Effects of flow force on the characteristics of electrohydraulic servovalves

In this study, the effects of flow force applied to the spool in electrohydraulic servovalve on the valve´s performances are investigated. First, experiments investigating flow force in an electrohydraulic servovalve is conducted, and various physical parameters of the servovalve are measured. Then, a simulation program for the valve was developed based on the full mathematical model of the servovalve, using the measured physical parameters´ values and the experimental results on the flow force. The effects of the flow force on the valve performances are described in detail based on the simulation results.