/>expands the general theory of hydraulic short circuit connections by generically<br/>analyzing the consequences of short circuit connections. This analysis<br/>is used to define which short circuiting schemes are physically feasible and<br/>which inhibit the full functionality of a machine. Furthermore, a generic<br/>method is presented on how to identify every feasible short circuiting scheme<br/>for any number of double acting hydraulic actuators.