Novel Bistable Hammer Valve For Digital Hydraulics

Abstract

This paper presents a fast and small on/off actuator—called the bistable hammer actuator—which requires only a small amount of work to switch between two stable positions. This actuator is combined with a suitable hydraulic part. The combination—called the hammer valve—is analyzed with multiphysical models including dynamic electromagnetic and static fluid mechanic models. A prototype is built and measured to verify the analysis. Smaller and faster valves are critical in digital hydraulics, and the results show the presented valve is competitive for the needs of digital hydraulics.