COMPARISION OF VARIOUS DESIGNS

OF SOLID BODY COMPENSATORS

FOR THE FILTERING OF FLUID
FLOW PULSATIONS IN HYDRAULIC
SYSTEMS

Josef Mikota
Johannes Kepler University of Linz
Institute for Mechanics and Machine Design
Altenberger Str. 69
A-4040 Linz
Austria
Email: mikota@mechatronik.uni-linz.ac.at

Numerous hydraulic sources create significant flow- and pressure pulsations. Common measures to reduce these
unpleasant effects include accumulators, in particular featuring a 'Pulse-Tone' design, shock absorbers in various
arrangements and novel multiple-volume resonators. In this paper I will compare conventional devices to 3 novel
concepts of solid-body compensators, i.e. compensators based on a multi-degree of freedom mass-spring system,
compact λ/4 side branch resonators and compensators based on various arrangements of plate/shell elements. For this
comparison, I will use criteria, such as the adjustment of the resonance frequency, mechanical stresses in the resonator,
the ability to compensate frequencies which are integer multiples of a base frequency as well as compact and cheap
design.

Keywords: Hydraulics, Pump, Noise, Attenuation

1 INTRODUCTION

Although the design of devices for the suppression of hydraulic noise has been an aspect of
hydraulic engineering for a long time, a rigorous mathematical treatment of their behaviour was
undertaken almost exclusively by physicists (e.g. Rayleigh, Ingard, ...). In this paper I will present a
comparison of both conventional and novel devices for the suppression of hydraulic noise. Three
novel concepts, i.e. compensators based on multi-degree of freedom mass-spring systems,
compensators based on various arrangements of plate/shell elements and compact λ/4 side branch
resonators will be investigated in detail with respect to the adjustment of the resonance frequency,
mechanical stresses, their ability to compensate frequencies which are integer multiples of a base
harmonic as well as compact and cheap design.
2 CONVENTIONAL DEVICES

Accumulator
+ simple device, readily available
- low performance (especially at high
frequencies)

λ/4 Line silencer

Pump Load
+ simple device
- attenuation of odd order harmonics only 2n+1
2
λ n∈ Ν+

- builds rather long for low frequencies

In-line noise suppressor
+ fairly simple device
- expensive

λ/4 Side branch resonator

+ simple device λ/4

- builds rather long for low frequencies Pump Load

- attenuation of odd order harmonics only
Helmholtz resonator
V
+ simple device A

+ simple adjustment of frequency t

- attenuation of 1 frequency only Pump Load

Multiple volume resonator

+ fairly simple device
+ may be tuned in such a way to attenuate OR
integer multiples of a base harmonic Variable resonance Mulit DOF type
- complex tuning operation type side branch Helmholtz
resonator resonator

Table 1: Proprietary hydraulic noise suppressors

As can be seen in Table 1, no common device but the multiple volume resonator is capable of
attenuating a base harmonic and integer multiples of it. Furthermore, the selection of compensators,
such as accumulators and in-line noise suppressors, is mainly left to the experience of the engineer,
some rules-of-thumb and quite often a field for trial and error.
3 OVERVIEW OF NOVEL CONCEPTS

3.1 Multi degree-of-freedom mass-spring compensators

3.1.1 Principle

c1
pressure line m1 damping in the gap
Q(t) between cylinder wall and mN
Load c2 d3
m2
Pump sealing element
c3
m3

F(t) = p(t) AN

Figure 1: Principle of a third order mass-spring compensator

The pulsating volume stream Q(t) originating at the pump produces a pulsating pressure p(t) in the
pressure line. This pressure p(t) acts on the mass mN as this mass is coupled to the hydraulic circuit
via a sealing element. Hence, the solid body oscillator is stimulated by the Force F(t) = p(t) AN,
where AN is the piston area. The oscillator, i.e. the masses m1 ... mN and springs c1 ... cN
respectively, are tuned in such a way to place the natural frequencies of the oscillator ω1 ... ω N at the
frequencies of the first n harmonics of the pulsating flow Ω 1 ... Ω N. This means that a system with
an initial pressure signal p(t) = p0+p1 cos(Ω t) generates a harmonic motion
xN(t) = xN0 + AN cos(Ω t+φ) of the (undamped) oscillator, which cancels out incoming flow
pulsations and consequently eliminates pressure ripples (lim p1à0).
3.1.2 Frequency tuning
As presented in the paper Mikota, J.; Scheidl, R. (1999), an undamped chain-structure mass-spring
oscillator of order N may be tuned in such a way to place the natural frequencies of the system
ω 1 ... ωΝ?exactly?at?Ω 1 ... Ω Ν?, where
Ω1 = Ω
Ω2 = 2 Ω
M
ΩN = N Ω (1)
simply by using the following simple mass-spring allocation
m1 = m c1 = Ω N2 mN = N c
m2 = m/2 c2 = Ω Ν− 12 mN-1 = (N-1) c
M M
mN = m/N cN = Ω 12 m1 = c (2)
where the base harmonic of the pressure pulsation is Ω .
Furthermore, it is possible to show that this concept of frequency adjustment also works fairly well
for weakly damped systems (ζ in the order of 0.01, see Fig. 8), where the dimensionless damping
ratio is defined by
 dN
ζ = . (3)
2 mN cN / m N

3.2 Compensators based on plate/shell elements

3.2.1 Principle
2a z
h r

r
Pump Load

Figure 2: Principle of an oscillator based on a circular plate

The simplest conceivable compensator based on plate/shell elements is depicted in Figure 2. A plate
of homogenous thickness h is clamped at the circumference and tuned in such a way to place the
first natural frequency at the base harmonic of the pulsating flow stream. Additionally, one needs to
ensure that the stresses due to the maximum hydraulic pressure pmax do not exceed the maximum
permissible stress of the material.
3.2.2 Frequency tuning and stress analysis
Assuming a circular plate of constant thickness h being clamped at the circumference, the first
natural frequency may Ω be calculated as
λ11 D
Ω= where λ11 = 10.216 and
a2 ρ
(4)
E h3
the flexural rigidity for a plate D = .
12(1 − ν 2 )
The induced bending moments due to a constant pressure distribution at the bottom surface in radial
and tangential direction, Mr and MF respectively, are given (Pilkey, W.D. (1994)) by

Mr =
1
16
[
p a 2 1 + ν − (3 + ν )α 2 ] and Mφ =
1
16
[
p a 2 1 + ν − (1 + 3ν )α 2 , ]
(5)
r
where α = .
a
At the circumference r = a, above equations simplify to
1 ν
Mr = − p a2 and Mφ = p a2 (6)
8 8
and result in maximum stresses at the bottom/top layer of
 6 Mr 6 Mφ
σr = and σφ = . (7)
h2 h2
These stresses σr and σφ respectively may be combined to an equivalent stress σE according to the
“von Mises” hypothesis of

σ E = σ r2 − σ r σφ + σφ2 . (8)

3.3 Compact λ/4 side branch resonators

As known in the literature, a side branch resonator of length λ/4 may be used to compensate
incoming pressure pulsations of a base harmonic Ω 1=Ω and odd multiples Ω 3=3 Ω ,Ω5=5 Ω ,... of it.
0

-0.5

-1
1 l 1 l 3 l l
0
4 2 4
1

l=λ/4 0.5

x -0.5

-1
1 l 1 l 3 l
0
4 2 4
l
Pump Load 1

0.5

-0.5

-1
1 l 1 l 3 l l
0
4 2 4

Figure 3: Principal arrangement of a Figure 4: p = f(x) for ω=Ω , ω=3 Ω and ω=5 Ω
λ/4 side branch resonator
However, since the length of the device l = λ/4 directly determines the first filtering frequency f
with
B cS
cS = and λ= , (9)
ρ f
long pipes are required for the attenuation of low frequency noise (typically λ/4 ˜ 1.1 m for a
resonance frequency of 300 Hz using hydraulic oil). In the following paragraph I will discuss how
the influence of wall flexibility can be exploited to build more compact resonators.
3.3.1 Principle
Influence of wall
flexibility considered

d p

Influence of wall
flexibility neglected

l = λ/4

Figure 5: λ/4 Side branch resonator considering the influence of wall stiffness
According to the theory of thin walled tubes, the increase of volume in a tube due to an increase of
pressure (Backé, W.; Murrenhoff, H. (1994)) is
∆p d
∆VTube = V0 . (10)
ETube s
Therefore, the total increase of volume ∆VTot = ∆VTube+∆VOil is
∆p ∆p d ∆p
∆VTot = ∆VOil + ∆VTube = V0 + V0 = V0 . (11)
B ETube s ′
BTot
Hence, the bulk modulus B′,
Tot considering both effects is

B
B' Tot = . (12)
B d
1+
ETube s

3.3.2 Frequency tuning and stress analysis

Considering the effect of wall flexibility, the natural frequency f of a resonator is given by
1 ′ 1
BTot 1 B
f = = . (13)
4l ρ 4l ρ 1+ B d
ETube s
A simple method to estimate the stresses in a cylindrical vessel with diameter d, wall thickness s
and a homogenous pressure distribution p is given by
pd
σ= . (14)
2s

4 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE AND DISCUSSION

In order to highlight the merits and shortcomings of different solid body compensators, I would like
to discuss the following example:
Suppose two hydraulic systems, one low pressure system with pmax = 40 bar and one conventional
hydraulic system with p max = 200 bar, are driven by a 9 piston pump with a nominal flow of
QNom = 50 l/min at a speed of nNom = 1450 rpm.
Compensator

9 Piston pump
nNom=1450 rpm pBack
QNom = 50 l/min

Load

Figure 6: Structure of application example

 Parameter Unit Value Description
Hydr. z - 9 Number of pistons
Pump n rpm 1450 Pump speed
QΝ l/min 50 Rated pump flow
Hydr. B bar 16000 Bulk modulus of hydraulic fluid
Fluid ρF kg/m3 850 Mass density of hydraulic fluid
System 40
pressure pmax bar and Maximum system pressure
200
Compensator E N/mm2 2.1E5 Young’s modulus of steel
material ν - 0.3 Poisson’s ratio
ρS kg/m3 7800 Mass density of steel
σmax N/mm2 500 Maximum permissible stress
Table 2: Parameters of application example
Assuming a very simplified model for the flow per piston, the base harmonic of the flow pulsation
for a given speed n and an odd number of pistons is
f1 = 2 z n, (15)
see Backé, W.; Murrenhoff, H. (1994), which amounts to f1 = 435 Hz.
60

50

Piston 1
40 Piston 2
Piston 3
Piston 4
Piston 5
Q [l/min]

Piston 6
30 Piston 7
Piston 8
Piston 9
Total Flow
20

10

0 π/2 π 3/2 π 2π
φ

Figure 7: Pump flow per piston

4.1 Multi degree-of-freedom mass-spring compensator

The incoming flow pulsations (base harmonic and N-1 higher order harmonics) may be attenuated
by a mass-spring oscillator of order N. Assuming a third order system (N = 3) and a mass m = 0.6
kg, the masses m1 = m, m2 = m/2 and m3 = m/3 are given accordingly.
Since the base harmonic f = 435 Hz and hence Ω = 2 π f = 2733 rad/s, the spring stiffness is fixed
to c = Ω 2 m = 4.482 kN/mm with c3 = c, c2 = 2 c and c1 = 3 c. As already outlined in chapter 3.1, the
sealing gasket of the mass mN has got some damping effect assuming Newtonian behaviour of the
hydraulic fluid in the gap between mN and the cylinder surface.
Figure 8 gives an indication of the frequency behaviour of the compensator for different
dimensionless damping ratios ζ .
 Bode diagram of a 3rd order system
featuring a damping ratio ζ = {0, 0.1, 0.01}
G(s) = x3(s)/F(s)
150
Singularities of undamped system

100
ζ =0

50
ζ = 0.01
Gain [dB]

0
ζ = 0.1

-50

-100
103 2*103 4*103 6*103 8*103 104
Frequency [rad/s]

Figure 8: Normalised frequency plot of a 3rd order damped oscillator

EVALUATION
+ Adjustment of resonant frequency is simple
+ Ability to compensate one base harmonic and (N-1) higher
order harmonics by utilising one compensator
- Sealing element between mN and the cylinder wall causes damping
- Expensive

4.2 Compensator based on plate/shell elements

To facilitate a natural frequency of f=435 Hz and to limit the equivalent stresses at the boundary to
σmax=500 N/mm2, the equations (4) – (8) need to be solved for the plate thickness h and the plate
radius a. Doing this results in the following geometries:
pmax [bar] a [mm] h [mm]
40 13.4 1
200 150 24.5

EVALUATION
+ Simple mechanical design
+ Compensator only works at one frequency
- Plates become large and bulky at high system pressures and low frequencies of the pulsating
pump flow
4.3 Compact λ/4 side-branch resonator
Assuming a diameter of the resonator of d = 40 mm, the required wall thickness is given by
equation (14) and results in
pmax [bar] s [mm]
40 0.16
200 0.8
The frequency condition in equation (13) may be fulfilled by making the length of the resonator
tube to
pmax [bar] l [mm]
40 463
200 671

Comparison of theory and numerical results

In order to compare the theory given in chapter 3.3 with the results of a numerical calculation, the
resulting λ/4 side branch resonator (length l = 463 mm, d = 40 mm, material steel, wall thickness
s = 0.16 mm) was the object of a combined acoustic/elastic analysis in ABAQUS. As you can see in
the following table, the results differ by approximately 5% - 15%. This indicates that further work is
necessary to confirm the results. However, the theory given in chapter 3.3 should be useful for an
initial design.
Wall thickness First natural frequency [Hz]
s [mm] Analytical model FE model
0.16 435 376
0.24 492 426
0.32 560 531
Table 9: Comparison of analytical and numerical results

EVALUATION
+ Simple mechanical design
+ Large displacement volume
- Resonator builds long particularly at high operating pressures and low frequencies of the
pressure pulsation

5 CONCLUSION

In this paper, I presented a comparison of both readily available and novel devices, namely
compensators based on a multi degree-of-freedom mass-spring system, compact λ/4 side branch
resonators and compensators based on various arrangements of plate/shell elements, for the
attenuation of flow pulsations. Even at this present time, solid body compensators are a vital and
cost effective alternative to other devices, such as accumulators, etc. especially in the high
frequency domain. Furthermore, it is possible with some compensators to also attenuate higher
order harmonics by utilising a single compensator.
It is believed that with the advent of switching techniques (switching frequencies of up to 1 kHz
appear to be feasible at the present time) in hydraulics, solid body compensators will become a
ubiquitous part of hydraulic engineering.

6 LIST OF NOTATIONS

a Radius of plate m
A Area m²
B Bulk modulus N/m²
c Spring stiffness N/m
cS Speed of sound m/s
d Damping ratio N s/m
E Young’s modulus N/m2
f Frequency Hz
h Thickness of plate m
l Length mm
λ Wave length m
m Mass kg
n Pump speed rpm
N Order of system -
p Pressure Pa
Q Pump flow l/min
ρ Specific mass kg/m3
s Wall thickness mm
σ Mechanical stress N/m2
ν Poisson’s ratio -
V Volume m3
ω Natural frequency of dynamic system rad/s
Ω Harmonic of the pressure pulsation rad/s
z Number of pistons -
ζ Dimensionless damping ratio -

7 REFERENCES

Backé, W.; Murrenhoff, H. (1994). Grundlagen der Ölhydraulik. Lecutre notes: Institut für
fluidtechnische Antriebe und Steuerungen, RWTH Aachen, Germany.

Kojima, E.; Ichiyanagi, T. (1998). Development research of new types of multiple volume
resonators. Bath Workshop on Power Transmission and Motion Control, University of Bath, UK.

Mikota, J.; Scheidl, R. (1999). Solid body compensators for the filtering of fluid flow pulsations in
hydraulic systems. Mechatronics and Robotics’99, TU Brno, Czech Republic.

Parkus, H. (1988). Mechanik der festen Körper. Springer Publishing Company, Germany.

Pilkey, W.D. (1994). Formulas for stress, strain and structural matrices. John Wiley and Sons,
New York.