Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences

Vol. 16, February 2009, pp. 7-13

Investigation on the characteristics of a new high frequency three-way

proportional pressure reducing valve in variable valve system
of automobile engine
Jin-rong Liua, Bo Jina*, Ying-jun Xiea, Ying Chena & Zhen-tao Wengb
a
The State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
b
Ningbo HOYEA Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd, Ningbo 315131, China
Received 21 April 2008; accepted 6 January 2009

In this study, a new high frequency three way proportional pressure-reducing valve has been developed. By reducing
the turns of the coil and using a high speed current amplifier, the responding time of the proportional solenoid is reduced to
less than 1 ms. The steady and dynamic analyses show that the output pressure is proportional to the coil current and the
dynamic bandwidth can be increased by increasing the coil current. An experimental system is built up and results well
agreed with the theoretical and simulation analyses. The bandwidth of the valve is about 130 Hz at -3dB, which can meet the
demand of automobile engine with maximum speed of 3000 rpm.
Keywords: High frequency, Proportional pressure reducing valve, Variable valve, Proportional amplifier, Simulation

The conventional mechanism of valve in automobile
engine is driven by cam. This method is difficult to
meet the demand for high dynamic quality,
economical efficiency and environment protection.
Some research showed that by using variable valve
techniques, engine performance can be improved1.
There are three kinds of variable valve systems
including cam system, electromagnetic system and
electro-hydraulic system2. Because the adjustable
range of cam system is restricted within narrow limits,
electromagnetic system and electro-hydraulic system
are showing its potential features in industry
application. In electro-hydraulic system, there is no
cam3; hence the opening and closing processes of the
valve are controlled by a high-speed electromagnetic
valve. The response time and the flow rate are two
contradictory parameters for a high-speed electro-
magnetic valve. Many high speed valves have been
developed for the control of fuel injection4-7. Because
the variable valve system requires larger flow rate,
usually servo valves are employed in the system8-10.
Due to the high cost of servo valves , therefore many
lower cost, high speed and large flow rate valves are
developed11-13.
In this study, a low cost, high frequency
proportional pressure-reducing valve was developed.
First, we introduce the schematic diagram of electro-
hydraulic variable valve system and working principle
_________
*For correspondence (E-mail: bjin@zju.edu.cn)
of the valve. Then, based on the mathematical model,
we analyze the steady-state and dynamic performance
of the valve. Finally, we carry out experiments to
verify both the analysis and the desired performances
of the valve.
Structure and Working Principle
In this paper, a newly developed pressure-reducing
proportional valve with low cost and high
frequency is employed in the variable valve system
show in Fig. 1.
Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of electro-
hydraulic variable valve system. It is easy to see that
the opening process of valve in the engine is
proportional to the output pressure of the pressure
reducing valve. The working principle of the pressure
reducing valve is shown in Fig. 2. This is a three way
proportional pressure reducing valve without return
spring. The force generated proportional electro-
magnet is balanced by the hydraulic force acted on the
left side of the spool. Hence, the output pressure Pc
can be controlled by the current of the electromagnet.
The maximum working stroke of the valve spool is
0.6 mm, which is beneficial to obtain good
performance in dynamic response.
Steady State Analysis of the Valve
In order to analyze the effect of the input current on
the steady-state and dynamic performance, the
mathematical model of the valve was built14-16.
8 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., FEBRUARY 2009

Fig.1 — Schematic diagram of electro-hydraulic variable valve system (1-tank; 2-proportional relief valve; 3-hydraulic pump; 4-
proportional pressure-reducing valve; 5-motor; 6-single-rod hydraulic cylinder; 7-return spring; 8-valve)

(2) and (3), the relationship between output pressure

and solenoid current can be expressed as following:

Ki Ff
Pc = I− … (4)
Av Av

Equation (4) indicates that the output pressure of

valve is proportional to the current and has a dead-
band because of friction.
Dynamic Model of the Valve
The motion equation of the spool can be expressed
Fig. 2 — Working principle of the valve as:
In steady state, the position of engine valve remains d 2 Xv dX v
Fm − M v − Bv − Pc Av = 0 … (5)
unchanged, hence QL=0, the input flow from dt 2
dt
hydraulic power source is used to compensate the
leakage: The force output of the solenoid can be expressed as:

KI
2( Ps − Pc ) Fm = e− ts … (6)
Cd wX v = K c Pc … (1) τ s +1
ρ
The continuity equation of chamber Vc can be
The force balance equation for valve spool can be expressed as:
expressed as following:
Vc dPc dX v
Q1 − Q2 − QL − Cip Pc = − Av … (7)
Fm − Pc Av − Ff − K f X v = 0 … (2) β e dt dt
where
The force output of the solenoid can be expressed as:
QL=0 … (8)
Fm = K i I − K y X v … (3)
C W ( X v − U ) 2( Ps − Pc ) / ρ U < X v ≤ X vmax
Q1 =  d
Because the leakage of the valve is very small, from 0 - X vmax ≤ X v ≤ U
Eq. (1), it can be obtained: Xv=0, combine with Eqs … (9)
 LIU et al.: PROPORTIONAL PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE 9

Fig. 3 — Circuit diagram of the amplifier

C W ( −U − X v ) 2 Pc / ρ − X vmax ≤ X v < −U

Q2 =  d
0 − U ≤ X v ≤ X v max
… (10)
Combine Eqs (5) ~ (7), the dynamic model of the
valve can be obtained.

Design of Solenoid and its Amplifier

The requirements for the solenoid mainly contain
two aspects: (i) it should output enough force to
overcome the hydraulic force and (ii) it should have Fig. 4 — Dynamic response of the current
fast-response. To meet both force and response requirements for
The time constant of the solenoid is the solenoid, smaller turns and larger current must be
used. In this case, N = 100 and I = 8 A.
L To make the solenoid act as quick as possible, a
τ= … (11)
R current feedback PWM amplifier was employed,
whose schematic diagram is shown as Fig. 3.
N2 The operating principle of the proportional
L= … (12)
r amplifier is as follows: (i) the current in the solenoid
is detected and fedback to compare with the input
απ N ( D + d ) signal; (ii) if the current is smaller than desired, the
R= … (13) comparators will turn T1 and T2 on, so the solenoid is
2q
charged, the current begin to increase and (iii) if the
By putting Eqs (12) and (13) into Eq. (11), we can current is greater than desired, the comparators will
obtain: turn T1 and T2 off, the current is discharged from the
feedback resistance Rf, the diode D2, the power
2qN supply E, the ground and the diode D1.
τ= … (14)
απ r ( D + d ) Hence, the current in the solenoid can be controlled
in the loop. By choosing smaller turns, larger currents
Equation (14) indicates that decreasing N can reduce and the use of PWM amplifier, the time constant of
time constant. the solenoid can be reduced significantly. Figure 4
10 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., FEBRUARY 2009

Fig. 5 — Simulation model

Fig. 6 — Simulation result of the pressure of port A with different

current

Table 1 — Simulation parameters

Parameter Value

N 100
Xv 0.6 mm
Ps 6 MPa
L 1.2 mH
R 1.2 Ω
I 8.7 A
Mv 0.09 kg
U 12 V
Bv 100 N(m/s)
Dv 8 mm

shows the dynamic response of the current in the

Fig. 7 — Simulation results of step response of the valve with
solenoid, the time constant is less than 1 ms. different current

Digital Simulation of the Valve
A digital simulation model has been build up using
AMESim, the model is shown in Fig. 5 and the
simulation parameters are defined in Table 1.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between output
pressure and input current in steady state, it shows
that the output pressure is proportional to the input
current and has a small dead-band, the results agree
well with the results of Eq. (3).
Figure 7 shows the simulation results of step
response under the different conditions of I is 4 A,
6 A and 8 A.
 LIU et al.: PROPORTIONAL PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE
From these figures, the following conclusions can
be drawn: (i) there is a delay time between the input
signal and the output pressure, which is because of the
overlap of the valve spool; (ii) the delay time will
decrease with the increases of the input current.
Because the overlap is a constant value, when the
current increases the force output will increase, the
spool can move faster to overcome the overlap, and
the overshot increase too. In the real application, the
delay time can be compensated by software ; and
(iii) the output pressure is a little bit lack of damping,
this is because the load is cut off (QL=0). In real
application, the damping will increase significantly.
From Fig. 8, we can come to the following
conclusions: (i) the cut-off frequency at -3db
Fig.8 — Simulation results of frequency responding with different
current
Fig. 9 — Block diagram of the experimental bench (1-oil filter;
2-proportional relief valve; 3-motor; 4-pump; 5-tank; 6-low
frequency signal generator; 7-amplifier; 8-proportional pressure-
reducing valve; 9-pressure transducer; 10-pressure gauge;
11- oscilloscope)
11
increases with the increase of input current. This
phenomenon coincides with Fig. 6, i.e., the larger
force moves the spool quicker, hence increase the
dynamic response. In real applications, this character
will help increase the dynamic response of engine
valve; (ii) the overshot of pressure increases with the
increase of current; and (iii) the system’s damping is
low, because the shut off of load.
Experimental System
An experiment system is employed to testify the
pressure reducing valve. The block diagram of the
experimental bench is shown in Fig. 9.
The experimental bench consists of a low-
frequency signal generator, a proportional relief
valve, the PWM amplifier, a pump, a motor, and the
proportional pressure-reducing valve to be tested, a
pressure transducer and an oscilloscope. The output
pressure is measured by the pressure transducer. The
oscilloscope is used to display and store the signals.
Results and Discussion
The steady state and dynamic experiment results
are shown in Figs10-12.
These experimental results coincide with the
theoretical analyses and digital simulation. The output
pressure has a dead-band and a hysteresis less than
3%. The dynamic response will increase when the
input current increases.
Conclusions
In this paper, a high-frequency three-port
proportional pressure-reducing valve is developed,
whose features are studied by the means of theoretical
analysis, digital simulation and experiments. The
following conclusions may be drawn from this study:
Fig. 10 — Experimental result of output pressure with different
current
12 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., FEBRUARY 2009

Fig. 12 — Experimental result of frequency response with

different current

(v) The cut-off frequency is about 130 Hz with a 8

A input current. It can meet the demand for
automobile engine with maximum speed of 3000
rpm.
(vi) Digital simulation results agree well with the
experimental results, which validates the
mathematical model. Consequently, the model
can be used for optimizing the valve
performance in the future.
Acknowledgement
This paper is supported by the Nature Science
Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China. Project
Number: Z106543

Nomenclature
Pc = pressure of port A
I = input current
Xv = spool displacement
Fm = solenoid force
Ki = current-force gain
Ky = displacement-force gain
QL = load flow
Kc = leakage coefficient
Fig. 11 — Experimental results of step response with different Cd = flow coefficient
current w = port width
Ps = system pressure
(i) The output pressure is proportional to the input Kf = steady flow force stiffness
current. Hence, the engine valve lift can be Av = orifice area
changed by varying the input current. Ff = friction force
K = the gain
(ii) The output pressure has a small hysteresis less N = number of turns
than 3%. L = coil inductance
(iii) The valve is lack of damping with the cut off of R = coil resistance
the load. τ = time constant
r = the reluctance
(iv) The dynamic response speed increases with D = outer diameter of the coil
increase in input current, which can help the d = internal diameter of the coil
engine valve act faster with large input. q = sectional area of the wire
 LIU et al.: PROPORTIONAL PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE 13

ρ = density of oil 5 Lauvin P, Loffler A, Schmitt A, Zimmermann W & Fuchs

Mv = mass of spool W, SAE 911819.
Bv = viscous damping coefficient 6 Seilly A H, Colenoid, SAE 810462.
U = valve overlap 7 Takeo K, SAE 850373.
βe = oil bulk modulus 8 Allen J & Law D, SAE 2002-01-1109.
Vc = control volume 9 Law D, Kemp D, Allen J, Kirkpatrick, G & Copland T, SAE
Cip = inner leakage coefficient 2001-01-0251.
Q1 = flow from P to A 10 Aaltonen J, Huhtala K & Vilenius M, SAE 2002-01-1282.
Q2 = flow from A to T 11 Cui P, Burton R T & Ukrainetz P R, SAE 911815.
Xvmax = maximum spool displacement 12 Shi Y P, Liu C W & Zhang Y Z, Chin J Mech Eng, 40
α = the resistivity (2004) 195.
13 Zhou F Z, Li L Q, Liu Z W & Ren D Z, Chin J Mech Eng, 34
(1998) 101.
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