machines
Article
Study on the Digital Hydraulic Driving System of the
Belt Conveyor
Meisheng Yang 1,2,3
Citation: Yang, M. Study on the
Digital Hydraulic Driving System of
the Belt Conveyor. Machines 2022, 10,
417. https://doi.org/10.3390/
machines10060417
Academic Editors: Hang Su,
Jiahao Chen, Long Zheng,
Yiming Jiang and Jing Guo
Received: 3 May 2022
Accepted: 23 May 2022
Published: 25 May 2022
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
Copyright: © 2022 by the author.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Machines 2022, 10, 417. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines10060417
1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243002, China;
yms20190072@ahut.edu.cn
2 State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
3 Engineering Technology Research Center of Hydraulic Vibration Technology,
Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan 243002, China
Abstract: The electrohydraulic equipment of the coal gangue belt conveyor has been widely studied
in recent years, but studies have been limited to the traditional hydraulic system with proportional
valve and servo valve as control elements. Because of their own structural characteristics, proportional
valves and servo valves have inherent defects such as low reliability, high cost and a long debugging
cycle. It is necessary to carry out technological innovation and upgrading. This paper presents a
hydraulic system scheme which uses digital valves instead of proportional valves and servo valves
to control the belt conveyor propulsion system. Firstly, the system scheme is described in detail.
Secondly, the simulation model of the control element digital valve is established, and its dynamic
characteristics are analyzed in detail. Finally, the displacement tracking control of the new system is
carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed control scheme. The results show that the new
digital hydraulic control system can effectively achieve the displacement control function of the belt
conveyor propulsion system.
Keywords: belt conveyor; digital valve; displacement control; propulsion system; transporta-
tion equipment
1. Introduction
The belt conveyor is an important piece of energy mining and transportation equip-
ment. It is a type of high-efficiency continuous conveying equipment. It has the advantages
of being able to bear heavy loads, span long distances and continuously convey, and allows
for easy automation and centralized control. Belt conveyor equipment is also used for the
transportation of coal gangue, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In the process of conveying coal
gangue, the belt conveyor needs to move the frame to the next horizontal target position
through the propulsion system and raise the frame height to the vertical target position
through the jacking system. The propulsion system and jacking system are the key devices
of the belt conveyor, whose performance directly affects the horizontal position and vertical
height of the belt conveyor frame.
The traditional lifting and propulsion systems of conveying equipment adopt a hy-
draulic drive scheme, in which the propulsion system adopts four oil cylinders. In the
working process, the four oil cylinders are divided into two groups, and two oil cylinders
coordinate the pushing movement. In the process of pushing, a group of oil cylinders
need to be synchronized to avoid uneven force on the left and right sides of the steel frame
structure of the whole belt conveyor, which will lead to the deformation and damage of
structural parts due to unilateral overload. Therefore, synchronization research of the
hydraulic actuator is very important.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/machines
 Machines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 14
Machines 2022, 10,
Machines x FOR
2022, PEER REVIEW
10, 417 2 of 142 of 14

Figure 1. Three-dimensional model of coal gangue conveyor.

Figure 1. 1.
Figure Three-dimensional
Three-dimensional model ofcoal
model of coalgangue
gangue conveyor.
conveyor.

Figure2.2.Coal
Figure Coalgangue
gangueconveyor
conveyorequipment.
equipment.
Figure 2. Coal gangue conveyor equipment.
Xuan’s research was aimed at a radar antenna trailer and four-point support, wherein
The traditional lifting and propulsion systems ofweights
conveying equipment adopt a hy
The traditional
a learning algorithmlifting and propulsion
of adaptive systems
adjusting neural of conveying
network wasequipment
proposed,adopt
which a hy-
draulic synchronous
realizes drive scheme, in which the propulsion system[1]. adopts four oil cylinders.
the newIn In the
draulic drive scheme, motionin which under
the disturbance
propulsionconditions
system adopts Yanfour
introduced
oil cylinders. the
working process,
conceptprocess,
of pressure the four oil cylinders are divided into two groups, and two oil cylin
working the coupling
four oil in the dualare
cylinders hydraulic
divided motor
intosynchronous
two groups,drivingand twosystem,
oil cylin-
dersestablished
and coordinatethethe pushing
system’s movement.
mathematical In the
model process
under of pushing,
the common driveamode
group of oil cylin
of two
ders coordinate the pushing movement. In the process of pushing, a group of oil cylin-
ders needmotors
hydraulic to bedriving
synchronized to avoid
a load together, anduneven force
two motors on the
driving left and
a load, right sides
respectively [2]. of the
ders need to be synchronized to avoid uneven force on the left and right sides of the
Dong designed a model-free cross-coupling controller for a multi-axis motion
steel frame structure of the whole belt conveyor, which will lead to the deformation and system [3].
steel
Guo frame structure
adopted of the whole
a discontinuous belt conveyor,for which will lead to movement
the deformation
of the and re
damage of structural parts control
due totechnology the synchronous
unilateral overload. Therefore, synchronization
damage
push rodsof structural
variableparts
loadsdue
of thetohydraulic
unilateral overload. Therefore, synchronization
proved that re-
search of andthe hydraulic actuator double
is very important. cylinder system, which
search of the hydraulic actuator is very important.
the discontinuous control method is an effective way to realize digital control [4]. Lu
Xuan’s research was aimed at a radar antenna trailer and four-point support
Xuan’sanresearch
designed was aimed at controller
adaptive synchronization a radar for
antenna
the planartrailer andmechanism,
parallel four-point support,
which
wherein the
overcame a learning
parameter algorithm
uncertainty ofand
adaptive
improvedadjusting
the trackingneural network weights was pro
wherein a learning algorithm of adaptive adjusting neuralaccuracy
network of the systemwas
weights [5]. pro-
posed,
Zhou which
designed realizes
an synchronous
adaptive nonlinear motion under
synchronization disturbance
controller forconditions
dual [1].
gyroscopes, Yan intro
posed, which realizes synchronous motion under disturbance conditions [1]. Yan intro-
duced
and the newachieved
effectively conceptgood of pressure coupling
synchronization in the Due
control. dualtohydraulic
the inherentmotor synchronous
duced the new concept of pressure coupling in the dual hydraulic motorcoupling,
synchronous
driving system, and established the system’s mathematical model under
parameter time-variance and nonlinear characteristics of a synchronous control the common
system,
driving system, and established the system’s mathematical model under the common
it is difficult
drive mode for traditional
of two control
hydraulic methods
motors to achieve
driving a loadhigh-precision
together, andsynchronization
two motors driving a
drive mode of two hydraulic motors driving a load together, and two motors driving a
load, respectively [2]. Dong designed a model-free cross-coupling controller for a mul
load, respectively [2]. Dong designed a model-free cross-coupling controller for a mul-
ti-axis motion system [3]. Guo adopted a discontinuous control technology for the syn
ti-axis motion system [3]. Guo adopted a discontinuous control technology for the syn-
chronous movement of the push rods and variable loads of the hydraulic double cylin
chronous movement of the push rods and variable loads of the hydraulic double cylin-
der system, which proved that the discontinuous control method is an effective way to
Machines 2022, 10, 417 3 of 14

requirements [6]. In recent years, many scholars have applied decoupling control [7,8],
fuzzy control and compound control to synchronous control systems [9,10]. Chen proposed
a fuzzy coordinated synchronous control algorithm [11]. Li studied the electrohydraulic
proportional synchronous control system, and proposed a pseudo-derivative feedback
(PDF) control algorithm, which solved the synchronous lifting problem of the double
hydraulic cylinder elevator [12]. Sun used a nonlinear control algorithm to control the
pressure of each hydraulic cylinder and solved the problem of synchronous movement
of two cylinders [13,14]. Pasolli proposed a hybrid position force control method using a
unified state feedback controller and feedforward dead time compensation. The dead time
compensator is constructed via reciprocal static mapping, and the state feedback gain is
obtained with a numerical optimization equation [15]. Christoph innovatively proposed
a kind of linear hydraulic stepping driver, which converts the pulse command sent to
the switching valve into a very accurate movement step. The driver controls the flow by
controlling the stroke of the piston, without the need for sensors [16]. Koivumaki, in the
process of studying the high-precision control of the manipulator driven by hydraulic
cylinder, converted the linear motion of the hydraulic cylinder into the rotary joint motion
between two connecting rods and realized the high-precision control of the manipulator [17].
Lasse and Shen proposed a state coupling analysis and state decoupling control strategy
based on input-output transition synthesis, and achieved effective control [18,19]. Henrik
and Shen proposed a variable speed-switching differential pump to directly drive the
hydraulic cylinder to avoid the interference of the proportional valve on the displacement
control of the hydraulic cylinder [20,21]. Yamada developed a high-speed on/off digital
valve used in a hydraulic control system. The device basically consists of a poppet valve
acting as the main valve and a multilayered piezoelectric (PZT) actuator for driving the
poppet valve [22]. Markus explained numerous benefits in comparison to the state-of-the-
art analogue technology [23]. Foschum optimized the current signal by multi-objective
genetic optimization, integrating a physical valve in the optimization loop [24].
In the traditional two-cylinder synchronization problem, researchers use the pro-
portional valve or servo valve as the control element. The control precision is high and
the control effect is good, but there are some shortcomings, such as low reliability, high
cost, low safety redundancy, etc. Therefore, this research develops a micro high-speed
digital valve to replace the traditional proportional valve and servo valve for digital and
intelligent control.

2. General Scheme Design

The traditional hydraulic system of coal gangue conveying equipment is shown in
Figure 3. The system includes six actuators, of which four hydraulic cylinders (16, 17, 24, 26)
are used as support cylinders; hydraulic cylinders 16 and 17 are arranged at the front of the
conveying equipment and hydraulic cylinders 24 and 26 are arranged at the back end of the
conveying equipment; these cylinders work in pairs. Two hydraulic cylinders (27, 28) are
propulsion cylinders, arranged on either side of the belt conveyor propulsion mechanism.
The reversing action of the propulsion cylinder and the support cylinder is realized by five
solenoid directional valves (7, 8, 9, 19, 20). The action speed of the propulsion cylinder and
the support cylinder is set by the one-way throttle valve (13, 14, 15, 23, 25). The moving
speed of propulsion cylinders 27 and 28 must be synchronous; otherwise, the forces on both
sides of the propulsion mechanism are not uniform and one side is overloaded, which can
cause the mechanism to be damaged. In a traditional hydraulic system, diverter-collector
valve 18 is used to ensure that the flow rates of propulsion cylinder 27 and propulsion
cylinder 28 are consistent. The accuracy of the diverter-collector valve directly affects the
synchronous accuracy of the propulsion cylinder. After the propulsion cylinder and the
support cylinder are completed, hydraulic locks 10, 11, 12, 21 and 22 are used to lock the
hydraulic circuit.
 action of the two hydraulic cylinders, so it is difficult to guarantee the speed accuracy
and synchronization accuracy of the system. Once the one-way throttle valve is set, it
will rarely change. Under the conditions of coal mining and transportation, long-time
work will lead to inaccurate movement speed of the hydraulic cylinder. Therefore, it4is
Machines 2022, 10, 417 of 14
necessary to optimize the overall structure of the system.

Figure 3. Hydraulic system of traditional gangue conveyor equipment. 1. Electric motor. 2. Filter. 3.
1. Electric motor. 2. Filter. 3. Hydraulic pump. 4. Proportional relief valve. 5. Filter.
Hydraulic pump. 4. Proportional relief valve. 5. Filter. 6. Check valve. 7~9. Electromagnetic
6. Check directional
valve. 7~9. Electromagnetic
valve. 10~12. Hydraulic directional valve. 10~12.
lock. 13~15. One-way Hydraulic
throttle valve. lock. hydraulic
16, 17. Supported
13~15. One-waycylinder.
throttle18.valve. 16, 17. Supported
Dividing-combing valve. 19, hydraulic cylinder.
20. Electromagnetic 18. Dividing-combing
directional valve. 21, 22. Hydraulic
lock. 23. One-way throttle valve. 24, 26. Supported hydraulic cylinder. 25. One-way throttle valve.
valve. 19, 20. Electromagnetic directional valve. 21, 22. Hydraulic lock. 23. One-way
27, 28. Propulsion cylinder.
throttle valve. 24, 26. Supported hydraulic cylinder. 25. One-way throttle valve.
In the traditional belt Propulsion
27, 28. conveyor hydraulic
cylinderdriving system, the speed of the actuator
is regulated by the one-way throttle valve and the shunt valve ensures the synchronous
action of the two hydraulic cylinders, so it is difficult to guarantee the speed accuracy and
Figure 3. Hydraulicsynchronization
system of traditional
accuracy gangue
of the conveyor
system. Onceequipment.
the one-way throttle valve is set, it will
rarely change. Under the conditions of coal mining and transportation, long-time work
In view of the
willabove problems,
lead to inaccurate this paper
movement speedstudies a new type
of the hydraulic of Therefore,
cylinder. hydraulicit isdriving
necessary
system applied to to the
optimize
belt the overall structure
conveyor, and itsofoverall
the system.
system structure is shown in Figure
4. The digital valve In is view
usedoftothereplace
above problems, this paper studies a new type of hydraulic driving
the one-way throttle valve for position control.
system applied to the belt conveyor, and its overall system structure is shown in Figure 4.
Because the propulsive
The digital cylinder andtothe
valve is used supporting
replace the one-way cylinder work
throttle valve forindependently, the
position control. Because
system can first use four groups
the propulsive of digital
cylinder and thevalves to control
supporting cylinderthe
work four supporting
independently, thehydrau-
system can
first use four groups of digital valves to control the four supporting
lic cylinders and then use two of them to control propulsive cylinders 19 and 20 after hydraulic cylinders
the
and then use two of them to control propulsive cylinders 19 and
supporting hydraulic cylinder completes its action. Hydraulic locks 11, 12, 13, 14, 21 and 20 after the supporting
hydraulic cylinder completes its action. Hydraulic locks 11, 12, 13, 14, 21 and 22 are used to
22 are used to prevent the hydraulic cylinder from falling.
prevent the hydraulic cylinder from falling.
This paper focuses on the action of the propulsion cylinder, so the system is simplified
as the system structure shown in Figure 5. The movement speed of the two propulsion
cylinders is precisely controlled by the oil of digital control valve group 7 into the rodless
chamber, and the oil of the rodless chamber is controlled by digital control valve group 8.
 This paper focuses on the action of the propulsion cylinder, so the system is simpli-
fied as the system structure shown in Figure 5. The movement speed of the two propul-
sion cylinders is precisely controlled by the oil of digital control valve group 7 into the
Machines 2022, 10, 417
rodless chamber, and the oil of the rodless chamber is controlled by digital control5 of 14
valve
group 8.

1. Electric motor. 2. Filter. 3. Hydraulic pump. 4. Proportional relief valve. 5. Filter.

6. Check valve. 7, 8. High-pressure oil control valve group. 9, 10. Low-pressure oil control
valve group. 11~14. Hydraulic lock. 15~18. Supported hydraulic cylinder.
19, 20. Figure
Propulsion
1. Electric
cylinder.
motor. system
4. Hydraulic 2. Filter.
21,coal
of new
22. Hydraulic
3. Hydraulic pump.
gangue
lock.
4. Proportional
conveying equipment.relief valve.
1. Electric 5. Filter.
motor. 2. Filter. 3.
6. Check valve.
Hydraulic pump.7, 8.
4. High-pressure oilvalve.
Proportional relief control valve6.group.
5. Filter. 9, 10. 7,Low-pressure
Check valve. oiloil
8. High-pressure control
control
gure 4. Hydraulic system valve
group. group.
9, 10. 11~14. Hydraulic
of new coal gangue conveying equipment.
valve Low-pressure oil lock.
control 15~18.
valve group.Supported
11~14. hydraulic
Hydraulic cylinder.
lock. 15~18. Supported
hydraulic cylinder.19,
19, 20. Propulsioncylinder.
20. Propulsion cylinder.
21,21,
22. 22. Hydraulic
Hydraulic lock. lock.

Figure 4. Hydraulic system of new coal gangue conveying equipment.

1. Electric motor. 2. Filter. 3. Hydraulic pump. 4. Proportional relief valve. 5. Filter.

6. Check valve. 7. High-pressure oil control valve group. 8. Low-pressure oil control
1. Electric motor. 2. Filter. 3.5. Hydraulic
Figure Optimized
valve group. pump.
structure
9, 10. 4.hydraulic
of new Proportional
Hydraulic system
lock. relief
of the
11, 12. valve.
coal gangue
Propulsion 5. Filter.
conveying
cylinder. equipment. 1.
Electric motor. 2. Filter. 3. Hydraulic pump. 4. Proportional relief valve. 5. Filter. 6. Check valve. 7.
6. Check valve. 7. High-pressure
FigureHigh-pressure
oil
5. Optimizedoil
control
control valve
structure
valve
group.
of new
group.
hydraulic
8. Low-pressure
8. Low-pressure
system ofoilthe
control
coalvalve group.
gangue
oil9, 10.
control
conveying Hydraulic lock.
equipment.
valve group. 9, 10.Propulsion
11, 12. Hydraulic lock. 11, 12. Propulsion cylinder.
cylinder.
Coal gangue conveying equipment is shown in Figure 6. The main structure in-
Coal gangue conveying equipment is shown in Figure 6. The main structure includes
gure 5. Optimized cludes
structure of a new
hydraulic station, system
hydraulic control cabinet,
the frame
of framecoal and actuator.
gangue Because equipment.
conveying the system pro-
a hydraulic station, control cabinet, and actuator. Because the system processing,
cessing, debugging
debugging and and remark
remark workwork has
has not notcompleted,
been been completed, and take
and this will this awill
longtake
time,a the
long
time, the research of this paper mainly focuses on the simulation of the system’s charac-
research of this paper mainly focuses on the simulation of the system’s characteristics.
Coal gangue conveying
teristics. equipment is shown in Figure 6. The main structure in-
udes a hydraulic station, control cabinet, frame and actuator. Because the system pro-
ssing, debugging and remark work has not been completed, and this will take a long
me, the research of this paper mainly focuses on the simulation of the system’s charac-
istics.
Machines2022,
Machines 2022,10,
10,417
xxFOR
FORPEER
PEERREVIEW
REVIEW 666of
of 14
14

Figure 6. Coal
Figure Coal gangue conveying
conveying equipment.
Figure 6.
6. Coal gangue
gangue conveying equipment.
equipment.

3. Analysis
3. Analysis of of Digital
Digital Hydraulic
Hydraulic Driving
Driving Characteristics
Characteristics
3.1. Modeling and
3.1. Modeling
3.1. and Simulation
and Simulation
Simulation ofof Digital
of Digital Valve
Digital Valve
Valve
As
As aaa control
As control element,
control element, the
element, the establishment
the establishment
establishment of of aa digital
digital valve
valve model
model is is very
very important.
important.
Its accurate
Its accurate
Its modeling
accurate modeling directly
modeling directly affects
directly affects the
affects the system’s
the system’s characteristics.
system’s characteristics. Based
characteristics. Based
Based on on the
the author’s
on the author’s
author’s
previous research
previous research
previous research on on digital
on digital valves
digital valves [25–28],
valves [25–28], this
[25–28], this paper
this paper adopts
paper adopts two
adopts two positions
two positions
positions on on normally
on normally
normally
closed high-speed
closed high-speed
closed digital
high-speed digital valves,
digital valves, uses
valves, uses Maxwell
uses Maxwell electromagnetic
Maxwell electromagnetic simulation
electromagnetic simulation software
simulation software
software to to
to
carry
carry out
out accurate
accurate modeling,
modeling, dynamic
dynamic andandstatic simulation
static analysis
simulation of
analysis
carry out accurate modeling, dynamic and static simulation analysis of electromagnets electromagnets
of electromagnetsand
imports
and electromagnetic
and imports
imports simulation
electromagnetic
electromagnetic results into
simulation
simulation AMESim
results
results into hydraulic
into AMESimsimulation
AMESim hydraulicsoftware
hydraulic simulation
simulation for
interactive
software for
software calculation.
for interactive The overall
interactive calculation. simulation
calculation. The The overall architecture
overall simulation is shown
simulation architecture in Figure
architecture is is shown 7,
shown in and the
in Fig-
Fig-
main
ure 7,parameter
ure 7, and the
and the mainsettings
main are shown
parameter
parameter in Table
settings
settings 1.
are shown
are shown in Table
in Table 1.
1.

Figure 7.
Figure 7. Digital
Digital valve
valve model.
model.

TableIn
Table 1.the
1. simulation,
Parameter
Parameter settingthe
setting of oil pressure
of main
main is setof
components
components ofto 35digital
the
the bar, the
digital duty
valve
valve cycle of the PWM control
model.
model.
signal is 0.3, the frequency is 10 Hz, the control signal works ten cycles in 1 s and the
Component
Component
control voltage is 12 V; Model
the voltage
Model Namecurrent displacement
Name response curve of the
Parameter
Parameter digital
Value
Value
Model
valve Model
is shown in Figure 8. The current is divided into the rising edge and the falling
Voltage
edge. In the rising edge stage, the voltage rises withoutVoltage
delay and (V)the current rises rapidly.
(V) 12
12
In the falling edge stage, Coil diameter
Coil
the voltage decreases without diameter
delay and (mm)
(mm) 0.18
0.18
the current decreases
Electromechanical
Electromechanical
rapidly. The detailed response curves of voltage, current Coil
and
Coil turn
turndisplacement at the400 400
rising
transducer
transducer
edge can be seen in Figure 9. At 0.2 s, the electronic Coil resistance
circuit outputs
Coil resistance (Ω) (Ω)
a signal, the 5.2
voltage
5.2
rises rapidly to 12 V and the current rises accordingly. Atgap
Air
Air this(mm)
gap time, because it is difficult
(mm) 0.3
0.3
for the electromagnetic force to overcome the resistance of the spring preload, friction
Pulse
and so on, the valve corePulse signal
signal
cannot move. After 0.2 ms, Frequency
Frequency
the current (Hz)continues to10~200
(Hz) 10~200
rise and
the electric energy is converted into magnetic energy; the magnetic energy is converted
Higher displacement
Higher displacement limit limit (mm)
(mm) 0.3
0.3
into mechanical energy, the electromagnetic force rises to overcome the resistance and
Lower displacement
displacement limit limit (mm)
(mm) 00 core
the valve core starts to move. After that, theLower
Mass
Mass current continues rising and the valve
continues moving. At the moment of 1.7 ms, the displacement Weightreaches
Weight (kg) point B (0.3 mm).
(kg) 0.02 At
0.02
 signal
and
and out is
carryimports
imports
0.3,
accurate the frequency
electromagnetic
modeling,
electromagnetic
simulation
dynamic
simulation
isresults
and 10 Hz,
static
results
into theAMESim
simulation
into AMESim
control
analysis hydraulic signal
simulation
of electromagnets
hydraulic simulation
works t
software
and for interactive
imports calculation.
electromagnetic The overall
simulation resultssimulation
into architecture
AMESim is shown
hydraulic in Fig-
simulation
control
software forvoltage
ure 7, andfor
interactive is
theinteractive
12settings
calculation.
main parameter
V; Thethe
are
voltage
overall current
simulation
shownsimulation
architecture displacement
is shown in Fig-respo
in Table 1.architecture is shown in Fig-
software calculation. The overall
ure 7, and the main parameter settings are shown in Table 1.
valve
ure 7, and istheshown in Figure
main parameter settings 8.are The
shown current
in Table 1. is divided into the ris

Machines 2022, 10, 417

edge. In the rising edge stage, the voltage rises without delay a
7 of 14
idly. In the falling edge stage, the voltage decreases without d
creases rapidly. The detailed response curves of voltage, current
this time, the displacement of the valve core is at its largest; the valve core collides with
rising
the edge
valve seat, can be
the current seen
in the circuitinproduces
Figure 9. At
a shock and0.2 s, theappears
the current electronic
as an circ
inflection point (point A). As the electric pressure continues to be maintained at the high
voltage rises rapidly to 12 V and the current rises accordingly. A
level, the current continues to rise and the valve core displacement remains unchanged.
difficult
The dynamic for responsethecurve
electromagnetic
of the current’s falling force edgeto overcome
is shown in Figurethe10. Theresistanc
voltage drops at 0.23 s, the control signal is in the power-off state, the electromagnetic coil
friction and so on, the valve core cannot move. After 0.2 ms, the
loses power, the magnetic field loses power, the current drops instantaneously and the
and the
magnetic fieldelectric energyAfter
gradually weakens. is 1.8
converted into magnetic
ms, the electromagnetic energy;
force is not enough to the
overcome resistance such as spring force and friction force. The spool then starts to move
verted
inFigure
into
7. Digital
the reverse
mechanical
valve
direction. model. energy, the electromagnetic force rises to
The spool starts to move in the reverse direction at point C, and
Figure 7. Digital valve model.
and
the the
current
Figure valve
corresponds
7. Digital core
to thestarts
valve model. inflection topoint
move. at point After
D. Thethat, whole processthe current
of reversecontin
Table 1. Parameter
movement of the setting
valve of takes
core main components
8 ms, and of the
the digital
valve corevalve
moves model.to the original position.
core
Table 1.continues
Parameter setting
Table 1. Parameter setting moving.
of main componentsAt the
of main components
of themoment
of the
digital valve of model.
digital valve model. 1.7 ms, the displacem
Component
mm).
Table At this
Component
1. Parameter
Model
Component time,
setting mainthe
ofModel
Model displacement
Name
components
Name
of the digital valve of model.
the valve coreValue
Parameter
Parameter is at its la
Value
Model Model Name Parameter Value
lides with
Model
Component Modelthe valve Model seat,
Name the currentParameter in the
Voltage
Voltage
(V)circuit produces
(V)
Value 12
12 a sh
CoilVoltage
diameter
Voltage (V) (mm) 0.18
12
pears as an inflection point (pointCoil
Electromechanical
Electromechanical
A).diameter
Coil As (V)
Coil turn
Coildiameter
diameter
the(mm)
(mm)
(mm)
electric pressure
120.18
0.18400
0.18
co
transducer
Electromechanical
Electromechanical Coil turn 400
at the high level, transducer the current continues
transducer
CoilCoil to
Coilturnturnrise
resistance
Coilresistance
resistance
(Ω) and the
(Ω)
400400 valve co
5.2
5.2
transducer Coil (Ω) 5.2
Airresistance
gap (mm)(Ω) 0.3
unchanged. The dynamic responseCoil curve
Airgap
Air gap of the current’s
(mm)
(mm)
5.2
0.30.3 falling
Air gap (mm) 0.3
10. The voltage drops
Machines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW Pulse signal at 0.23 s, the Frequency
control (Hz) signal is10~200 10~200
in7 theof 14 pow
Pulse
Pulsesignal
signal Frequency
Frequency (Hz)(Hz) 10~200
Machines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW Pulse signal Frequency (Hz) 10~200
7 of 14
magnetic coil loses power, theHigher magnetic
Higher
Higher
displacement
displacement
displacement field limit
limit loses
(mm)
limit
(mm) power,
(mm) 0.30.3
0.3 the c
Mass Lower
Higher
Lower displacement
displacement
displacement limit
limitlimit (mm)
(mm)(mm) 0 0
0.3
ously and the magnetic Mass field gradually
Mass Lower displacement
LowerDiameter Weightofweakens.
displacement poppet
limit (mm)
(kg) limit (mm) After 0501.8 ms, t
(mm) 0.02
Mass Diameter Weight (kg) 0.02
is not enough to Poppetovercome
with sharp resistance Diameter
Diameter ofof
Weight ofpoppet
such
poppet as
(kg)(mm)
hole (mm)
(mm) spring 5
5force
0.02
1.5 and
Poppet
Poppet with
with sharp
sharp Diameter
Diameter Weight
of hole(kg)(mm) 1.50.02
edge seat Poppet halfof hole(degree)
angle (mm) 1.5
37.5
then starts to move edge
edge inseat
the reverse
seat Poppet
Poppet
Maximum
direction.
half
halfangle
angle
flow
(degree)The spool
(degree)
coefficient
37.5
37.5 starts to
Maximum flow coefficient 0.70.7
rection at point C, and the current Maximum
Piston
Piston corresponds
diameter
diameter (mm)(mm) to the
flow coefficient 5 5 inflectio
0.7
Piston diameter
Roddiameter
Rod diameter (mm) (mm)
(mm) 1 51
whole process Piston of
Piston reverse
with springmovement
with spring
Rod
Spring
ofatthe
diameter
force zero (mm)
valve core
(N) 8 18
takes 8
Piston with spring Spring force at zero (N)
moves to the original position. Spring Springstiffness
Spring force at(N/mm)
stiffness zero
(N/mm) (N) 7 8
7
Spring stiffness (N/mm) 7
In the simulation, the oil pressure is set to 35 bar, the duty cycle of the PWM control
signalIn is
the simulation,
0.3, the frequencythe oilispressure
10 Hz, the is set to 35 bar,
control signal theworks
duty cycle of thein
ten cycles PWM
1 s andcontrolthe
signal
controlisvoltage
0.3, theisfrequency
12 V; theisvoltage 10 Hz,current
the control signal works
displacement ten cycles
response curveinof1 the s and the
digital
control
valve isvoltage
shown is in 12 V; the
Figure 8. voltage
The currentcurrent displacement
is divided into the response curveand
rising edge of the
the digital
falling
valve is shown in Figure 8. The current is divided into the
edge. In the rising edge stage, the voltage rises without delay and the current rises rap- rising edge and the falling
edge.
idly. InIn the
the falling
rising edge
edge stage,
stage, thethevoltage
voltagerises without
decreases delay delay
without and the andcurrent rises rap-
the current de-
idly.
creases rapidly. The detailed response curves of voltage, current and displacement at de-
In the falling edge stage, the voltage decreases without delay and the current the
creases rapidly.
rising edge can The detailed
be seen response
in Figure 9. At curves
0.2 s,of voltage,
the electronic current andoutputs
circuit displacement
a signal, at the
the
rising
voltageedgerisescan be seen
rapidly to 12in V Figure
and the 9. At 0.2 s,rises
current the electronic
accordingly. circuit outputs
At this time, abecause
signal, itthe is
voltage rises rapidly to 12 V and the current rises accordingly.
difficult for the electromagnetic force to overcome the resistance of the spring preload, At this time, because it is
difficult
friction andfor the electromagnetic
so on, the valve coreforce cannot to move.
overcome Afterthe0.2resistance of the continues
ms, the current spring preload,to rise
friction and so on, the valve core cannot move. After 0.2
and the electric energy is converted into magnetic energy; the magnetic energy is ms, the current continues to con-
rise
and
vertedtheinto
electric energy energy,
mechanical is converted into magnetic force
the electromagnetic energy; thetomagnetic
rises overcomeenergy is con-
the resistance
verted
and theinto mechanical
valve core starts energy,
to move. the electromagnetic
After that, the current force rises to overcome
continues rising andthe resistance
the valve
and
core the valve core
continues startsAt
moving. to the
move. After of
moment that,
1.7the
ms,current continues rising
the displacement reaches and the valve
point B (0.3
core continues moving. At the moment of 1.7 ms, the displacement
mm). At this time, the displacement of the valve core is at its largest; the valve core reaches point B (0.3
col-
mm). At this
lides with thetime,
valvethe displacement
seat, the currentof inthe
thevalve
circuitcore is at itsalargest;
produces shock andthe the
valve core col-
current ap-
lides
pearswith
as anthe valve seat,
inflection point the current
(point A).inAsthethecircuit
electricproduces
pressureacontinues
shock andtothe be current
maintained ap-
pears
at theas an inflection
high level, the point
current (point A). Asto
continues the electric
rise and thepressure
valve continues to be maintained
core displacement remains
Figure
Figure
at the Voltage-current-displacement
8. high8. Voltage-current-displacement
level, the current response
continues to curve.
rise and theresponse
valve core curve.
displacement remains
unchanged. The dynamic response curve of the current’s falling edge is shown in Figure
unchanged.
10. The voltage The drops
dynamic response
at 0.23 s, thecurve
control of the current’s
signal is in the falling edge isstate,
power-off shown theinelectro-
Figure
10. The voltage drops at 0.23 s, the control signal is in the
magnetic coil loses power, the magnetic field loses power, the current drops instantane- power-off state, the electro-
magnetic
ously andcoil theloses power,
magnetic fieldthegradually
magneticweakens.
field losesAfterpower, 1.8 the
ms, current drops instantane-
the electromagnetic force
ously
is not and
enoughthe magnetic
to overcome fieldresistance
graduallysuch weakens. Afterforce
as spring 1.8 ms,
andthe electromagnetic
friction force. The spool force
is notstarts
then enough to overcome
to move resistance
in the reverse such asThe
direction. spring
spool force and
starts tofriction
move inforce. The spool
the reverse di-
hines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW
hines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW
Machines 2022, 10, 417 8 of 14

Figure 9. Response curve of current rising edge.

Figure
Figure9. Response curve of current
9. Response curve rising
ofedge.
current
rising edge.

Figure
Figure 10. Response
10. Response curve
curve of current ofedge.
current
falling edge.
falling
Figure 10. Response curve of current falling edge.
Through the simulation analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the digital valve, it
can be seen that the digital
Through thevalve is a fast-response
simulation on-off valve.
analysis Through
of the the PWM control
dynamic characteris
Through the simulation analysis of the dynamic
signal, the control voltage can be adjusted in the high-level stage or the low-level characteris
stage time,
the spool movement is stimulated, the opening and closing of the valve port is realizedon-off
it can be seen that the digital valve is a fast-response and va
it can be seen that the digital valve is a fast-response
the flow of hydraulic oil can be connected or stopped. Because the digital valve and the on-off va
control signal,
proportional
the
and servo the
control
valvescontrol
voltage
have different
can inputs,
control signal
be adjusted in and
control modes
theflow
high-lev
control signal, voltage can be adjusted in the high-lev
stageforms,
output time,
it is the spool
necessary movement
to verify is stimulated,
the control function the opening and
of the digital valve.
stage time,
The single the
valve flowspool movement
closed-loop is stimulated,
simulation model the opening
is established as shown in Figure 11, and
is realized and the flow of hydraulic oil can be connected
controlling the closed-loop flow and averaging the digital valve switch flow through the
or stop
is realized and the flow of hydraulic oil can be connected or stop
valvemodule.
average and the The proportional
frequency and dutyand servo
cycle of valves
the control signalhave
are thedifferent
factors that cont
determine the control characteristics of the digital valve. Because of the on-off control, the contr
valve and the proportional and servo valves have different
modes and flow output forms, it is necessary to verify the contr
modes and flow output forms, it is necessary to verify the contr
valve.
valve.
The single valve flow closed-loop simulation model is estab
The single valve flow closed-loop simulation model is estab
 is realized and the flow of hydraulic oil can be connected or stopped. Because the digital
valve and the proportional and servo valves have different control signal inputs, control
modes and flow output forms, it is necessary to verify the control function of the digital
valve.
The single valve flow closed-loop simulation model is established as shown in Fig-
Machines 2022, 10, 417 9 of 14
ure 11, controlling the closed-loop flow and averaging the digital valve switch flow
through the average module. The frequency and duty cycle of the control signal are the
factors that determine the control characteristics of the digital valve. Because of the
control frequency
on-off control, thedetermines the valve
control frequency opening and
determines theclosing characteristics
valve opening and pressure
and closing charac-
fluctuation.
teristics andInpressure
the simulation setting,
fluctuation. In the
the inlet pressure
simulation is 35 bar,
setting, the the input
inlet voltage
pressure is 12
is 35 V
bar,
and the PWM control signal frequency is set to 50 Hz, 100 Hz and 200 Hz, respectively,
the input voltage is 12 V and the PWM control signal frequency is set to 50 Hz, 100 Hz for
simulation
and 200 Hz,comparison.
respectively, for simulation comparison.

Machines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 14

Figure 11.
Figure 11. Single
Single valve
valve closed-loop
closed-loop control
control model.
model.

Theflow
The flowcontrol
controlsimulation
simulationcurves
curves under
under different
different frequencies
frequencies areare shown
shown in Figure
in Figure 12.
12. The
The target
target flowflow
is 0.5isL/min.
0.5 L/min. WhenWhen thethe control
control signal
signal of 50of Hz
50 Hz is input,
is input, thethe overshoot
overshoot is
is the largest, reaching 46%. When the control signal is set at 0.25
the largest, reaching 46%. When the control signal is set at 0.25 s, the flow fluctuation is s, the flow fluctuation
is small
small andand tends
tends to gradually
to gradually balance.
balance. When
When thethe control
control signal
signal is 200
is 200 Hz,Hz,
thethe overshoot
overshoot is
the smallest,
is the at 36%.
smallest, at 36%. When
When the the
control signal
control is setisat
signal set0.1
ats,0.1
thes, flow fluctuation
the flow is small
fluctuation and
is small
tends to be to
and tends stable. Larger
be stable. frequency
Larger can reduce
frequency the overshoot,
can reduce the overshoot,reducereducethe flowthefluctuation
flow fluc-
and quickly
tuation reach a reach
and quickly stable astate.
stableHowever, if the frequency
state. However, if the frequencyis too large, the cycle
is too large, the time
cycle
of a single
time controlcontrol
of a single cycle willcyclebe will
verybesmall,
verythe magnetic
small, field cannot
the magnetic fieldacquire
cannot enough
acquire
electric
enoughenergy,
electricthe valve core
energy, cannotcore
the valve achieve a larger
cannot achieve driving force,
a larger the spring
driving force,preload and
the spring
friction cannot be overcome, the valve core cannot act, the valve port
preload and friction cannot be overcome, the valve core cannot act, the valve port cannot cannot be opened and
closed and the
be opened andflow cannot
closed andbethe controlled. In order
flow cannot to reduce the
be controlled. In flow
orderfluctuation
to reduce and the take
flow
into accountand
fluctuation the response
take intotime, the digital
account valve in
the response this the
time, paper is studied
digital valve with thepaper
in this controlis
frequency
studied with of 200
theHz.control frequency of 200 Hz.

Figure12.
Figure 12.Flow
Flowresponse
responsecurve
curveof
ofsingle
singlevalve
valveclosed-loop
closed-loopcontrol.
control.

3.2.
3.2. Simulation
Simulation Research
Researchon onDigital
DigitalHydraulic
HydraulicPropulsion
PropulsionSystem
Systemofofthe
theBelt
BeltConveyor
Conveyor
This
This paper takes the belt conveyor propulsion system as the research object,
paper takes the belt conveyor propulsion system as the research object, uses
uses
the
the digital valve as the control element and simulates the control characteristics. In
digital valve as the control element and simulates the control characteristics. In the
the
simulation
simulationprocess,
process,ininorder
ordertotosave
saveononsimulation
simulation time and
time cost,
and thethe
cost, simulation
simulationmodel
model as
shown in Figure 13 is established. In the model, the hydraulic system
as shown in Figure 13 is established. In the model, the hydraulic system is represented is represented by a
pressure oil source. In order to simplify the model and reduce the amount
by a pressure oil source. In order to simplify the model and reduce the amount of calcu- of calculation
required, the flowthe
lation required, rate of single
flow rate ofvalve
singleand the size
valve and ofthethe propulsion
size cylinder are
of the propulsion scaledare
cylinder to
ascaled
certain proportion. Among them, 1, 2, 3 and 4 are high-speed digital
to a certain proportion. Among them, 1, 2, 3 and 4 are high-speed digital valves valves and 5 is a
propulsion cylinder. In the simulation study, a single propulsion cylinder
and 5 is a propulsion cylinder. In the simulation study, a single propulsion cylinder is is taken as the
research
taken asobject to simulate
the research the propulsion
object to simulateprocess. During the
the propulsion working
process. process,
During thethe No. 1
working
valve andthe
process, No.No.
4 valve
1 valveare used
and No.together to make
4 valve the propulsion
are used together tocylinder
make the move to the right.
propulsion cyl-
The No. 2 valve and No. 3 valve are used together to move the propulsion cylinder to
inder move to the right. The No. 2 valve and No. 3 valve are used together to move the
the left.
propulsion cylinder to the left.
Machines 2022, 10, 417
x FOR PEER REVIEW 1010of
of 14

1~4. Digital
Figure 13. Simulation valve.
model of5. Propulsion
the cylinder.
belt conveyor digital hydraulic propulsion system. 1~4. Digital
valve. 5. Propulsion cylinder.
Figure 13. Simulation model of the belt conveyor digital hydraulic propulsion system.
The pressure of the system oil source is set to a constant value of 70 bar. In the process
The pressure
of propulsion, the of the system
conveyor belt oil source
stops is set At
running. to this
a constant
time, itvalue
can beofconsidered
70 bar. In thethatpro-
the
cess of propulsion, the conveyor belt stops running. At this time, it
propulsion system has a constant load. In the simulation, the load is set to 20,000 kg. Thecan be considered
that the
target propulsion system
displacement has a constant
of the propulsion load.isIna the
cylinder slopesimulation,
signal. Fromthe the
loadstart
is set
to to
1.020,000
s, the
kg. The targetincreases
displacement displacement
from of the
0 to propulsion
3 mm and thecylinder is a slope
displacement signal.
remains From theafter
unchanged start1tos.
1.0
Thes,current
the displacement
response curve increases from valve
of the No.1 0 to 3is mmshown andinthe displacement
Figure 14. The control remains un-
current
changed after 1 s. The current response curve of the No.1 valve is shown
rises rapidly at the initial stage, and the current reaches 2.5 A. At this time, the electric in Figure 14.
The control current rises rapidly at the initial stage, and the current
energy is quickly converted into mechanical energy, and the valve core reaches enough reaches 2.5 A. At this
time,
drivingtheforce
electric
in aenergy is quickly
short time. Afterconverted
overcoming intothe
mechanical energy,
spring force and and the valve
friction, core
the valve
reaches enough
core moves, thedriving
currentforce inrapidly
drops a short time.
and the After overcoming
current the rapid
enters the springresponse
force andstage.
fric-
tion, the valve
The current core moves,
increases the current
and decreases in a drops rapidly
short time and the the
to promote current enters themotion
reciprocating rapid
Machines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 11 ofre-
response stage.
of the valve core.TheThecurrent
wholeincreases and decreases
current dynamic in a short
adjustment timemainly
process to promote
presents the as 14
a
ciprocating
zigzag curve. motion of the valve core. The whole current dynamic adjustment process
mainly presents as a zigzag curve.
The acceleration response curve of the No.1 valve core is shown in Figure 15. The
maximum acceleration of the valve core is reached at 800 m/s2. Within 0.1 s, the accelera-
tion is mainly positive, and the time of negative acceleration is short. After 0.1 s, the ac-
celeration is mainly negative. The speed response curve of the No.1 valve core is shown
in Figure 16. The maximum speed is 0.24 m/s. Within 0.1 s, the speed is mainly in the
forward direction, and the reverse speed is about 0.12 m/s. After 0.1 s, the velocity was
mainly reversed. The valve core air gap response curve is shown in Figure 17. After the
valve core quickly moves to the limit position of 0.3 mm, it can adjust dynamically to
meet the flow demand.

Figure 14.
Figure 14. Current
Current curve
curve of
of No.1
No.1 valve.
valve.
Machines 2022, 10, 417 11 of 14

The acceleration response curve of the No.1 valve core is shown in Figure 15. The
maximum acceleration of the valve core is reached at 800 m/s2 . Within 0.1 s, the acceleration
is mainly positive, and the time of negative acceleration is short. After 0.1 s, the acceleration
is mainly negative. The speed response curve of the No.1 valve core is shown in Figure 16.
The maximum speed is 0.24 m/s. Within 0.1 s, the speed is mainly in the forward direction,
and the reverse speed is about 0.12 m/s. After 0.1 s, the velocity was mainly reversed. The
valve core air gap response curve is shown in Figure 17. After the valve core quickly moves
Figure
Figure 14.
14. Current
Current curve
curve of
of No.1
No.1 valve.
to the limit position of 0.3 mm,valve.
it can adjust dynamically to meet the flow demand.

Figure 15.
Figure15. Acceleration
15. Acceleration curve
Acceleration curve of
curve of No.1
ofNo.1 valve.
No.1valve.
valve.
Figure

Machines 2022, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 14

Figure
Figure 16. Speed
16. Speed
Figure16. curve
Speed curve of
curve of No.1
ofNo.1 valve
No.1valve spool.
valvespool.
spool.

Figure17.
Figure 17. Air
Air gap
gap distance
distancecurve
curveof
ofNo.1
No.1valve.
valve.

The
The simulation
simulation result
result curve
curve of
of the
the propulsion
propulsion cylinder
cylinder displacement
displacement isis shown
shown in
in
Figure
Figure 18;
18; at
at the
thebeginning,
beginning, the
the displacement
displacement deviation
deviation of
of the
the propulsion
propulsion cylinder
cylinder from
from
the target is large. After a 0.1 s adjustment, the difference between the displacement of
the propulsion cylinder and the target value gradually decreases. Because the digital
valve is controlled by the on-off value, there is a certain fluctuation in the control pro-
cess, so the displacement always fluctuates up and down in the target value, and the
 Figure 17. Air gap distance curve of No.1 valve.
Machines 2022, 10, 417 12 of 14
The simulation result curve of the propulsion cylinder displacement is shown in
Figure 18; at the beginning, the displacement deviation of the propulsion cylinder from
thetarget
the targetisislarge.
large.After
Aftera a0.10.1 s adjustment,
s adjustment, thethe difference
difference between
between the the displacement
displacement of
of the
the propulsion cylinder and the target value gradually decreases. Because
propulsion cylinder and the target value gradually decreases. Because the digital valve is the digital
valve is controlled
controlled by the
by the on-off on-off
value, value,
there there isfluctuation
is a certain a certain fluctuation in the
in the control control
process, sopro-
the
cess, so the displacement always fluctuates up and down in the target
displacement always fluctuates up and down in the target value, and the whole process can value, and the
whole
be process
regarded as acan be regarded
dynamic balanceasprocess.
a dynamic balance
At 1.0 s, the process. At 1.0basically
displacement s, the displacement
reaches the
basically
target reaches
value. the target
The whole processvalue. The whole process
of displacement, of displacement,
fluctuation, amplitude andfluctuation, am-
adjustment
time are controlled in a reasonable range, and the system has a fast response speed anda
plitude and adjustment time are controlled in a reasonable range, and the system has
fast response
good steady-statespeed and good steady-state characteristics.
characteristics.

Figure18.
Figure 18. Displacement
Displacement response
responsecurve
curveof
ofpropulsion
propulsioncylinder.
cylinder.

4.
4. Conclusions
Conclusions
Hydraulic
Hydraulic servo
servo systems
systems areare often
often used
used as
as power
power systems
systems of of the
the belt
belt conveyor,
conveyor, but
but
digital
digital hydraulic
hydraulic systems
systems areare rarely
rarely used.
used. However,
However, digital
digital hydraulic
hydraulic systems
systems have
have their
their
own
own advantages,
advantages, such such as
as aa short
shortcommissioning
commissioning cycle,
cycle, low
low cost
cost and
andhigh
highanti-pollution
anti-pollution
performance.
performance. By paralleling multiple digital valves, the function of the traditional
By paralleling multiple digital valves, the function of the traditional servo
servo
system
system can
can be
be realized.
realized. Because
Because there
there are
are multiple
multiple digital
digital valves
valves inin aa hydraulic
hydraulic circuit,
circuit,
the
the system
system has
has aa certain degree of
certain degree of safety
safety redundancy
redundancy andandthis
thisfurther
furtherimproves
improvesthe thereli-
re-
liability of the system. Through scheme formulation, component
ability of the system. Through scheme formulation, component modeling and system modeling and system
simulation,
simulation, itit can
can bebe seen
seen that
that the
thecontrol
controlperformance
performance ofof the
thedigital
digital hydraulic
hydraulic system
system isis
good
good and
and the
the functions
functions ofof traditional
traditional servo
servo hydraulic
hydraulic systems
systems cancan bebe realized
realized in
in future
future
technical upgrading.
technical upgrading.
Nowadays, as a new development direction of hydraulic technology, digital technology
Nowadays, as a new development direction of hydraulic technology, digital tech-
is being paid more and more attention. The reliability, safety redundancy and low cost of
nology is being paid more and more attention. The reliability, safety redundancy and
coal mining and transportation equipment are also the main problems to be considered
low cost of coal mining and transportation equipment are also the main problems to be
in engineering practice. Although the mechatronic hydraulic integration system of the
belt conveyor has been studied in the early stages, most research is basically based on
the traditional proportional and servo valves. This paper proposes a new propulsion
system using the digital valve as the electrohydraulic control valve component. The main
contributions of this study are as follows:
(1) It is feasible to replace the proportional and servo valves with a digital valve. A digital
valve can realize closed-loop flow control. The frequency of the digital valve control
signal has a great influence on the closed-loop control results. The smaller and larger
control frequencies are not conducive to the flow control. In this paper, 200 Hz is
selected as the control frequency.
(2) The dynamic working process of the digital valve is a fast opening and closing process.
The current and spool displacement change rapidly and dynamically with the change
of the voltage control signal.
(3) The results of the displacement tracking research show that it can achieve effective
displacement control. In the initial stages, the digital valve is adjusted quickly. After a
short adjustment process, the displacement tracking effect is good. After that, because
Machines 2022, 10, 417 13 of 14

of the dynamic switch of the digital valve, the displacement is adjusted dynamically
with the target displacement.
Some future works may be done from the following: (1) Considering more uncertain
factors, such as load mutation, friction and leakage, the complex control algorithm should
be studied to improve the accuracy of the displacement tracking control. (2) Digital valves
with better dynamic and static performance should be researched and developed and the
reliability and safety redundancy of single valve systems should be further studied.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.Y.; software, M.Y.; investigation, M.Y.; resources, M.Y.;
writing—original draft preparation, M.Y.; writing—review and editing, M.Y.; project administra-
tion, M.Y.; funding acquisition, M.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of
the manuscript.
Funding: This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (52105041), Open
Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems (GZKF-202018),
the University Natural Science Research Project of Anhui Province (KJ2020A0258), and Opening
Fund of Engineering Research Center of Hydraulic Vibration and Control, Ministry of Education
(HVC202002).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The author would like to thank the referees for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declared no potential conflict of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References
1. Zhong, W.L.; Ying, J.D. The Design of the Giant Die Forging Hydraulic Press Synchronous Control System and its Dynamic
Simulation. Appl. Mech. Mat. 2012, 1923, 836–841.
2. Yan, L.D.; Zhan, S.Q. A Research on Dual Hydraulic Motor Synchronizing Driving System with Pressure Coupling. Appl. Mech.
Mat. 2015, 3867, 175–181.
3. Dong, S.; Shao, X.Y.; Feng, G. A Model-Free Cross-Coupled Control for Position Synchronization of Multi-Axis Motions: Theory
and Experiments. IEEE Trans. Control Syst. Technol. 2007, 15, 306–314.
4. Guo, H.Z. Bang-Bang Control of the Multi-Cylinder Synchronization Hydraulic System of Pusher. Adv. Mat. Res. 2014, 2880,
33–40.
5. Lu, R.; James, K.; Mills Dong, S. Adaptive Synchronized Control for a Planar Parallel Manipulator: Theory and Experiments.
J. Dyn. Syst. Meas. Control 2006, 128, 976–979.
6. Zhou, D.; Shen, T.L.; Tamura, K. Adaptive Nonlinear Synchronization Control of Twin-Gyro Precession. J. Dyn. Syst. Meas.
Control 2006, 128, 592–599. [CrossRef]
7. Jarczyk, J.C.; Alt, B.; Blath, J.P.; Svaricek, F.; Schultalbers, M. Decoupling control for the speed synchronization task in the
powertrain of a hybrid electric vehicle. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation,
Christchurch, New Zealand, 9–11 December 2009.
8. Guo, Y.; Fang, K.; Zhou, H. Design of Fuzzy Feed-forward Decoupling System based on FPGA. In Proceedings of the 2008
International Conference on Embedded Software and Systems, Chengdu, China, 29–31 July 2008.
9. Xu, J.; Hang, C.; Liu, C. Parallel structure and tuning of a fuzzy PID controller. Automatica 2000, 36, 673–684. [CrossRef]
10. Jurdiang, Z.; Li, L. Synchronization Motion Control for Electro-hydraulic System of Tensioner for Pipelaying Vessel. In Proceedings
of the 2009 Fifth International Conference on Natural Computation, Tianjian, China, 14–16 August 2009.
11. Chen, C.; Liu, L.; Cheng, C.; Chiu, G.T.C. Fuzzy controller design for synchronous motion in a dual-cylinder electro-hydraulic
system. Control Eng. Pract. 2008, 16, 658–673. [CrossRef]
12. Li, K.; Marman, M.A.; Xu, M.; Xiao, Z. Electro-hydraulic proportional control of twin-cylinder hydraulic elevators. Control Eng.
Pract. 2001, 9, 367–373. [CrossRef]
13. Sun, H.; Chiu, G. Motion synchronization for multi-cylinder electro-hydraulic system. IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatron. 2001, 7,
171–181.
14. Sun, H.; Chiu, G. Equalization of multi-cylinder electrohydraulic systems. In Proceedings of the 2000 American Control
Conference, Chicago, IL, USA, 28–30 June 2000.
15. Pasolli, P.; Ruderman, M. Hybrid State Feedback Position-Force Control of Hydraulic Cylinder. In Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE
International Conference on Mechatronics, Ilmenau, Germany, 18–20 March 2019.
Machines 2022, 10, 417 14 of 14

16. Gradl, C.; Plockinger, A.; Scheidl, R. Sensorless position control with a hydraulic stepper drive—Concept, compression modeling
and experimental investigation. Mechatronics 2016, 35, 91–101. [CrossRef]
17. Koivumik, J.; Zhu, W.H.; Mattila, J. Addressing Closed-Chain Dynamics for High-Precision Control of Hydraulic Cylinder
Actuated Manipulators. In Proceedings of the Bath/ASME Symposium on Fluid Power and Motion Control, Bath, UK, 12–14
September 2018; Available online: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/FPST/proceedings-abstract/FPMC2018/51968/V001
T01A018/271083 (accessed on 3 May 2022).
18. Lasse, S.; Morten, G.; Henrik, C.; Andersen, T.O. Andersen Position Control of an Over-Actuated Direct Hydraulic Cylinder
Drive. Control Eng. Pract. 2017, 64, 1–14.
19. Shen, W.; Wang, J.H.; Huang, H.L.; He, J.Y. Fuzzy sliding mode control with state estimation for velocity control system of
hydraulic cylinder using a new hydraulic transformer. Eur. J. Control 2019, 48, 104–114. [CrossRef]
20. Pedersen, H.C.; Andersen, T.O. Pressure Feedback in Fluid Power Systems-Active Damping Explained and Exemplified. IEEE
Trans. Control Syst. Technol. 2018, 26, 102–113. [CrossRef]
21. Shen, W.; Mai, Y.F.; Su, X.Y.; Zhao, J.; Jiang, J. A new electric hydraulic actuator adopted the variable displacement pump. Asian J.
Control 2016, 18, 178–191. [CrossRef]
22. Yamada, H.; Wennmacher, G.; Muto, T.; Suematsu, Y. Development of a high-speed on/off digital valve for hydraulic control
systems using a multilayered PZT actuator. Int. J. Fluid Pow. 2000, 2, 5–10. [CrossRef]
23. Flor, M.; Scheller, S.; Heidenfelder, R. Digital hydraulics at bosch rexroth—A trend evolves to real applications. In Proceedings of
the Fifth Workshop on Digital Fluid Power, Tampere, Finland, 24–25 October 2012.
24. Foschum, P.; Plöckinger, A.; Scheidl, R. Hardware in the loop multi objective genetic optimization for efficient valve control. In
Proceedings of the Fifth Workshop on Digital Fluid Power, Tampere, Finland, 24–25 October 2012.
25. Zhang, J.H.; Yang, M.S.; Xu, B.; Ding, R.; Cheng, M.; Dong, P. A novel intelligent sliding sleeve for shale oil and gas mining
equipment. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2017, 158, 1–10. [CrossRef]
26. Zhang, J.H.; Yang, M.S.; Xu, B. Design and Experimental Research of a Miniature Digital Hydraulic Valve. Micromachines 2018,
9, 283. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
27. Yang, M.S.; Zhang, J.H.; Xu, B.; Wang, W. Study on electromagnetic force of the new micro digital valve. Microsyst. Technol. 2019,
25, 2399–2409. [CrossRef]
28. Yang, M.S.; Zhang, J.H.; Xu, B. Experimental Study and Simulation Analysis on Electromagnetic Characteristics and Dynamic
Response of a New Miniature Digital Valve. Adv. Mat. Sci. Eng. 2018, 2018, 2378576. [CrossRef]